12 minute read
Religious sightings
HISpaNIC OUtReaCH IN U.S. SOUtH dRawS SISteR tO mINIStRY
Share your sightings If you spot a member of a religious community in the news, please e-mail the details to us at mail@vocationguide.org. MonTiCELLo, KEnTUCKy is a long way from Argentina—a fact sister Ramona Elena Ponce, s.U.s.C. knows well, having made that 5,000-mile trip herself. Although leaving her native country to minister to Mexicans in the American south may seem like a big upheaval, the new ministry was a natural fit in many ways. in her homeland, Ponce had worked with immigrants who came to Argentina seeking a better life. short-staffed in a busy ministry, the U.s. branch of Ponce’s religious community, the Holy Union sisters, asked the order’s community in Argentina to send a sister to help meet the needs of Mexican immigrants newly settled in Monticello, Kentucky.
Ponce was familiar with the issues of new immigrants—marginalization, poverty, culture-clashes, violence—and decided that she, too, would emigrate. she arrived in 2011 to join two U.s.-born Holy Union sisters in the work. Today Ponce feels at home, visiting families, conducting retreats, preparing young people for the sacraments, and reaching out with her sisters to the Mexican immigrant families of rural Kentucky.
sIsTER “nECO” —Ramona Elena Ponce, s.u.s.C.—at a First Communion celebration picnic.
Boston College hosts center for students considering religious life
sTuDEnTs AT BOsTOn COLLEgE who are considering life as a sister, brother, or priest in a religious order have a place to go for discernment and support. Founded in 2007, Manresa House is a location students can gather for talks, prayer, meetings, retreats, and other activities connected to the process of vocational discernment, regardless of which religious communities they may be interested in.
“I see it as a place where I can escape the pressures and fast pace of school and take time for myself to figure out where I am in life,” student Christopher knoth told the Boston College Chronicle.
Father Terrence Devino, s.J., director of Manresa House and special assistant to the president of Boston College, says Manresa House is the only college-based center he knows of giving this type of focused vocational assistance to both men and women students.
Devino, a Jesuit, has been a priest since 1987, and when he took his own first steps toward priesthood as a young man, “I was scared to death to talk about it,” he told the Chronicle. He hopes that over the years Manresa House has helped Boston College students quell similar fears and has allowed them to ask themselves a basic question: What shall I do with my life? Learn more about Manresa House at bc.edu/offices/manresa.
FATHER TERRy Devino, s.J. is director of Manresa House, a center for vocation discernment open to all students at Boston College.
Caitlin Cunningham/Boston College
CELEBRATIng LIFE: sister Josephe Marie Flynn, s.s.n.D. (at podium) announced the publication of her book Rescuing Regina (Lawrence Hill Books, 2011) as Regina and David Bakala look on. The Bakalas survived torture in the Congo and made their way to the u.s. as asylum seekers—until Regina was arrested and ordered to leave the country. Flynn’s book tells the story of a communitywide effort to prevent her deportation and certain death.
NUmBeR Of YOUNgeR SISteRS RISINg IN U.K.
in EnGLAnd and Wales the number of young women discerning and entering religious communities is showing signs of rising. The national office for Vocation first released data about a pronounced trend toward younger women entering religious communities in 2010.
The most recent upturn in younger entrants may be connected to a growth in sheer numbers. “The information we have so far for entrants in 2011 shows that there has been an increase in people joining religious life. Perhaps most significant is the trend whereby a number of active religious female congregations that have not had people joining them for over a decade now have several women either joining or thinking of doing so,” said sister Cathy Jones of the national office for Vocation. “it seems likely that the 2012 figures for active female reli-
POsTuLAnTs sadora Bloom and Cynthia Castro are preparing to take vows with the Dominican sisters of st. Joseph in Hampshire, England.
gious congregations will demonstrate a notable rise,” she said.
Jones and her colleagues attribute the rise in numbers and youth partly to “a number of discernment projects aimed at helping young people make a decision in respect of religious life.” in England and Wales in 2010 (the last year with published data), 28 men entered formation in religious communities and 22 women entered communities.
–Dominican Fr. Joseph minuth, oP, Moving Forward In Hope: Keys to the Future CD, published by the national Religious Vocation Conference
“BeiNg A Catholic today is not historical . . . when generations shared faith the way they shared a family name. . . . [Rather] it is a deliberate choice to look at the world in a particular way, based not only on the teachings of Jesus, but also on the development of that uniquely ‘Catholic imagination.’ ”
–tim muldoon, Seeds of Hope: Young Adults and the Catholic Church (Paulist Press) SISteRS, BROtHeRS, pRIeStS
IVIAn LunAsOL sarcos Colmenares
a positive influence in my life . . .
MIss WORLD 2011, Ivian Lunasol sarcos Colmenares of Venezuela, was raised by the sisters of the sacred Heart of Jesus after becoming an orphan at age 11. she once aspired to be a nun, and after winning the international crown she expressed her desire to help others and told of her affection and “eternal gratitude” for the sisters: “It seems to me that [living in the sisters’ orphanage] is what has made me a person with principles and the capacity to deal with all that god has given me in my life. . . . Instead of complaining and lamenting all that has happened to me, I have learned to give thanks to god.”
find and follow us everywhere! Download the apps for digitalvocationguide.org and soon VocationMatch.com . . .
2013 CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS VOCATION DISCERNMENT GUIDE
Find your calling at the crossroads
Read our stories inside and learn more about religious life and church vocations
VocationNetwork.org DigitalVocationGuide.org ABOuT OuR COVER: The happy faces that grace this year’s cover are all people who wanted to make sure that we knew—and you knew—how helpful VISION Vocation Guide and our Vocation Match service has been to them as they discerned their religious vocation. We found their stories inspiring. You will, too!
My name is Guerline Joseph. I was born in Haiti and moved to New Jersey at the age of 10. After a young adult conference at Steubenville University, I was reading through a VISION magazine in my room, and for some reason the ad for the Salesian sisters attracted me. I was courageous enough to send an email although I was not expecting a response back. I met more sisters after that and was very fascinated by their joy and love for Jesus through the young people. Today I am still on this journey hoping to fulfill my yearning and desire to love and serve God and his children with all my heart. So far, it has been great!
Sr. Colleen Clair, F.M.A. is another Salesian who finds VISION very helpful in her ministry. Read Sr. Colleen’s vocation story at happynun. wordpress.com/about
Jack Tierney: I used
the Vocation Match finder earlier this year after encouragement from my local priest. The tool was tremendously helpful as I was struggling with discernment to religious life. After submitting my answers, I received information from a number of orders who were more than happy to speak with me or even to arrange a visit. I ended up going to a weekend visit with the Midwestern province of the Augustinians. I loved the experience and am now full time discerning the call to the Order of St. Augustine. Your internet ministry is extremely valuable!
I am Jacqueline Mangus. I attended Bishop Kelly High School. I am considering becoming a tertiary (third order sister) or a nun; maybe a Dominican.
I’m Kendall Ketterlin. It has been more than 18 years since I first experienced a call to serving God as a priest in the Catholic Church. I will be entering formation with the Society of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood,
Sr. Sandra N, O.S.B. is entering the Benedictine Sisters, St. Scholastica Monastery, Fort Smith, AK. According to her vocation director, she used Vocation Match and visited two of the communities with whom she was matched. Each community helped her discern where God was calling her.
Our young brother, Br. Brian Poulin, F.M.S., is happy to have his face on a poster [promoting VISION and vocations]!,” says Marist Brothers Vocation Director Br. Mike Sheerin. VISION was instrumental in his discernment.
Alison McCrary is a candidate with the Congregation of St. Joseph. While in formation, she is living with Sisters of St. Joseph in New Orleans and working in ministry as a social justice lawyer. She is happy to vouch for VISION and its usefulness as a discernment tool.
Sr. Jeana Visel, O.S.B. used VISION magazine and the Vocation Network to help her in her discernment and eventually find her community, the Benedictine Sisters of Ferdinand, IN.
My name is Br. Adam Dupré, S.D.B. I first felt an inclination of a calling to the priesthood when I was in the sixth grade. But I turned from it and filled my life with sports and work. During my senior year of high school my maternal grandmother became sick with cancer. One day while visiting her in the hospital I witnessed her receiving the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. It was a moment that stopped time. It moved me deeply. After that I felt God’s call to me growing stronger with every passing moment. In the fall of 2006 I filled out a questionnaire on VocationMatch.coM. I quickly received many inquiries from different religious orders. One stuck out in particular: the Salesians of Don Bosco. Their handwritten letter of invitation was very moving and personal. I went for a visit in December 2006 and entered in August 2007. In August 2011 I made my first religious profession!
Kansas Province, with an anticipated date of priestly ordination in 2016/17. Becoming a priest isn’t simply a matter of the next career move, but an integral realization of who I am and who God is asking me to become. Yet this road is not still without its challenges.
Ironically at this time, the most significant hurdle in accepting this life and commitment to poverty is the remaining debt I have accrued through student loans. I am very glad that the National Religious Vocation Conference [VISION’s parent organization] is putting together more work on the debt issue. Not only is this a major issue for the church, but like so many other things, this is a time that we can bring some light to how much this problem is affecting an entire generation.
Marita Capili found her way to the Sisters of Providence, Mother Joseph Province, through VISION magazine, Jennifer Roseman, the community’s communication director tells us. Glad we could be of service!
Br. Josh Warshak, O.SS.T.: With
VocationMatch.coM ’ s help I have discerned a call to the priesthood; more specifically to the religious life. I am now a novice for the Order of the Most Holy Trinity founded by Saint John De Matha in 1198. The order was founded for the redemption of Christian captives. Today our ministry continues the redemptive work of our founder by redeeming those held captive by social differences, language barriers, and those in poverty. We also work with and in areas that are in danger of losing their faith. I feel truly called to serve God as a Trinitarian because of the redemptive aspect of our charism. Everyone is held captive by someone or something. I wish to be a servant to anyone in need.
My name is Rachel Worden and I am seriously discerning a vocation with the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in Mishawaka, IN. This order was one of the top suggestions from Vocation Match and also one I had been looking into, so the Match was a nice affirmation!
The Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration are the third order I have visited. I absolutely fell in love with this beautiful, orthodox, joyful, vibrant order and recently attended a “Come and See” retreat with them. I’m looking forward to the fruits that this blossoming relationship will continue to bear in my life and in the lives of those journeying with me through discernment.
My name is Mary Meleski. The internet has helped me quite a bit in discerning my vocation. It was during my time volunteering with Cabrini Mission Corps, living and working with the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Cabrini Sisters), that I was finally ready to seriously discern whether or not I am called to religious life. During my discernment and application process, I used VISION’s Vocation Match to find other communities that I might be compatible with to visit. I did finish applying and have since been accepted and entered as a pre-novice. Though I stayed with the MSCs, it was an enlightening experience to spend time in prayer and dialogue with the other communities I was matched with! Thank you, VISION!
My name is Mark Martin. I am discerning with the Capuchin Franciscans. I started thinking about a religious vocation about a year ago, and a friend of mine recommended Vocation Match. It put me in contact with 52 different orders and societies, educating me on the tons of possibilities, and all these vocation directors and articles helped me to discern what God might be calling me to do.
After getting a better idea of what I might be looking for, I was able to go back to my Match results and apply my new understanding of what I was looking for. I ended up going to a “Come and See” with the Order of Friars Minor, Capuchins in Denver, Colorado. I felt a strong positive feeling for that route and was able to discuss with the vocation director what my next step might be. That next step has led me to the Borromeo College Seminary in Wickliffe, Ohio. I continue to discern God’s will for me.
Sr. Maria Victoria Cutaia, O.S.B. is a Benedictine Sister of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde, MO who used VISION in her discernment. She is featured on p. 150 of this issue. Have a story you want to share? Email it to VISION’s executive editor, Patrice Tuohy, at mail@vocationguide.org.
