Overcoming Childhood Trauma Through Faith | Sr. Marilyn

Nov 18, 2025

Sr. Marilyn, a member of the Sisters of Mary, shares her incredible journey from childhood trauma to spiritual motherhood. She recounts witnessing her father's murder at age ten and the split-second decision that spared her from vengeance. Through Eucharistic healing and counseling, she transformed her pain into purpose, leading countless impoverished children. Sr. Marilyn emphasizes the importance of forgiveness and how understanding our wounds can become openings to divine healing. Her story is a powerful testament to love, resilience, and faith.

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ANECDOTE

Childhood Trauma That Shaped A Vocation

At age 10 Sister Marilyn witnessed her father being shot by close family friends and grabbed his gun intending revenge.
She trembled, dropped the gun, and ran to her parents instead of shooting them, which changed her life's course.

ADVICE

Bring Memories To Adoration For Healing

Do bring painful memories to prayer and adoration instead of avoiding them, even if you fear vulnerability.
Doing so can allow Jesus to enter the memory and begin a healing transformation.

INSIGHT

Adoration Reframes Trauma Into Calling

In Adoration Sr. Marilyn saw the 10-year-old girl holding the gun and Jesus present at the same time, reframing the trauma.
She realized God called her to give life rather than take it, which revealed her vocation to religious life.

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As a 10-year-old, Sister Marilyn of the Sisters of Mary watched her father murdered by family friends—then grabbed his gun to take revenge and had her finger on the trigger.

Something stopped her in that moment, but the trauma of that experience hardened her heart with thoughts of anger and revenge. She felt like a failure and couldn't trust anyone.

In front of the Blessed Sacrament years later, Jesus met her in that memory…and turned a would-be taker of life into a spiritual mother who gives life to thousands of the poorest children on earth. She found her vocation and the Lord miraculously healed her wounds.

In this powerful conversation, we talk about trauma, forgiveness, Eucharistic healing, and the Sisters of Mary’s mission to the poorest of the poor around the world.

Timestamps

0:00 Intro
1:35 Sisters of Mary: “Sisters and Mothers”
5:19 The day her father was killed
12:10 Running for the gun… and why she didn’t pull the trigger
16:00 The hidden lie: “I’m a loser”
18:10 A priest’s counsel that opened the door to healing
24:10 Adoration: meeting Jesus inside the memory
26:50 From taking life → giving life: discovering her vocation
33:05 Saying the killer’s name before Jesus—and forgiving
39:00 The Sisters of Mary across 7 countries
41:15 “The poorest of the poor” (more than material poverty)
49:45 A student’s story: “Why do I feel nobody loves me?”
53:40 Final encouragement: your wounds can become windows to God

Whatever you've gone through, the Lord is ready to heal you. In all things, God works for the good of those who love him. Pursue his grace in the sacraments. Bring your trauma to the foot of the cross and spend time in Adoration. The Resurrection is on the other side of your trauma. You are not alone.

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Learn more about the Sisters of Mary: https://worldvillages.org/sisters-of-mary/

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