Vocations

“Do you think I have a vocation?”

This question is posed to us from time to time by young women who are considering the possibility of becoming a religious sister.

Everyone has a vocation, the real question is, which vocation is God calling you to?

There are three vocations:

• a call to be married

• a call to be single

• a call to live out a religious vocation as a priest or religious brother or sister.

A vocation is a call by God to a particular state in life.

God tells us in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” And again in Jeremiah 29:11, “I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope.” This is good news! We have a God who has loved us in to being and wants us to be happy! In fact, He “alone probes the mind and tests the heart” (Jer. 17:10). God loves us, and wants us to find true happiness -not the fleeting happiness of emotions, but the peace and joy that He alone can give. Since God knows what will make us supremely happy, He calls each one to the vocation we are best suited to.

Each vocation is a call to love.

In the married state, the spouses are called to love a particular person and to be open to raising children if God so wishes. We know through the example of Jesus Christ and from the teachings of Our Church, that true married love is a total, mutual gift of self, one to another - no matter what it may cost us, thinking only about what is best for the other. St. Paul has told us that the spouses should, “love each other as Christ loved the Church” and “handed Himself over for her,” so that “the two shall become one flesh” (Ephesians 5:21, 25, 31). In the wisdom of Pope Paul VI in his encyclical Humanae Vitae, we learn that this kind of love needs to be free, total, faithful, and fruitful.

A religious vocation, whether to the priesthood or religious life, is also a call to love. While sacramental Marriage is meant to be a symbol of Christ's love for the church, the religious life is meant to embody Christ's love for the church! We come to religious life above all because we have fallen in love with Jesus and we feel drawn to give ourselves totally to Him, Who gave Himself Totally for us. Just as in the married state, the love of the religious needs to be free, total, faithful, and fruitful.

Every human person is called to union with God, but in a special way, one with a religious vocation frees him/herself to offer everything that they are and have to God. This is why we choose to give up worldly goods, earthly relationships even our own will- to free ourselves up to be given totally to God.

This dedication and love for God is lived in a Total gift of self to Him, giving oneself completely “for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:12). A religious is Faithful to God exclusively in perfect continence with a love that is, “a manifestation of dedication to God with ‘an undivided heart’ (1 Cor. 7:32-34)…the love to which the Incarnate Word bears witness even to the point of giving His life” (Vita Consecrata #21).

The Fruitfulness of the religious, “lies in the fact that all are called to become saints which cannot fail to inspire more and more those who by their very choice of life have the mission of reminding others of that call” (Vita Consecrata #39).

The vocation to remain single in the world is also a call to, “love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37) “An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord… An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit” ( 1Cor 7:32-34). This is also a legitimate vocation, and the chaste single person is like that leaven that grows the kingdom of God, the salt that preserves goodness in the world, the light that draws people to God.

For someone who is asking the question, “What vocation is God calling me to?” what is needed is an openness to doing God’s Will in their lives. A person set on this intention, growing each day closer to the Lord through participation in a sacramental life and daily prayer, Especially Eucharistic Adoration, will be led by Him to the perfect vocation which will give them ultimate fulfillment.

If you are...

• A practicing Roman Catholic women between the ages of 18-35,

• Single, reasonably mature, and in good physical and mental health,

• Passionately in love with our Lord and feeling drawn to give yourself totally to God out of Love for Him, in imitation of St Francis,

• Devoted to our Lady and wish to be consecrated to her, to offer everything to Jesus through Mary,

• Desiring to be His alone through the vow of Chastity,

• Wanting to be poor among the poor like Jesus through the vow of Poverty,

• Determined to give even your own will to God through the vow of Obedience,

• Zealous about pro-life ministry and upholding the dignity of every human person,

• Surrendered to God's will in you life, and seeking the path He has planned for you,

feel free to contact us about discerning with our community

Formation

In our Community, Formation has four stages

• Postulancy

• Novitiate

• Temporary Profession (or Simple Vows)

• Perpetual Profession and ongoing formation

Postulancy

The ultimate goal of formation -from the moment a young woman enters the doors of our convent, to the moment her soul takes leave of this world- is to become fully conformed to Christ. Through continually surrendering ourselves to Him, we allow Him to make us into the person He made us to be, to become a saint. This is a process that really begins at our Baptism, but is intensified in religious life and continues to our last breath.

"Arise my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!" Song of Songs 2:10

The goal of formation for Postulants is to discern whether or not they are truly called by God to a vocation in religious life, particularly in this community.

Postulancy is a period of discernment that lasts from 6 months to one year depending on the individual's readiness to advance to the level of Novice. If at any time during Postulancy the candidate discerns that our way of life is not for her, she is free to leave.

On becoming a postulant in our community, the young women receives a simple habit: a brown jumper and simple veil, a tan turtleneck and a Tau Cross.

During the time of postulancy, she will live in our formation house, sharing in our community life of prayer and work, and engaging in various studies. As she opens her heart more and more to God each day, she becomes more able to listen to His voice and to surrender to His will. This is a time of great prayer and discernment for her and for the whole community, as we seek to help one another hear and answer God's call.

Novitiate

“I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart” Hosea2:16

“The Novitiate marks the beginning of a Daughter’s life in the community” (cf. Cannon 646), and is ordered so, “that the Novices better recognize their Divine vocation and one which is, moreover, proper to the Institute, that they experience the Institute’s manner of living, that they be formed in mind and heart by its spirit and that their intention and suitability be tested. (Directives of Formation, #45)

Novitiate lasts for 1-2 years, depending on the novice's readiness. Novitiate is the most intense period of early formation, as it entails conforming one's self to Christ through the rule of our community.

During the novitiate ceremony, the novice promises the community servant to live in obedience, poverty, and chastity, and to uphold the dignity of every human person during the time of her novitiate. She also asks the whole community to test her and see if she is indeed willing and able to share in our way of life. She then receives the full habit- with a few exceptions:

• Instead of a grey scapular hers is white, signifying the purity of heart that she is striving for.

• Instead of a San Damiano Cross, she receives a medal of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a sign of her consecration to Our Lady, which takes place during the ceremony.

• She also has no knots in her cords, because these signify the vows- which she has not yet taken.

The novice receives a new name and a lighted candle because she is to become a new person in Christ. As she continues her life in the formation house, she is encouraged to give her whole heart- for it is only in giving our whole heart to Jesus that we allow Him to truly lead us into His plan for our lives, that we allow Him to form our hearts into His, and that we learn to take up our cross and follow Him.

The goal of novitiate is to fully embrace the rule and constitutions of the Franciscan Daughters of Mary, to grow and maintain the virtues that will sustain her through her religious life, to come to a deeper understanding of the vows, to learn how to be generous in self-giving, and ultimately to fall deeper in love with Jesus, to whom she is now betrothed. This is also a time to really discern whether the novice is both willing and able to live this life, and if she or the formation counsel discerns that she is not, she is free to leave.

Simple Vows

“I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the Lord” Hosea 2:22

After her period of novitiate, the novice may petition to community servant for permission to profess her vows. If accepted, she will profess Poverty, Chastity, Obedience, and to uphold the dignity of every human person from conception until natural death for a period of one year. It should be noted that the temporality of simple vows is not meant to be seen as if the church were in doubt of her vocation but as a mark of her progression in self-gift, a new goal to aspire to, and an encouragement to devote her heart ever more fully to God each day.

This is a time of great joy and excitement for each sister, for the whole community, and for the universal church! We consider this to be our wedding day. Now and then we are asked why religious vows are not a Sacrament. One of the reasons is that a Sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible reality, instituted by Christ to impart grace. For example, the sacrament of Matrimony is a visible sign of the invisible reality of Christ's love for the Church; a reality in which we all participate and will be fully realized in heaven. But in a mysterious way, religious profession is the living out of that same invisible reality even now. The relationship between Christ the Bridegroom and the His bride, the church is the relationship between Christ and the professed religious.

The newly professed sister now receives a crown of flowers and the full habit -with one last exception; she will receive a crucifix ring when she makes her final vows. She will now be more engaged in the apostolic mission of the community and will begin serving at our mission on a regular basis while continuing formation studies.

After the initial one-year period, she may petition to renew her vows for another year. After that, she may petition for permission to profess for three years. At the end of five years of simple vows, if she desires to consecrate her life forever, she may petition to profess perpetual vows.

Perpetual Profession and Ongoing Formation

"I will espouse you to me forever..." Hosea 2:22

After 7-8 years of formation, sisters may petition to profess their perpetual vows. This time, she professes Poverty, Chastity, Obedience and to uphold the dignity of every human person from the moment of conception until natural death, all the days of her life. During the ceremony, she fully prostrates herself in the sanctuary while the litany of saints is prayed over her. She then receives a crucifix ring and a crown of thorns.

Religious life brings together disciples of Christ, who can only bear fruit if they are motivated by a profound continual spiritual renewal. The aim is that each daughter realizes that in giving her life to the service of the Lord, she belongs to Him alone.

Spiritual development is fostered among all professed members so that they never lose sight of the spiritual component of their lives. Each sister in our community participates in individual and community retreats on a yearly basis. To deepen our relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ, all professed daughters are encouraged in spiritual reading, prayer and contemplation, spiritual activities, and “prayer in action” within the apostolate.

LG47-“Let each of the faithful called to the profession of the evangelical counsels, therefore, carefully see to it that he persevere and ever grow in that vocation God has given him. Let him do this for the increased holiness of the Church, for the greater glory of the one and undivided Trinity, which in and through Christ is the fount and the source of all holiness.”