Skip to main content

Forever

     In less than a month our three “Probandinnen,” or Sisters who will make Final Vows, will pronounce “forever” to the Lord. Since June, Sister M. Antonia, Sister M. Eucharia, and Sister M. Karolyn have been in Alton preparing more intensely to take perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience on August 14th. During these three months they follow a special schedule of prayer, spiritual reading, classes, and work to help them focus on making this important step in Religious Life. Various Sisters have been aiding them by teaching classes on our Constitutions, and the Probandinnen pray a Holy Hour each day to deepen their relationship with our Divine Bridegroom. Our Provincial, Mother M. Maximilia is, in Sister M. Antonia’s words, “challenging [them] to live and love deeply.”

     These months are a graced time during which the Sister is challenged to deepen her Religious commitment and consecration to Christ. Sister M. Antonia describes her preparation for Final Vows as a “saying ‘yes’ to both the known and unknown.” “Forever,” she continues, “means ‘yes’ to the present and the future (the unknown – its joys and difficulties).” Sister has been meditating on the Scripture verses, “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own” (Jn. 10, 17-18). Sister M. Eucharia writes that this is her time to “make ready for the Bridegroom.” She has centered on the verse, “Love never fails” (I Cor. 13, 8) and enjoys getting to know her fellow Probandinnen on a deeper level. Sister M. Karolyn also finds joy in deep conversations with the other probandinnen and summarizes her personal preparation as “meeting Christ in the wounds and learning deeper freedom by risking love.” She has been pondering this quote from Ephesians: “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2, 4-5).

     The families of our Probandinnen also have a special role in the nuptial preparations. Aside from prayer and support, many parents or relatives show their support by donating or buying the ring for their Sister. Often there is a story or a special significance behind each Sister’s ring. Sister M. Antonia’s was fused from the wedding rings of her maternal grandparents, who reared her. Her grandfather has since passed away, but her grandmother has been wearing hers for over 50 years. Sister is touched deeply by this “gift symbolizing such love and fidelity.” Sister M. Eucharia received her paternal grandmother’s wedding ring, and her grandparents’ names and wedding date are engraved on the inside of the band. Sister M. Karolyn’s parents bought her ring.

     Soon our probandinnen will be kneeling before the altar, placing their hands into Mother’s to make their final profession. After pronouncing her perpetual vows, each Sister will sign her name on a vow card on the altar and receive from the Bishop her wedding ring, blessed with an invocation to the Holy Spirit. Please pray for them, that they receive every grace and blessing during these last weeks of preparation.

~ Sister M. Christiana, F.S.G.M.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to our Family, Postulants!!!

Today, on the Feast of the Birth of Mary, our new postulants entered the postulancy of our American Province of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George! We thank God for the gift of these vocations. Pictured above - on their very first full day in the convent - are (from left) Ashley Vola, Samantha Goodson, Miranda Edgar, Jennifer Clark and Erin Leis. Welcome, Postulants! We Sisters are grateful that you have accepted Christ's invitation to belong totally to Him in our Franciscan community, and we support you wholeheartedly with our prayers and help! If you would like to send a word of welcome and encouragement to these new postulants, we will pass the greetings along to them. Just leave them as a "comment"!

Looking Back with Gratitude

“Christ is calling you; the Church needs you; the Pope believes in you and he expects great things of you!” My life would never be the same as the words of John Paul II coursed through my mind and beat with fervor in my heart. Me? Could he possibly mean me? Like many others, I felt Pope John Paul II was speaking directly to me as I sat behind him in the nose-bleed section of the stadium in Saint Louis. Throughout my high school years after this encounter, the idea of having a possible vocation to the religious life shocked and bewildered me, but at the same time brought me such peace. As each year came and went, my relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church grew with greater depth, understanding, and love. Through daily mass, Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary, Scripture and God’s divine intervention through his priests and religious, I soon realized that, yes, the Pope did mean me. Christ was calling me and how could I say no? After one year of college, I soon came to the realizatio

Journey with Mary: Sacrificial Love of Spiritual Motherhood

                Recently, I found a reflection I had written during my first retreat as a postulant. The last conference that had been given was on Spiritual Motherhood. As I approached the 4 th Station where Jesus meets His Sorrowful Mother, this is what struck my heart:                 What is the sacrificial love of a mother? It is the self-sacrifice made to love her children. Mary’s self-sacrifice to be there with Christ, her Son, in His passion was the selfless love that united her with Him. Her heart was pierced with 7 swords in the agony of watching her beloved Son endure a cross that He did not deserve, but which He embraced for the love of the Father and mankind. Could she not have said to Jesus, “You don’t have to do this, there are other ways. Do you know how much pain You are causing me and those who love you?” She knew He could have chosen any other way to save us, but this was the Father’s will, and so in silent love Mary trusted. If the world is suffering, why do y