Category Archives: Vocations

News, Vocations

Help a Young Woman Enter Religious Life!

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Christina (2nd row, 2nd from left) with Sr. Joseph Andrew, OP, and other candidates.
Christina (2nd row, 2nd from left) with Sr. Joseph Andrew, OP, and other candidates.

For the past few months, we have been blessed to have a summer intern, Christina Pezzella, working with us in the office. She is eagerly counting down the days until her entrance into the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. The date of entrance is August 28th but she has one huge stumbling block to overcome—her student loan debt.

Christina graduated from Hillsdale College early in December 2010. At the time, she said, “I did not have any idea that the Lord would one day call me to the religious life. For this reason, I am faced with loans that I will not be able to pay off in time without assistance.”

Her debt, which was initially over $60,000, has been reduced to approximately $20,000 thanks to the generosity of many people and a lot of hard work on Christina’s part. She has given her vocation talk to numerous groups, held bowl-a-thons, and given her testimony on the radio. What is the price of a vocation? For her and for the Church, it is priceless!

Acceptance letter from Mother Assumpta, OP
Acceptance letter from Mother Assumpta, OP

On the Feast of St. Dominic, Christina received the most joyous news. A benefactor has agreed to match all donations up to $10,000. This generous gift will enable her to enter on August 28th IF she is able to raise the remaining $10,000.

She humbly asks you, and anyone you may know, to prayerfully consider making a contribution to her vocation fund, which will be matched 100%! This will double any gifts. To make a contribution, or to find out more information about her vocation story, please visit her blog: www.TheLifeCatholic.com.

Christina says: May God bless you abundantly… you are in my prayers!!!

News, Vocations

Radical Joy Conference – Tampa

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rad joyHere is an event that I wish every parish would sponsor or encourage: Radical Joy Expo – Religious Life Conference. It is an day-long meeting meant to introduce young people to religious life. As Pope Francis said, “No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since no one is excluded from the Joy brought by the Lord.”

Pope Francis has declared 2015 a year dedicated to consecrated life. This observance will be a distinct way for the Universal Church to thank religious for their witness and response to God’s call to radically follow Him in joy. It will also serve to promote vocations to this unique form of discipleship in the Church.

radical joyAll young people are invited to come together on this day, Saturday September 13th, so that they themselves can see that this radical witness of joy, joy that only Jesus can give, is still alive, well and making a big comeback! It is an opportunity for young people to talk face-to-face with sisters, brothers and priests.

Bring your school, bring your youth group, bring your family and friends. Don’t think that this invitation isn’t for you. Come, come see what God has in store specifically for you. The location is: Mary Help of Christians Center, 6400 East Chelsea Street, Tampa, FL, 33610. For more information visit the website or call  (813)626-6191.

“Consecrated life is a prophecy,” said the Holy Father. “Like birds, God ask us to fly the nest and to be sent to the frontiers of the world, by avoiding temptation to ‘domesticate’ our young people we help our church grow. This is the most concrete way of imitating the Lord”

 

 

News, Vocations

Here I Am Lord Conference Registration

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Revised HereIAmLordbannerFor those of you not familiar with the annual “Here I Am Lord” Conference held at St. Patrick’s Church in Saint Charles, Illinois, it is an incredible phenomenon. A total of 3000 young people and 55 religious communities attended the annual four-day event which is meant to sow the seeds of vocational awareness.

The weekend features music, speakers, student skits, specialized programs for specific ages and family events. Religious communities staff booths, provide vocational brochures and share information about their ministry and the consecrated life. Sr. Joachima Celinska, OP, from the Dominican Sisters in Justice, Illinois, said, “This is a great event not only for youth but for the family.” She added that the youths waiting in line for confession were a great witness to one another.

The conference was founded in 2003 to promote vocation awareness. The vocations of marriage, single life, religious life and the priesthood are all vocations in the eyes of God and the Church.  HERE I AM LORD provides an opportunity for young people and adults of all ages to recognize that fact. The largest parish-based vocations conference in the United States brings together Religious from across the country to share the joy of their vocation. The best Catholic speakers and musicians join with them to share the joy of their own vocation and faith.

The theme for next year’s (March 5 – 8, 2015) meeting is: Be Not Afraid! And don’t be afraid to register now if you are a religious community. Space is limited!!

 

General interest, Men's communities, News, Resources, Vocations, Women's Communities

Institute on Religious Life Launches New Website

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Revised screenThe Institute on Religious Life today launched a completely redesigned www.ReligiousLife.com. The new site is more dynamic and user friendly, houses a great resource of information, and provides expanded audio and video features.

“All of the changes are intended to convey a better sense of our mission and who we are as an organization,” said Michael D. Wick, executive director of the IRL. “We are so happy to launch our new website during the IRL’s 40th anniversary and as the Church prepares to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life which Pope Francis declared to begin this October.”

The new site was made possible by a grant from Our Sunday Visitor Institute. It was designed by Solutio Software of Cheney, Kansas.

“The site will be a great help to young Catholics who wish to know more or are considering the priestly or religious life, something very much needed in our times. And it will connect them to faithful institutes of consecrated life. The VocationSearch database is terrific for learning about the IRL’s 160-plus affiliate communities,” said M. Kathleen O’Brien, IRL director of operations. “We believe it is the premier Catholic vocations information portal—a ‘one-stop shopping’ experience for those who are sincerely discerning their vocation or seeking resources to promote and pray for vocations. From its 8-day ‘virtual’ discernment retreats, to the new Religious Life e-magazine, to vocation prayer leaflets for distribution among family, friends or parishioners, the new site offers all kinds of resources for building up the consecrated life.”

The site has in-depth reflections on the consecrated life, print and audio, including meditations by the IRL’s founder, Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., and talks given by IRL national director Fr. Thomas Nelson, O.Praem. The home page photo rotation features IRL affiliates, as well as real-time entries from the IRL’s “Vocation Blog” and a listing of scheduled events.

Young people who are serious about discernment can sign up for the free “Speak Lord” audio download of the month club or find out about upcoming “Come & See” vocation retreats. “Young people need catechesis and direction to be able to discern the Lord’s calling for their lives and the IRL wishes to provide helpful resources that will allow them to discern God’s will,” notes Father Nelson.

The Institute on Religious Life was founded in 1974 by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Early supporters included Bl. Mother of Calcutta and Ven. Fulton J. Sheen. Its mission is to promote and support the consecrated life as a gift to the Church and an evangelical witness to the world.

 

Vocations, Women's Communities

My Life For your Freedom

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Francis o de m
“What would the Church do without you? She would lack your motherhood, warmth, tenderness and motherly intuition.”

Many of the venerable orders in the Church take a fourth vow that harkens back to previous times yet still is pertinent today. The Camillians, founded by St. Camillus de Lellis (b. 1550) profess a vow to care for the sick, even at the risk of their own lives. The Mercedarians’ fourth vow is to give up their lives, as Christ gave His life for us, in order to save those Christians who find themselves in extreme danger of losing their faith.

The Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, founded by Maria del Refugio, were joined to the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (Mercedarians)in 1946.  Mother wanted to put the sisters under the patronage of Our Lady of Mercy and share therefore in all the graces and indulgences given to the Mercedarian Order.

The sisters believe that true freedom comes through the Eucharist. For those enslaved today by modern forms of oppression and addiction, the sister’s want them to experience the merciful love of God, by living in solidarity and communion with them as God lives in solidarity and communion with us in the Eucharistic mystery.

Every day, when we go to the encounter of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we surrender to Him everything we are and do, and we ask Him to transform us into Himself. …In the evening, we go back to prayer, carrying with us the unredeemed world and present it to Jesus asking Him to hasten the day when He will be all in all.

If you (or someone you know) feel called to such a sacrificial, Eucharistic life, the sisters are having “Shadow the Sisters” Days, April 10-17, 2014. For young women age 18-25, it is a chance to walk in the shadow of a Mercedarian sister to see how she prays, works, teaches, evangelizes and experiences joy in community. The location is Our Lady of Mount Carmel Community in Cleveland, OH. There is no fee though donations are welcome.

For more information, please visit their website.

 

 

 

Vocations, Women's Communities

Daughters of Mary of Nazareth

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M olga
Mother Olga and Cardinal O’Malley

There are signs all over of a new springtime of vocations in the Church. In the Archdiocese of Boston, a new community of women called the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth is a prime example. Founded by Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart in late 2011, the community now has 3 novices, 2 aspirants, 4 women entering later this year and 9 candidates.

Mother Olga was born in Iraq and in 1995 established the first order for Religious Sisters in the Assyrian Church of the East in 700 years. She received a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Boston College and for many years was involved in campus ministry at Boston University. In the midst of this work, she was received into the Catholic Church in 2005. A few years after that, Cardinal Seán O’Malley invited her to discern the founding of a new religious order for women.

Their work is varied and many: teaching, conducting retreats, visiting the sick and imprisoned, Project Rachel and campus ministry work, etc.bl charles To watch a beautiful video on their life, click here.

Blessed Charles de Foucauld, who lived his life imitating the example of Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, is their patron. Their life is built on the foundation of daily Mass, communal praying of the Liturgy of the Hours, daily Eucharistic Adoration, Lectio Divina, and Marian devotions.
Everything about us, all that we are, should proclaim the Gospel from the housetops. All that we do and our whole lives should be an example of what the Gospel way of life means in practice, and should make it unmistakably clear that we belong to Jesus. Our entire being should be a living witness, a reflection of Jesus.
– Blessed Charles de Foucauld

 

News, Vocations

The Religious Class of 2013 – A Glimpse

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On January 23, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations issued the results of a survey of 107 men and women religious who professed perpetual vows in 2013. The annual survey was conducted by the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

There were some interesting discoveries in the data.

Eight Vietnamese nuns in the Carmel in Mobile, AL
Eight Vietnamese nuns in the Carmel in Mobile, AL

First, the youngest respondent was 26, the oldest 73! Don’t give up hope if you have a call to a belated vocation! Most respondents were born in the USA but the next most common country of origin was Vietnam!

Almost half of the respondents had four or more siblings. Compared to the rest of the Catholic population, they were more likely to have gone to a Catholic high school and college.

Youth activities were important. World Youth Day, Newman Centers, Campus Ministry were common experiences. More than half were discouraged from considering a vocation, women more so than men.

mater ecc
Sr. Mary Benedicta of the Cistercian Nuns of the Valley of Our Lady, Mater Ecclesiae Grant Recipient

Almost all participated in a vocation program such as a “Come & See.” Some had college debt which delayed entrance, on the average two years. There are foundations and groups that can help. Please visit our Affiliates: The Labouré Society and the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations. The Serra Fund for Vocations and the Knights of Columbus Fund for Vocations are also wonderful organizations.

For more information on the study, please visit the USCCB website.

The Laboure Society summer aspirant class of 2014
The Laboure Society summer aspirant class of 2014

Cloistered life, Vocations, Women's Communities

The Heart of the Dominican Apostolate

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sr opThe Dominican Nuns in Marbury, Alabama, have just released a video in which Sister Mary Jordan, O.P. describes her vocation journey to the cloistered convent. The video was filmed through the grill by Fr. Benedict Croell, O.P., Vocation Director for the St. Joseph Province, who first met Sister when she was in a high school youth group in a Dominican parish in Cincinnati.

What makes the story interesting is that Sister loved teaching yet she fell in love with the monastic life through reading the book A Right to Be Merry by Mother Mary Francis, PCC. Why would God put this love of teaching into her heart of she could not “use” it in a cloistered convent? Watch the video to find out about her understanding and embracing of spiritual motherhood!

Sister took the name “Mary Jordan” in honor of Bl. Jordan of Saxony, the second Minister General of the Dominican Order. It is probably not well known that St. Dominic founded the women’s branch of the Order before the men’s branch, demonstrating how much the preaching of the Dominicans is and was dependent upon the prayers of the nuns. A shining example of the complimentary relationship between the friars and the nuns is seen in the correspondence between Bl. Jordan and Bl. Diana, who professed her vow of virginity at the hands of St. Dominic himself!

sr op2Sister Mary Jordan discovered that her prayerful way of life was in no way incompatible with her desire to teach. For what is teaching but imparting true knowledge to the world? The nuns are the heart of the Dominican preaching apostolate and their prayers, penances, sacrifices, joy and total availability to God are inexhaustible sources of fruitfulness for the Dominican friars, active sisters and third order members. A Dominican friar told the nuns that their presence was a deciding factor in his decision to become a Dominican.

One of the mottoes of the Dominicans is to “give to others the fruits of contemplation.” The silent contemplation of the Nuns bears fruit as their lives become more conformed to Christ, who gave Himself completely for the salvation of souls.

Click here to go to website and watch the video.

Vocations, Women's Communities

Daughter Betrothed, Jesus Groom

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gemmaI’m sure most Fathers think and agonize about the day of their daughter’s marriage. After holding this precious gift of life in their hands for so many years, they can only hope and wonder if any man can cherish, protect and care for their little girl as well as a Father can do.

Here are one Father’s thoughts as he watched his daughter process down the aisle to be espoused forever to the One who does not disappoint those who love Him.

It was written by Tom Kissel and his daughter is now Sr. M. Gemma, FSGM, of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George. He wrote:

To be an intimate witness to a life answering and surrendering to God’s call is awe inspiring; you can’t help but be deeply touched by the process. Through Sr. M. Gemma’s (Lauren’s) journey, I was confronted with the desire to examine my own life of faith. To see one so young freely and happily devoid her life of “STUFF” and fill that vacancy with prayer, the sacraments, her sister community and the will of God, reset my priorities.

Read the entire letter on the Sisters’ website.

News, Vocations, Women's Communities

Straightening the Wayward Path

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visitation e-bookWhat can you buy for 99¢? Probably not even a candy bar! So, it is a tremendous gift to find an e-book available on discerning a vocation for only ninety-nine cents!

Entitled Straightening the Wayward Path, Online Chats about Discernment, this e-book was compiled by the Visitation Sisters from conversations occurring during their weekly discernment chat room called “The Living Jesus Chat Room.” Topics include: discovering and discerning God’s will, signs of a vocation, finding a religious community and other subjects.

Every Sunday evening from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (EST), a Visitandine sister and chat room guests talk about deepening one’s relationship with Jesus Christ. St. Frances de Sales, the founder of the Visitation Order, continues to draw people to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What he had to say hundreds of years ago is extremely relevant today!

O love eternal,
my soul needs and chooses you eternally!
Ah, come Holy Spirit,
and inflame our hearts with your love!

I just went to Amazon and today at least, the e-book is 99¢ off, that is, it is FREE! Don’t wait!