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Reflections - What religious life means to me

Religious Life |Writings

I see Religious life as the living of my Baptismal commitment in a manner made possible through the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. Religious life frees me from the responsibility of family life and the pressures of keeping pace with the materialism of today’s world, thus providing an ideal climate to be a “woman of hope” in a world where many despair of the direction in which they see our world heading. I have the opportunity to take time for prayer, which nourishes and develops my relationship with Jesus. I have the opportunity to reflect on the Word of God, which points my life in the direction of the Gospels, and to nourish that life by frequent reception of the Eucharist. Based on my relationship with Jesus, I now can be to others the eyes, ears and hands of Jesus in my everyday life. Brigid Linehan RSJ

As long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a Sister of St Joseph….not that I knew what a Sister of St Joseph was ….but, my father used to tell me stories about the sisters who taught him. By the time I began to think seriously about religious life, I saw it as my gift of myself to God. However, with the passing of the years, I came to understand more and more that everything in my life was God’s gift to me ……even life itself, my call through Baptism and then the call to follow Jesus through the vowed life of a Sister of St Joseph. As I go step by step on my journey, sharing in the mission of Christ, I am aware that I have no claim to great deeds just small ones with love, conscious that, no matter where he leads, he is with me and will never leave me.
Ann Gallagher RSJ

I see my vocation to religious life as a Sister of St Joseph as an ongoing calling from God. I know that I couldn’t have chosen or continued to live a vowed, consecrated life without the Lord’s continued grace, love and guidance. As I live, pray and witness as a Josephite Sister, I find my ministry in helping and  supporting people in the ordinary, everyday circumstances of life. I find my energy and support in all this through my life in community, my commitment to prayer and my deep trust in God’s providence.
Celie Creigh RSJ

When I entered the convent in 1950, I thought that religious life was a way of showing God that I loved HIM. It has been my experience of life to discover how much God loves me to understand that religious life is God’s call for me to live life as authentically as Christ lived his, to celebrate God’s faithful love with my sisters in community and with those I meet in ministry and to be a person who witnesses joy and hope that Christ is among us
Betty Brown RSJ

As a small child my attention was drawn to the lives of dedicated Sisters who lived their lives in service of others. They were our next door neighbours – people who taught school, music and elocution. They gardened, washed, cleaned and decorated the church. They were women who portrayed a spirit of joy. As a boarder in a secondary college, I grew to appreciate the dedicated and self sacrificing sisters who guided our education and formation. They were inspirational women whose life I wanted to share. I felt called to be a Sister of St Joseph and give my life in service of the poor. I thank God for the wonderful example of family, sisters and friends who have encouraged and supported me to live my vocation. I have been truly carried on “Eagle’s Wings”. Catherine Sheedy RSJ

Religious life for me means taking an extra step in my commitment to God. At this moment it feels right for me to be here. It’s where, I believe, God has called me to be. My call has developed through a whole chain of events and a lifetime of experiences (over forty years) all of which has brought the relationship between God and myself to a deeper level. For me, my vowed commitment Helps me to reach out to people in a different way and on a deeper level. My commitment requires great faith and trust in God. Kim Barnes RSJ


 

Religious Life means Jesus, calling and claiming me to live my life centered in Him. It is through this particular style of life that I am enabled to freely place my relationship with Him above all other persons, mission and activity. Religious Life also affords me the opportunity to live this personal call singly or with others in a formed community, where our quest for holiness is paramount. This chosen lifestyle is not superior to any other, but it allows me to extend my capacity for life-giving love, holistic living and spiritual generativity to the Church, the world and indeed all creation.