How is God Calling You?
God is calling you. Is it to a life as a Sister of Divine Providence? God’s call starts deep within your life, giving you glimpses of who you are, seeking to catch your attention and break into your lived reality.
How do you know that you are called to the life of a Sister? There are no genetic or psychological tests for this. Yet our Provident God does provide a way of knowing.
The call is rooted in your relationship with Jesus Christ. . .which can be
seen and felt and touched. Have you noticed your inclinations, choices, daydream
s,
or the mission-oriented activities that give you life? These can be indications
of your call. God’s call is hard to describe. It is equally hard to
dismiss-- because it is real.
The women today who choose to explore becoming a Sister of Divine Providence offer God a variety of talents, backgrounds, and experiences with which to bless the world. They are answering the call at different stages of their lives. Some are students, some have worked for several years, some have raised a family, but all are placing their lives in God’s hands as Sisters of Divine Providence.
Exploring God’s Call Within
We offer you different ways to discern a call to religious life and ways to get to know the Sisters of Divine Providence. These include:
·
Walk With Providence Vocation Information Weekend
· Providence Retreats
· Visits to the Convent
· Visits from a Sister of Divine Providence
We invite you to come and see. Join us as we “Walk with Providence.” Descriptions of our programs can be found in Exploring God's Call.
Finding Your Direction: What Happens First?
Inquiry is an important first step. As you s
earch
for God’s will in your life, we invite you to participate in any of
the discernment opportunities we offer. This will help you know yourself better
and learn more about religious life and the Sisters of Divine Providence.
A woman who feels drawn to getting a closer look at the Sisters of Divine Providence and to exploring her “fit” with religious life can request to become an Affiliate. As an Affiliate she continues in her current living, work, and/or study arrangements while devoting focused energy on her call to religious life, and to our Congregation in particular.
Becoming a Sister of Divine Providence
When a woman’s discernment with the Congregation has led her to seek formal entry to the Congregation, she moves into community.
She engages in a formation process of exploring and actually living religious life as a Sister. It is a rich time of opportunities for prayer and reflection, study, ministry, community, and preparation for vows. The formation process formally begins with entry into the Pre-Novitiate and is an unfolding of the call of God which began at baptism.
Each stage of formation begins with a formal ritual and has its own focus, and continues the discernment and commitment to respond to God’s call. Formation continues through profession of perpetual vows—a lifelong commitment as “we come closer to the ideals we profess. . .” as Sisters of Divine Providence. (CDP Constitution, # 61)
Progression into Life as a Sister
Pre-Novice
lives in community with the Sisters while ministering and/or continuing her
education, from one to two years.
Novice explores in depth the call to the vowed life as a Sister of Divine Providence, without any other full time ministry or education, for two years. She uses the title “Sister.”
Temporary
Professed professes annually to live the vows of poverty,
celibacy, and obedience while living in community and working in full-time
ministry, for three to six years.
Perpetually
Professed lives the vowed life in community and ministry,
in a lifelong commitment to come closer to the ideals we profess.
If you would like more information regarding our discernment opportunities or the Sisters of Divine Providence, we invite you to contact us by email: