Vocation & Formation

A religious vocation is a precious gift from God. It is nurtured by a life of prayer, reflection and service.

a.Calling for Vocation

Becoming a nun is a journey with the Holy Spirit. It takes time and experience. The journey begins with the one discerning and the Community getting to know each other. This is accomplished through initial inquiry and then visits with the Community itself (Look and see) and speaking with Mother Prioress. It is also a process of discernment for the Community as well. A woman who wishes more information contacts the Vocation Incharge and/or Mother and has a series of initial conversations about herself, her experience, and our Community.

b. How do I know if God is calling me to religious life?

This is the question most frequently asked by those who are thinking about a vocation.
Basically there are four steps in discerning a vocation.

The first step is to trust your own desires. Ultimately both God and you desire the same thing, namely, your happiness. God speaks to us through our deepest desires. Do you feel an attraction to religious life? If the answer is yes, then the first step is to trust that attraction and begin to act on it. Our deepest desires reveal the path to take, if we trust them.

The second step is to trust God. We only trust someone we know and usually it is someone we know well. The primary way to grow in trusting God is through prayer. This means praying daily and not just in times of need or crisis. As you spend more time in prayer a loving and trusting relationship will develop between God and yourself.

The third step in discernment process is to investigate the possibilities. This means writing or phoning various religious communities and gathering informational brochures. Then take time to study the spirit of different Orders to discover which match what you are looking for in religious life. After you have selected a few, make an appointment to visit monasteries or convents. You will probably meet with a Vocation or Formation director who can further assist you in the discernment process.

The fourth step is the actual decision to apply for entrance to a community and the confirmation of that decision by a formal acceptance by the Order. While you are in the process of discernment and after you have made your decision, it is a good idea to seek out someone you trust with whom you can share your discernment experience.

c. Initial requirements

We joyfully welcome inquiries from women who meet the following requirements:

• Between the ages of 18 and 40
• Have completed high school education
• In good physical, mental, emotional, and moral health
• Attracted to a life of Eucharistic Adoration and love of prayer
• Ability to live in Community and willingness to live our Franciscan way of life

d. Stages of Formation

Aspirancy

After a period of contact through correspondence and visits, a young woman may ask for application. Upon completing the application process and her acceptance, she becomes an aspirant and a date is set for her entrance into the enclosure.

The stage of aspirancy lasts for one to two years, at least eight months of which takes place after the young woman's entrance. It is a time for the aspirant to continue to discern her vocation while she is given opportunities to get to know the community and determine if she has the necessary qualities for an enclosed, contemplative vocation as a Poor Clare.

With guidance, the aspirant builds a solid base of human and Christian formation through growth in virtue, prayer, spiritual reading, and classes as she gradually adjusts to our customs. In light of Christ's personal love for her and her experiences as an aspirant, both she and the formators serenely decide whether she is ready to continue her formation in our community as a postulant.

Postulancy

This stage of initial formation prepares for the novitiate by introducing the postulant to the fundamental elements of our contemplative Poor Clare life. She comes to experience more of our community life according to our charism while continuing to grow in prayer, virtue, and knowledge of the history and spirituality of our Order. The postulancy lasts for one to two years.

Noviceship

The two-year noviceship begins at a private ceremony with the reception of the holy habit and religious name. These years are a time for the novice to intensify her love for Christ and to grow in her understanding of Gospel living as she studies our Rule and Constitutions, as well as the vows as lived according to the Poor Clare charism. She continues to experience fraternal life in our community as she deepens her life of prayer, and embraces all other aspects of our monastic life. This stage of formation should verify and confirm her vocation to our community.

Juniorate

After professing her temporary vows, the junior sister begins to enter more fully into the life of the community in a variety of ways. She considers her ability to integrate and balance the various dimensions of our life—prayer, work, fraternal relationships, study and recreation — as she continues her spiritual, doctrinal and practical formation. The juniorate lasts at least five years.

Solemn Profession

At the Mass of solemn profession, the sister vows to live as a Poor Clare for “the whole time of her life,” and receives a silver ring and a crown of thorns, symbolic of her union with Christ Crucified. This commitment makes her a witness of Christ's redemptive love for the world. Together with the sisters whom the Lord has given her, she makes of her life a gift of prayer, praise and penance for the glory of God and the salvation of the world.

e. Our Holy Vows

The vows bring a marvelous enrichment. One is truly bound to Christ with a fourfold and very dear covenant. The cloistered Poor Clare promises to live in obedience, without anything of her own, and in chastity; and to these three ordinary vows of religion, she adds a fourth, that of papal enclosure. In this way our Order, born into the Church through the divine inspiration given to St. Francis and St. Clare, serves the best interests of the Church by developing its own special characteristics, preserving the spirit and ideals of our founders and building on our sound traditions (cf. our Constitutions).

• Vow of Religious PovertyBy the profession of this kind of poverty, our Order is called to give corporate witness to the things of eternity - Poor Clare Constitution. The vow of poverty encompasses the life of a Poor Clare in a very particular way as a daughter of St. Francis and Clare. She desires to be poor because Jesus was poor—in the crib in Bethlehem, on the cross and in the holy Eucharist. She claims nothing as her own in order that she may be filled with eternal riches; she is set free from slavery to materialism and consumerism. Her life bears testimony to the Scriptures: as having nothing and yet possessing all things (2 Cor 6:10). This vow deepens the baptismal gift of hope, for she trusts God to provide for her every need, both spiritual and material.
• Vow of ChastityPerfect chastity in virginal consecration is a precious gift of God which infuses into our hearts an unparalleled freedom to love Poor Clare Constitutions.
  The vow of chastity is a Poor Clare's response to God who has first loved her. When lived with generosity, this commitment brings fulfillment and joy, despite the sacrifices involved, because it unites her forever to Christ her Bridegroom. Through that union, she becomes a spiritual mother of countless souls. This vow deepens the baptismal gift of charity, endowing our life with fruitfulness for the Kingdom of God.
• Vow of Religious ObedienceReligious obedience exalts the dignity of human nature, for it demands the highest exerciseof personal responsibility in the use of our free will…Poor Clare Constitutions.
  Through the vow of obedience, the Poor Clare shares in the redemptive mission of Christ, who was obedient to the Father in all things, even to His death on the Cross. She lives surrendered to His will for her as expressed through the Rule, her superiors and the needs of her sisters. This vow deepens the baptismal gift of faith, setting her free from self-centeredness and willfulness in order to live in a spirit of loving service.
• Vow of Papal EnclosureThe liberating gift of enclosure leads those who receive it over that threshold which opens upon a life of profound union with God-Poor Clare Constitutions.
  Papal enclosure is a Poor Clare's very particular way of living and expressing the Paschal mystery of Christ which is death ordained toward resurrection. This vow, which is a significant aspect of the Poor Clare charism, intensifies all the other vows. In a paradoxical way enclosure is a source of incredible freedom; giving up space, contacts and so many other precious gifts allows a Poor Clare to find all things anew in the Heart of Christ.