I'm Moving!

I'm selling my home, giving away all my possessions (well almost all) and entering the monastery as a candidate (To become a sister…a nun, a consecrated religious)! I will enter in July with the Franciscan Sisters, TOR of Penance of the Sorrowful Mother!

The monastery is located in Toronto, Ohio, near Steubenville. After years of praying, discerning, (not alone) I thankfully have a spiritual director (thank you Fr. Kevin) who guided me through this process, God Bless him! I did visit other communities. I did discern other vocations, but do feel after much prayer this is the vocation God is calling me. After I enter, discernment does not end, it continues. All everyone wants is to be certain that I can live the consecrated religious life happy…nobody wants to see an unhappy sister right???

Please pray for me that I may do God's will! 

Here's more information if you are interested. (These are common questions I had when I began discerning and questions I have been asked by family and friends when I started sharing my vocation).

Will you be able to email/text? 

Nope. I will be embracing a life of poverty. All personal electronics gone…no email, no smartphone, no (personal) Facebook. To stay up-to-date the sisters have a Facebook page and send out newsletters periodically. 

What about your car, house, etc.?? 

I won't own anything!! Just like the Rich Man (which actually was one of the gospel accounts that started to really speak to my heart and stir something up...) I am going to leave just about all and follow Jesus! Something that is really cool, my lease on my truck is up almost to the day that I enter in August! I’m in the process of working with a realtor now to get the house on the market. I’m trusting that God will provide and take care of this too. Bailey, my dog of 8 years, she’s been a faithful companion to both me and Mike and really got us both through some rough times. My parents are going to take care of her for me. Thank goodness.

Will I see you again, get to visit? 

I hope so! The community is not a cloistered community (though there is much beauty to that way of life, I do not feel called to that way). This community is an contemplative-active. What does that mean? It means they balance their time between prayer, work and ministry. I will have 2 weeks of vacation time a year. Vacation as in time to come home, not to hop on a plane and hit the beach at a resort. :). The sisters host various events throughout the year for guests to attend at the monastery, so perhaps I will see you there! Also the sisters actually come to the Cleveland area for various events. 

How long will this take… until you know, you're um, a Sister? 

About 8 years. There are various stages in the formation process. 1 year of candidacy, 1 year of postulancy, (At this point you become Sr.______, take a religious name, and wear the religious veil) then 2 years of novitiate, then 1^st vow profession. Then it is typically 4 more years until final vows = professed sister!

Do the sisters wear a habit? 

Yes. I won’t wear a habit or veil right away though. (Veil at novitiate and Habit at 1^st vows). Before that candidates and postulates dress in modified ways. (No more street clothes though. Good bye converse sneakers and jeans. :)

Will you teach? 

Yes and No. I will not be a regular classroom teacher any longer. I will teach in a sense, but it might just look different than how I have taught in the past. After 14 years of teaching, this is going to be a big change. But this is something I really started to consider when I was thinking about what does God want me to do. The mission of the community is to make known God's merciful love and I thought that speaks to my heart. That’s where I’ve fallen in love with Jesus. I fell in love through his forgiveness, his mercy in the midst of pain, sinfulness and in some the emptiest moments of my life when I felt lost and had nothing; in that nothingness though I found everything. Perhaps there are ways I can use the skills that I have acquired as a teacher to make God's mercy known.

My late husband, Mike was a such a big part of this faith journey he helped me so much and taught me so much. We grew in our faith and love for the Church together as a married couple. The best gift we gave each other was fulfilling our role as husband and wife in helping one another grow in holiness. But we were not able to do it alone we had a lot of help. I am thankful that God has placed so many faithful witnesses in our lives (and continues to do so)! Though I may not fully understand the circumstances, I trust what God has planned is much greater than I could ever imagine. I cannot do this alone, but by the grace of God all things are possible. I need prayer and support, I have much to improve on, loads to catch-up on, please keep me in your prayers.