1 Franciscan Way

Click the link below to read an article about our Postulant, Liz Sondag (now Sister M. Chiara), from The Catholic University of America’s Alumni Magazine. http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/cuamag/sum08/essay.html

Yesterday I wrote my soon-to-be Sister name on a document that actually has importance (a.k.a., more official than the girly scribbled signatures in my notebook). This was, of course, after I was reminded of the change to occur regarding the signature bound to me and had to scribble out “Catie”. As I penciled in the letters “Sister Marysia, I felt like a kindergartner struggling to learn the “feel” of my new title. In receiving this name, representing the Polish form of Mary, I pray to learn not just how to form the letters it contains, but how to be formed in the Son which her fiat allowed her to contain. I want to imitate Mary’s trust, openness, and love to conceive Love in all that I am and do. So soon the letters I struggle to remember to write will be a sign of an interior formation that will take much longer than perfecting my signature.

Pretty soon I will be called by a new name. This new name, Sister Mariela, signifies my new life in Christ and His specific calling of my name to receive all He wants to give. Mariela is a form of Mary, and I will celebrate my nameday on the Feast of the Visitation. When reflecting on what name the Lord wanted me to take, the Visitation kept coming to mind. This Joyful Mystery of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth and her proclamation of the Lord’s goodness seemed to pervade and set the theme for much of my life. In whatever form it may come, I want to receive joyfully all He wants to give, to carry out His will alone, like our Mother Mary did. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47).

As a young college student anxiously trying to discern my vocation, I felt torn between the family and friends whom I love so much and the desire in my heart to dedicate myself to God. In my searching for what to do, I visited Assisi while I was studying abroad in Italy. I was immediately inspired by the story of St. Clare through the frescoes of her life in the Basilica of St. Clare. As I knelt down at her tomb, I begged her for guidance and asked her how she was so courageous in following God’s will. Beginning at that moment, she has been a source of encouragement and strength for me. Now that I have read more about St. Clare’s life, I see myself reflected in her and connect with her call “to be a light to the world”. When it finally came time to pick a religious name, I was excited to choose Sister M. Chiara. Chiara is the Italian form of Clare, and means the clear one. I pray that, like St. Clare, I may be a clear light for God to shine through for the Church and the world.

Sarah's Reflection Reception is fast approaching for us postulants. Among the numerous other changes that will occur on that day such as dress, hairstyle, occupation, and status in the Community, what we are called will be different. The changing of names may seem like a rather mysterious part of the ceremony. After all, the name Sarah has served me well for the past twenty-four years. Someone says it, I answer. Simple, right? Isn’t identification a name’s main purpose? Well, yes and no. The custom for a religious to take a new name is an ancient custom. Take a look at the book of Genesis. God calls Abram from his homeland to be “the father of a host of nations”, and gives him the name Abraham. God changes his name first to identify his calling. A name reveals the essence of a thing and the essence of a thing determines its mission or purpose, being what it is and doing that which is in accordance with its nature. In short, our name gives us an insight into who we are and who we ar...

“But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil 3:7-8). In meditating upon my upcoming profession of vows, the words “in poverty” are what touch my heart the most. By the vow of poverty, I am saying that Jesus Christ will be my everything. As my spouse, I can share everything with Him. In giving Him everything, I am receiving everything I could ever want or need. Jesus will be my source of strength, my hopes, my dreams, my joys, and my consolation in the midst of sorrow. He is the one who gives me life and the one who will lead me. He willingly died for me, and now I am being asked to follow Him and empty myself of all that I am, including my weakness. Only by emptying myself am I able to receive His love and His grace, for “(His) grace is sufficient for me, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:12).

“With a firm resolve to consecrate myself to God, and to follow Christ unconditionally…” This sentence of the vow formula is meaningful to me because it reflects the deliberate, whole-hearted choice I am making to give all of myself as a consecrated woman to Christ and to this Community. It is a response of “yes” to God’s will and to His call, and is connected with all His invitations made to me throughout my life to grow and love more deeply. Making first profession is a natural deepening of this relationship that enables it to flourish and grow in accord with His will. I have to say that my only possible reaction to this reality is a real, deep, and amazing joy! To be united with Him will mean a deeper sharing in the pain of His cross and in His resurrection, but I know that I can trust in the support of His grace to never leave me. I seek to make these promises to God with “a firm resolve” because I know I can place all my trust in His faithful and unfailing mercy. There is so much ...