Tennis was Sr. M. Olivia’s daily bread growing up in the northern suburbs of Adelaide. She was a promising junior travelling the world from a very early age. She competed in all four Grand Slams at a junior level and made her senior debut at the Australian Open at just 15 years of age.
But when her sporting career came to a crossroads at the age of 22, she made the decision to stop pursuing tennis as a professional career.
“In many ways, making the decision to stop playing competitive tennis was difficult for me”, said Sr. M. Olivia, “but it also filled me with great hope, because getting married and having a family had always been my deepest desire. For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to have a spousal relationship and be a mother.”
Settling down in her hometown of Adelaide, after living out of a suitcase for much of her youth, finally gave Sr. M. Olivia a chance to look towards fulfilling her dream. She finished her degree in Nutrition and Dietetics and began working as a dietitian in a hospital, all the while keeping her eyes and heart open to finding her lifelong partner.
Sr. M. Olivia in her youth aspiring to tennis’ greatest heights. Image: supplied.
One year passed, two years passed, and before she knew it, Sr. M. Olivia was in her late 20’s and instead of realising her dream, all she could feel was brokenness and despair.
“I couldn’t understand why God was making such a good and beautiful pursuit of marriage so difficult for me”, Sr. M. Olivia recalled.
“I was at a really low point in my life going through a really tough time, and I was angry with God as if it were His fault.”
In the midst of her desolation, Sr. M. Olivia knew she had to talk to someone courageously reaching out to her parish priest who, from that time, became her spiritual director. Sr. M. Olivia acknowledges that opening up about her struggles brought about the most important realisation in her life.
“Up until that point, I had only ever really focused on what I wanted, and I never actually stopped to ask or consider what God wanted for my life.” Sr. M. Olivia admitted.
“In many ways I was ashamed to even realise this but it was only because motherhood and having a spousal relationship was so deeply ingrained in my heart that I naturally just thought marriage was my vocation.
“I thought that consecrated life took away precisely these two elements, so why would I even consider it as an option. But I’d gotten to a point where I was done trying to do things my way. I realised that I needed to include God on my journey, so I genuinely opened up my heart entirely to His will in my prayer.”
Looking back, this is exactly where God needed Sr. M. Olivia’s heart to be in order to be open to all that God, through His extraordinary Divine Providence, had in store for her.
“As soon as I’d opened up my heart to God’s will in my life,” she explained, “it took Him only a matter of days before He started to speak to me in the most profound ways.
“I went through a period of three months in my life that will forever astound me. Through God’s mysterious ways, that only He can make possible, He led me to the realisation that there was more to being a spouse and a mother on the natural level. God was calling me to Himself – to receive Jesus Christ as the most beautiful spouse I could ever find, and to become a spiritual mother to more children than I could ever give birth to in the ordinary way.”
Those three months culminated in an invitation from the Lord that made it clear beyond doubt that Sr. M. Olivia was being called to consecrated life: “How would you like to be my apostle?” was the Lord’s question.
“Lord, really? Me?! But if this is your will for me, then ‘yes!’” was Sr. M. Olivia’s wholehearted response.
Discerning a religious community
The vocation was now clear, but not yet the place nor the community.
“In many ways”, Sr. M. Olivia recalls, “this second stage of my discernment was perhaps even harder than the first. I didn’t really have strong connections to any communities, so I knew I had to start from scratch and allow God to continue to lead me according to His will rather than my own,” she said.
“In the end, I felt that I was being drawn most to the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary purely because of my backstory and the deep connection I had to the Blessed Mother.
“So, I started there and I’ve never looked back despite the many sacrifices that this path has entailed.”
In 2020, at the peak of Covid, Sr. M. Olivia made the long trek to Original Schoenstatt in Vallendar, Germany to begin her formation with the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary.
In Adelaide, she left behind her much-loved family, her wonderful circle of friends, her job, which she had just gained permanency in, and her favourite country in the world, Australia, in order to learn a new language and immerse herself in a completely new way of life.
Siblings in Christ
During her almost four years abroad, she returned home once, very briefly back in September 2023 to attend the priestly ordination of her only sibling, Fr. Matthew Lukaszewicz who now serves as an Assistant Priest in Holy Family Catholic Parish Mosman in the Archdiocese of Sydney.
Sr. M. Olivia attending the priestly ordination of her brother, Fr. Matthew Lukaszewicz at St. Mary’s Cathedral Sydney on 9 September 2023. Image: Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2023/ supplied.
Recently, Sr. M. Olivia returned to Australia; but for a much longer stint this time, having taken up residency in the province house in Mount Schoenstatt, Mulgoa, where she is so excited to meet, encounter and serve the people of Sydney.
“I never imagined any of this for my life,” Sr. M. Olivia concluded and added: “Often times I still can’t believe where God has led me and the ways in which He has done so, but I have complete faith in the fact that He has His reasons and that is enough for me.
“Despite every sacrifice, I feel a sense of tremendous joy and inner peace in my heart that I can hardly explain, knowing that I am giving a daily, joyful ‘yes’ to the will of God in my life. In this way, I know that I am glorifying Him and His infinite mercy in choosing me to be His very own.
“My entire mission in life is to be Mary in the world today, and through her, to lead others to Christ. I couldn’t think of a better way to give back and praise God for all the wonders He has done for me.”
Sr. M. Olivia (far left) with her course sisters (L-R) Sr. M. Thálita (Brazil), Sr. M. Hemma (Austria), Sr. M. Celine (Vietnam) and Sr. M. Jany (Vietnam), in Germany shortly before returning to Australia. Image: supplied.
For more information on the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary, visit the Australian Schoenstatt website: schoenstatt.org.au or the international website: schoenstatt.com
