2021 Entrances, Vows, Ordinations

[DameAgnes]

On 11/5/2021 at 2:57 PM, DameAgnes said:

Passionist makes First Vows in Kentucky https://www.passionistnuns.org/blog/2021/11/3/another-bride-of-the-crucified

More pics here https://www.passionistnuns.org/blog/2021/11/10/photos-from-sr-miriam-esthers-first-profession

[Nunsuch]

Three First Professions today for the Erie Benedictine sisters. And a perpetual profession on October 15. I'll post pictures when available. The link below has information on the three women (Sisters Colleen, Jacqueline, and Jennifer), before their vows.

https://www.eriebenedictines.org/become-benedictine

Edited November 14, 2021 by Nunsuch
additional information

[DameAgnes]

Two sisters make their final vows. Sisters, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart. This is a TLM/EF community. 

https://www.facebook.com/SistersMICM/posts/1943252845857666

Edited December 9, 2021 by DameAgnes

[catholicamama]

On 8/24/2021 at 5:57 PM, debc said:

A real vocation wont be stolen

 

That line of thinking is debatable.  I know some orders believe that you need to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak, and not delay unless there is an earth-shattering reason. 

[debc]

4 hours ago, catholicamama said:

That line of thinking is debatable.  I know some orders believe that you need to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak, and not delay unless there is an earth-shattering reason. 

I understand that for sure,  but infatuation with the order or vocation (which should ebb) brings many to an order. I've read some who thought they loved an order because they saw them on "Oprah" and got excited by their excitement or I love their you tube videos! As they learn later, the real life is not the same but can be better (or worse) depending on their personality and what God has called them too. I love hearing about the mature vocations, they went to college, worked, left a great job, but it never left them. This is true for men and women. I'm not saying you can't have a sincere vocation young, you can of course, but I heard a Dominican vocation director say once she thought one young woman was "too worldly" at 21, but was wrong. Not so much her age, but what she had done. Sure worldly things can make someone adjust less quickly but knowing they want to give those things up and follow is different than never having a chance and being more immature in some ways.

It is interesting and fun to hear how so many sisters and priests come to their vocations. Young, older, not very Catholic upbringing, some strict, some high school, some PhD's, some worldly and well traveled, some quiet and never traveled. I think it benefits the order to have a mix.

[catholicamama]

9 minutes ago, debc said:

I think it benefits the order to have a mix.

Absolutely. Some women take longer to mature than others.  My daughter's group of postulants range in age from 18-32.  Some of the sisters to whom i am personally the closest entered the convent at age 13-16 back when that was allowed, and they're still going strong.  Some women just don't see the need to delay and literally count the days till they are old enough to enter.  Some women hear the call as small children, and others don't hear it till they finish college.  God knows the best time to call, but it's up to the young woman to respond...or sadly, to ignore. How many women hear the call and jump from retreat to retreat with different orders and wait so long they end up aging out? Some women are called but just don't make that final leap of faith.

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by catholicamama

[Sponsa-Christi]

24 minutes ago, catholicamama said:

Some women hear the call as small children, and others don't hear it till they finish college.  God knows the best time to call, but it's up to the young woman to respond...or sadly, to ignore.

I'm definitely not against young vocations (I first felt a call to be a bride of Christ when I was twelve, and I made my permanent life commitment as a consecrated virgin when I was only twenty-three). But I would tend to err on the side of "a real vocation won't be stolen."

I do think it is entirely possible to lose a vocation due to one's own fault. But I think this would be more like a situation where a young woman tells God: "I'll start discerning seriously in ten or fifteen years, after I've had time to travel, have career, and have fun!" versus: "My parents want me to finish college, so I'll delay my entrance for another year or two while still keeping in touch with the Sisters." And I think there could be (relatively rare) times for an SD to appropriately tell someone: "Stop going on multiple retreats, you should take the plunge and just enter somewhere before you age out"...but I don't think this advice should ever be given to women under age 30-ish. 

Very young discerners who are pious and well-intentioned are actually quite vulnerable, specifically because they are so pious and well-intentioned! Statements along the lines of "enter now, or you'll lose your vocation" are, for this age group, often more like high-pressure sales tactics than salutary reality checks.

I also think too much emphasis on making a vocational choice right away can also convey a wrong impression of what a deep relationship with God is really like. God is a loving and gentle friend who open to a patient on-going conversation with a young person about her future; and One who will still love her just as much even if she makes the "wrong" choice about her vocation or maybe takes a little longer than she would have expected. He's not an arbitrary, authoritarian boss who demands: "Make the right choice NOW, or I'll make sure you lose out forever!" 

I know those who argue for purposeful discernment at a young age aren't intending to convey a wrong impression of what God is like, but this is a phenomenon that can happen. I've heard so many stories of young women who were encouraged to "take the leap" and enter right away, but then it turned out that their community really wasn't the right fit for them (even where many other communities might have been), and then they struggle for years afterwards with thoughts of being unwanted by God because they left the community. I think a lot of this pain can be prevented by approaches to discernment that are less "radical" and more grounded in the concept of an on-going relationship with God. 

[DameAgnes]

November of 2021, four new novices for the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. https://nazarethcsfn.org/news-and-events?rec_id=623