I attended daily Catechism classes and Sunday School. I was edified by the religious sisters who taught me. At that time everything was in Latin hence my faith is being nurtured not through understanding but through faith experiences that are beyond words and beyond human comprehension.

I grew up during the worst time of the persecution of the Church in Shanghai. At the age of six, my parents escaped to Hong Kong hoping to bring my two older brothers and me over in the following year. However, the Communist closed the iron curtains and we were cut off totally from our parents for six years. We lived in total poverty and fear. Being without parents and without security and comfort, I somehow turned to God for comfort and strength. I would follow my eldest brother Ignatius who was then sixteen to attend daily Mass and all Church events. I witnessed the suffering of my people and watched the arrest of my Bishop, the late Cardinal Ignatius Kung, my pastor Fr. Francis Xavier Tsai and many other priests, religious and laity. My faith was nurtured by my people’s invincible faith and fearless witness. Despite my fear of the Communist, I would sneak into Church and find my solace. As a little girl, I began to experience tremendous comfort and spiritual joy whenever I set foot in the Church, my "safety place, my home in God." There in this Holy Ground, I prayed, cried and emptied my fears and pain. This, I believe is the beginning of my vocation, the beginning of an intimate relationship with my God and the Blessed Mother, the emergence of my faith.

At the age of twelve, I finally escaped China with my two brothers to join my parents in Hong Kong. My father always says, "the family that prays together stays together" and so we did. After having experienced the "exodus" from China, I was challenged anew with the "exile" experience in Hong Kong. I felt totally lost in a new place where I did not speak either the Cantonese dialect or English. I felt like an alien in a world of strangers. Whenever I have difficulties, I would go to my Church and pour out my trials to our heavenly Father and our Blessed Mother. The comfort and joy that I had experienced were beyond words. God has always been there for me. By then I was studying in a Catholic School run by the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, I was deeply edified by their joyful spirit and their giving and caring heart. They helped me to deepen my faith and at the age of sixteen and I started to feel that God was calling me to give my life totally to Him.

As I reflect now, my vocation is the fruit of those Catholics whose suffering under persecution has inspired me, challenged me to respond to God’s call as they did. My life has been marked by their invincible witness and their readiness to die for their faith. They had nurtured this little seed of faith in me, and prepared me to answer to God’s Call. I owe my faith to my father who was a man of prayer and of faith. I owe my vocation particularly to my brother Ignatius who had led me through the most difficult childhood and who has become ever since my mentor, and anchor during my thirty years of religious life. My vocation is a pure gift from God. He has called me and chosen me and I have answered in total trust!

I believe that God is also calling some of you to follow in the footsteps of Christ! Just give Him a little more of your time for prayer and a little more of your heart to listen to His gentle whisper. And you will experience the wonders of His Love. Be open! Be audacious! Be generous in answering His call. It is a privilege to serve as He has served, to love as He has loved. And you have no idea how the joy of Christ will come back to you in hundredfold! God bless you!

For information on the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception please contact:

VANCOUVER

Sr. Felicitas Tobias, MIC
4409 Osler St.
Vancouver, BC V6H 2X9
Tel. 604 874-9371
E-mail : micvanbc@aicompro.com



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