GSR Today - A workshop in San Antonio, hosted by the National Religious Vocation Conference, challenged members of religious life on how they assess candidates for their communities.
Serving people who lost everything to a typhoon in 2013, I learned that Christ never abandons us. His self-giving sustains us through every situation we face. We are never alone. He strengthens us and accompanies us.
A winding life of curiosity led Dominican Sister Pat Farrell to religious life, a vegan diet and powerlifting. The Californian won her weight class for bench pressing 77 pounds and deadlifting more than her body weight.
"As archivist, I can offer something practical and personal to my community.," writes Sr. Grace Marie Del Priore. "Preserving our legacy is my way of expressing love; having that offering valued is affirming."
A blessed upheaval happens in the missionary's heart if we allow ourselves to be touched by our new reality: the feeling of being upside down, of having to start over, while a deep sense of home grows in the heart.
"God is just as present in the silence as in the joy," writes one sister. "He is patient with me, gentle in my struggle and faithful even when I falter."
