RELIGIOUS LIFE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SISTER RENÉE DAIGLE, M.S.C.
Vows set you free BY SISTER RENÉE DAIGLE, M.S.C.
Sister Renée Daigle, M.S.C. belongs to the Marianites of Holy Cross. She is on the leadership team of her congregation and a campus minister at Southeastern Louisiana University.
WHILE THE VOWS give shape to religious life, community members still find time to spend with family and friends. Here, Sister Renée Daigle, M.S.C. visits with four of her six godchildren.
The promises of poverty, celibacy, and obedience are less about giving things up than about living a full life.
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F YOU ARE READING this article, you probably have at least some interest in learning more about vowed life. While the vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience are common to those who choose religious life, they are lived and experienced in a variety of ways. Like life in general, the experience of the vowed life is unique to each person who professes vows. I share here some of my own experience of living the vowed life for 33 years as a Marianite of Holy Cross sister in hopes that it may give you a glimpse into a lifestyle that is mysterious in some ways.
Building up, not giving up The reason to choose a vowed life is to participate in the mission of Jesus in a radical way. While much is gained through this lifestyle, the initial “yes” to it comes from a deeply felt call to abandon everything and “follow me.” When I
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