We've Gone Public!

[Spem in alium]

One of my sisters (who is 75) asked me how I was. When I asked her the same, she said "I'm good. I'm still alive." Gave me a chuckle!

[Pax17]

That's a typical answer for people over age 60.  I had a friend who would reply "I got up this morning...still breathing."...:)

[Spem in alium]

In a couple of days I will be marking six months as a sister. I have been waiting for this date in anticipation, as it begins the time when I can officially consider application to the novitiate. I don't feel ready for novitiate yet, for several reasons, but in my heart I have the deep sense it's where God wants me to be.

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

On 9/14/2016 at 11:11 AM, Pax17 said:

That's a typical answer for people over age 60.  

I've never said it. If you ask me how I'm doing, I give my usual cranky answer. I plan to wait until I am REALLY old before I become a ray of sunshine in the morning. 

Edited September 17, 2016 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[NadaTeTurbe]

12 hours ago, Spem in alium said:

In a couple of days I will be marking six months as a sister. I have been waiting for this date in anticipation, as it begins the time when I can officially consider application to the novitiate. I don't feel ready for novitiate yet, for several reasons, but in my heart I have the deep sense it's where God wants me to be.

If you don't mind - what are the difference between being a postulant or a novice ? I mean, how do you feel lit ? Like it's something "more serious" ? 

[Spem in alium]

10 hours ago, NadaTeTurbe said:

If you don't mind - what are the difference between being a postulant or a novice ? I mean, how do you feel lit ? Like it's something "more serious" ? 

Well, at the moment I am working and studying, involved in several different ways in my home and local community, and maintain a fairly regular level of contact with my family. These things will likely change in some way as a novice, because from what I know the novitiate is specifically focused upon a deepening of the novice's relationship with God and a commitment to studying the congregational charism, consitutions and vows. I already know that I can't be doing any external study, so all that needs to be finished before I enter the novitiate. I will probably need to stop my work in some capacity, and my contact level with my family will likely change.

I think the difficult thing in my case is that we haven't had an entrant to the novitiate here for a long time, so there's no real recent model as to how to go about things. Another factor is that I'm on my own, so this would also make my novitiate different to what has been in the past. Many congregations in Australia are facing the same situation (a small number of entrants), so there is actually an inter-congregational formation program which runs during the novitiate (dependent on numbers, of course). I think it is really an excellent idea.

In some ways I don't feel mature enough to be a novice yet, but perhaps that will just take a little more time.

[NadaTeTurbe]

Okay, thank you for your answer !  Will you go to Poland for a time during your formation ? 

I did not know that you could "choose" when to enter the novitiate. In a lot of community, it seems like you become a postulant at a given date and a novice at another. 

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

34 minutes ago, NadaTeTurbe said:

 

I did not know that you could "choose" when to enter the novitiate. In a lot of community, it seems like you become a postulant at a given date and a novice at another. 

From what I have read here on VS, it seems as if the Communities that have a set date for entrance as a Postulant and later a Novice are either larger active Communities, and/or those with teaching as an apostolate so that entrances are timed around the school year and those in formation can take classes. 

For cloistered Communities and for smaller Communities of non-teaching Religious Sisters, Postulants seem to enter at various times during the year, usually on an important or meaningful Saint's day, but not always.

I'm sure there are exceptions to both of these generalizations, but from what I've read, these seem to be good "general rules."

[Spem in alium]

1 hour ago, NadaTeTurbe said:

Okay, thank you for your answer !  Will you go to Poland for a time during your formation ? 

I did not know that you could "choose" when to enter the novitiate. In a lot of community, it seems like you become a postulant at a given date and a novice at another. 

You are welcome! Most likely not, but who knows what is in store?!  

It's not too much of a choice, really. I became an aspirant on the Feast of the Holy Family (our congregational feast) and entered the postulancy on the Solemnity of St Joseph, whom my sisters know is very close to my heart. Most likely I will not enter the novitiate until after the Solemnity of St Joseph next year, or maybe even on the day itself, I am not sure. I am simply trying to prepare my heart for that time, though I am sure I can't prepare myself enough for the graces I will receive!

 

[Sister Leticia]

Congregations will have a minimum/average time for the pre-noviciate stage/s (postulant/candidate/aspirant etc) but these can be extended depending on circumstances. For example, in my order we generally say one year for candidacy and two years for noviciate. However, this can be extended if a person doesn't feel ready, or maybe she's been ill or bereaved at a crucial time (eg around the time she would have been requesting the next stage), or a candidate needs some counselling before embarking on the intensity of noviciate. This is all discussed and agreed in accompaniment, of course.

Of our last 3 novices only one made her first vows after two years. The other two each needed a few more months. We currently have a novice who was a candidate for a bit more than a year. So although people generally enter in September 3 or more years later they might make vows at any time! This flexibility is more possible when people enter in ones, twos or threes. It also removes the pressure of feeling she should move on because her companions are doing so (or others assuming if X has been accepted for noviciate then Y is sure to move with her)

Although a stage can be extended there are limits. This safeguards the person in formation - she can't be "kept back" indefinitely - and also ensures she herself can't remain in a state of indecision, just going on and on.

[Spem in alium]

4 hours ago, Sister Leticia said:

Congregations will have a minimum/average time for the pre-noviciate stage/s (postulant/candidate/aspirant etc) but these can be extended depending on circumstances. For example, in my order we generally say one year for candidacy and two years for noviciate. However, this can be extended if a person doesn't feel ready, or maybe she's been ill or bereaved at a crucial time (eg around the time she would have been requesting the next stage), or a candidate needs some counselling before embarking on the intensity of noviciate. This is all discussed and agreed in accompaniment, of course.

Of our last 3 novices only one made her first vows after two years. The other two each needed a few more months. We currently have a novice who was a candidate for a bit more than a year. So although people generally enter in September 3 or more years later they might make vows at any time! This flexibility is more possible when people enter in ones, twos or threes. It also removes the pressure of feeling she should move on because her companions are doing so (or others assuming if X has been accepted for noviciate then Y is sure to move with her)

Although a stage can be extended there are limits. This safeguards the person in formation - she can't be "kept back" indefinitely - and also ensures she herself can't remain in a state of indecision, just going on and on.

That's right. I had a longer aspirancy period (13 months). My postulancy can last from anywhere between six months and two years. Given the time I have lived in community, and my strong sense of peace, I don't feel like I would need to extend this beyond a year. Of course, however, it's not entirely dependent on me. A crucial factor in my case is my study, as I need to be free of that completely before I enter the novitiate. I pray it will be completed early next year, but it is a highly-charged time -- several things are out of my hands and I'm learning more and more to be patient and persevere.

 

[Spem in alium]

We currently have two sisters from our general administration in Rome making visitation. Please pray for all of us!

One of our visiting sisters, who appears to me to be a very humble person, shared two good things today. During a talk she gave us she shared a story she had heard. Suppose Jesus was born in our contemporary era instead of 2,000 years ago. He is looking around for disciples and finds twelve guys to follow him, but after a while asks someone to evaluate their progress for him. The evaluator says, "You know, these guys are terrible. Some of them are lazy and don't want to work, some have no idea what to do, and some don't believe. You only have one follower who is getting anywhere, and he's doing his job the best. His name is Judas Iscariot."

Then at dinner I asked Sister what ministry she held before her role in administration. She said she was a teacher, and it was clear that teaching is her passion. Teaching, she said, used to be the best time of her life, but now this current time is the best for her. She said that it's through this current job that she's become more close to God, as she's had to rely on God a lot more when doing work she finds difficult or doesn't enjoy. Such a striking insight.

 

[Spem in alium]

Fun table conversation.

Sister A (offering chocolate in her hand to Sr B): I'm domesticating you.

Sister B: *blink* What?

Me: *laughing*

Sister A: Do you understand my joke? Maybe my English isn't so good.

Me: Sister wants to tame you. *laughing*

Sister B: I still don't understand. What does it mean, Sister C?

Sister C: I have no idea.

Me: *laughing*

Sister C: Sister, you're too tired to understand it and when you do understand it you won't be able to sleep!

 

 

Edited September 20, 2016 by Spem in alium

[Spem in alium]

Today the parish where my superior works is having a pilgrimage of mercy. They are walking from their parish to the shrine here on our property, which has a designated Door of Mercy (the walk should take a few hours, as there will be stops on the way and we won't be going fast). I have been roped in to attend and to prepare Mass for them (for over 100 people!). Please pray for all of us!

[Spem in alium]

Our walk was tremendous. We walked around 8km, with buses following us in case people were tired, and there were all kinds of people walking. We had five stops along the way, where we listened to a reflection on mercy and prayed a decade of the Divine Mercy chaplet. At the end we had Mass and a lunch.

A pretty nice thing was that at the beginning we were all encouraged to write a prayer intention we would carry with us during the walk. At the next prayer station, we were asked to exchange our intention with someone else so that we were praying for their intention for the next leg of the walk. We did this at every stop, and at the end of Mass we were all invited to take a prayer intention home to keep praying for others. When I wrote my intention, I thought how interesting it would be if a person received the intention they had written...and I did on my final stop before I left to set up for Mass  It was like a hug coming back to me, and signified to me two things: that God always answers our prayer, and that, where I can, I need to pray for the things I ask others to pray for.