RELIGIOUS LIFE
COURTESY OF FRANCISCAN SISTERS OF PERPETUAL ADORATION
What are religious vows?
SISTER CECILIA Corcoran, F.S.P.A. presents Sister Julia Walsh, F.S.P.A. with a ring during her final vows ceremony.
by Sister Julia Walsh, F.S.P.A.
Sister Julia Walsh is a Franc i s c a n S i s te r o f Pe r p e t u a l Adoration, a former highschool theology teacher, and is now on staff at the Marywood Franciscan Spirituality Center in Wisconsin. Her writing has appeared in America, Living Faith, and on her blog, “Messy Jesus Business.”
A young sister reveals how the age-old vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience give shape and meaning to her life.
I
WAS JUST OUT of high school when I visited a convent for the first time. I buzzed with excitement, aware I might be entering into a world that could define me. I had felt the pull toward a life dedicated wholly to God and wondered what shape that would take. At the convent, I heard women three times my age describe lives centered on God and community, and I observed their joy, dedication, and strength. I also was introduced to the religious vows. Women and men religious (sisters, nuns, brothers, monks, and some priests) have elected to let these vows be the core of their lifestyle, the pathway to holiness that they pursue. For most, the religious vows are public vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. These vows are what make them into consecrated women and men—
38 | VISION 2018 | VocationNetwork.org
