Religious Milestones: Discalced Carmelite Sister Rose Marie Hernandez, 50 years

Discalced Carmelite Sister Rose Marie of the Sacred Heart, (N. Maria del Rosario Hernandez), was born in Mexico City in 1953 as one of 14 children. Because of the persecution in Mexico in the late 1920s, there were many martyrs for the faith, which impressed a strong Catholic faith in the Mexican people for the next generations.

Because this inherent faith encompassed the lives of her devout Catholic parents, Sister Rose Marie’s family was blessed to have two of their daughters become Discalced Carmelite Nuns: Maria del Rosario and Anna Maria Hernandez.

Through the encouragement of Salesian Sisters and while spending much time praying before the Blessed Sacrament, Maria del Rosario at age 18 experienced a deep call from the Lord to become a consecrated religious. The biggest difficulty though for her would be to leave her loving family behind to pursue her call. Yet, God’s grace is sufficient!

With courage poured out from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Maria del Rosario left for the United States without knowing any English. She put her trust in God alone who was leading her every step of the way.

Maria del Rosario met a cloistered Carmelite nun from the United States and, after some time, she further discerned her vocation to enter the Discalced Carmelite Order in answer to Our Lord’s call to union in holiness with him in community life. Both she and her sister entered the Carmelite monastery in Bryant, Texas. Six months later, Maria del Rosario was clothed in the Holy Habit of the Order and took the name Sister Rose Marie of the Sacred Heart.

To pray for priests, for the conversion of sinners and to forget self while developing a divine union with God which is the so called “SCIENCE of the SAINTS” have been Sister Rose Marie’s most important intentions and aspirations in life.

Because of the decreasing number of vocations and some deaths of the religious, their monastery had to close. However, Sister Rose found a warm welcome with the Carmelite nuns in the monastery in Flemington, where God continued to lead her to his abundant blessings. Sister Rose Marie’s many talents are serving her sisters well with her sewing skills, crafts, and baking, but above all with her spirit of faithful prayer and continual joy and humility. Her radiant smile and laughter truly light up the Flemington community!

Sister Rose Marie encourages anyone who is considering a possible religious vocation to spend much time before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament asking him to give them the light to know where he is leading them and the courage from their confirmation grace to carry it out.