A Random Vocations Chat Type Of Thread

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='16 June 2010 - 09:22 PM' timestamp='1276741360' post='2130205']
I share the Sisters of Life habit-love. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/love.gif[/img]

I think it just might be my favorite "somewhat modified" habit. (Can it be categorized as such technically? I have no idea. [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/hehehe.gif[/img] )

When I went to see my newly-noviced friend on her first post-investiture Visiting Day I just couldn't stop gibbering about how beautiful she looked in her new habit! [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/lol.gif[/img] Really, I felt like I was speaking to a bride on her wedding day.... just couldn't help myself!
[/quote]

I can see why you like the Sisters of Life habit so much. It is essentially a modified Dominican habit, but with certain portions blue, which is a color you love. Whomever designed that habit had very good taste.

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' date='17 June 2010 - 01:27 AM' timestamp='1276752476' post='2130327']
I can see why you like the Sisters of Life habit so much. It is essentially a modified Dominican habit, but with certain portions blue, which is a color you love. [b]Whomever designed that habit had very good taste.[/b]
[/quote]

Agreed!

[JTheresa]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='16 June 2010 - 08:16 AM' timestamp='1276690569' post='2129801']
So it appears we'd all like to go to the cloister... for a day (well, except for vee8... she'll stay locked up in her cell, busy procuring gallons of holy tears to get the rest of us into heaven ).

I find this rather interesting.

Are we all closet-contemplatives?


[/quote]
I am definitely a closet contemplative, even though I'm not really in the closet about it.
But alas! the Good Lord knows I would never survive. I'll scarcely make it through my year of canonical novitiate.
It's a good thig we have plenty of libraries, or else I would drive the other sisters crazy from an abnormal amount of questions due to an abundance of time to think about life and eternity.

[TeresaBenedicta]

A nice reality check from the Saints:

[quote]Must you continue to be your own cross? No matter which way God leads you, you change everything into bitterness by constantly brooding over everything. For the love of God, replace all this self-scrutiny with a pure and simple glance at God's goodness. - St. Jeanne de Chantal [/quote]

Boy did I need that.

[aalpha1989]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' date='17 June 2010 - 02:14 PM' timestamp='1276798491' post='2130543']
A nice reality check from the Saints:

[quote]Must you continue to be your own cross? No matter which way God leadsyou, you change everything into bitterness by constantly brooding overeverything. For the love of God, replace all this self-scrutiny with apure and simple glance at God's goodness. - St. Jeanne de Chantal[/quote]


Boy did I need that.
[/quote]

that's awesome, thanks!

[vee]

As the year for priests comes to an end June 19 I wanted to post this prayer for priests by St Therese as a reminder that we should still keep praying for them.


O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;
for your unfaithful and tepid priests;
for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields.
for your tempted priests;
for your lonely and desolate priests;
For your young priests;
for your dying priests;
for the souls of your priests in Purgatory.

But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me:
the priest who baptized me;
the priests who absolved me from my sins;
the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion;
the priests who taught and instructed me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way
(especially …).

O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart,
and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.

Edited June 18, 2010 by vee8

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='vee8' date='18 June 2010 - 02:36 PM' timestamp='1276882612' post='2130954']
As the year for priests comes to and end June 19 I wanted to post this prayer for priests by St Therese as a reminder that we should still keep praying for them.


O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;
for your unfaithful and tepid priests;
for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields.
for your tempted priests;
for your lonely and desolate priests;
For your young priests;
for your dying priests;
for the souls of your priests in Purgatory.

But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me:
the priest who baptized me;
the priests who absolved me from my sins;
the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion;
the priests who taught and instructed me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way
(especially …).

O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart,
and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.
[/quote]

for our

Praying for priests and future priests has become such an important part of my own spiritual life-- something that is integrally connected to my vocation. It is a beautiful thing. St. Therese, pray for our priests!

[Tridenteen]

JMJ
Random thought.
When I went on retreat last year, the sisters talked about families. I said that I am terrified of homesickness. The sisters, especially the ones who entered at 17, all said they were particuraly affected by this in one way or another BEFORE (as in when they were at home still, and wondered how they would cope) entering the convent. Usually the day after entering, it went away. Any thoughts?

Edited June 18, 2010 by Tridenteen

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='Tridenteen' date='18 June 2010 - 08:19 PM' timestamp='1276903171' post='2131111']
JMJ
Random thought.
When I went on retreat last year, the sisters talked about families. I said that I am terrified of homesickness. The sisters, especially the ones who entered at 17, all said they were particuraly affected by this in one way or another BEFORE (as in when they were at home still, and wondered how they would cope) entering the convent. Usually the day after entering, it went away. Any thoughts?
[/quote]

I've thought about this a lot as well. Although, to be honest, I suppose it's never been so much of a concern of [i]me[/i] being homesick as knowing that my parents would be missing me.

I went to college 3,000 miles away from home. That first year I came home for a Fall Break and for Christmas, then my parents came and visited in the Spring (not necessarily from "homesickness" but because I was playing DI Softball and they wanted to see me play at the collegiate level). My second and third years of college, I only came home for Christmas, and I was at college most of the summer in-between those two years. So I would often go about five months or longer before seeing my family.

At times it was hard, especially when something was happening with my family back home. My grandma died my freshman year and that was probably the most difficult time to be 3,000 miles away from family. I was all alone and, perhaps even worse, I had to hear my dad cry over the phone. It was a tough time. There were other hard times as well, don't get me wrong. The birth of my niece and simply times when I missed home and missed my family.

But I guess that it never bothered me "enough" to, say, transfer schools or something. For the most part I was fine. I called my mom everyday, talked to my dad about once every few weeks. And in a way, I needed to be that far away from home. It was a time for me to really grow into myself and to grow into the faith without the interference of my family.

So when I think about being homesick when I enter... I guess I kind of figure it'll be about the same for me as going off to college. Maybe a little more intense at times, since those first few years can be an emotional roller-coaster. But when I'm kept busy and I'm doing something I love, I know that I'll be fine. It's my parents that I'm more worried about, especially my mom.

On the other hand, my best friend is completely the opposite. She can't imagine not being able to see and talk to her family on a very regular and consistent basis. College is hard enough for her and she's only three hours away from home. But the way she thinks about it is this... if she truly loved someone and married, and his job called him far from her family, would she follow? Absolutely.

I also have a friend that recently entered the Poor Clares. In a letter she sent me around Easter, she told me how of how difficult it is to be away from her family, how difficult the separation is for her (her family is very, very close, btw). But she also shared that, despite the suffering involved, (or perhaps because of the suffering) there has been so much grace-- for her and for her family. And I can attest to that from the opposite side of the grille, being best friends with her older sister who had, I think, an even more difficult time with the separation than did the one entering. But over the first six or seven months, I literally saw the spiritual growth and the abundant graces poured out upon her sister. It was absolutely amazing! Very tough, but amazing. I've also been blessed to witness an awesome conversion of their dad (who was never non-religious, but has truly had a second conversion to the faith).

So, I think that it really does all depend the individual who is entering-- not even necessarily on how close one is with their family, but just on the individual in general. In some ways I think it's a beautiful thing for their to be suffering involved with entrance, because God brings so much good from that suffering. But, [i]Deo gratias[/i], God also knows for whom that suffering would be too much to bear and would endanger a vocation, so in His Providence, He spares some from that particular way of suffering.

Hm. That was all just random thoughts from me, I don't know if any of them really address your question. I kind of just went off on a tangent. Sorry!

[Cherie]

[quote name='Tridenteen' date='18 June 2010 - 07:19 PM' timestamp='1276903171' post='2131111']
JMJ
Random thought.
When I went on retreat last year, the sisters talked about families. I said that I am terrified of homesickness. The sisters, especially the ones who entered at 17, all said they were particuraly affected by this in one way or another BEFORE (as in when they were at home still, and wondered how they would cope) entering the convent. Usually the day after entering, it went away. Any thoughts?
[/quote]

For some people it might go away, but I know other Sisters who have a real struggle with homesickness, one that lasted their whole novitiate (and even beyond that, at times). Usually encouragement from her fellow Sisters helps (a LOT!) but separation from family is part of the sacrifice, and it truly is a difficult sacrifice to make, for sure! I know a certain Sister who had to wait a year before she could enter the convent, because the Superior knew if she had entered a year earlier, she would have left out of homesickness. She was given a year to prepare herself for the convent, and now she is doing WONDERFULLY and is one of the happiest, holiest Sisters I know! (And of course she still misses her family at times!)

I wouldn't be scared of it, though. Homesickness, especially with those who enter after high school, is completely normal and expected. It should never be concealed from the Novice Mistress, though, which is sometimes a temptation for those who are new to religious life. "It doesn't matter, I shouldn't tell her, what will she think?" are often the thoughts that may go through a young Sister's mind. Thankfully, the Novice Mistress is there to help you in the first difficult days (months? years?! ) in the convent, and living with a religious community is such a WONDERFUL family in itself, that often in the midst of community prayer, recreation, or just daily living in the convent, those feelings of homesickness dissipate when you realize the glorious vocation you have been given, and you can rest in the sweet providence of God's Will for you!

[OnlySunshine]

I thought I'd share this reflection:

[i]Belonging to the Lord means to be on fire with His incandescent Love, to be transformed into the splendor of his beauty: Our littleness is offered to Him as a sacrifice of sweet fragrance so that it becomes a witness of the greatness of His presence for our epoch, which has great need to be inebriated by the richness of His grace.[/i] – Pope Benedict XVI

[vee]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' date='18 June 2010 - 09:05 PM' timestamp='1276913115' post='2131171']
I thought I'd share this reflection:

[i]Belonging to the Lord means to be on fire with His incandescent Love, to be transformed into the splendor of his beauty: Our littleness is offered to Him as a sacrifice of sweet fragrance so that it becomes a witness of the greatness of His presence for our epoch, which has great need to be inebriated by the richness of His grace.[/i] – Pope Benedict XVI
[/quote]

B16

[JTheresa]

[quote name='Tridenteen' date='18 June 2010 - 07:19 PM' timestamp='1276903171' post='2131111']
JMJ
Random thought.
When I went on retreat last year, the sisters talked about families. I said that I am terrified of homesickness. The sisters, especially the ones who entered at 17, all said they were particuraly affected by this in one way or another BEFORE (as in when they were at home still, and wondered how they would cope) entering the convent. Usually the day after entering, it went away. Any thoughts?
[/quote]
I have the same question because right now I'm terrified of how I'll hold up in the fall.

[quote name='CherieMadame' date='18 June 2010 - 10:01 PM' timestamp='1276912863' post='2131168']
For some people it might go away, but I know other Sisters who have a real struggle with homesickness, one that lasted their whole novitiate (and even beyond that, at times). Usually encouragement from her fellow Sisters helps (a LOT!) but separation from family is part of the sacrifice, and it truly is a difficult sacrifice to make, for sure! I know a certain Sister who had to wait a year before she could enter the convent, because the Superior knew if she had entered a year earlier, she would have left out of homesickness. She was given a year to prepare herself for the convent, and now she is doing WONDERFULLY and is one of the happiest, holiest Sisters I know! (And of course she still misses her family at times!)

I wouldn't be scared of it, though. Homesickness, especially with those who enter after high school, is completely normal and expected. It should never be concealed from the Novice Mistress, though, which is sometimes a temptation for those who are new to religious life. "It doesn't matter, I shouldn't tell her, what will she think?" are often the thoughts that may go through a young Sister's mind. Thankfully, the Novice Mistress is there to help you in the first difficult days (months? years?! ) in the convent, and living with a religious community is such a WONDERFUL family in itself, that often in the midst of community prayer, recreation, or just daily living in the convent, those feelings of homesickness dissipate when you realize the glorious vocation you have been given, and you can rest in the sweet providence of God's Will for you!
[/quote]
That really helped!! I know I'll get through it, and something that I hear everyone telling me is "keep an open dialogue with your Director". The problem is I have a hard time opening up to people. *sigh*
Oh well, i'll survive!!

[vee]

[img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4FSfQ67Q1RI/SMWymE3ppBI/AAAAAAAACzA/VM8cM9l-au0/S1600-R/Elija+under+Our+Lady+Mantel.jpg[/img]

A while ago i posted a picture similar to this somewhere on VS but with Dominicans. I'm happy to find the Carmelite version.

[laetitia crucis]

Random (and yes, even a bit superficial ) thought:

God willing, when I become a novice and wear a veil, I'm going to wear my hair like this:

[img]http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy305/laetitia_crucis/Religious/SrGraceDom6.jpg[/img]

---

For the longest time I've had a great distaste for the hair-showing veils. (Give me the buzz cut completely concealed under the veil any day. This makes for faster showers, and even faster time for getting ready in the morning. I've always been an "all or nothing" type of person...) However, I've been praying for the hair-showing veil to grow on me since my future community wears one, as do most Dominicans I've encountered. And well... I think it finally has.

My Sister of Life friend has a high preference for the hair-showing veils. Actually, when I expressed my preference for the other, she was somewhat horrified at the thought of a buzz cut and non-hair-showing veils. That amused me.

Anyhooooo... there's my most recent random vocation-related (sorta) thought.

What say you about the hair-showing veils vs. non-hair-showing veils?