My name is Sr. Carrie Christine Zagurskie and I am an Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I grew up in rolling hills of rural southwestern Pennsylvania 40 miles from Pittsburgh. I first felt called to religious life when I was 9 years old after a newly appointed pastor began a weekly prayer in our parish for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Five years later, this same pastor took my youth group to Clelian Heights (a school run by the Apostles for individuals who have intellectual disabilities) to volunteer for a week in the summer. During this time, I felt at home and I was inspired by the joy of the Apostles as they worked with the students sharing the love of Christ’s Heart while creating a reparative presence that countered the students’ negative experiences.
While this experience with our sisters made such an impression on me, I didn’t have the support I needed to encourage me. Being product of public education, I had a wonderful circle of friends from various Protestant denominations that supported my faith in God and a life of sobriety. But they didn’t understand my deep love for the Catholic Church and my desire to be a spouse of Christ. In my late teens, I worked up the courage to quietly explore the stirrings in my heart.
I quickly ran into the brick wall of fear. Fear caused me to turn my back on God and run on a radically different path and vocation in life. “My path” led me to more heart break, to more anguish, and to the one thing I feared the most-the fear of being alone. I thought my path guaranteed me protection from loneliness, but I found myself face-to-face with it. I learned that loneliness could not destroy me, and that it was not something to be feared. This realization brought me to a place freedom where I could open my heart to Christ.
By this time, I went back to school to complete my BS in psychology and my Masters in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh and I began my career working as a mental health therapist. As I was turning my eyes back on Christ, He was drawing me to His Sacred Heart. The desire to belong totally to Him in religious life re-emerged. Through a discernment process I took a leap of faith and entered the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 2005. Since entering, a deep sense of assurance that is beyond the feelings of peace filled my heart and has not left.
Since entering my community, I have done various ministries. I taught Religion/Theology to both elementary and high school students and I practiced social work in a Catholic school. My current ministry is working with adults having intellectual disabilities and autism in a pre-vocational program. In addition, I mentor seminarians with developing their pastoral skills while working with adults having intellectual disabilities. I am also part of my community’s Vocation Helper team.
I enjoy crafting (especially paper quilling), fishing, going hiking, listening to music, and honing my American Sign Language skills.
My prayer for you is that you open your heart to God’s love, even if it is just a little bit. He has a wonderful dream for your life.