What may start as an unsettling idea becomes a reoccurring thought. The person with a religious vocation finds that there is a restlessness of spirit that only the things of God seem to fill. Marriage may be attractive, but there is the question of whether or not God has something broader in mind. A few questions to consider include:

• Are you happy, yet find that deep within you there is an unfulfilled longing? With all that you have is there is a sense that it is not enough?
• Do you feel drawn to daily Mass and more prayer than your present schedule permits?
• Do you enjoy sharing your faith with others, most especially those who are searching for God?
• When you first considered religious life, did the idea catch you off guard-like someone who has been picked out of a crowd and responds, “Who me?”
• Are you an idealist? Someone who sees evil (the absence of God in the world) and wants to do something about it?
• Do you find that you possess a great love for the Church and a belief in the power of her teachings?
• When you have contact with priests and religious, is there a sense of connection, an attraction to the joy and conviction they possess?

If you have answered affirmatively to most of the above, you will want to consider the next question.

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Below are listed some prerequisites for consideration as a candidate for entrance:

1. Sufficient health
2. Emotional wholeness
3. The ability to live happily within community
4. Sufficient age and maturity
5. A proper motive

Each applicant is reviewed individually. Minimally, one must be a high school graduate. Our stated age limit is 30 years of age. Exceptions, while not frequent, can be made.

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The best answer to this question is to pray, pray and pray some more! We can wring our hands and look for extraordinary signs, but God works best with our cooperation in prayer and honest investigation. The closer you move toward the light, the easier it will be to see the road. Make a plan for your spiritual life and include the following:

1. Examine your conscience daily and seek to know yourself better in the light of God’s love and mercy.
2. Go monthly to the Sacrament of Penance.
3. If you have access to a good spiritual director who understands religious life and has the wisdom to guide you, then let such help benefit you.
4. Attend Mass daily, if possible.
5. If you have a Blessed Sacrament Chapel with Adoration nearby, then set aside time in Christ’s presence. If not, try to visit a Church and give an hour or so a week for silent prayer.
6. Read Scripture daily and look to Catholic classics to learn about the great founders of religious orders and the saints who followed them.
7. Participate in retreats, preferably at convents. Some Orders offer vocation discernment experiences, while others provide in-depth opportunities for prayer. Either way, there is much to be learned from such exposure and attention to your spiritual life.
8. Talk to a sister. Having once been there, she will understand whatever apprehensions or concerns you may have. Learn as much as you can about the way the life is lived.
9. If you have taken initial steps, liked what you have read about a Congregation, and have been encouraged by the vocation director, then plan a weekend visit.

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People come to us with a variety of gifts and talents.  Singing doesn’t have to be one of them.  While it is true that we highly value the enhancement that beautiful music brings to the Liturgy and our communal prayer of the Divine Office, quality of voice and musical ability is not necessary.

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Very few people come to us “ready made” teachers. While some already have a college degree, most need certification and training in what it means to be a “Dominican” teacher. Our young sisters attend our college and are educated not only to be teachers but thinkers.

The question to ask is, do I enjoy people and could I pour out my love for Christ in the context of a classroom? What is needed is zeal for Christ and generosity. Religious life is not a career; it is a way of loving.

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To be Dominican is to spend your life in study! We take seriously Dominic’s insistence that those in his Order should be given the best in education. By possessing the truth, the religious is able to share that truth. Our sisters are prepared for the apostolate with an initial program of studies that provides them with exposure to both sacred and secular subjects. The sisters go on to pursue a Master’s in theology, as well as a Master’s degree in a secular subject (history, administration, philosophy, English, music or whatever field of study will best prepare the sister to serve the community and the Church). As teachers and Dominicans, we have a great love for study both for its own sake, as well as for the good of souls!

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The best age to enter is when God calls. That is presuming that the greatest impetus comes when we are “ready.” For some that comes around the age of 23 or 24, while some surprise the world and possess it at 18. Occasionally circumstances are such that an individual didn’t consider the idea until the age of 28 or 29. Whatever the case, God’s call is mysterious and there is no model age at which one suddenly should make the move. What is most important isn’t full maturity but self-knowledge. If someone knows herself and has considered religious life in its essentials, she may possess a sincere and well-informed desire, which is a gift from God. When discussing the idea with friends and family it is important that it be considered not as a career choice but as a call from God. It is not necessary to shop around for all the options before making the commitment, as if one should make sure that she likes God better than men! [Note that frequently, those who may not understand a religious vocation think that people who enter convents are not attracted to the opposite sex. They conclude, improperly, that a lack of exposure is the explanation for such an unfathomable idea.]  

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No, it just means that you are normal! It takes the same qualities to be a good wife and mother that one needs to be a good religious. We love with the same capacity; it is just the expressions that differ. As religious, we see Christ as our Spouse and express our intimacy in our prayer-life. We seek to give birth to Christ spiritually in the children we teach. When engaging whole-heartedly our feminine gifts, these expressions of sacrificial love are life-giving and tremendously fulfilling.

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 I have heard a variety of answers to this question and most of them are determined by how one views the process of discernment. One way to view the process is to base the decision on one’s personal experience. Some people might advise you to date and if you find that things don’t work out, or if after a few years, no one shows any interest, then you could safely conclude that you might just have a vocation as a religious sister. This rationale falsely concludes that if you find that you enjoy dating and that you are attracted to the vocation of marriage, then you must not have a religious vocation. There is also the thinking that if a call is genuine, it will not go away. While that is true to a certain extent, it denies the fact of our free will to reject the invitation. God is a gentleman and He does not force Himself upon us. We can choose not to follow our vocation.

Frequently, people leave out the fact that a call to the religious life is an invitation to look beyond the things of this world in all of their goodness, in favor of the ultimate realities of heaven. By taking the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, religious do not imply that marriage, the possession of material things, and independence are bad. Instead, we choose that which is better: single-hearted devotion to Christ as our Spouse, who sets us free by our vow of obedience to conform our wills totally to His, and frees us to be materially detached from possessions so that we may have full freedom to possess supernatural realities. We anticipate heaven where all will live, in effect, as those consecrated to Christ. This is offered, not as an option among many, but as the way marked out for us by God from all eternity. While the choice is ours, it is not based on some kind of notion that we are suited for one or the other by temperament (as if we were born a “nun type” or if in contrast, made for marriage and motherhood or to remain single). Often young women who are outgoing and attractive hear expressions of shock over their intention to enter a convent, as if only introverted, homely types have nothing to lose in the bargain. The fact is that God calls all kinds of people to union with Him in all kinds of ways. It is not necessary to enter into marriage to truly know whether or not one is called to marriage. It is also reasonable to conclude that one doesn’t have to have had a serious romantic relationship before one can know she is called to the religious life. Spiritual directors and those guiding someone in discernment should recognize the fact that we are all programmed by nature to union with the opposite sex. The closer we come to readiness for a religious commitment, the more disposed we will be for a natural commitment to a human person. That is why people in discernment need to be on their guard. Entering into serious relationships when one is searching for God’s will can result in much confusion and heartache. We tend to think that we have control over our relationships and deny the powerful connections that can take place both spiritually and physically between sincere, well meaning people. It is painful and often impossible to discern opposing desires. In other words, one is not going to be able to consider religious life when the heart is beating in more than one direction. More often than not, the choice of marriage is made or, if religious life is pursued, it is done with a heart bruised and inclined to wonder, “What if?” Such a disposition is hardly one in which a successful break from the world can be made.

In the beginning of discernment it is natural to consider the challenges and seeming loss of freedom that we think might result when we enter into religious life. Before we ask, “Will I?” we wonder “Can I?” In the Gospel Christ talks about leaving mother and father, sister and brothers - indeed our very selves! How does that translate for a sister in our Congregation?

The rules we live by in formation and as professed religious are based on both practical and charitable considerations. A certain separation in the early years helps the young sister stand on her own two feet and frees her to fully discern whether this is the life she is called by God to live. That is why a sister does not profess final vows until she has lived in community for seven years.

The rules are based on solid religious practice that has shown itself to be effective through years of lived experience within the Church and specifically within our Congregation. They are intended as means to the following ends:

• To attach to your religious family in a healthy and life-giving way;
• To no longer be bound by material possessions as a source of identity or as a way to express affection;
• To be available to the sisters we live with in community and those we have been assigned to care for in the apostolate. We are called to be spiritual mothers, and so our hearts must be detached and our time available to serve the needs of those around us;
• To make our relationship with Christ the most primary one in our life. All others are to flow from that one source.

It is important that our families know when one leaves home to become a religious sister that we are not permanently separating. We have a great debt of gratitude for our families since it is from them that we have been given life and love (and for most of us, the precious treasure of our faith). Our relationships within our family change, but they do not and should not die. With time and the power of God’s grace they will actually grow stronger. The hundredfold promised to those who leave everything to follow Christ also flows into our families. In our Congregation the families of our sisters truly become our families, as well.

The sisters have four visiting days a year (during the 2nd year, the canonical novice has three) which may be taken in October, December or January, February, and Easter time. Those who travel from far away may combine the days (for example, if the October visit isn’t taken then they may have two days in December.) The visits are spent at the Motherhouse where the family can see how and where the young sister is living her life.

The sister writes home twice a month with the exception of Advent and Lent.

In May or June of the postulant year (the first year) the young sister may go home for a visit (usually a Friday-Tuesday.)

After four years when she renews her vows the sister may go home for a week each summer. These become special opportunities for us to give to our families, and they are usually times that are treasured by all.

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