How Do I Become A Sister?
The Seed of our Vocation (our Formation Program)
God gives to each of us a special vocation, a special mission in
life. This God-given invitation is a mystery accessible only
to the one who receives that personal call.
Our vocations begin as a seed that God plants in our hearts
and minds. Our task is to nurture that seed so that it may
grow into
the full flower of God’s design for us. Formation is one
of the ways we nurture that seed.
If God has blessed you with the call to live life as a Pallottine
religious, you will participate in a special process of formation,
which is designed to help you realize your vocation in its fullness.
This process starts when you first begin your association with
us and continues through all of your life.
Nurturing the Seed
Scripture tells us: “You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” -
Deut. 6:5
We are to love God with our total selves and so our formation program
is aimed at your continual growth as a total person.
• You will be invited to grow spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually.
• You will have the opportunity to examine prayerfully your beliefs
and values, your religious convictions.
• You will be encouraged to advance in the developmental tasks of
adulthood.
• You will be supported in your growing relationship with God and
introduced to Pallottine spirituality.
Examining the Seed
Our Pre-Entrance program, which lasts from 6 months to 2 years,
will help you deepen your understanding of how God is working in
you and to look at the vocational seed with which God has gifted
you.
As you have increased opportunities to meet our Sisters, you will
be assigned a Contact Sister to work with you. Through readings
and periods of prayer, discussions and shared reflections, together
you will examine your sense of being called to religious life and
to the Pallottine community.
Watering the Seed
Your formal association will begin with Postulancy, a phase that
also lasts 6 months to 2 years. You will move from the lay life-style
to that of a religious, living with our Sisters and sharing in
our prayers and apostolic work.
As you gradually come to realize what religious commitment means
and to understand our Pallottine ideals, you will begin to see
if the seed you’ve been nurturing is all that you thought
it was.
With the help and guidance of several Sisters from the Formation
Team, during this period you will examine the gifts that God has
given you and you will discern if God is indeed calling you to
this particular form of religious life.
A Hothouse Experience
The next phase of formation Novitiate is an intense one in which
the burgeoning seed is given the special care it deserves.
During the 2 years of your Novitiate you will be provided with
the opportunity to study and to live the Gospel values of poverty,
celibacy, obedience.
You will also have the chance to engage in apostolic service and
reflect on your experience.
What gives this phase its particular tone is the special opportunity
to grow in intimacy with Jesus Christ, the giver of the seed and
the source of our call.
Tending the Bloom
Sure of your call and clearer in your understanding of the
commitment it involves, at the end of your Novitiate you
will make an offering
of yourself as a consecrated religious and pronounce your vows
of Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience.
You will enter the period of Temporary Profession renewing
your vows each year. This phase ordinarily lasts for 5 years
but may
extend to 9 years. You will begin to assume a more active role
as a member of the community while receiving professional training
for the apostolate which your natural gifts and the needs of
the Church suggests as most suitable.
The Blossom Unfolds
The time will come for you to give public witness to God’s
action in your life. It is a time to celebrate the gift given,
received, and nurtured. In union with Christ, at a Eucharistic
Celebration, surrounded by your Sisters, your family and friends,
your co-workers and associates, you will pronounce your vows
for life.
With your Perpetual Profession, you will be fully incorporated
into the Congregation and assume the rights and responsibilities
of a mature member.
Concern for your on-going formation will now be primarily yours.
The Province will offer special programs to foster your progress
in religious life and your commitment to apostolic service.
It will be your responsibility to take advantage of such opportunities
and to seek out other means to nurture your vocation.
The Sisters will be there to support and encourage you, for
we too wish to see the full flowering of that very special
seed which
is your religious vocation in our Pallottine Congregation.
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