January 5, 2011: Susan discerns her gifts and looks at some websites
To review: Susan realizes if she is seriously going to discern God's plan in her life, she can't just talk to God, she has to listen to him as well. To listen to God means to spend regular time in prayer each day. It also means doing as much study regarding the Church and God as possible. When she first began this quest, she was sure she was called to priesthood, because it seemed so attractive to her. However, through reading church documents and scriptures, she slowly began to realize God was not calling women to priesthood. She still struggled a little with it, but decided to go down a path that would lead to a viable option for her. Next, she wondered if she was called to marriage. She learned that women who are called to religious life would make excellent wives and moms. So, it wasn't that one call excluded the other-- it is erroneous to think,"if I am attracted to boys or to having children of my own, I must be called to marriage and not religious life." Marriage and children of your own are sacrifices. That means both marriage and children are good; but they are to be given up for the sake of a fuller relationship with Christ.
This idea of pursuing religious life would not go away. Susan was beginning to get discouraged because it seemed easier for boys: go to the seminary or go with an order in which they have an affiliation: I go to Mizzou, so I look at the Dominicans; I go to SLU, so I look at the Jesuits, I go to Steubenville, so I look at the Franciscans; I go to Notre Dame so I look at the Holy Cross Fathers. But, what about a woman who hasn't ever seen a religious sister or only met one on a retreat, or hasn't seen a religious sister since grade school? How does she begin?
1) Continue in daily prayer including daily mass if at all possible. (Getting up early to attend, is possible.)
2) Visit the Blessed Sacrament regularly.
3) Get a Spiritual Director... ok, Susan has heard that before. Where is she going to find one of them? They are not exactly overflowing in the Jefferson City Diocese. Pray the Lord puts one in your path and continue discerning without one at this point.
4) What are your interests? Think about where one could encounter a religious sister. Discern if this is appealing to you: For example, sisters work in hospitals as nurses, as administrators, as doctors, as case workers, social workers, and chaplains. Does any of that sound appealing or would you rather steer clear of sick and hospitalized. Sisters work with children and youth: as youth ministers, as teachers (pre-K through college), principals, DRE's, with juvenile offenders, with street children, in orphanages, with adoption agencies. Does any of this appeal to you or would you rather avoid children in a sustained ministry? Some work with the poor and disadvantaged: prisons, hospices, group homes, homeless shelters, day cares for the underprivileged, soup kitchens etc. Sound appealing? No?
5) What kind of order would you find attractive? Live by yourself or with one or two others? Live in a community of several women? Know pretty well what your apostolate will be (working with youth; working with aged) or have a flexible apostolate which means if you can find an apostolate, the congregation would most likely let you do that. Have a definitive dress that sets you apart from the culture readily identifying you as a religious sister or dress like the women of the culture so people will be "more themselves" around sister. Be able to be assigned anywhere in the world (missionary) or remain in a geographical region? Be with people or be in a cloisture?
6) Go to the website and begin seeing what orders are out there. Susan began broadly by going to the Google search engine and typed, "What women Religious Orders are there?" If Susan was in one of the many Catholic grade schools or two Catholic high schools (currently) in the Diocese of Jefferson City, she would have received a bookmark giving the orders that serve in the Diocese of Jefferson City.
In the next few blogposts, I will be highlighting orders where women from our diocese are showing interest or are studying for: I will also highlight some of the female religious orders who serve in our diocese.
This idea of pursuing religious life would not go away. Susan was beginning to get discouraged because it seemed easier for boys: go to the seminary or go with an order in which they have an affiliation: I go to Mizzou, so I look at the Dominicans; I go to SLU, so I look at the Jesuits, I go to Steubenville, so I look at the Franciscans; I go to Notre Dame so I look at the Holy Cross Fathers. But, what about a woman who hasn't ever seen a religious sister or only met one on a retreat, or hasn't seen a religious sister since grade school? How does she begin?
1) Continue in daily prayer including daily mass if at all possible. (Getting up early to attend, is possible.)
2) Visit the Blessed Sacrament regularly.
3) Get a Spiritual Director... ok, Susan has heard that before. Where is she going to find one of them? They are not exactly overflowing in the Jefferson City Diocese. Pray the Lord puts one in your path and continue discerning without one at this point.
4) What are your interests? Think about where one could encounter a religious sister. Discern if this is appealing to you: For example, sisters work in hospitals as nurses, as administrators, as doctors, as case workers, social workers, and chaplains. Does any of that sound appealing or would you rather steer clear of sick and hospitalized. Sisters work with children and youth: as youth ministers, as teachers (pre-K through college), principals, DRE's, with juvenile offenders, with street children, in orphanages, with adoption agencies. Does any of this appeal to you or would you rather avoid children in a sustained ministry? Some work with the poor and disadvantaged: prisons, hospices, group homes, homeless shelters, day cares for the underprivileged, soup kitchens etc. Sound appealing? No?
5) What kind of order would you find attractive? Live by yourself or with one or two others? Live in a community of several women? Know pretty well what your apostolate will be (working with youth; working with aged) or have a flexible apostolate which means if you can find an apostolate, the congregation would most likely let you do that. Have a definitive dress that sets you apart from the culture readily identifying you as a religious sister or dress like the women of the culture so people will be "more themselves" around sister. Be able to be assigned anywhere in the world (missionary) or remain in a geographical region? Be with people or be in a cloisture?
6) Go to the website and begin seeing what orders are out there. Susan began broadly by going to the Google search engine and typed, "What women Religious Orders are there?" If Susan was in one of the many Catholic grade schools or two Catholic high schools (currently) in the Diocese of Jefferson City, she would have received a bookmark giving the orders that serve in the Diocese of Jefferson City.
In the next few blogposts, I will be highlighting orders where women from our diocese are showing interest or are studying for: I will also highlight some of the female religious orders who serve in our diocese.
posted by Fr. Joe Corel at
12:13 PM
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