Who or what inspired the women religious of today in their formative, discerning years? Who or what keeps them going? What would they suggest to women and families about pursuing a religious vocation today?

The Tidings interviewed several sisters currently ministering in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles --- women with varied backgrounds and experiences --- and invited them to share their stories and thoughts. Here is how they responded.

Franciscan Sister Mary Magdalene Acuna, principal, Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Santa Clarita:

Growing up in the rural lands surrounding Santa Maria, Sister Acuna has fond memories of walking with her father to Mass during summer days when he was very ill before he passed away.

"It was just him and I walking to church," she says. "It was such a special time - we'd talk, stop and talk to his friends. It was wonderful."

As long as she could remember, Sister Acuna says she could "never walk past a church without walking in. I would say a prayer, be there with God for a moment."

Seeing the nuns who taught her catechism - she attended public school - was a big influence on her vocation. It was that contact that showed her first-hand what religious life was all about - service, prayer and a dedication to God in all things. Later in high school, she would help the sisters distribute food and clothing to the needy.

Most of Sister Acuna's family worked in the fields, so when she told her mother her decision to enter religious life, there was some relief. "My mother said, 'Good. You are too spoiled to work in the fields!' she says with a laugh. "My family was very supportive of my decision. In fact, the day before I was to report, they took me to Disneyland. They said that I'd probably never get to go once I became a sister."

Of course, continues Sister Acuna, they were wrong. She's since visited the Magic Kingdom as a sister.

As an elementary school principal, Sister Acuna hopes that parents today encourage their children to see religious life as a blessing. "Tell them to pray hard, but realize that God is the one to choose," she says. "Create an atmosphere that encourages, and just let what happens, happen."

Good Shepherd Sister Christina Sevilla, director of Filipino Ministry, Archdiocese of Los Angeles:

"When I look back, I realize that when God wants you to do something, he just haunts you," says Sister Sevilla who sees her vocation as a "pure gift."

As a child growing up in the Philippines, Sister Sevilla remembers the little altar her family created in the house. When she was fearful of the dark, Sister Sevilla recalls her mother handing her a crucifix, quietly telling her to "hold onto Jesus and you'll be all right."

"I owe a lot of my vocation to my family, especially my mother," she says. "I first got to know God from her. She really was a woman for others, helping people all the time."

As she grew, Sister Sevilla heard from those around her that she should consider entering religious life. People who knew her - although not very well - kept telling her "you'll be a sister someday," and "Have you ever thought about becoming a nun?"

Graduating from university with a degree in commerce and after her board exams making her a certified public accountant, Sister Sevilla volunteered to help her aunt, also a Good Shepherd Sister with a mission in the rural Buhi province.

"I really saw poverty and how lost many of the people were, especially the young girls," says Sister Sevilla. "I really started to count my blessings and wanted to help others."

Since she entered her religious life, Sister Sevilla has served in many areas - she worked with unwed mothers, street prostitutes and the urban poor in the Philippines.

In Los Angeles, she has ministered at the Good Shepherd Center and today is director of Philippine Ministries for the Archdiocese. "I value my religious life," she sums up. "I guess my vocation is really my way of saying thank you to God. I want others to experience the love of God."

Sacred Heart Sister Debra Flanders, director of religious education, Holy Cross Church, Santa Barbara:

For many women contemplating religious life, a weekend retreat seemed to be one way to cement lingering questions. Getting away from the regular world is beneficial for prayer, reflection and discussion for anyone pondering any type of vocation.

For Sister Flanders, her retreat story has an unusual twist: She actually met and worked alongside the foundress of the order she would eventually join.

"I was a camp counselor for our school and I had heard all of these stories about Sister Ida [Peterfy] who started the order in the 1940s in Hungary," says Sister Flanders who grew up in Nevada.

"I was 15 years old at the time when I met Sister Ida this woman who survived the Communists and Nazis, who with other woman, decided to make a difference."

The camp retreat experience stuck with Sister Flanders who also saw the religious order at her school who took over the duties while Sister Flanders was in high school. "I remember talking to my sister about the 'new' nuns," she says. "They seemed so alive and young. They taught us differently and presented God to us in a loving, fun way."

Sister Flanders would volunteer many other years at the camp. "I was touched by seeing how they loved each other and how God was at the center of that love," she says.

Since the time she entered the very small community - about 52 sisters worldwide - Sister Flanders has worked in retreat centers and camps. She's been director of religious education at Holy Cross Church for two years. Retreats, she's learned, can be a way for folks to "drop labels" and "open up to the gifts of the Holy Spirit."

"I remember seeing kids from the inner city who were on the verge of joining gangs come and spend a weekend with a bunch of nuns who came out changed for life," says Sister Flanders. "That's God touching them."

Carmelite Sister Timothy Marie Kennedy, program director, St. Joseph Conference and Evangelization Center, Alhambra:

Sprinkled in between the heartbeat of our day-to-day life events are "God moments" - spiritual breakthroughs that can be either a calling or a connection that results in a deeper understanding of this mortal life.

For Sister Kennedy, one of her "God moments" happened when, as an eight grader at St. Cornelius School in Long Beach, she attended a retreat at Sacred Heart Retreat Center. She remembers being "cramped together" in a station wagon and pulling into the retreat center.

"As I saw the place, suddenly, out of mouth came, 'Hey, what is this place? I think I want to spend m life here,'" she recalls. "Despite my immaturity, I got this immediate message from God which was daunting."

Once on the retreat grounds, Sister Kennedy wanted to find out more about this unusual prediction she just received. "I found a sister walking, carrying things in her arms, but who stopped for me, smiled and listened," explains Sister Kennedy. "I asked her if she was happy here. It might have been only two minutes we talked, but that left such a lasting impression on me. She had time for me. She was just doing her normal, everyday work, but God used this nun walking across a patio for me."

Doing ordinary daily things with much love is how today Sister Kennedy sees her ministry. As a member of the Carmelites for nearly 50 years, Sister Kennedy says she never will forget what that unknown sister taught her so many years ago: "To see people as they really are and to remember they are more than a Social Security or PIN number."

Sister of St. Louis Myra McPhartland, principal, Louisville High School, Woodland Hills:

As principal of a large girls high school, St. Louis Sister Myra McPhartland gets questions from the students about her religious calling. "How could you ever give up everything?" "What about your friends and family?" "How could you say 'no' to being married?"

"Those girls keep me young and energized," remarks Sister McPhartland. "They are full of joy and have such a positive influence on me."

Citing many positive influences throughout her life, Sister McPhartland traces the beginning of her vocation to her family back in Ireland. "I owe a lot to my parents," she says. "They created a strong religious home. My mother prayed with us and we had lots of discussions about spiritual things."

Sister McPhartland remembers accompanying her mother to a nearby cloistered order of nuns. "We would look at them through the screens and offer them candies," she recalls. "Those visits were important to me."

Later in boarding school, Sister McPhartland got a close look at how the Sisters of St. Louis lived, worked and prayed. "It was not something they said, but it was seeing them live their life that impressed me," she explains, adding that she joined the order right after high school. "I was very idealistic back then - I wanted to go to Africa, but they sent me to Southern California."

Among the people she has encountered who pointed her toward her vocation, Sister McPhartland adds that great books were equally influential. "The autobiography of St. Therese had a profound effect on me when I was young," she says. "Even today books are important. I just finished God First Loved Us [by Rev. Anthony Campbell, SJ] and it rejoices in the message of God's unconditional love for us."

Felician Sister Mary Claire Kehl, director of religious education, Our Lady of the Assumption, Claremont:

Sister Kehl sees two phases in her calling to religious life - early and late. "In the early days, it was my mother who really encouraged me," says the Alhambra native. "Later, it was the sisters themselves who made an impact."

Sister Kehl credits her family with the dedication and sacrifice to send her to Catholic schools, especially when she attended Pomona Catholic High School. "We lived out in the country and the parents had developed a carpool system to pick up the kids for school every day," she recalls. "That was a lot to ask for in those days from parents who had a lot of work to do. They were farmers living in rural areas."

Citing the fact she got an excellent education at Pomona Catholic, Sister Kehl remembers talking with a priest about vocations. "He said to me that I should consider giving back, that I in ways owed something to those who educated me," she says. "That thought stuck in my mind in a positive way."

Sister Kehl says she prayed every day for guidance and felt her calling came in the form of the small still voice. "I really wanted to do God's will," she says. "You can hear in your prayers if you listen. It's there."

Getting ready to leave her role as director of religious education at Our Lady of Assumption in Claremont, Sister Kehl is preparing to move to New Mexico to take on new duties as the director of novices in her provincial motherhouse.

"Today women come to religious life older and with more experiences," she says. "Used to be, sisters were usually teachers or nurses, but now there is a wide range - social workers, psychologists, professionals of all kinds. It's an exciting time to be a member of a religious community."

Charity Sister of the Incarnate Word Mary McCluskey, director of pastoral care at St. Mary Medical Center, Long Beach:

"My calling to religious life was a long process - I thought about it but tried to put it out of my mind," says Sister McCluskey. "I couldn't see myself as a sister but still that notion kept with me."

Indeed, that twinkling little notion would not go away for Sister McCluskey who says that prayer was her way of finding the right path. "Both communal and individual. That time for reflection and being with the Lord was so important" she says adding that her home life had a long tradition of prayer. "Saying the rosary was how we ended every day."

Coming from a large Irish family, Sister McCluskey says that she was the first in the family to join religious life. After she entered the order, two of her sisters and a brother also found their callings.

Now in her 70s, Sister McCluskey looks back at the various places and positions she's had as a member of a religious community. She spent many years in Texas and Louisiana as a nurse; later she would teach nursing and obtain a degree in pastoral ministry, eventually receiving a Masters degree in chaplaincy. She's been at St. Mary's Medical Center for more than 15 years.

"Occasionally I get questions from patients or the staff about what life is like for us," says Sister McCluskey. "For many, religious life is some kind of mysterious thing. But to me it's very normal and beautiful. Our prayer life comes first and our ministry naturally comes out of that. What people see us do and how we act tells them about the kind of life we lead."