Discerning A Religious Vocation

A vocation is God's invitation or calling to each individual to love and serve Him and His Church in a particular state or way of life.

Each person's freedom lies in discovering his vocation and in generously responding to it.

"Life is God's Gift to us...

...what we make of it is our gift to God."

"Every vocation to the priestly ministry is an extraordinary gift of God's love..." - Chrism Mass Homily by Pope John Paul II, April 17, 2003

- Faith in and love for Christ and His Church.

- The maturity to recognize, and the willingness to respond to, the needs of others.

- Possessing a regular habit of prayer and a balanced devotional life.

- Psychological readiness to persue a sustaining, lifelong commitment.

- A sense or desire to become a priest or consecrated rreligious; wihch may be something constant or momentary, long standing or new.

- Good moral character.

- A developing spirit or detachment that helps someone be in the world but not of the world.

The priest will not understand the greatness of his office until he is in heaven. Go to confession to the Blessed Virgin, or to an angel? No. Will they absolve you? No. Will they give you the body and blood of Our Lord? No.

The priest has the key of heavenly treasures. It is he who opens the door. He is the steward of the good God, the distributor of His wealth. The priest is not a priest for himself, he does not give himself absolution, he does not administer the sacraments to himself. He is for you.

St. John Vianney, pray for us!

"The Lord will always call, and there will always be responses on the part of people who are ready and willing. He needs, and wants to need, your persons, your intelligence, your energy, your faith, your love, your holiness. He wants to speak to the people of today through your voice. He wants to consecrate the Eucharist and forvige sins through you. He wants to love with your heart. He wnats to help with your hands. He wants to save through your efforts. Think about it carefully. The response that you give is given personally to Christ, who is calling you to these great things."

"We turn our gaze to Mary, Mother of the Church and Star of the New Evangelization. Let us call upon her with trust, so that in the Church there will be no lack of men and women who are ready to respond generously to the invitation of the Lord, who calls to a more direct service to the Gospel."

- Pray... asking the Lord to show you the vocation He has prepared for you and invites i> to embrace.

- Listen... to God and have the courage to respond to Him freely and generously.

- Recite... the rosary daily, asking Mary, the Mother of Christ and the Mother of us all, to intercede with her Son on you behalf.

- Make... Eucharistic Holy Hours, placing yourself in the Real Presence of the One who calls, the One who invites.

- Attend... Mass and receive Holy Communion aas often as your state in life and current responsibilities will allow.

- Go... to confession frrequently and consistently.

- Serve... your parish, and elsewhere, as needed and as you are able.

- Talk... with a priest or consecrated rreligious about your vocation questions and concerns, seeking spiritual direction and guidance.

- Contact... your Diocesan Office of Vocaitons so they may assist you in any way they can.

...proclaims the Gospel in its fullness with clarity and courage in word and in deed while teaching and encouraging others to do the same.

...prays daily, faithfully reciting the Liturgy of the Hours, and if a priest, recognizes the unique privilege of offering Mass and the other sacraments as a normative channel of Christ's grace.

...strives to grow in their love for Christ regularly honoring and adoring His Real Presence in the Eucharist.

...has a deep love for and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

...wants to be a "fisher of men" whose goal is to unconditionally love others and become a humble instrument for the salvation of souls.

...has a preferential option for the poor, ready and willing to assist those in need, fully embracing their call to serve and not to be served.

...readily seeks prayerful intercession among the Communion of Saints.

...maintains respect and obedience to the Holy Father, their Bishop, the Church's Magisterium and, if a religious, their provincial or religious superiors.

...is committed to living a chaste and celibate life.

...is proud to be Catholic, never shying away from publicly witnessing the faith, their priesthood or their religious vocation.

...has a balanced and sustained devotional life.

...humbly recognizes their need for Christ's mercy and forgiveness, seeking it regularly in the Sacrament of Penance.

"I write to you young men because you are strong and the Word of God abides in you..." (1 John 2:14)

"Then there exists a very special service which is that rendered by the ministerial priesthood, a sublime mission that assures the continuity among men of the redeeming work of Christ. The Church needs men who guarantee their own brothers a lifelong service exceedingly high and exalting: that is, being stewards and administrators of God's mysteries, living instruments of forgiveness and grace, ministers of the Word that saves."
- To the young people of Friscotti, Italy (August 9, 1980)

Priestly vocations are the proof and, at the same time, the condition of the vitality of the Church, ini the first place because this vitality finds its incessant source in the Eucharist, as the center and the summit of all evangelization and of full sacramental life. Hence springs the indispensable need of the presence of the ordained minister, who is able, prrecisely, to celebrate the Eucharist.

Who would administer, in particular, the sacrament of penance if there were no priests? And this sacrament is the means established by Christ for the renewal of the soul and for its active integration in the vital context of the community.

The Church finds Christ's "Follow Me" at the beginning of every call to service in the ministerial priesthood, which simultaneously - in the Catholic Church of the Latin rite - is linked to the conscious and free choice of celibacy.... If such a call comes into your heart, do not silence it! Let it develop into the maturity of a vocation. Respond to it through prayer and fidelity to the commandments! For "the harvest is plentiful" and there is an enormous need for many to be reached by Christ's call, "Follow me." There is an enormous need for priests according to the heart of God - and the Church in the world of today has an enormous need of the witness of a life given without reserve to God: the witness of that nuptial love of Christ himself which, in a particular way, will make the Kingdom of God present among people and bring it near to the world.

In a special way I commend to you young men the closing words of this evening's Gospel: "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (Jn 15:16). Yes, the gift of a vocation to the priesthood is not something you seek for yourselves, It has nothing to do with status or privilege as the would understands these things. Your great privilege will be to lay down your lives with Christ the eternal priest if you are truly called to this vocation. May God help each of you to discern His will so that you too may "Go out to bear fruit, fruit that will last."

The first disciples, and in a special way the Twelve, were invited to become friends of Jesus. But the conditions for being admitted to this privileged relationship was their radical commitment. Today, too, the only possible response to Christ's call remains that of the apostles: "They left everything and followed Him." (Lk 5:11).

To preside at the Lord's Supper is, therefore, an urgent invitation to offer oneself in gift, so that the attitude of the Suffering Servant and Lord may continue and grow in the Church. Dear young men, nurture your attraction to those values and radical choices which will transform your lives into service of others, in the footsteps of Jesus, the Lamb of God. ...Do not be afraid to accept this call. You will surely encounter difficulties and sacrifices, but you will be happy to serve. You will be witnesses of that joy that the world cannot give. You will be living flames of an infinite and eternal love. You will know the spiritual riches of the priesthood, divine gift and mystery.

While religious orders differ in the details (such as the length of each stage, the color of the veils, or the specific vows) of their formative periods, most orders follow a series of stages similar to those below:

Stage One: Postulancy

During the first six months to two years the postulant learns about the community's way of life. The postulant and the order look each other over to see if there is a good fit between the them.

Stage Two: Novitiate

Over the next approximately two years, the novice spends much time in study, prayer, and reflection to prepare for her profession of vows. This is the first stage of religious life. It is marked by the reception of the habit, a white veil, and (depending upon the order) her religious name.

Stage Three: Junior Professed

At the end of the Novitiate, the Sister commits herself to the Community's way of life as a Bride of Christ by the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. At this time she receives the black veil and (depending upon the order) her religious title. Vows are generally renewed yearly during this period.

Stage Four: Professed

At the end of the Junior Professed stage (normally between five to eight years) the Sister consecrates herself forever to the service of God by her profession of perpetual vows.

Today, Jesus may be calling you to spread God's message of love through a consecrated life of service in religious education, schools, missionary works or other charitable services in the Church. Are you listening to His voice? What will your answer be?

The harvest is great but the labourers are few. Will you not come join us and help gather the harvest?

The priest must be a believer, one who converses with God. If this is not the case, then all his activities are futile. The most lofty and important thing a priest can do for people is first of all being what he is: a believer. Through faith he lets God, the other, come into the world. And if the other is not at work, our work will never be enough; When people sense that one is there who believes, who lives with God and from God, hope becomes a reality for them as well. Through the faith of the priest, doors open up all around for people: it is really possible to believe, even today. All human believing is a believing-with, and for this reason the one who believes before us is so important. In many ways this person is more exposed in his faith than the others, since their faith depends on his and since, at any given time, he has to withstand the hard-ships of faith for them%u2026.

There is a mutual given-and-take in faith in which priests and lay people become mediators of the nearness of God for one another. The priest must also nurture the humility of such receiving in himself %u2026.

The first "task" a priest has to do is to be a believer and to become one ever anew and ever more. Faith is never simply there automatically; it must be lived. It leads us into conversation with God which involves speaking and listening to the same degree. Faith and prayer belong together; they cannot be separated. The time spent by a priest on prayer and listening to Scripture is never time lost to pastoral care or time withheld from others. People sense whether the work and words of their pastor spring from prayer fabricated at his desk.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, from A New Song for the Lord, tr. by Martha M Matesich, NY: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1996, and quoted in Magnificat for Holy Thursday, March 24, 2005.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the Encyclical published last Wednesday, by referring to the primacy of charity in the life of Christians and of the Church, I wanted to recall that the privileged witnesses of this primacy are the Saints, who made their lives a hymn to God-Love despite their thousands of different tones. We celebrate them every day of the year in the liturgy.

I am thinking, for example, of those whom we are commemorating in these days: the Apostle Paul with his disciples Timothy and Titus, St Angela Merici, St Thomas Aquinas, St John Bosco. These saints are very different: the first belong to the beginnings of the Church and were missionaries of the first evangelization; in the Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas is the model of a Catholic theologian who found in Christ the supreme synthesis of truth and love; in the Renaissance, Angela Merici presented a path of holiness also to those who were living in a secular environment; in the modern epoch, Don Bosco, inflamed with love for Jesus the Good Shepherd, cared for the most underprivileged children and became their father and teacher.

In truth, the Church's entire history is a history of holiness, animated by the one Love whose source is God. Indeed, only supernatural love, like the love that flows ever new from Christ's heart, can explain the miraculous flourishing down the centuries of Orders, male and female religious Institutes and other forms of consecrated life.

In the Encyclical, I cited among the Saints most famous for their charity John of God, Camillus of Lellis, Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, Giuseppe Cottolengo, Luigi Orione and Teresa of Calcutta (cf. n. 40).

This array of men and women, moulded by the Spirit of Christ who made them models of dedication to the Gospel, leads us to consider the importance of consecrated life as an expression and school of love.

The Second Vatican Council emphasized that the imitation of Christ in chastity, poverty and obedience should be entirely oriented to the achievement of perfect charity (cf. Perfectae Caritas, n. 1).

Precisely in order to shed light on the importance and value of consecrated life, the Church celebrates this coming 2 February, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, as the Day of Consecrated Life. In the afternoon of that day, just as John Paul II liked to do, I will preside at Holy Mass in the Vatican Basilica, to which the consecrated men and women who live in Rome are specially invited. Let us together thank God for the gift of consecrated life and pray that it may continue to be an eloquent sign of his merciful love in the world.

Let us now turn to Mary Most Holy, mirror of love. With her motherly help may Christians and especially consecrated persons walk expeditiously and joyfully on the path of holiness.

Sunday, 29 January 2006 - Saint Peter's Square

Compassionate Heart of Jesus,
graciously listen to our prayers.
Give us generous hearts
to respond to your call in our lives.
Lift up courageous men and women
willing to follow after your heart
as priests, sisters, brothers, and deacons.
Help parents and teachers to share the
faith and to encourage young people
to explore religious vocations.
Guide all people, Lord, in your ways
of compassion, truth, and peace,
that we may find happiness
in fulfilling our vocation.
Amen.

He or She is:

1. One who considers a personal relationship with God as an important part of life.
   
2. One who has an ability and willingness to talk about his/her faith life.
   
3. One who has a desire to serve others and make a difference in people's lives.
   
4. One who is willing to sacrifice personal or material gain for the service of the Gospel and the Church.
   
5. One who is recognized as being approachable.
   
6. One who enjoys life, people, and has a sense of humor.
   
7. One who has the ability to lead and work with people of all ages.
   
8. One who recognizes the importance of the Church.
   
9. One who forms and maintains healthy relationships with both men and women.
   
10. One who feels good about himself/herself, has average to above average intelligence, and has good physical, mental and emotional health.

When Mary told the angel at the Annunciation, "Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word," she became the patroness of every priest and religious until the end of time. Her acceptance of God's invitation to become His Mother made her the Mother of all vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

When she conceived Jesus Christ, she brought into the world the one from whom every vocation is derived. Except for Him, no one would be called, and except for His call, no one could respond. Mary is, therefore, Mother of Vocations because she is the Mother of the Great High Priest who calls others to share in His priesthood, and she is Mother of the First Religious who invites others to follow in His footsteps.

Mary is Mother of Vocations also by her example. It is by imitating her practice of faith, hope and charity that men and women are inspired to give themselves to her Son in the priesthood or the lifetime practice of the counsels. Only believers have a vocation; only those who trust implicitly in God's promises respond to God's call; and above all only those who love God in others deeply are preserved in priestly or religious commitment. In all of these, Mary is their model, and the more devoted they are to her, the more secure is their consecration.

Finally, Mary is the Mother of Vocations by her heavenly intercession at the Throne of God. It is through her maternal prayers that Christ gives certain people the grace to give themselves entirely to His Service. She obtains from Him the grace for them to be called; but she also tells them, as she told the servants at Cana, to be sure to do whatever He tells you.

There is no more effective way of fostering vocations than asking the Mother of Jesus to ask her Son to extend the invitation. And there is no more effective way of remaining firm in the priesthood and the religious state than to beg the same Mother for the grace of perseverance.

"Mary, Mother of Vocations, pray for us," should be our daily invocation.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE 44th WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

29th APRIL 2007 -FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Theme: The vocation to the service of the Church as communion

Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear brothers and sisters!

The annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations is an appropriate occasion for highlighting the importance of vocations in the life and mission of the Church, as well as for intensifying our prayer that they may increase in number and quality. For the coming celebration, I would like to draw the attention of the whole people of God to the following theme, which is more topical than ever: the vocation to the service of the Church as communion.

Last year, in the Wednesday general audiences, I began a new series of catechesis dedicated to the relationship between Christ and the Church. I pointed out that the first Christian community was built, in its original core, when some fishermen of Galilee, having met Jesus, let themselves be conquered by his gaze and his voice, and accepted his pressing invitation: Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men! (Mk 1: 17; cf. Mt 4: 19). In fact, God has always chosen some individuals to work with him in a more direct way, in order to accomplish his plan of salvation. In the Old Testament, in the beginning, he called Abraham to form a great nation (Gn 12: 2); afterwards, he called Moses to free Israel from the slavery of Egypt (cf. Ex 3: 10). Subsequently, he designated other persons, especially the prophets, to defend and keep alive the covenant with his people. In the New Testament, Jesus, the promised Messiah, invited each of the Apostles to be with him (cf. Mk 3: 14) and to share his mission. At the Last Supper, while entrusting them with the duty of perpetuating the memorial of his death and resurrection until his glorious return at the end of time, he offered for them to his Father this heart-broken prayer: I made known to them your name, and I will make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them (Jn 17: 26). The mission of the Church, therefore, is founded on an intimate and faithful communion with God.

The Second Vatican Councils Constitution Lumen gentium describes the Church as a people made one with the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (n. 4), in which is reflected the very mystery of God. This means that the love of the Trinity is reflected in her. Moreover, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit, all the members of the Church form one body and one spirit in Christ. This people, organically structured under the guidance of its Pastors, lives the mystery of communion with God and with the brethren, especially when it gathers for the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the source of that ecclesial unity for which Jesus prayed on the eve of his passion: Fatherthat they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me (Jn 17: 21). This intense communion favours the growth of generous vocations at the service of the Church: the heart of the believer, filled with divine love, is moved to dedicate itself wholly to the cause of the Kingdom. In order to foster vocations, therefore, it is important that pastoral activity be attentive to the mystery of the Church as communion; because whoever lives in an ecclesial community that is harmonious, co-responsible and conscientious, certainly learns more easily to discern the call of the Lord. The care of vocations, therefore, demands a constant education for listening to the voice of God. This is what Eli did, when he helped the young Samuel to understand what God was asking of him and to put it immediately into action (cf. 1 Sam 3: 9). Now, docile and faithful listening can only take place in a climate of intimate communion with God which is realized principally in prayer. According to the explicit command of the Lord, we must implore the gift of vocations, in the first place by praying untiringly and together to the Lord of the harvest. The invitation is in the plural: Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest (Mt 9: 38). This invitation of the Lord corresponds well with the style of the Our Father (Mt 6: 9), the prayer that he taught us and that constitutes a synthesis of the whole Gospel according to the well-known expression of Tertullian (cf. De Oratione, 1,6: CCL I, 258). In this perspective, yet another expression of Jesus is instructive: If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven (Mt 18: 19). The Good Shepherd, therefore, invites us to pray to the heavenly Father, to pray unitedly and insistently, that he may send vocations for the service of the Church as communion.

Harvesting the pastoral experience of past centuries, the Second Vatican Council highlighted the importance of educating future priests to an authentic ecclesial communion. In this regard, we read in Presbyterorum ordinis: Exercising the office of Christ, the shepherd and head, according to their share of his authority, the priests, in the name of the Bishop, gather the family of God together as a brotherhood enlivened by one spirit. Through Christ they lead them in the Holy Spirit to God the Father (n. 6). The post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis echoes this statement of the Council, when it underlines that the priest is the servant of the Church as communion because in union with the Bishop and closely related to the presbyterate he builds up the unity of the Church community in harmony of diverse vocations, charisms and services (n. 16). It is indispensable that, within the Christian people, every ministry and charism be directed to full communion; and it is the duty of the Bishop and priests to promote this communion in harmony with every other Church vocation and service. The consecrated life, too, of its very nature, is at the service of this communion, as highlighted by my venerable predecessor John Paul II in the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata: The consecrated life can certainly be credited with having effectively helped to keep alive in the Church the obligation of fraternity as a form of witness to the Trinity. By constantly promoting fraternal love, also in the form of common life, the consecrated life has shown that sharing in the Trinitarian communion can change human relationships and create a new type of solidarity (n. 41).

At the centre of every Christian community is the Eucharist, the source and summit of the life of the Church. Whoever places himself at the service of the Gospel, if he lives the Eucharist, makes progress in love of God and neighbour and thus contributes to building the Church as communion. We can affirm that the Eucharistic love motivates and founds the vocational activity of the whole Church, because, as I wrote in the Encyclical Deus caritas est, vocations to the priesthood and to other ministries and services flourish within the people of God wherever there are those in whom Christ can be seen through his Word, in the sacraments and especially in the Eucharist. This is so because in the Churchs Liturgy, in her prayer, in the living community of believers, we experience the love of God, we perceive his presence and we thus learn to recognize that presence in our daily lives. He loved us first and he continues to do so; we too, then, can respond with love (n. 17).

Lastly, we turn to Mary, who supported the first community where all these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 1: 14), so that she may help the Church in todays world to be an icon of the Trinity, an eloquent sign of divine love for all people. May the Virgin, who promptly answered the call of the Father saying, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord (Lc 1: 38), intercede so that the Christian people will not lack servants of divine joy: priests who, in communion with their Bishops, announce the Gospel faithfully and celebrate the sacraments, take care of the people of God, and are ready to evangelize all humanity. May she ensure, also in our times, an increase in the number of consecrated persons, who go against the current, living the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, and give witness in a prophetic way to Christ and his liberating message of salvation. Dear brothers and sisters whom the Lord calls to particular vocations in the Church: I would like to entrust you in a special way to Mary, so that she, who more than anyone else understood the meaning of the words of Jesus, My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it (Lk 8: 21), may teach you to listen to her divine Son. May she help you to say with your lives: Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God (cf. Heb 10: 7). With these wishes, I assure each one of you a special remembrance in prayer and from my heart I bless you all.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2007.

BENEDICT XVI

© Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Vatican

Thérèse Elizabeth Dodge, Christendom College class of '06, professed in the order of the Religiose del Sacro Cuore di Firenze, Italy on 30 September 2009, the Feast of St. Jerome. His Excellency Monsignore Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence, officiated and offered the Mass. During the Profession ceremony, Thérèse took the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and received the black veil. She now begins a period of five years during which she will be a "junior professed," continuing her formation and renewing her vows each year. At the end of those five years she will take her final vows which are for life and include a fourth vow of dedicating her life to the education of youth. At her final profession she will receive the cross (worn around the neck) and the wedding ring.

The Religiose del Sacro Cuore was originally founded in Paris, France in 1800 by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat with a specific apostolate of the education of the youth, through the "Istituto del Sacro Cuore" as "the most important means of glorifying the Heart of Jesus". She dedicated "...herself to the education of youth, to recreate in souls the solid foundations of faith in the Eucharist and to raise up a host of adorers.".

The work of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat continues on today at the Institute of the Sacred Heart (Istituto del Sacro Cuore) in Florence which maintains a boarding school for girls and a co-ed day school educating young students from pre school through high school.

During the fall of 2004, Thérèse participated in the Christendom College semester in Rome program where she was first introduced to the Religiose del Sacro Cuore di Firenze. After graduating from Christendom in 2006, with a BA in Political Science, Thérèse returned to Rome, Florence, and Assisi serving as a tour guide to her parents as a graduation gift. When her parents returned to the United States, Thérèse remained in Italy, spending some time at the convent of the Religiose del Sacro Cuore di Firenze while waiting to attend a course on Bio-ethics offered by the Legionaries of Christ in Rome. After returning to the United States, Thérèse was offered a position with the "Istituto del Sacro Cuore" to work as a "dorm mother" for the school's boarding students. Accepting the position, Thérèse returned to Florence in the fall of 2006, entering the life of the Institute and convent.

Following her semester in Rome, Thérèse had been discerning a religious vocation and had visited a number of convents here in the United States. And while in Florence she visited other orders as she continued her discernment. By January 2007, she had made her decision, feeling strongly called to the community of the Religiose del Sacro Cuore, and on February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation, she formally became a postulant. The following summer, on August 22, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, Thérèse received the holy habit and the white veil of a novice of the Religious of the Sacred Heart at her Vestition ceremony, essentially a betrothal ceremony during which she wore a wedding dress.

Thérèse invites young ladies who may be discerning a religious vocation, to visit her at the Istituto del Sacro Cuore, Viale Michelangiolo, 27, when they are in Florence.

Sr. Anna Laura Karp was born in 1972 in Atlanta and grew up in North Little Rock, Arkansas. She attended the University of Dallas and majored in English literature. After graduation, she taught for a year at Overbrook International Academy in Warwick, Rhode Island, and then returned to college to complete a Master's degree in Secondary Education. On August 17, 1996, she entered the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee. Over the past eight years, she has taught English and religion classes at both St. Cecilia High School in Nashville and St. Gertrude's School in Cincinnati, Ohio. On August 8, 2003, the feast of St. Dominic, she professed her final vows.

Presently she is working in the congregation's Development office on the capital campaign building project to repair and expand the Motherhouse.

The gift of my religious vocation unfolded gradually. It wasn't until my senior year in college that I took notice of a desire inside of me that I was not even then able to name for some time.

I grew up in North Little Rock, Arkansas and went with my family to Immaculate Conception Parish. The only religious sister I remember was my First Communion teacher. After that, I really had very little contact with any sisters.

After graduation from high school, I went on to the University of Dallas, and there was taught by Cistercian and Dominican priests. In my final semester of my senior year, I opted to take a theology course entitled Christian Marriage. Assuming that I would eventually marry and have a family, I thought this a prudent course of action. Divine Providence is not without a sense of humor, for it was in this class on marriage that I first heard the religious life explained. The lay professor beautifully explained marriage and how its ultimate end is for the spouses to bring one another to God. He also mentioned that the religious life anticipates here in this life the union with God to which we are all called. This idea pervaded my whole being, and I remember wondering why everyone didnt become a religious. As intense as this moment of realization was, I put it aside and continued to be wrapped up in my college life.

After college graduation, I returned to North Little Rock and was at a loss as to what to do with my life. Looking back, I see this as a critical moment, because it was one of the rare times in my life when I had no plans. My lack of plans gave God room for His plans. That summer I was invited to make a retreat in Rhode Island led by a Legionary of Christ priest. And here the seed of vocation blossomed into an overwhelming realization of Gods love for me. All I wanted was to live my life in response to His love. After the retreat, I was offered a teaching position at a private girls' boarding school in Rhode Island. At the end of the school year, I came back to North Little Rock and while working on my masters degree and teaching certification, I looked into religious orders. A classmate of mine from college had entered the Nashville Dominicans, so I came to visit. Everything fit together: my desire to teach, my love of study, my attraction to the monastic life. Most of all, I realized during this visit that the religious vows are taken to make one free to love God and in Him, all people.

I am now in my fourth year with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, popularly known as the Nashville Dominicans. Presently, I am teaching ninth grade English and tenth grade religion at St. Cecilia Academy. As far as initial fears, I was haunted by two kinds. The first kind was the what-if's: What if I go and find out thats not where my life is? What if I somehow fail? What if? I also was scared to tell anyone at first, including my family. When I finally mustered up the courage to tell my parents that I was thinking about the religious life, all fear was dispelled. My father said in his strong sure voice, If you feel any inclination towards that life, check it out. I received much support from my family, especially my mom and dad.

To anyone who is discerning his or her vocation, I would offer the advice of my dad: Don't be afraid. If God is calling you to religious life, you are being invited to a life of fullness and joy. So check it out!

Sister Anna Laura can be reached at Stcecilia1860@cs.com

National Catholic Register

July 10-16, 2005

INPERSON INTERVIEW
by Barbara Middleton

Mother Dolores Hart made her debut in Hollywood alongside Elvis Presley in Loving You.

Since 1963, she's inhabited a very different world. She caused a sensation when she became a cloistered nun at the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Conn. Mother Dolores became prioress there in May 2001. She is still a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She recently updated Barbara Middleton on her life in the cloister, where she will be celebrating the feast of St. Benedict July 11.

Your father was the actor Bert Hicks. What was your life like growing up?
I remember my mother taking me to St. Louis for the investiture of my great aunt, Sister Dolores Marie, a St. Joseph sister. It was at this time my mother asked the priest to baptize me. The priest replied, "I couldn't do that; you're not a Catholic!"

It was nine years later that I became a Catholic. My grandparents took over my education and they sent me to school. I was attending St. Gregory Catholic School in Chicago when I told the sister I wanted to take bread with the children.

I was alone with the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel waiting for them to have their breakfast. I went back to my grandparents and said, "I want to take bread with the children. I want to become Catholic." They said, "Okay!"

I told the sisters, I'd like to take bread. Nobody asked me if I was speaking of the Eucharist. I was baptized, and my mother was thrilled.

I continued to live with my grandparents while my mother and dad went to Hollywood. I began to think very much that I wanted to join them in Hollywood. My grandfather was a projectionist, and I would go with him to the theater. We would go in the booth and he would sleep on a cot. Every 25 minutes, I would ring a bell to wake him to start the movie. I saw those movies over and over again. They had no sound. It was an amazing experience. I was being trained to be something that would be, somewhere down the line, very efficacious.

My daddy was in Hollywood, and I was always wondering when I was going to see him on the big screen. In due course, my mother and dad divorced. My mother, then, was a single parent. My grandmother would put me on a train in Chicago, and my mother would pick me up in California. It was a wonderful experience. Seeing the waving palm trees and knowing I was getting closer to Los Angeles I can still hear the wheels of the train coming in to San Bernardino and knew I would be seeing my mom soon.

I was 10 years old and that was the way I got my growing up.

Did you see your father in those years?
Yes. He was in Winged Victory, a play in New York. ... I lived with my mother in Beverly Hills. She got a job at a restaurant as a greeter. Mom and the restaurant owner married and that allowed her to make a home for us. His name was Al Gordon. Al Gordon had a 9-year-old son. I was 11 at the time. My mother was happy because she had a possibility of a real home.

A mother superior was key to your becoming an actress. When was that?
In high school. I was really aiming my sights and thinking about living close to Hollywood. The idea of becoming an actress did not seem to be a pie in the sky thing. I dreamed about it day and night. You could be that close and yet that far.

I lived 20 minutes from MGM and Paramount studios. How do you get an agent? When it gets down to it, how do you get yourself in the front door? I thought I would go to school and pray to God that this would happen, and then these questions would be resolved. In high school, I played St. Joan. That part allowed me to get a scholarship to Marymount College for drama.

When I was a freshman at Marymount College, a young man approached me from Loyola University to portray St. Joan. (Yes, again.) My friend, Don Barbeau, decided to take some snapshots of me. He sent letters with the photos to all the film studios in Southern California. After seeing the photographs, a talent scout came to see the play, which I knew nothing about at the time. And, I did a talent-scout show on television. So, I had my first brush with the big world.

In the middle of charm class at Marymount, I received a call from Paramount Studios. It was the associate producer of Hal Wallis, and he wanted me to come to Paramount for a meeting. The teacher didn't want me to take the call. She thought it was a sham.

"We've already talked to your mother and she thought it was a sham."

"Miss Barnel, its not a sham. I must take the call!"

"Miss Hart, just sit down."

"Miss Barnel, its not a sham!"

"Miss Hart. Just take the call."

I took the call. They wanted to meet me that afternoon. Don Barbeau came to pick me up in a 1938 hearse. I had on my letter sweater and socks and went to see Mr. Hal Wallis. He asked me, "What do you want to do with your life?"

I responded quickly and said, "I want to be an actress."

"Were doing a picture with Mr. Presley and we want you to start next week."

I didn't even know who Elvis Presley was, but next week was the final tests at school. I said, "Does it have to be next week?"

His reply, "Yes, it does!"

I was a freshman, and only seniors were allowed to try out for acting parts. Miss Barnel, indeed, told me I couldn't go because we had our finals. I was in tears. She said I would get an F for missing finals and lose my scholarship.

I went to the dormitory and wept my head off.

Mother Gabriel, the dean of girls, came to see me and told me, "Kids in the drama school want an opportunity like what youre going for. Dolores, this is the big one. Go for it, and come back next year as an English major."

I took her advice, did the screen test and got the part. The cameraman asked, "Miss Hart, who taught you technique on film? Where did you go to school?"

"I never went to school for such."

"You certainly know what to do."

Finally, the call came and I would start filming with Mr. Presley.

When you were in Hollywood, how did you maintain your faith?
I was very blessed with wonderful friends. I had a circle of friends that were really sound, which is one of the first things that helps you.

Maria Cooper [Gary Coopers daughter] was a sound Catholic woman and a best friend. She truly was clear, and true to her faith. She lived in the most elegant and high circles. Yet, she did not bow down to anyone in Hollywood.

Maria was very straightforward in her standards and introduced me to fine persons. If I withdrew my own sense of truth, I wouldn't be in that caliber. I never met one person that I can remember that I regret as a friend. The Lord had his hand in it and gave me wonderful friends.

Pope John XXIII was instrumental in your becoming a nun.
In 1959, I was in a play in New York, The Pleasure of His Company. A friend invited me to meet some nuns and she said, "They are very special."

I exclaimed, "Nuns! No, I don't want to meet nuns." But my friend said, "Did I ever steer you wrong?" So, I came to Regina Laudis after a few hours here, it has a definite call. You feel you're in a special place. Well, after the first visit, I kept coming back in between shows. Eventually, I asked the Reverend Mother if she thought I had a vocation. She said, "No, no go back and do your movie thing. You're too young."

I did, and then did some more films; Where the Boys Are and St. Francis of Assisi, which took me to Rome. I met Pope John XXIII, and he was very instrumental in helping me form my ideas about a vocation.

When I was introduced to the Pope, I said, "I am Dolores Hart, the actress playing Clara." He said, "No, you are Clara!"

Thinking he had misunderstood me, I said, "No, I am Dolores Hart, an actress portraying Clara." Pope John XXIII looked me squarely in the eye and stated, "No. You are Clara!"

His statement stayed with me and rang in my ears many times.

Would you tell us about your engagement before entering the abbey.
[It was] a very wonderful experience for Don Robinson and me. He had a feeling that I might have a calling. He wanted to try the engagement. "Let's give this a try."

Several days went by, and we were driving down the road when he stopped the car. Don said, "Something isn't right. Do you love me?"

"Of course, Don. I love you."

He asked again, and then said, "Something in you is not with me."

When I returned home at 1 a.m., I called and got a flight for 6 a.m. to Regina Laudis. God is far from all of us until we get into the reality of ourselves. I finally came to say in my heart more than anything and then openly to myself my search for God was a marital search.

When I spoke to Don again, he knew, because a man knows, every human being knows when something is real. We were at supper, and I didn't have my ring on.

Don said, "I know; I've known it. This is what you've got to do and I've got to do this with you. We've got to do this together."

That was an amazing gift and all these years he's been like that.

Don says, "Every love doesn't have to wind up at the altar."

Many relationships can wind up a lot worse. He never married. Don comes every year at Christmas and Easter. He wants to do whatever he can for the community.

You have to be open to a larger family in a vocation. When you don't have children of your own, you realize your children may be of a high order as a test of faith.

What would you say to someone considering a vocation?
I can only go back to my own experience, which was a long and severe test, and it was not easy. I would say you can never allow anyone to take you out of a vocation. The fact is, there is a promise given in a vocation that is beyond anything in your wildest dreams there's a gift the Lord offers and he is a gentleman.

I have not been profoundly missed by any means [in the outside world]. My vocation has been totally gratifying and I wouldn't want anyone thinking that in leaving Hollywo

"Speak Lord I'm Listening" was being sung during the offertory procession at Mass. This was at the age of eleven when I first heard God calling me to be a Religious Sister, a providential response to the song. With much excitement, I first told my parents then my brothers and finally my sister who said you want to do what! I realized then, that not everyone would be as excited about this extraordinary calling as I was.

Throughout my grade school years, I prayed that God would guide me to understand this call to religious life. During my adolescence I became more aware of my vocation and impatiently waited for Gods will to unfold in my life. At the age of sixteen, I asked my mother: Don't you think that God and I should have figured it all out by now? This impatience stemmed from wanting to know Gods will so that I could steer my life and my future plans according to His. As time passed I continued to feel God was truly calling me to be His bride. The excuses would not do anymore to think that someone else might go in place of me, or that this call is of my imagination had to be forgotten to be a bride of Christ is a most beautiful vocation and has to be answered with a joy filled yes! As I continued in prayer and discernment, God was asking me to respond through simple and tangible signs concerning religious life; signs both surprising and, at times comical, but always assuring.

Deep in my heart, as I grew more confident that Jesus was indeed calling me, I knew that my future would now drastically change. The choice regarding college entered my mind. Knowing that Good is calling me to religious life then I must choose an extraordinary university to attend where both my faith and my trust in Him would deepen. Franciscan University was the answer. I truly felt God entered my life in indescribable ways at this university. While at Steubenville, the Holy Spirit led me to introduce myself to Mother M. Katherine at the vocation fair. It was through the hands of God alone, that I was able to visit the Sisters of Charity of Lady Mother of the Church only one month later. My visit with Mother and the Sisters was filled with Gods peace, joy and love- I felt as if I were at home. At home and at peace with what God was calling me to do.

After returning to school, it was difficult to concentrate on anything other than my future as His bride. He put into my heart such a peace that I knew could only come from Him. Now there was no doubt in my heart.

When my parents married they promised each other that if God called any of their children to religious life, they would do whatever the Lord was asking of them to support their child and to give him/her lovingly to Jesus! Both my mother and my father thanked God for this beautiful vocation when I explained to them my wanting to enter after my first year of college, but my father preferred that I finish college first. As my entrance date came closer, peace rested within my family. They realized that now my life was taking on a new direction and an ever-deepening relationship with God.

The joy of this vocation far exceeds the hardship of the physical distance between us now. I feel their presence and love form miles and miles away as I am here serving God in y new family. God has blessed me by bestowing upon me loving parents and a generous family! What a humbling journey it has been. God was leading me, through all of my impatience and unknowing times of where and when to enter a Religious congregation. For has been preparing me to be His Bride for all of eternity.

Sister Joan Clare Gulden, SCMS was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended the Franciscan University of Steubenville for one year where she first met the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church. On September 8, 2003, Sister entered the Congregation and is now continuing her studies in education and music. She will pronounce her final vows on March 19, 2006, the feast of Saint Joseph.

For more information about the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church, please visit their website: http://www.sistersofcharity.com/default.htm.

The expression God works in mysterious ways took on new meaning for me when I, a nun in a religious habit, found myself shopping at Chicago's Hard Rock Café. As the Assistant Principal at a Catholic grade school I was helping chaperone an 8th grade class trip to Chicago and another chaperone wanted to buy some shirts at the Café for souvenirs so I accompanied her. As I watched while my friend shopped, I recalled a visit to another Hard Rock Café. I had been visiting London years earlier (before entering religious life) when my friends and I stayed out so late the subways were closed and we were locked out of our Bed and Breakfast. I found it amusing to compare the twenty-something college student that I had been to the older (and hopefully wiser) woman religious that I was now. The journey that took me from London's Hard Rock Café to the one in Chicago is one I had never imagined I would take.

I spent the first 16 years of my existence living the life of an Army brat. My father was a career army officer and so when Dad got his orders Mom and all five kids packed up and moved. Some places we lived were exciting and I had many friends. Other places were not so pleasant and making new friends more of a challenge. In the midst of all this change, the one constant was my family. Mom and Dad were loving and supportive and although my three brothers and one sister and I fought constantly (or so my parents claimed) we were a close family. We went to Church every Sunday and other important days. I must have been a teenager before I learned that Thanksgiving was NOT a holy day of obligation. However, as I became older and entered my teen years, religious obligations were carried out from habit rather than any real piety.

It was when I entered college that I first began to look at my future seriously. My main goal was to get an extremely high paying job that would allow me to travel extensively and have a really nice car. The one problem I was having was deciding what exactly I should major in; I would try different colleges and took a variety of courses but couldn't seem to settle on any one area. Then my mother intervened. Mom was convinced that my indecisiveness would be turned to certainty by making a 30-day Novena to St. Joseph. To please my mother, I said the prayer for 30 days, without even skipping a day! Although the effects were not immediate, the prayer worked. I began to realize that making money was not the most important thing and I decided to focus on a career in which I could truly be of service to others. I settled on teaching, hoping to dedicate part of my life to an area of our country where teachers were scarce. Gradually, I concluded that if it were such a good thing to dedicate part of my life to the service of others, then dedicating all of my life was even better.

Once religious life became an option for me, I began to look for communities that were involved in teaching. I visited different orders, one of which was the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker. When I asked to enter the community, it was August of 1990. I told the Sisters I would be back in a month, knowing that if I waited too long, I would talk myself out of entering. So, in September, 1990 I became a postulant. After a postulancy of eight months, I received the religious habit and my new religious name. As a novice, I spent the next two years studying Church documents, the Bible, Church history and the religious vows I would be making. At the conclusion of my two-year novitiate I made my first vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. Over the next five years, I completed my college degree and began teaching. On July 16, 1998, I made my perpetual vows.

Its a mistake to think that once you're settled in your vocation, that the journey is over and now you can sit back and relax. While I was initially attracted to our community because some of the Sisters are teachers, I came to realize that my reason for being in the community was not to teach but to do whatever God asked of me.

So, through daily Mass and prayer and through the work I do with my students, I strive to grow spiritually so that the work God wants me to do will not be hindered by my weaknesses, but that He will shine through me to others.

Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett of the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker was born February 16, 1967, in Muenchweiler, Germany. The youngest of five children, she graduated from Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach, VA in 1985. She has a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education and her Masters Degree in Instructional Leadership, both from Northern Kentucky University. She has taught 2nd, 5th and 6th graders and has been an assistant principal. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker in 1990 and made her final profession of vows in 1998. She lives in Walton, KY and teaches at the community's elementary school.

She can be reached at barkett67 at yahoo.com

Me, a nun? No way! That was my response to the Lord when I first experienced His call to religious life.

Being the eldest of four children and growing up in a good Catholic family prepared me well, I thought, to carry on the tradition of getting married and raising a family. Only I wanted 12 children! On top of that, in my Bible there was a paper with a nice, long list of qualities I considered important in my future husband.

Growing up, I spent much time with my family outdoors; skiing, hiking, swimming, canoeing, or just simply walking. One of my fondest childhood memories is taking long walks around the lake our cottage was on, with my father telling stories that ended just as we got back to the house. Since many of our relatives were in Europe, we traveled often. German folk music, choral music and classical, were also an integral part of our life. As a member of a closely-knit German community, there were very many celebrations to attend. Besides weekly Sunday Mass, our family attended choral concerts, plays, picnics, anniversary celebrations, and dances. I loved to dance, and one year our German youth group took ballroom dancing lessons all together. It was great!

Then I went to college. There are only two places in Canada where one can study to become an Orthotic / Prosthetic technician, and the closer one to home was in the big city of Toronto. So, thats where I went. During those two years, I still went to Sunday Mass, but I also became more and more drawn into the way of the world. It wasnt until I went back to Ottawa to work in the family business that I realized how far away from God I had wandered.

Back in Ottawa, I began to search for God. I knew Him somewhat, but I wanted something more, something deeper. What I found was a young adult group at an English-speaking Catholic Church that was on fire with love for Jesus. I had never seen anything like it, nor had I ever seen so many good-looking young men singing songs of praise with such gusto! The young women there were very kind and solicitous, and drew me into their company with great enthusiasm. The young people would gather every Friday evening for a teaching about the Faith, some praying, singing, and sharing. They would go to Mass on Saturday mornings, and then go out for breakfast. It was a new thing for me to go to Mass on a day other than Sunday! In their midst I began to see Jesus as a Person, Someone to talk to as to a friend, but also as God to worship. As time progressed, I began to go to daily Mass and to regularly celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, simply because I loved Jesus. I had come to appreciate the role of God in married life, and was looking forward to marrying someone who wanted Jesus in the center of our life together.

While I dated a few of the young men, the Lord was also working on my heart in other ways. There was perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at this Church, and I had the 1 2 a.m. slot every Thursday morning. I absolutely loved it! It was a beautiful, profound, intimate one-on-one time with Jesus that I relished. In my heart grew an awe and a reverence for the Lords humility in the Eucharist. I looked forward to this time every week. Then, as I went about my life, I began to notice certain things. The desire to go shopping diminished, I began to have less and less interest in clothes, I longed for a more simple lifestyle, less clutter, and to spend more time in Church, more time in prayer. I volunteered at the parish office to answer the telephone. I began to do the layouts for the weekly parish bulletin. I joined a little choir, and became its director when it was invited to sing for Mass every Saturday evening. I just couldnt seem to get enough of being in Church!

The Lords call to be a Sister came during this time, enveloped in a prayer that came from the depths of my heart for greater humility and the grace to surrender all. While my initial reaction to the idea of becoming a nun was a negative one, I realized that I didnt know anything about religious life. So, I decided to investigate. Around the time of my birthday in January, in my youthful brashness I told the Lord that I would give Him one year to influence my heart one way or another, toward marriage or religious life, and that He could lead me wherever He wanted. Then, on December 31st of that year, I would make my decision. Some very wise friends of mine recommended a certain priest as spiritual director, and I met with him on a regular basis.

That year of discernment was a time of tremendous growth in my spiritual life, and a year of little miracles of grace. I understood that God had planted a certain desire in my heart when He first created me, and that the fulfillment of that desire would make me happy. So I prayed: Please reveal to me the deepest desire of my heart. Jesus honored that prayer, and by November I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that my greatest desire was to give myself, wholly and completely, to Him. That was my choice. The profound peace that pervaded my whole being was something I had never experienced before, and the joy that welled up inside me seemed to come from a source beyond me.

During my investigation of religious life I visited about eleven different communities. I noticed in my heart that the more I saw of religious life, the more I liked it. When I visited the Sisters of Jesus Our Hope in New Jersey, it seemed to me that they possessed all the necessary qualities of a vibrant religious community: love of the Lord and His Church, a treasury of wisdom in their older Sisters, a deep and dynamic prayer life, and exuberant joy in simply being together! In 1992, I entered as a postulant and in the Year of Jubilee 2000, I had the tremendous privilege of making final profession in the Sisters of Jesus Our Hope. While it was difficult in the beginning to think of giving up those things that I had enjoyed so much in life, Jesus promised that those who give up everything and follow Him, will have it all returned a hundred fold

( Matthew 19:29). This is a truth: the Lord is loving, faithful, and true to His promise! I am very, very happy as a Sister, and have received much more than I ever gave up. Its a wonderful life!
Sister Ellen, 43, was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She received her BSc in Education from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. She is currently teaching second grade at Immaculate Conception School in Clinton, NJ

Sister Ellen can be reached at sjh@sistersofjesusourhope.org

Mission Statement / description

The Sisters of Jesus Our Hope are Sisters with a mission of hope. We live poverty, chastity, and obedience in community life in a spirit of joyful hope and servant love. Our spirituality is based on the Augustinian tradition of religious life in the Church and emphasizes a special love for Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Our daily prayer includes Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, meditation on Sacred Scripture, Rosary, spiritual reading and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. We strive to live together in harmony, one in mind and heart on the way to God. (St. Augustine). We aim to place a high priority on our shared faith life as well as on mutual respect and love within community. Our common life extends into an apostolate of faith formation and catechesis according to the vision of Pope John Paul II for the new evangelization in the Church and in the world. The world needs the hope that does not disappoint. (Rom. 5:5). Knowing that this hope is found in Jesus Christ risen and alive today, we seek to lead others to Him as their source of hope and salvation.

"O Jesus, by Thy most loving Heart, I implore Thee to inflame with zeal for Thy love and Glory all the priests of the world, all missionaries and those whose office it is to preach Thy word, that on fire with holy zeal, they may snatch souls from the devil and lead them into the shelter of Thy Heart, where for ever they may glorify Thee."