What an awesome sight! Forty young women gathered on the lawn under the warm sunshine and gentle breeze of a beautiful fall day. And what had gathered them? A deep desire to grow in the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and to seek His will for their lives.
Co-led by the Holy Spirit, Fr. Peter Mussett, and the Little Sisters, this vocation discernment retreat day—held on November 6th—offered the women rich insights for their discernment, and strengthened them through the graces of the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation. Sr. Dara Catherine, our newly-professed Little Sister, shared her vocation story with disarming candor and simplicity, showing our retreatants the power of God’s grace to overcome fears, doubts, and other obstacles in order to answer “yes” to His call and discover the freedom and joy of a life totally given to Him.
Participants listened with great interest as our Little Sisters took turns sharing from their hearts on various aspects of the vocation to consecrated religious life: Sr. Mary Veronica related the beauty of personal and communal prayer and of the contemplative dimension of religious life. Sr. Mary Augustine then delighted everyone with her description of the joys and challenges of fraternal life in community. Sr. Carolyn spoke of the apostolic life, which enables the vowed religious woman to flesh out her consecration in a life of total self-gift to the Lord in service to others, and Mother Mary Thomas highlighted the missionary dimension of religious life. During the entire afternoon session, our Home’s elderly residents—indomitable prayer warriors whose frail but fervent voices are so well known and loved by Our Lord—kept vigil at Eucharistic adoration, praying ardently for our retreatants.
“So where do we go from here?” was the concluding question posed by Mother Mary Thomas and Father Peter. Participants were encouraged to take positive steps in their discernment, to seek vocational accompaniment, to act on the lights and graces that God is giving them, and–if they sense that He is calling them to the consecrated religious life–to respond with all the strength and joy of their youth in speaking their prompt and wholehearted “yes” to His amazing plan for their life.
In addition to formal discernment retreat days, the Little Sisters of the Poor offer individual vocation accompaniment, monthly vocation holy hours, a “Spring into Service” live-in program, and the option to stay with the Sisters for some private vocation discernment retreat time. For information about future discernment events, or for further details about any of these opportunities, please contact Sr. Carolyn, lsp at (303) 594-7420 or vcdenver@littlesistersofthepoor.org.
Click here for a flyer for our live-in service program.
An Awesome Discernment Retreat Day