XV General Chapter:
For the sake of Christ with Magdalene of Canossa
Our Consecration: the Vows

Facilitated by Sr. Margaret Peter, FdCC (The Congregational Leader, Rome)
Kluang, Malaysia
220809

Ephesians 4: 30
Sisters, do not grieve
The Holy Spirit of God
With which you have been marked
With a seal
For the day of your redemption.

For the sake of Christ
Following Christ / discipleship
Leaving all /selling all
Gospel women, being good news
Marian spirituality of availability / magnificat
Having the same mind / same attitudes of Christ
Same style of life and mission (look and do likewise)
Being a giving person (John 10: 10)

We want to live a life that clearly proclaims that we have been attracted and challenged by the gratuitous love of the Lord Jesus who on the Cross reveals the face of the Father and a “love without measure”. (General Chapter Resolutions. Pg. 1)

With Magdalene: It demands more; inspice et fac
Spiritually alive and charismatically vibrant
Live the MORE - enhancing the quality of life, love, service

Passion of Christ evokes passion for humanity
Living the double precepts of Charity

How does a Canossian express or live this?
What changes does it require? What are the demands?
What sort of preparation and formation do we need?
As individuals
As community

What will help me to be more focused?
Paying attention to the essentials
First things first (in relation to my consecration and commitment)
To be creative and proactive
To be alert and flexible (not to grieve the Holy Spirit)
To develop and live a mentality of change; an attitude of conversion
Ongoing process of transformation and growth

What do we understand by MENTALITY?
Way of looking at reality
Personal point of view (reflected, studied)
Personal opinions coloured by interest, responsibility etc.
Mindset that is inherited, cultural

A MENTALITY of CHANGE implies (ref. XV General Chapter)
Openness to understand one’s reality
An attitude of searching for what is true, good and lasting
A discerning attitude (clarifying and living the common VISION)
Developing an attitude of embracing and integrating values that enable one to be true to her true self (strengthening one’s identity)
Living and on-going process of radical conversion, formation, transformation
Process of being and becoming
Continuous conversion to the Gospel

We intensify our availability to be renewed v/ converted / transformed, to be in conformity with Jesus Crucified and Risen, so that the charism received remains vital an integral in its essence.

What style of life will ensure this MENTALITY of CHANGE at the various dimensions of our Canossian of life?

An attentiveness that facilitates a flow of grace
Awareness of a heightened sense of connectedness
Openness of the grace of living reconciled / in harmony
Alertness that favours communion of hearts through listening, dialogue, mutual empowerment
Enabling and radiating positive energy (quality of energies)
Spirit of enthusiasm that inspires, motivates and strengthens
Live in a state of MISSION (contemplation and action)

“Therefore,
Let us lay aside every encumbrance of sin
Which clings to us
And persevere in running the race
Which lies ahead;
Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus,
Who inspires and perfects out faith”. (Hebrews 12: 1 - 2)

How to Become a Catholic Nun

by Sister Julie on November 16, 2008

Ever wonder if God might be calling you to become a Catholic nun or sister? Don’t know where to begin now that you feel drawn to looking into religious life?

You’ve landed on the right page. Here you’ll learn about how to become a Catholic sister or nun. You’ll get a general idea of where to start, what the general logistics are, and some helpful hints from someone who’s been there and is now a Catholic sister. My intention here is just to get you started on your way. As you move towards checking out a religious community, check in with vocation director who can give you specifics about how that particular community goes about the steps for becoming a nun.

Prerequisites for Becoming a Catholic Sister or Nun

1. You must be a Catholic woman.
If you are not Catholic, there are other forms of religious life in Christian communities that are not exclusively Catholic (e.g., Benedictine Women of Madison) as well as in other religious traditions (e.g., Buddhist nuns). If you wish to become a Catholic, talk with a pastor at a local Catholic parish.

2. You must be single.
You cannot be currently married in the eyes of the Church. If you are, you must obtain an annulment in order to consider becoming a nun. Widows may validly become nuns.

3. You must not have any dependent children.
There are many women who have children who become nuns. The children, however, must no longer be dependent.

4. You must not have any debts upon entrance to the novitiate.
Novitiate is usually a year or two into the formal process of becoming a nun. If you do have debts, work to eliminate them. Don’t stop looking into a religious community because of a student loan or something similar. Talk with the vocation director about how to proceed.

5. You must be healthy.
It’s important that you be physically and psychologically able to engage in the mission of the religious community. However “healthy” is a relative term and doesn’t automatically exclude people with managed illnesses or disabilities. This is an important thing to discuss with the vocation director.

6. You must 18 to 40-ish years old.
Although the age limit used to be confined to 18-25, communities accept women up to age 40, and many accept women beyond their 40s and into their 50s. If you are in the higher range of age, don’t be discouraged from pursing religious life. Often this is addressed on a person-by-person basis.

7. Other considerations
A college degree is not an absolute prerequisite; however, many religious communities do encourage that you have at least a bachelor’s degree prior to entering. Professional experience (not necessarily a full-fledged career, though that is welcomed too) is also encouraged prior to entering.

How to Become a Nun

1. Pray
The most important place to begin is to pray (or continue praying) about this call you sense. Your feeling that God is calling you is not some fluke or self-conjured up idea; it is a gift from God, an invitation into a deeper relationship with God. No matter how your vocation ends up expressing itself (nun, spouse, parent, teacher, advocate, etc.), you are being called right here, right now, to draw closer to God.

Be open to listening to God, no matter how crazy or confusing it feels. Embrace the possibility of whatever God has in mind for you. It may be a radical shift to a different way of life than you imagined for yourself, or it may be something you’ve kinda known all along. And it could be both!

Remain faithful to pray even when it is difficult or feels like it is going nowhere. Spend more time in prayer and/or be more intentional in the prayer time that you already have. If you are used to praying first thing in the morning, consider praying again before you go to bed. Review your day and ask God to help you see how God has been with you in the daily stuff of life. If you are drawn to the Rosary, consider praying the Rosary with the specific intention of knowing more deeply how Mary and how Jesus responded to their calling.

Read scripture, particularly the stories of people trying to figure out how God is calling them and how they can respond. Here are some of those stories (for more check out this listing of Bible stories from vocations.ca):
Mary (Luke 1:26-38)
Ruth (Book of Ruth 1:15-18)
Disciples (John 1:35-50)
Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1: 4-10)
Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-10; 49:1-6)
Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-21)
John and Peter (Matthew 4:18-22)
Paul (Romans 1:1-7; Acts of the Apostles 9:1-19)

Imagine yourself in the story. How would you respond? What words is God speaking to you?
Pray with others. Participate in the Eucharistic Liturgy, attend to a bible study or faith-sharing group, pray with others who can encourage and support you.

2. Meet Nuns
Do you know any real nuns? Do you have nuns at your parish or school? Do you work with nuns? Getting to know nuns personally is a very important step in becoming a nun because each one is an example of how to live religious life “for real”. Also, interacting with nuns gives you a chance to begin to imagine yourself as a nun and see how it “fits”. You don’t even have to tell the nuns that you are scoping them out! I spent a good amount of time doing “nun surveillance” before ever saying anything to them (well, just one of them) about what I was thinking. Some nuns “fit” with how I felt God calling me; others, while stellar examples of religious, didn’t quite fit me. I learned that that was okay and that religious life is very diverse, and along the way I found that I was called to the IHM way of religious life.

What are some ways you can do nun surveillance or interact with nuns?
attend Mass or a prayer service at a religious community’s Motherhouse or convent
go on retreat held by or led by nuns

participate in a “nun run” (an event in which you travel from convent to convent with other discerning women in order to check out communities and get to know a variety of nuns)
take a course or workshop taught by a nun

pretend you have a problem with a paper you’re writing for your nun professor so you get one-on-one time (I had this mastered, but then I think she figured it out — she never let on!)
invite a nun out to dinner or a movie

help a nun fix her computer or start a Facebook page

volunteer at a convent by helping with transportation needs or by organizing a craft experience or by shelving library books or by participating in some kind of social justice advocacy with them
get a spiritual director who is a nun

attend an event at which there is likely to be a high population of nuns

If you are in a place where there are no nuns around, you can do online nun surveillance.

read A Nun’s Life and check out other Blogs by Catholic Nuns and see what the nuns are like — lurk all you want

visit religious communities’ websites (VISION Vocation Network has a great directory of Catholic religious communities online) — many sisters’ websites feature personal stories as well as info on the community itself

sign up for Facebook and friend a nun (I’m on FB and would be happy to be friended!)

find websites of ministries run by or sponsored by nuns to get a feel for their ministries (e.g., Sandalstrap, Mount Providence Child Development Center, EarthSpirit, Villa Maria Academy, Heartworks Art Ministry)

3. Talk with a Mentor
There’s nothing like saying something out loud to make it really real! So start talking to trusted people about your attraction to religious life. These mentors could be family or friends. You might have a dear aunt or a close cousin that you can share you thoughts without fear of being discouraged. Talk with friends whom you know that will be supportive of you while you explore religious life and this feeling of being called to become a nun.

You may also consider talking with someone like a nun or a priest or a chaplain. There are many leaders in parishes and schools that are there to listen and encourage you on your spiritual journey. A more intense way of doing this is by looking into spiritual direction. A spiritual director is someone who is trained to help you discern, think, and pray about how God is moving in your life. Most are familiar with religious life (many in fact are religious) and can be great mentors and sounding boards as you consider where you are and where you are going.

4. Contact a Religious Community
You’ll know when it’s the right time for you to move from learning about nuns and religious life to formally exploring religious life with a specific community. It can be a leap of faith making this transition, but remember, just because you contact a religious community doesn’t mean you are signed up for life. Religious communities know that it can take a while for people to get to know them and religious life in general. They welcome you where you are at and are there to help you discern if God is calling you to their particular community.

So how do you do contact a religious community? If you know a nun in the community you are attracted to, ask her. She’ll be a good companion (if you want her to) along the way and will introduce you to the Vocation Director and other sisters if you so desire. If you don’t know a nun personally in the community, contact the Vocation Director of the community directly. You can find her name and contact info on the community’s website. You can also contact the Vocations Office in your diocese. They have tons of info to help you discern and find a community that “fits” for you. To find your diocese’s vocation office, consult the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ directory of dioceses.

VISION Vocation Network also has their directory of Catholic religious communities which you can use to find contact info for Vocation Directors. They also have a very innovative and helpful online Vocation Match feature.

5. Work with the Vocation Director
The vocation director of a particular religious community is the official person who helps you to get to know the community and to discern God’s call in your life. The Vocation Director is a member of the community that you are considering joining. Her job is to help you get to know the community and to help the community get to know you. She’ll be the one that leads you through all the formal steps of becoming a nun within that particular religious community. While you are relating with the vocation director, you are not under any obligation to stay with that community. You may decide to look into other communities or to date someone. Don’t be afraid to do this. Explore and experience the things you need to in order to find out if religious life with a particular community is for you. Vocation directors are very understanding of this and know that it is a normal part of discerning.

As you come to your own sense of commitment to becoming a nun, you’ll grow in your own sense of wanting to be committed to this particular community. That’s when you move toward “breaking up” with other communities you’ve looked into or with the person you’ve been dating. You’ll know when the time is right.

Some things that you might do as you work with a vocation director:

meet regularly in person or by phone

attend a vocation retreat with other women that the vocation director is working with
go to the sisters’ community events such as Mass, particular meetings or workshops just for the sisters, etc.

explore the community’s motherhouse and campus

learn about the community’s charism, spirituality, history, and mission

visit organizations and ministries sponsored by the community

attend vocation-oriented events within the diocese

help her get to know you by having her visit your school or job or taking her to your favorite hang-outs

discuss religious life and the vows

When you and the vocation director are ready to officially move forward with your desire to join the community, you’ll probably move more into working on the formal steps for joining the community:

address the practical requirements to enter the community (Canon Law, finances, property, psychological and physical assessments, etc.)

envision your transition into the community (when, where, how)

formally meet with other members of the vocation team and with the congregational leader (General Superior)

The vocation director will lead you through all of these things and is there as your advocate. She’s there to encourage you, challenge you, and pray with you. Although she is the official link to the community, you are encouraged to befriend others in the community.

6. Join the Community
Once you and the community have discerned that yes, in fact, God is calling you to one another, you go through the formal steps of joining. These include:

Aspirancy / Pre-Candidacy (more to come on each of these)

Postulancy / Candidacy

Novitiate

First Vows

Final Vows


Source:
http://anunslife.org/how-to-become-a-catholic-nun/

Vocation Journey

Canossian sisters believe that every person is called by God to a specific Vocation. It is a life where one is led to a total, gratuitous and joyful experience of God's Love. Only the Spirit can reach the depths of our hearts such that a person can discern God's Will. Hence, the Canossian Vocational Accompaniment takes on the principles of graduality, personalization, growth from within, capacity for relationships and apostolicity.

Come and See Phase
We offer the Searcher times for prayer and silence, reflection and sharing on the Word of God. A Canossian Sister in a community journeys with the Searcher. It may be done individually (one-on-one) or with a group of Searchers.

Discernment
Participants are those who have expressed their desire and commitment to follow-through their discernment. They have the opportunity to spend more times of prayer and encounter with the community of Canossian sisters. Some stay within the premises of the convent while others only spend weekends.

Prenovitiate Formation
This is a vocational accompaniment which consists of complementary yet distinct stages:
Accompaniment in the place where she comes from. The Searcher, having experienced the love of God, expresses her longing to respond to His invitation through the Canossian Religious family. After manifesting her desires, she is now called an Aspirant. Opportunities are offered for her to deepen and share with fellow Aspirants and sisters in the apostolic communities. She becomes acquainted with the Canossian Family and allows herself to be known also to ensure a better discernment of her vocation.

Accompaniment in a Formative Community
This stage, called Postulancy, is a time for deeper personal growth and discernment, evaluating the compatibility of her gift with the Canossian charism. Attention is given to the human and Christian growth whereby she is gradually introduced to share life in common, experience the richness of prayer and involve herself in some ministries. Above all these, she deepens her personal relationship with the Lord.

With a better understanding of her vocation, clear and free expression of her choice in life, the Postulant is now ready for the next phase of formation.

Novitiate Formation
The novice enters into an Initiation to the Religious Life. She begins to center her existence and motives on the Lord Jesus, re-discovering her identity in harmony with the Canossian charism. The novice continues to attend to her integral growth, as in Postulancy. She is helped to interiorize more deeply the gift of her Canossian vocation, to experience the lifestyle of the Institute, to shape her person according to its spirit and evaluate her ability to live her consecration and communion in view of the mission. She is guided by a Novice Directress, lives with fellow novices and supported by a formative community. At the end of two years of Novitiate, she is ready to initially profess the Vows.

Temporary Profession
Also called the Juniorate stage, the Sister continues her personal formation and gradually involves herself in the life and mission of the community. The Junior deepens her experiential knowledge of the Canossian religious life, harmonizing what she learned in the Novitiate with her daily life. She integrates prayer and apostolate, life in common and personal needs through a sincere quest for authenticity and coherence in her commitments. She intensifies her sense of belonging to the Institute and acquires a better understanding and appreciation of the spirituality of Jesus Crucified.

Opportunities are offered for her to engage in theological-biblical-pastoral and charismatic studies and immersions. Inter-cultural exchanges enable her to experience the Internationality and Mission of the Institute. She lives in an Apostolic Formative Community and is guided by the Superior/Animator of the community. Regular encounters with fellow Juniors and Summer Intensive Formation ensure times of formative gatherings.

The Junior sister
At least after 5 years of Temporary Profession, who wish to offer oneself entirely forever to the Lord, may take the Final Profession.

On-Going Formation
By her Final Profession, the Sister's desire to belong to God forever in the Canossian Religious family is ratified publicly by the Church. She makes a solemn and decisive act to live in dynamic fidelity the Call to witness the Greatest Love, Jesus Christ.

Source:http://www.canossaphil.org/vocations.html

Step by step

From the picture, guess which of my college friends decided to become a nun? Find out later at the end of the article.

As I’ve written in a previous post, the path leading to a religious life is not so different from a regular job search. At the outset, your quest will start with the consideration of several convents through what’s called a “search in.”

1. Attend several convent “search ins.” Here in the Philippines, there are more than 300 convents to choose from.

A “search in” is usually in two stages, with the first stage eerily sounding like one of those introductory seminars where they show a video and then a couple of people share their personal experiences. The main difference is the subject—“How do you know you’re being called to a religious life?”

The objective of a “search in” is to find a convent whose congregation suits your needs and character. There are basically two kinds of congregation—the contemplative and the apostolic.

The contemplative is the kind that everybody’s more familiar with, the kind wherein the nuns pray and work within the confines of the convent, oftentimes shunning contact with the outside world.

The apostolic congregation is the kind that chooses community work as the basis of their vocation. For example, the congregation can be involved with health and education projects within the communities that they adopt.

2. Make a shortlist of the congregations that you’re interested in. After you’ve gone to several convents, determine the ones you’re really interested in. These are the only ones that you will actually consider for a second “search in.”

The second “search in” involves going to the convents in your shortlist at least once a month, and spending the day there so that you can get a taste of the kind of life you will have with that specific congregation.

Most likely, a vocation animator, who’s somewhat like a buddy, will be assigned to you, so that you will have the opportunity to discuss your concerns, and she will also help you discern your thoughts through meditation and prayer.

The second “search in” period will usually last for about 6 months to a year.

3. Choose a congregation. After keeping your options open, choose the congregation that you feel would suit you the best.

The next stage is called the aspirancy stage, the stage when you actually live with the congregation. Don’t worry, you will still be expected to continue working, and you will still retain ownership of your worldly possessions like your clothes and money.

However, you are expected to devote your weekends for the congregation’s activities like recollections, tasks, prayers and recreational activities. This is an excellent time to discover if you are truly suited for a religious life, because you will be immersed, in a limited way, in the congregation’s world.

Just like the second “search in,” this period can be for a period from 6 months to a year, after which you have to make a decision whether to proceed to the next stage.

Below are the contact numbers of the two kinds of congregation. I’m sure they would be more than happy to assist you in finding other congregations aside from theirs.

Contemplative Congregation
Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration 722.8828

Apostolic Congregation
Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 721.7316(Look for Sister Emma Villanueva)

And my friend who became a nun is the lady who’s seated second from the right. If you guessed correctly, do let me know, so that I can tease her about having an invisible halo.

Source:

http://www.thebachelorgirl.com/2005/46/the-first-3-steps-to-becoming-a-nun/