Current Reading

A few weeks ago I was in our community room and a book in the cabinet caught my attention. It was "The Diary of St. Faustina", a book I was familiar with but that everyone seemed to have read and I tend to shy away from anything overly popular. But I picked up the book and sat down and started to read. Now I'm in the middle of it, and I love it! ! ! ! St. Faustina was who Jesus revealed the image of Divine Mercy to in the early 20th century. The words that Jesus speaks to her, and the way He does it, remind me very much of what is revealed to Anne, a lay apostle. Her website is here: http://www.directionforourtimes.com/index.html. I came across Jesus' revelations to Anne a year and a half ago at the March for Life in Washington D.C. when I was handed a little booklet called "Heaven Speaks to Young Adults" and at first it looked ridiculous, but once I started to read it, I fell in love.

"Beloved" - Tenth Avenue North

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CUGTIWCFyo

This is a beautiful song...it was written as if God is singing it to you and me. A beautiful reminder of how deeply He loves each one of us. This is why I want to be a Sister.

A Day in the Life

Here's a bit of the daily schedule of a postulant. This is what we did each day during the school semester.
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5:15 am: Wake up

6:00 am: Chapel for meditation

6:25 am: The Angelus and other verbal prayers

6:30 am: Mass with morning prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours
* We are not a monastic community so we are not bound to praying the Office, but we choose to as part of our commitment to prayer.

7:10 am: Breakfast

7:30 am: outside to pray Rosary and the Stations of the Cross

8:10 am: Formation Conference...we meet with our directress and learn about different parts of religious life, from the community to the foundress, spirituality, prayer, etc.

9:00 am: Class
* Classes went from 9-11:45 and from 12:45pm - 3:30 pm. We didn't all have class for all of this time. If we weren't in class we were studying, doing service around the house for the other sisters, or learning Spanish, one of the other languages of the community. In the novitiate, they learn German.

12:00 pm: Dinner

12:45-3:30: Class, etc. (same as morning)

3:30-4:00 pm: Exercise
* This can be taking a walk, volleyball, riding bikes, or any number of other things.

4:15-5:15: Holy Hour
* This includes Eucharistic Exposition, adoration, any personal prayers or devotions, journal writing, spiritual reading, and scripture reading. We also pray evening prayer (vespers) from the Divine Office together as a community.

5:15-5:45: Supper
* After supper is a little bit of free time. When the weather is nice, we like to take walks together.

6:30-7:00pm: World News

7:00-7:20 pm: Reading about our foundress
* Depending on the night, after this reading, we might have free time, or game night, or bell choir practice, or preparing for any kind of upcoming event. On Friday nights we watch movies.
* Bedtime is any time after 8:30 typically. Lights out is at 10:30pm...though some of us try our best to have our lights out far earlier.

The Stages of Formation

I had wanted to first share my vocation story, but I don't have access to the computer on which the story is saved, so I can't post it for another week and a half. In the meantime, I will explain the various stages of formation.

Keep in mind, this is specific to my community, although there are many elements that are the same in others. Don't assume that every community does things in exactly the way I'm going to delineate.

Stage 1: Discerner
This is where I am. Technically, a discerner is anyone who is thinking about religious life. I started this stage as a senior in high school, and had I stayed in school, I would now have finished my junior year of college, so it's been a few years. 5 months ago, I moved to the convent that I am in the process of entering formally, and so since I have not formally entered, I am still a discerner. The way I am doing it, I follow the entire schedule of a postulant, no exceptions. I'll make a different post with our daily schedule. However, I did not have to go this route. I could have selected different parts that I wanted to follow. But as my goal was to enter formally as a postulant, I chose to act as though I were one.

Stage 2: Postulant
A postulant is someone who has formally entered the community, but has not yet made any real commitment. Postulants can decide to leave the community at any time for any reason. They are under the direction of a directress, or a Sister who is in charge of the formation process of a postulant. This stage lasts anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, although it is usually the full two years. Our postulants take college classes and earn their Associates Degree in Religious Arts.

Stage 3: Novice
The novitiate is two years. The first year is referred to as the "canonical year" and is very strict. It is meant to be very contemplative, devoted mostly to prayer. The novice adopts a modified habit...the habit is the same for all the Sisters, but novices wear a white veil instead of a black one. Novices do not take classes. They do various jobs around the house, like working in the laundry and as sacristan in the chapel. The second year, they can take classes again, but there is still a more regimented prayer schedule. After the novitiate, a Sister has to have to discipline to make her own prayer schedule and balance it with her particular ministry.

Stage 4: Temporary Profession
A temporarily professed Sister has made her first vows and adopted the black veil. She has made a committment to the community and it is now more difficult for her to leave. Also called Junior Sisters, these Sisters can either return to college for degrees in nursing, education, or a plethora of other majors, or they can head straight to a particular ministry. We work mostly in healthcare and education, but there are sisters in many other ministries. Junior Sisters renew their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience every year for up to 6 years.

Stage 5: Final Profession
When a Sister makes her final vows, she is a full-fledged member of the community. She is able to be a member of provincial and general councils, and can make the kinds of decisions that would have a large impact on the community along with the other Sisters. At Final Vows, the Sister receives a gold wedding band worn on the ring finger of her left hand, signifying her marriage to Christ and the Church.

* Please note that this is just a very basic description of the different levels. There is so much more to it all that I have written here, but I wanted to give you at least a basic idea of what it takes before you can make your final vows.

Disclaimer of Sorts

I just want to say that I will not be mentioning the names of either my community or any of my Sisters. This is simply to protect all my Sisters. I do wish I could at least name my community, because that could add so much to what I have to say (at least I think it would). However, it would be irresponsible at this time. So please accept my apology in advance for any vagueness.

Welcome!

Hello! My name is Katie and I am 21 years old. I live in the northeast U.S. and I am currently in the process of entering religious life! Currently I am what is known as a "discerner"...this means I live at the convent, follow the life of a postulant, but my application is not done yet. This is a very interesting position to be in, which I will explain later. But with God, all things are possible, and if it is His will that all works out in this way, then I know it will. Stay tuned for more information!