vocation

January 8, 2014

A New Year's Resolution for Inquirers

By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB

In my part of the world right now, a beautiful blanket of sparkling snow covers field and lake, bush and path. Deer tracks connect woods and parking lot. Icicles cling to the bell tower.

This quiet beauty fills me up … especially during prayers. Our chapel is lined with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on the woods and lake and path. We really commune with God’s creation as we pray!

I know that it’s counter-cultural to spend my time (when I’m not teaching preschool or working around the monastery) in prayer, but it’s my life.

In some sense, it should be everyone’s life. Continue Reading

December 26, 2013

Like Mary, helping children along the path to God

By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB

Back in the day of nuns in habits filling schools and hospitals, little girls saw the mystery and beauty of religious life before them all the time.

They had a first-hand view of a counter-cultural life that would give them education, purpose and joy.

Today, fewer of us teach or nurse. (We established the institutions and then taught young women how to run them. They didn’t need us there anymore!)

Today, you’re more likely to see us in parish offices, social justice venues, college campuses and even on the bus! (We do all of those things, and Sister Janet and I teach, too.)

And after Pope John XXIII suggested we return to wearing the clothes of those we minister to (as opposed to the habits that were the common clothes of Middle Ages folks), we began dressing like common folk.

The upshot? We aren’t as visible. Now, we must ask you, the parents, to help your daughters and sons see the value and blessing of religious life!

I thought about this during our Christmas Vigil this year, as Sister Mary Jane placed the Infant in the manger. Jesus’ mother certainly knew she would raised her beloved son to walk another path entirely … whether it was what she would choose for him or not. Continue Reading

December 6, 2013

Why make the choice to be a Catholic Sister?

By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB

God looks down from heaven … to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Psalm 53

As we prayed this verse at Lauds recently, a question a friend had posed popped into my head. “Why have you made the choice to be a Catholic Sister when so few are doing so? Aren’t you afraid that your numbers are growing smaller?”

I’d be silly – and untruthful – to say it has never crossed my mind. But, then, there are a number of things I also think of. Continue Reading

November 13, 2013

Answering God's Call Together

By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB

Recently someone told me that young people are looking for community but not a vowed life. Hmmm. While it’s clear not as many women are pursuing religious life today as there use to be, we are still out here. In our hearts, we are looking for something more … together.

As Pope Francis said in a General Audience on May 22, 2013, “… it is necessary to open ourselves once again to the horizon of God’s Spirit.” Continue Reading

November 3, 2013

A Sign from God?

By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB

We all want a sign from God … and some people get one. Moses, for example. Never me, though. That would be far too easy.

I thought about this again last Saturday as I read a wonderful reflection by C. Vanessa White in “Give us this Day” (a monthly magazine of daily prayer and reflections by Liturgical Press. I read the print version, but there is an e-version for those of you with IPads and Kindles.) Continue Reading

October 28, 2013

Q and A: Sister Stefanie on family, ministry, daily life

You entered in your 30s, after establishing your career, enjoying life in your own apartment with your own stuff, being active in your parish. You had a lot of friends and could go out with them any time. You also were very active in your family, taking your nephews on adventures and vacations whenever you wished. How did entering the convent change or affect this?

I did go home less, but that’s true of whatever new family you become a part of. That said, my birth family is very important to me. I chose this community in part because it was welcoming of family involvement. I quit discerning with another community because it only allowed limited contact with birth families. Continue Reading

September 27, 2013

Upgrading our Lives

By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB

“‘My eyes will be upon you and my ears [will be attentive] to your prayer.’ … The message is crystal clear. To the extent that, by God’s Grace, we upgrade our lives, God come closer to us.”

I must say I love that Michael Casey used the word upgrade. We use it to describe our new homes, our new cars, our new phones. What about our lives? Continue Reading

September 19, 2013

Sign on the dotted line …

By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB

When I was visiting my aunt in Naperville, Ill., she asked me how the Benedictine Sisters recruit. Was it like the military?

I was happy to say no. We don’t stay at the door until someone signs. We don’t give the hard sell with out telling the truth that there will be difficult times. We don’t offer uniforms. Continue Reading

September 18, 2013

A peek into Catholic Sisters' history, lifestyles and communities

The Benedictines recently hosted a discernment experience that was amazing! Women from Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Kansas gathered to learn about some of the different communities that are available to them here in the Midwest. They also enjoyed a film that explores the role of – and stereotypes associated with – the habit. Finally, they toured a local version of the national Women and Spirit exhibit sponsored by LCWR. Here’s a recap of the experience. Continue Reading