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On Sunday September 13, 2020, Julian Frommling, 26 years old, made her final vows as a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi. The ceremony took place in the parish of Santa Maria de Cana, in Pozuelo, and Julian was accompanied online by her family, surrounded by members of Regnum Christi, colleagues and professors from the University of San Dámaso,, where she is studying her 4th year of theology.
Julian was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is the sixth of eight children. Her relationship with Jesus and Regnum Christi goes back a long way. She attended Royalmont Academy, a Regnum Christi school, where the thought of a vocation first came to her. When she was nine years old she felt an attraction to the life of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi: “After meeting Jesus I wanted to be his friend, and when I met the Consecrated Women I thought that being consecrated was the best way to do it (…) I saw them happy, that they dedicated their lives to helping people,” she explains. She answers a few questions during this interview right before the ceremony.
How did you meet Jesus?
I entered Royalmont Academy, a Regnum Christi school, in the third grade and that was the first time I met Jesus as a real person who wants to be my friend. In my home I knew God, but my personal relationship with Jesus began at school.
What does Jesus call you? How does He address you?
He calls me by my name. And I call him Jesus, which is the name that he chose for himself as the incarnate word, which means “God saves” and is something that helps me a lot. I also call him Lord, because it reminds me that he is the Lord of Life and of everything.
Your vocation to consecrated life, was it sudden? Did Jesus speak to your heart? Did he say something to you? How was it? Did you get scared? Did you like the idea?
The first time I thought about the possibility of a vocation was when I met Consecrated Women when I was nine years old. I felt, above all, an attraction to their life, because I saw them happy, that they dedicated their lives to helping people. After I met Jesus, I wanted to be his friend, and when I was nine years old, I thought that being consecrated was the best way to do it. When I was 15 years old, it was the first time I felt that it was him who was inviting me to follow him and be his, and since then there have been many moments when he was confirming and repeating this call.
How did your family and the people around you experience the decision to embark on a journey to discern this vocation? Did your education influence it?
My parents were always very supportive. I also have two siblings who discerned their vocation, one to the consecrated life in Regnum Christi and the other with the Legion in the apostolic school. There was always an environment at home where it was natural to discern one’s vocation.
Being in the school, seeing the Consecrated Women there, talking about vocation was normal. In fact, other students in the school also embarked on a journey of vocational discernment. I am sincerely grateful to the Lord and to my parents that I have always had this support.
What do you ask of Christ and the Church in this new stage you are beginning? And of your consecrated sisters? And of the other members of Regnum Christi? And of your family?
I ask Christ that I can be his and live his Life more each day I ask the Church to help me be able to live this. I pray that I may, by the grace of God, build up and contribute to the holiness of the Church with my own life and holiness.
I ask my consecrated sisters to be who God is calling us to be.
I ask the other members of Regnum Christi to live our charism with purity of intention, truly allowing God to act through us so that he can make his Kingdom present.
I ask my family to always pray to God that I may be faithful to my vocation.
How do you feel right now? Are you afraid? Are you grateful?
I have the excitement and awe of knowing that I am embarking on an adventure that is a mystery that will last forever, but at the same time it is a gift from God that I will only be able to understand in heaven. I have a lot of gratitude for my being called to this vocation, and a great joy of being able to live the rest of my life belonging to Jesus.
How is your prayer, what does Jesus tell you these days?
They have been days in which he reminds me that he is the essence and reason for my vocation. Very simple but full of much peace and a very deep joy.
You were at the Ordinary General Assembly a few months ago… Did you discover anything about your vocation there? Was anything about who you are clearer? What did you feel towards the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi during those days?
It was a moment of discovering the gift of the vocation to the consecrated life in the Regnum Christi, but with a lot of realism. Realism to recognize that in no way is this family perfect, but, at the same time, to see how God has worked through it all: through the beautiful, through the painful, through the wounds, through everything. The Assembly also filled me with hope that we have a horizon where we are heading. And finally, a great appreciation and admiration for my consecrated sisters who were there with me, because I saw in them the example of women who really want to love the Lord and carry forward this work that He has entrusted to us.
What are the certainties that allow you to give this yes forever?
The certainty that St. Paul tells us in the letter to the Romans: nothing can separate us from the love of the Lord. That God is going to use everything to bring me closer to him and the truth that this life is short, we are made for heaven, everything here is going to pass, but we are going to be with him for all eternity. And the certainty that God is Good.
Is it hard to say ‘yes’ to the Lord?
It’s not hard to say ‘yes’ to the Lord, because he’s worth everything. But, when we lose sight of him, his faithfulness and his goodness, it is difficult because we forget his promise and that he only asks us to give us more. But it is not difficult for me to say yes to him.
Could you summarize what these years of preparation for this step you are about to take have meant?
These years have meant purification, but also, getting to know Jesus, his love, knowing myself, discovering the gift he offers me in the vocation and a path of trust in him.
You are currently studying at the University of San Dámaso, how are the Philosophy and Theology that you study there helping you?
They are helping me a lot! They help me to know God. Studying Theology I am realizing how much I did not know and do not know about God, and this fills me with a thirst to know him more, to discover the truth of who He is. It is also helping me to discover the beauty of our faith, and to get in touch with modern man, trying to understand his thoughts so that I can later transmit this beauty that I am receiving which is our faith.
You have worked apostolically in various places, but mostly in ECYD in Houston. What do you remember about those people, from that stage, from that moment?
My three years in Houston were a joy. A time of being able to experience the beauty of our mission as Consecrated Women and working together with the laity. I remember with much affection all the retreats, ECYD camps, and the summers with the ECYD missionaries. I enjoyed very much being able to accompany the girls and their families for three years and being able to be part of their lives.
They were very happy years, I loved them. They also gave me a conviction about our mission. I was able to experience the impact that ECYD has on the lives of the adolescents.
What would you like to do in the future as a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi?
I really don’t know, because I have only had experience with ECYD, and I would love to continue working with teenagers. Also during these years in Spain I was able to help in the Colegio Cumbres de Valencia which has given me the opportunity to work in schools, and I love it too. But it makes me very excited to discover more realities where we work to discover how and where the Lord wants me to serve him.
What message do you give to those young people who are considering a vocation to the consecrated life?
I tell them that it is worthwhile to follow the Lord wherever he invites you. That he is faithful. And although it may seem contradictory in the eyes of the world, living your life in him always leads you to happiness and fulfillment in your life. He only wants to give us Life, and Life in abundance.
I will say one word to you, and you will answer me with another:
Family – love
Laity – powerful
Legionary of Christ – brother
Consecrated woman – spouse
Lay Consecrated man – brother
Final Vows – Forever
Communion – Christ
Jesus – the bridegroom
House – family
Friends – love
COVID-19 – mystery
Ring – covenant
Desire – profound
Work – service
Church – holiness
Suffering – Redemption
Autonomy – healthy
United States – I love my country 😊
Life – abundant
Apostolate – mission
Spain – Viva!
Rest – beach
A book – Fullfilment of all desire
A film – The Patriot
A Song – Lord to Whom We Go
Your favorite character – Olaf
Your favorite color – Pink
Your favorite number of Regnum Christi Statutes – 7 and 8
Your favorite number of the Consecrated Women’s Constitutions – 3
Your favorite saint – I have many
Original found: https://regnumchristi.es/entrevista-julian-frommling-mi-consagracion-es-una-aventura-misteriosa-y-para-siempre/