Growing up, Glory Darbellay considered careers in the helping profession, either as a doctor or psychologist. She wanted to help people and was looking for a way to do this with the gifts the Lord had given her. Little did she know that he would open the doors to caring for the souls of hundreds of women and young girls. At the age of 20, after only two years of college, God asked her to take the step of discernment. And in 1994, she professed her vows in the Consecrated Life in the Regnum Christi Movement in 1994. After formation years in Rhode Island and Mexico, the following eighteen years of ministry were spent engaged in the Christian and leadership formation of youth, and eventually broadening her scope of experience to work with women of all ages. She experienced the joy of walking with others, teaching them to hear God’s voice. She not only witnessed the transforming power of God’s love in their lives, but felt blessed to discover that she could play a part in others’ journey with the Lord.
Since 2015 Glory has been serving women in the Washington DC area. Her days are busy attending a multitude of women regularly in spiritual direction and supporting the formation of Regnum Christi women through retreats, formation conferences, and spiritual direction. To accompany a woman, often times mothers, is to accompany a family. Her faith vision allows her to see what a blessing these women are for others.
“They are such a beautiful consolation to the heart of Jesus. They have deep faith and are so committed to the Lord. They are humble servants in many ways to their families, parishes, communities, and different ministries. To be able to help them discover their own beauty and see themselves as God sees then has been a gift!”
Sitting face to face or in zoom spiritual directions for hours on end is not an easy or glamorous task. But this active woman dedicates the majority of her time to this. When she is not attending to local women, she also serves as the director of the consecrated women living in the DC community. While she loves a good movie and invigorating hike in nature, one of her great passions is spirituality and the mission we are called to in Regnum Christi to help others discover God’s love for them and their own mission and purpose.
Glory also values formation as a continual means to enrich her personal life and serve others. Her studies have brought her into contact with the wisdom of many saints. Among her favorite is St Therese of Lisieux. Her simple way reminds us that the essence to being an apostle is simplicity of heart, lived out by making Jesus the center of our life. She comments, “Prayer gives the impetus to be what Jesus calls us to be, to serve where we are needed, and to live out a fruitful spiritual motherhood.” In the footsteps of the Little Flower, Glory tries to make herself available to encourage, motivate, or lend an attentive ear. Her great joy as an apostle is seeing how present God is in the lives of others. And her great joy is helping them to discover how close he is and that they can really depend on Him!
The truth of God’s presence and action has been even more obvious in the unique time of the pandemic, COVID-19. When the Churches closed down and the traditional ways of pastoral ministry were challenged, Glory saw the importance of her mission to support the domestic church. In her own words, “It strikes me so much more now how these women are beacons of light, because of the strength of their faith and formation. When it is darker you see the light stand out more.”
While the women she ministers to become light for the world, she is aware of the important role she has, with Jesus, to keep the fire of Divine Love always blazing in their hearts and their lives!
