Vowed Women's Religious Life
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A woman religious is a lay person who commits herself to Christ and to the Church by vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. She lives in a religious community that follows a constantly renewed tradition, patterned on the life and teaching of the founder of the community. The work she does will depend upon the particular community as influenced by the needs of the the Church and its people, and includes such ministries as pastoral; social service; education (in many different forms and ways); hospital/medical; youth/campus ministry; missionary; retreats/conferences; spiritual direction; peace and justice; evangelization/faith formation; social outreach; work with the poor, elderly, broken oppressed and distressed and so on.
Vocation Quest is a website for women discerning a call to become a Catholic Sister.
The Council for Major Superiors of Women Religious also has a website for women discerning a call to become a Catholic Sister.
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A Sister’s Testimony
Without a doubt, the seeds of my vocation were planted before I knew what a vocation was. From a young age, I remember being drawn to stay in silence with Jesus in the Eucharist, but I was no saint! For a long time I tried to live for God and still meet the world’s expectations for a young woman today, but I realized quickly that I was fake. As I began to take risk and give up worldly popularity in order to say “Yes” to Jesus and to try to be holy, I discovered who I really was and that Jesus alone brought me the happiness I wanted, the happiness I was made for. As much as I was drawn to the sparkling things of this world, Jesus’ joy and love shone brighter and I was won over.
I was in holy school when I fell in love with Jesus and His loving gaze pierced through all the glamour that I tried to revel in. At the age of 18, I was convicted in my heart that Jesus was calling me to give Him everything, and this call allowed me to fulfill the desire of my heart to bring to others the joy that I had found, the happiness that is not a “thing” but a Someone, the Person of Jesus Christ.
At the age of 19, I entered the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George and eight years later I am brimming over with the joy of His love. Only God could create such a beautiful plan for my life! Trust Him! He is faithful!
Sr. M. Bernadette Morse, FSGM
Native of Bancroft, IA
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The process of joining a religious community actually takes some time and involves several stages. While these vary from community to community in name, length of time, and format, the basic stages include:
Candidate or Postulant: Candidacy or Postulancy is the period where an individual observes and participates in the life of the community from the inside. Once the community agrees to accept her as a postulant, the candidate lives and works within the community. This period enables the candidate/postulant to experience the life of the community while at the same time allowing the community to see whether she shows promise in living the community’s life. A person may be a candidate/postulant for one or two years.
Novice: The novitiate is the next stage of formation. This is a special one-to-two-year period that marks a more official entrance into a community. Novices spend time in study and prayer to learn more about themselves, the community, and their relationship with Jesus. At the end of the novitiate, novices prepare for temporary promises, or vows.
Vows: Promises of poverty, celibacy, and obedience may be taken for one, two, or three years, depending upon the decision of the individual. These promises are renewable for up to nine years. As soon as the time of temporary vows has been completed, the individual can make their temporary vows permanent by making final vows, that is promising to live out their vows for the rest of their life. In some religious communities members who have made temporary vows are known as “Junior Professed” and those who have made permanent vows are known as “Perpetually Professed.”
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More Information
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The National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.nrvc.net
Phone: (773) 363-54545401 S. Cornell Ave., Suite 207
Chicago IL 60615-5604
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Contact Us
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Fr. Shane Demandemansscdiocese.orgDirector of Seminarians
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Diocese of Sioux City
PO Box 3379
1821 Jackson Street
Sioux City, IA 51102-3379
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