Unveiling The Sisters of the Presentation of Mary - Part 2
Intro
In part two, we focus on the inspiring journey of Saint Marie Rivier and the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. We explore how Marie Rivier turned a childhood accident into a miraculous healing, which led her to found a community dedicated to education and faith. Her story is a rollercoaster of determination and faith, especially when she decided to start her convent after being denied entry into others. We’ll also chat about the challenges these sisters faced while pursuing their vocations, including the ups and downs of community life.
Get a snack, gather your girls, get comfy, and join us as we explore what it means to discern with laughter, lessons, and a sprinkle of divine inspiration!
Highlights
- Marie Rivier: The Saint Who Changed Lives!
- From Discernment to Community: A Sister's Life Unveiled!
- Courage and Calling: Real Talk from Our Sisterhood!
List of Awesome:
*Things mentioned by our hosts and guests. Although we expect much of these are wonderful and helpful, please don't consider it a blanket endorsement for all (we simply don't have time to review everything mentioned in each episode). Enjoy!
- Sisters of the Presentation of Mary Website
- Arise Catholic Movement
- Hallow - Pray40 This Lent!
Print and pray daily the Unveiled Discernment Prayer - Prayer
Here's What to Remember!
- In this episode, we dove into the inspiring life of Saint Marie Rivier, who overcame a severe injury in childhood through unwavering faith and prayer.
- We learned how Marie Rivier founded the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary during a tumultuous time in France, showcasing her courage and vision.
- The sisters shared their struggles in discerning their vocations, highlighting the importance of community and support during challenging times.
- We discussed how fostering a love for Jesus in everyday life can help guide children toward their own vocations and spiritual journeys.
- The episode emphasized that every vocation, whether religious, married, or single, is a beautiful call from God to serve and love others.
- Lastly, we wrapped up with a heartfelt prayer asking for guidance in discerning our paths, a great reminder to stay open to God’s call.
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Transcript
Wait, is this recording?
Speaker B:Welcome to the first season of Unveiled, a podcast series for girls and women of all ages, where we dive into the world of discernment.
Speaker A:How long has this been recorded?
Speaker C:Hello?
Speaker D:Hello?
Speaker D:Hello?
Speaker A:Can you hear us?
Speaker D:Hi.
Speaker B:Unveiled is produced by Sharon Lyne, Karen Yuen and myself, Paxumen, in partnership with Arise Catholic Movement.
Speaker C:You just need to feed us some sugar.
Speaker A:As you can hear, we're clearly learning how to do this.
Speaker B:Discover the beauty of discernment with your hosts, Jacinta Line and Claire Ewan.
Speaker E:Take it from the top, people.
Speaker A:Hey, everyone, this is Jacinta, Claire and Pax, Back with our part two of the live interview we had with the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary.
Speaker A:I'm sure you're all really dying to hear the conclusion, so let's jump right in.
Speaker C:We were going to say a little bit about Saint Marie Rivier, but we were a little not prepared, so we decided to hand it off to one of you.
Speaker C:And would you please explain a little bit about the saint.
Speaker D: s just been named Saint since: Speaker D:So she hasn't been a saint very long for the church, but she has been a saint for us for many years, of course.
Speaker D: Rivier was born in France in: Speaker D:So that's over 200 and almost 250 years now.
Speaker D:And she grew up in a little town called Montpazard in France.
Speaker D:And at the age of two, she had an accident, fell off her bed and broke a hip.
Speaker D:And in those days, she couldn't.
Speaker D:There was nothing to be done.
Speaker D:The doctors had said she would never walk again.
Speaker D:And so she was almost paralyzed, Right?
Speaker D:So she was 2 years old, and her mother had great faith.
Speaker D:And every day she would bring her to the little chapel down the street, down the street from their house.
Speaker D:And she would tell her little girl, you see this lady over there behind the altar?
Speaker D:That's our mother Mary.
Speaker D:If you ask her to heal you, she will.
Speaker D:Now, little Marie Rivier was just two years old, but she understood very well what her mother was saying.
Speaker D:And so for four years, every day, she sat on the floor in front of that statue.
Speaker D:Statue Our lady of Pieta that was in the church at that in those days.
Speaker D:And.
Speaker D:And four day, four years later, when she was about six years old, she was healed.
Speaker D:And, you know, she.
Speaker D:She could walk after that.
Speaker D:And of course, during those four years, she would speak to the lady like her mother.
Speaker D:She would just speak to her just as if it was her real mother.
Speaker D:And she would say, say, if you heal me, I will.
Speaker D:Oh, I will buy you a new dress or I'll bring you a hat.
Speaker D:She'd make promises like this.
Speaker D:And as she grew a little older, she said, if you heal me, I will gather little children and I will teach them to love you and to love your son, Jesus.
Speaker D:And that promise stayed with her for a long time, even after she was healed.
Speaker D:She always had that promise behind her head that she was going to do something.
Speaker D:She didn't know what, but she was going to do something.
Speaker D:And as she grew older, she started thinking, oh, I could be a sister and then I could teach children.
Speaker D:But of course, because of that accident, she always had a limp and she was never healthy, completely healthy.
Speaker D:She always stayed weak.
Speaker D:And so when she approached the sisters, if she could enter that community, she was refused because of her health.
Speaker D:They said, no, she wasn't healthy enough.
Speaker D:So when she went back home after, she was so discouraged, so disappointed, that she told herself, then I will start my own convent.
Speaker D:And she did.
Speaker D:And of course, it took a while, a few years, but she did start her own convent, the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary.
Speaker D: And we were founded in: Speaker D:It was right in the middle of the French Revolution, when priests and sisters were being killed for their faith.
Speaker D:And so Marie Rivier, and she had four companions, she has four young women that had joined her to teach, to help her in the teaching she was teaching at this time.
Speaker D:And she was.
Speaker D:Encouraged them, we should start a community, start a congregation.
Speaker D:And so she was being advised by a priest, of course, she had her counselors and they were advising her, no, no, just wait.
Speaker D:It's too dangerous, too dangerous, too dangerous, of course.
Speaker D: But then in: Speaker D:You can do it.
Speaker D:You can pronounce vows and it will be the Presentation of Mary community, of course.
Speaker D:And so they had to do it in secret, hidden in their.
Speaker D:In the attic of their house, because they couldn't do it in.
Speaker D:In.
Speaker D:In publicly, of course, it was all done privately.
Speaker D:And that's how it started.
Speaker D:So that is the beginning of.
Speaker D:And then, of course, she did.
Speaker D:She started opening school system.
Speaker D:Girls would just enter, young women just enter by the dozens.
Speaker D:And in fact, by the time she died, she died in.
Speaker D: In: Speaker D:She had opened over a hundred schools in France.
Speaker D:She would just send them out two.
Speaker F:By two, her sisters.
Speaker D:She would send them out, go and teach in that little town, and she would send them to little towns all over France.
Speaker D:And one day, she had prophesied that one day her daughters would cross the seas.
Speaker D:She says she had that kind of a vision in her mind.
Speaker D:She knew that her daughters would cross the seas.
Speaker D:And now, of course, the sisters of the Presentation of Mary are working in 20.
Speaker D:20 countries.
Speaker D:20 countries over the.
Speaker F:All over the world.
Speaker D:We're in five continents.
Speaker D:We're in Japan, we're in the Philippines.
Speaker D:We're.
Speaker D:We're in Europe, Africa, South America, United States and Canada.
Speaker D:And we have some sisters in Quebec, and we have some sisters here in Saskatchewan.
Speaker D:And she's a fabulous sister.
Speaker D:I don't know if anybody wants to add to Marie Rivier.
Speaker D:She's just amazing women.
Speaker F:I'd advise you to get to know Marie Rivier and to love her.
Speaker F:When I was a student, I didn't know her, but I fell in love with her when I was a young sister.
Speaker F:And once you fall in love with Sainte Marie Rivier, she is something else.
Speaker F:She's a woman of prayer, deep prayer life.
Speaker F:She's a woman filled with zeal to make Jesus Christ known and loved.
Speaker F:And once she said, I wish I had a thousand lives to make Jesus Christ known and loved all over the world.
Speaker F:And she's also a woman of compassion, because whenever she would open a school, she'd also open a kind of dispensary to help the people with their health needs, with sickness, et cetera.
Speaker F:So she's a fantastic woman.
Speaker F:I would invite you all to get to know her and to love her.
Speaker C:So our next question is, what was your biggest struggle or challenge on your journey to becoming a sister?
Speaker F: I entered in: Speaker F:It was just after Vatican II.
Speaker F:We were six postulants.
Speaker F:And at that time, the novitiate was opened here in Saskatoon.
Speaker F:At the end of our year of postulancy, we were three.
Speaker F:We began novitiate three.
Speaker F:Halfway through the novitiate, one decided it wasn't for her.
Speaker F:So we were two.
Speaker F:And just before final vows, my companion said, I don't think this is for me.
Speaker F:So here I am.
Speaker F:Also, during that time, many young sisters and not so young sisters decided that religious life was not for them.
Speaker F:And so every time one would leave, I would say, why am I staying?
Speaker F:That was a struggle.
Speaker F:And I had to say, because I love God, because he's called me, because Jesus is the center of my life.
Speaker F:And I had to say that often because those were the years where many religious were leaving religious life.
Speaker F:And so I had to choose again and again, why am I staying.
Speaker F:But I think it made me a stronger person and it deepened my love for Jesus and my reason for staying.
Speaker F:But that was part of what I found difficult.
Speaker D:Yeah, it's almost similar.
Speaker D:I can almost repeat what Sister Claudette just said, because pretty much the same thing happened to me when I entered.
Speaker D: That was in: Speaker D:So that was 10.
Speaker D:10 years after Sister Claudette.
Speaker D:And between Sister Claudette and myself, there hadn't been any young women entering.
Speaker D:It was a very dry season, I guess.
Speaker D:And so when I came, we were three.
Speaker D:There were three of us, and it was great.
Speaker D:And like I said, I found my place.
Speaker D:I was happy.
Speaker D:And this is September, and by Christmas time, the two.
Speaker D:My two companions decided to leave.
Speaker D:And they hadn't said anything to me.
Speaker D:And I think that was so hard.
Speaker D:They didn't share with me why they were leaving.
Speaker D:They didn't say anything.
Speaker D:They just left.
Speaker D:And I think that I found that very hard.
Speaker D:And what I found the hardest was that I was lonely after they left.
Speaker D:There is some time of loneliness because I was living in a community.
Speaker D:There were older sisters that I was living with, but they weren't my age.
Speaker D:They were in their 40s, 50s, and I was 20.
Speaker D:I was 22, you know, and I have to say that that was a big time of loneliness, too, during my novitiate years.
Speaker D:Yeah, I think that that's what I found the hardest.
Speaker D:But then in three or four years later, they gave us another year after you do your novitiate, that time of formation, then you do first vows, you do your vows, you become a sister then, and they send you to work.
Speaker D:So then I was teaching, because I was a teacher already.
Speaker D:I was able to go and teach right away.
Speaker D:And so I love my teaching.
Speaker D:I just loved it.
Speaker D:And I was living with sisters at the time, too.
Speaker D:But then after four years, then it was time for my permanent commitment, my final vows.
Speaker D:Because when you first make your first commitment, you do vows for one year at a time.
Speaker D:So that's the church that asks so that they give you a chance, so that after a year, if you're not happy, and then you're allowed to leave.
Speaker D:So you only take vows for one year, but after four or five years of doing this, you have to decide, is this forever?
Speaker D:And so you have to make a final commitment.
Speaker D:And so the sisters gave me another year to go out like another year of novitiate, going back to the novitiate for a year.
Speaker D:And because I had done my novitiate by myself and I had been so lonely, I spoke about that to my.
Speaker D:To my mistress and novices that I couldn't do it.
Speaker D:I said, I can't do it.
Speaker D:I don't think I could do another year by myself.
Speaker D:And she said, then we will send you to another novitiate, that you will have companions.
Speaker D:And so I ended up going to Quebec because they had a novitiate there and there were two other young women ready to do their final vows.
Speaker D:And we were going to be in preparation.
Speaker D:Well, that was the most loveliest year.
Speaker D:I still hold very, very fond memories of that year because we became very good friends.
Speaker D:So it's just to say that that's one of the struggles is loneliness if you're going to be alone.
Speaker D:But, you know, I learned we learn to stand with Jesus.
Speaker D:And I think Jesus made me stronger because of that.
Speaker D:He drew me to himself, and I had to count on him during my time of loneliness.
Speaker D:And now I can see that now that I'm older, I spend lots of time alone, you know, and not.
Speaker D:I don't have very many people my own age around me.
Speaker D:And so I have to.
Speaker D:I've learned to do this, to stand alone with Jesus.
Speaker D:He is my center, the center of my life, really.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker G:Well, when I went to novitiate, we were 26 in our group, and there were 80 some in novitiate.
Speaker G:But when we came, some will.
Speaker G:Our group from the west, we were eight.
Speaker G:But then two left early.
Speaker G:They didn't even make the six months.
Speaker G:And then two left after that, and two left after profession.
Speaker G:But when we were accepted for profession, what struck me is there was one person that she was shocked, and they said, aren't you happy that you're accepted?
Speaker G:She says, I cannot make vows for my entire life.
Speaker G:So she decided before I start by making vows once.
Speaker G:I can't do it, she says, one a year at a time.
Speaker G:And then if it kept on her whole life, she would have stayed.
Speaker G:But she said, I can't.
Speaker G:And that was a shock for the other ones of us that were left.
Speaker H:What was your question this time?
Speaker A:What was one of your struggles discerning, joining the system?
Speaker H:I think before joining, I resisted.
Speaker H:I resisted the fact that maybe I was called.
Speaker H:I wasn't seeing myself as good enough or not enough.
Speaker H:I would have to be more to be a sister.
Speaker H:But then again, somebody said, God doesn't call the equipped.
Speaker H:He equips the called.
Speaker H:So I think that kind of trust helped me to surrender the fact that I wanted children, too.
Speaker H:I had to surrender that.
Speaker H:So that was a challenge because that was huge in my life.
Speaker H:I really wanted children, but I was able to surrender that maybe my ring story too, said maybe where you hopes you're going to get happiness, you were able to surrender that dream and you have something better for me, Lord, that you want to be my treasure.
Speaker I:I think for me, perfectionism is part of my struggle in discerning because I'd put too much pressure on myself, too much pressure on the community, trying to find the perfect, perfect, perfect everything instead of seeing God in the reality in front of me.
Speaker I:And, yeah, I think that would be one of my big struggles.
Speaker I:And so once I could accept the way God made me and the way I am and the beauty of what he was calling me to, in its imperfection, no community is perfect.
Speaker I:No way of life is perfect.
Speaker I:Then I could fully enter in.
Speaker C:Okay, thank you.
Speaker C:Sisters, we have a question from the audience.
Speaker C:Can you make money?
Speaker F:Can we make money?
Speaker F:Or kept it?
Speaker F:Okay.
Speaker F:One of the vows that we make is the vow of poverty.
Speaker F:And so as a teacher, our salary would go to the community.
Speaker F:Not to me.
Speaker F:It's a little bit like the first Christian community.
Speaker F:If you read the beginning of the first Christian community, they put everything they had in common.
Speaker F:And so that's what we do.
Speaker F:We put everything we have in common.
Speaker F:If I need something, I know that the community will take care of my need.
Speaker F:And I know that what I have put into the pot is there for everyone.
Speaker F:I can't say I'm going to keep 20 bucks in my pocket just for me.
Speaker F:So, yes, we make money, we earn salaries, but it goes to the congregation, it goes to the community, and then it is shared among us.
Speaker A:You've talked a lot about your community, but I would like to know what makes your community unique.
Speaker F:That is a very good question.
Speaker F:I think for me, it's the spirit of Mother Rivier, of Marie Rivier.
Speaker F:When Marie Rivier began our congregation, she used these words.
Speaker F:Let us come together and teach.
Speaker F:Let us come together and make Jesus Christ known and loved everywhere.
Speaker F:And I think it's that coming together that makes us unique.
Speaker F:I had an aunt that was religious in another congregation, and she would look at our congregate at our communities, and she'd say, you know, UPMs, you have something special.
Speaker F:It's that strong community life, the let us come together of Mother Rivier.
Speaker F:But Mother Rivier was a dreamer, and she was very demanding because she asks her sisters to be women of prayer, and we are.
Speaker F:She asks her sisters, her daughters, to be women of zeal, to be filled with the fire, to make Jesus Christ known and loved.
Speaker F:And we are.
Speaker F:She asks her sisters to be women of compassion, open to the poor.
Speaker F:And we are.
Speaker F:And then she says, I would like you to come together and live something together as community.
Speaker F:And we do.
Speaker F:And she challenges us to balance all of that somehow.
Speaker F:And that's the struggle.
Speaker F:How do you balance that and find your happiness in those four strong calls that Marie Reeve gives her daughters?
Speaker F:So I think that's what makes us special.
Speaker F:I don't know if my sisters would agree for sure.
Speaker H:For sure.
Speaker D:I agree.
Speaker H:And then Sister Claudette just said, then that's the struggle to keep the balance.
Speaker H:It's not easy commit the living community.
Speaker H:Like, we don't choose each other.
Speaker H:We come from different cultures, different backgrounds, different generations.
Speaker H:It has to be God's work, because it would be impossible.
Speaker H:Actually, community life is a miracle.
Speaker H:And you're witnessing a miracle because there's five of us here.
Speaker H:So it is a miracle.
Speaker F:When I went home the first time after having made my vows, my dad said to me, we were three girls in our family, and he always lived with women.
Speaker F:He said to me, claudette, living with all those women, it must be a miracle.
Speaker F:I said, yes, dad, it is.
Speaker H:And my siblings remind me, I couldn't do it.
Speaker C:What is the answer?
Speaker C:Like, what are the pillars of your community?
Speaker C:Specific words.
Speaker C:The pillars.
Speaker F:Yep.
Speaker F:That's what I gave you.
Speaker F:Women of prayer, women of zeal, women of compassion, and women who live community.
Speaker F:Those are the four pillars.
Speaker I:And I just like to put those four pillars in the context of our spirituality.
Speaker I:So as sisters of the Presentation of Mary, when Mother Evie heard about that feast, she said, that expresses the fullness of our consecration.
Speaker I:So we are called to be like.
Speaker I:So the feast of the Presentation of Mary is November 21, and it celebrates the fact that Mary was brought as a small child and presented in the temple just like Jesus was.
Speaker I:And her life was consecrated to the Lord, and she gave her life to the Lord at that young age, and that's where she learned how to pray.
Speaker I:And so, as sisters, that presentation, we want to be like little Mary's, and we want our hearts to be temples where we can adore the Lord in spirit and truth and where we can offer our lives to him.
Speaker I:So those four pillars are lived out with a special flavor of adoration and offering.
Speaker I:That's the spirituality that colors the way we live those four pillars.
Speaker A:Another question from the audience.
Speaker A:What does a day in the life of your convent look like for you?
Speaker A:Most of you?
Speaker I:Okay, well, it.
Speaker I:It depends which convent you're in.
Speaker I:But there's a basic script.
Speaker I:But we.
Speaker I:Because we're women of prayer.
Speaker I:And action.
Speaker I:The exact schedule looks different depending which part of the world you're in.
Speaker I:What is the current call of each local community?
Speaker I:But I can talk for an example about Mary's house, where Sister Claudette and I are living with young women who are discerning.
Speaker I:So we start our day with morning prayer, the liturgy, the hours, also called laws, the bravery.
Speaker I:So we sing the psalms and we.
Speaker I:We pray different readings from the church that go with the liturgical season.
Speaker I:So that's at 6:30.
Speaker I:And then we have an hour of.
Speaker I:In Frederic, say horizon, an hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
Speaker I:And then we have breakfast, we go to Mass, and then we go out and serve in our different ways.
Speaker I:So some of us are teaching, some of us are nursing.
Speaker I:We go do catechism together.
Speaker D:We.
Speaker I:We do different things.
Speaker I:Another plug.
Speaker I:We started feeding the King.
Speaker I:So if you want to come serve, serve the poor on Thursdays, we're bringing soup and buns and friendship to the homeless on 20th Street.
Speaker I:So if you're interested, talk to me after.
Speaker I:But yeah, so we go out and serve in our different ways, and then we come back together for vespers, which is the evening prayer of the church, the liturgy of the hours, which you pray together.
Speaker I:And then we have supper and recreation sometimes that is talking a long time.
Speaker I:Last night we were at table till 9pm we had no idea, but.
Speaker I:Or played cards or whatever else.
Speaker I:Yeah.
Speaker I:And then we finish our day with an examine.
Speaker I:So we review our day and look at how God, like Sister Lucy was talking about.
Speaker I:How has God been speaking throughout the day?
Speaker I:How did I respond to his call?
Speaker I:How did I.
Speaker I:Did I receive his love and share it, or did I say no to that love?
Speaker I:And then we prepare our prayer for the next day and we keep an atmosphere of silence from the evening till the morning prayer.
Speaker C:Okay, I have a random question.
Speaker C:I am a light waker.
Speaker C:So what time do you wake up at?
Speaker D:What time?
Speaker I:What time do we wake up at?
Speaker D:Oh, it depends on.
Speaker I:Yeah, it depends on the community.
Speaker I:I don't know if I'm nursing.
Speaker I:I get up at 4:30 or 5.
Speaker I:If it's a sleeping day, I usually.
Speaker F:Get up at quarter to six, which is.
Speaker F:Which for me is very early.
Speaker F:I'm not a morning person.
Speaker F:I kept telling the Lord if You give a religious vocation, please give this person the gift of being a morning person.
Speaker F:And he's never done that for me.
Speaker F:So I find that very early.
Speaker F:But that's part of my desire to be a woman of prayer and to live community with my sisters.
Speaker F:I could sleep in and not be there.
Speaker F:But I think it's important that we gather for prayer in the morning.
Speaker F:So I do my very best to have a smile when I get there.
Speaker D:Yeah, it's the same thing.
Speaker D:Like throughout my teaching years, I was a teacher my whole life, and I taught almost 40, 40 years also.
Speaker D:And so while I was teaching, I had to get up early to put in to get my prayer done.
Speaker D:And I always told myself, okay, when I'm retired, then I'll be able to sleep in.
Speaker D:It doesn't work like that.
Speaker I:You never retire.
Speaker D:Because I'm retired from teaching.
Speaker D:But I'm still going strong.
Speaker D:And so I still get up early to get the prayer.
Speaker D:And if you want to get like, if you want to get that personal prayer in, you have to get up early.
Speaker D:Otherwise the just life takes over.
Speaker D:Like after breakfast we're on the go, right?
Speaker D:And I'm really on the go.
Speaker D:Like I work in Prince Albert right now.
Speaker D:I'm with the.
Speaker D:In the administration office.
Speaker D:So it's, it's more.
Speaker D:It's not teaching, but I'm still serving the community that way and it's still very busy.
Speaker D:But.
Speaker D:So we do get up early if we want to get that prayer done.
Speaker D:Yes, it's very important to us.
Speaker H:In my situation, I could not get up too early, and sometimes I don't.
Speaker H:But I just want to share that, that morning time with God's word, what it does for me makes it easier to get up.
Speaker H:And my day is so different.
Speaker H:I need the treasure of what God does for me as I spend an hour with His Word in the morning.
Speaker H:I can do it at night and it doesn't have.
Speaker H:Or the afternoon and it doesn't have nearly the same effect.
Speaker G:Well, I'm a morning person.
Speaker G:I usually get up at 5:40 in the morning.
Speaker G:Then I can have lots of time to pray, you know, in quiet.
Speaker G:And then we have prayer together.
Speaker G:And I like to have time for my rosary in the afternoon.
Speaker G:I'm retired, but I'm still working.
Speaker G:I'm still teaching.
Speaker G:Right now I'm teaching sewing to a university student and to her mother.
Speaker G:And sometimes it's to children or whatever.
Speaker G:So I still keep going.
Speaker G:But I like to have enough time in my day to do my spiritual reading.
Speaker G:My Prayers and be at the prayers with the others on Sunday while I sleep in a little bit more till 6:30.
Speaker G:But I'm an early to bed person too, so I like to be in bed at 9 o'clock but early to rise.
Speaker H:And maybe, maybe you're all too young to know what the word retire means, but I just want to say, a friend that I knew, he said he was retired, which means he had new tires so had to keep on.
Speaker D:Oh yes.
Speaker A:So this has been great.
Speaker A:It's been wonderful getting to know you all.
Speaker A:We have one last question before we finally have some snacks.
Speaker A:You guys are probably all starving.
Speaker A:So as you can see here with us today, we have lots of mothers and their daughters.
Speaker A:And the mothers have obviously decided their vocation already.
Speaker A:But what advice would you give to them to help them cultivate vocations in their family?
Speaker I:I'd say a couple things.
Speaker I:One is help your children develop a love for Jesus in the Eucharist, because that's like they need to fall in love with Christ no matter which vocation they're called to.
Speaker I:And I was blessed growing up.
Speaker I:My parents were.
Speaker I:This isn't possible for every family, but our parents were able to bring us to daily Mass before school.
Speaker I:And I, I think my vocation was planted there.
Speaker I:You learn to love Jesus in ordinary life, in the very basic, simple, ordinary life.
Speaker I:And then the other thing I would say is help your children to listen to God, to hear his voice.
Speaker I:Help them to make spaces that are quiet because God speaks in the quiet.
Speaker I:I grew up in an acreage and when I think about my childhood and little seeds of a call, I would say three quarters of them were outside, so swinging by myself, going for a walk, looking at a sunset.
Speaker I:I think children need those contemplative moments where they can encounter Christ in their day.
Speaker F:I would agree with everything Sister April said, but I would also say, listen to your children.
Speaker F:Take time to listen and to talk with them about things that really matter.
Speaker F:Keep that channel open so that you can be part of their journey as well.
Speaker F:And they don't have to do like me and wait until somebody says something.
Speaker F:But listen to your children, journey with them.
Speaker H:I think listening and silence are key.
Speaker H:But then I remember wanting to create that silent moment when mom really needed me in the kitchen.
Speaker H:So you young people, you know, it's not that easy to build in a quiet moment, silent moment of prayer.
Speaker H:And you're tempted to do it when, when you should be helping or serving.
Speaker H:But the balance between serving, listening, silence is key and vocation, vocation is not, is not so much something we create, it's a gift we receive.
Speaker H:So you know, what gift is God giving you through the events of your life?
Speaker H:Think of receiving your vocation from the hand of God.
Speaker H:Just like we receive ourselves, we're receiving life this very moment.
Speaker H:We can't give ourselves life, we're receiving it.
Speaker H:So a lot about learning how to receive and what we're receiving in the events of our lives.
Speaker G:Well I know we have to be open to God so calling in our life.
Speaker G:I mean he speaks in our heart.
Speaker G:I mean I don't think anybody can deny that, but we have to stop and think about it.
Speaker G:What exactly is he asking me to do?
Speaker G:Is he asking me to be helpful to someone else that needs more than myself?
Speaker G:And I think being other centered is very important.
Speaker G:Thinking of others all the time.
Speaker G:Because you can maybe think that you're the worst one in the world, but you can be the best one.
Speaker G:Giving a hand to someone and you don't realize it.
Speaker G:So I say always think of others.
Speaker G:Keep your heart open to listen to God because God will speak to you.
Speaker G:I'm sure he did to me.
Speaker F:And today we're talking about the call to religious life which is a vocation.
Speaker F:But we mustn't forget that the call to marriage is also vocation, it's also a call from God.
Speaker F:And the call to a single life is also a vocation, it's also a call from God.
Speaker F:So in all of those ways of choosing what life will be for me, God is always a part of that journey.
Speaker F:And it's how do I listen to him to see which vocation will be mine, which vocation will God bring me to?
Speaker F:Because all three are vocations, calls from God.
Speaker H:And sometimes I say there's only one vocation.
Speaker H:It's to love and to continue the mission of Jesus.
Speaker H:The mission of Jesus who came to reveal God, the God that is love, mercy, forgiveness, peace.
Speaker H:So for me that helped me a lot which to ask myself, which lifestyle, whether it's religious, married, single with my gifts and my struggles will enable me to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.
Speaker H:So that was really helpful for me.
Speaker C:Okay sisters, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful stories.
Speaker C:Something that stood out to me is God is always calling you.
Speaker C:So thank you very much, that's all for our questions.
Speaker C:But is the Holy Spirit calling you to say anything more before we wrap up?
Speaker H:The Holy Spirit is calling me to say, you're all beautiful.
Speaker H:You're beautiful, very beautiful.
Speaker H:And his beloved Daughters.
Speaker D:And also thank you for inviting us to share our stories with you.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:It was a wonderful experience.
Speaker D:Thank you.
Speaker E:Thank you so much.
Speaker F:And thank you.
Speaker C:Okay, now to end our evening, Jacinta, me and my sister Pax wrote this.
Speaker C:This prayer especially for discerning your vocation.
Speaker C:So we hope it helps you.
Speaker E:In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker E:Amen.
Speaker E:Dear God, Father of all, I pray that with the help of the Holy Spirit, I may find the path to whom you are calling me to be.
Speaker E:Whether it be leading a religious, married or single life, that I may be open new plans for my vocation.
Speaker E:Help me discern your will, hear your voice, and bring me to where I may best serve and love you.
Speaker E:I pray that I may have abundant peace when my heart is truly aligned with yours.
Speaker E:Please provide the tools and people I need to help me discern my path to heaven.
Speaker E:I pray that whatever my vocation may be, I may be close to you always.
Speaker E:For the Lord is the Spirit.
Speaker E:And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there's freedom.
Speaker E:Help me to gaze with unveiled face on your glory as you transform me into your image.
Speaker E:Jesus, I surrender myself to you.
Speaker E:Take care of everything.
Speaker E:Lord, I pray for all past, present and future vocations.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker C:Saint Marie, pray for us.
Speaker A:Those were some amazing stories from some beautiful women.
Speaker A:Now I have to confess some something.
Speaker A:This is for our junior producer, Pax.
Speaker A:We lost your audio.
Speaker A:I promise this is not sabotage.
Speaker A:You had many wonderful things to say, but that's technology and we're still learning.
Speaker A:But mine and Claire's audio was fine.
Speaker A:Again, I promise, not sabotage.
Speaker A:Okay, so please enjoy a portion of our post episode discussion.
Speaker A:And if you'd like Pax's thoughts on this conversation, you'll just have to ask her yourself.
Speaker A:Sorry, Pax.
Speaker C:Something that especially stood to me was God is always calling.
Speaker C:So he'll call you for your discernment, but he's also just calling you.
Speaker C:Every day you wake up, he's calling you to do something that day.
Speaker C:He's always calling.
Speaker C:And also like, as long as you love me with all your heart, it doesn't matter what you choose.
Speaker C:Just do it.
Speaker A:What struck me was how almost all of the sisters we interviewed had been taught by the sisters of the Presentation of Mary.
Speaker A:It struck me because it kind of proved that when you have that exposure to sisters or consecrated women, or if you just like talk about it with people, you'll probably naturally think about the possibility of the vocation more.
Speaker A:And that's kind of what we're doing here, where we want girls to know that religious life is an option.
Speaker A:And by interviewing the different orders, we can be the people to bring that exposure of religious life to girls or women who don't have it and, like, make them more comfortable in sharing if they have that desire.
Speaker A:You saw a struggle with a few of the sisters and just they didn't know how to bring it up.
Speaker A:They didn't know who to go to.
Speaker C:Another thing that popped out to me was during their discernment process how they were losing friends and fellow women who were discerning with them.
Speaker A:Yeah, like, I can't imagine what it would be like to journey with people in that process and then suddenly they decide it's not for them.
Speaker A:And then you're suddenly by yourself.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:Yeah, I can't imagine what that would be like.
Speaker A:Yeah, like suddenly they're not there doing prayers and stuff with you.
Speaker A:But like, I admire them for their courage in standing it out even as they lost fellow novitiates who decided, like, it wasn't for them and they stuck it out and decided that it was for them.
Speaker A:And that's what discernment is.
Speaker A:It might not.
Speaker A:You might discern something that doesn't end up being what God's calling you to.
Speaker A:And that's okay.
Speaker C:Okay, everyone, thank you for joining us for these beautiful stories of these women.
Speaker C:I hope something has stood out to you and it will stick with you for the rest of your life.
Speaker B:And if you would like to learn more about the sisters of the Presentation of Mary, or if you feel it is stirring in your heart that you could perhaps see yourself in this community and are interested in speaking with someone, you can visit presentationofmary ca.
Speaker B:We will also have more contact information in the show Notes.
Speaker B:Remember to rate, subscribe and share this podcast and in my opinion, five stars are much more beautiful than four stars.
Speaker C:You can also like and follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram to get info on upcoming episodes.
Speaker A:We still have our Lenten poll up, so if you haven't filled it out yet, please let us know whether you use the Sunday loophole.
Speaker A:This is Jacinta, Claire and Pax signing off.
Speaker B:The Unveiled podcast is an audio production in partnership with Arise Catholic Movement, hosted by Jacinta Love Line and Claire Yuen and produced by Sharon Lyne, Karen Yuen and myself, Pax Yuen.
Speaker B:Audio mixing by Sharon and me Pax Editing and music by Sharon Lyne.
Speaker B:Tune in to our next episode wherever you get your podcast.
Speaker C:After you say a word too much, I think it sounds weird.
Speaker A:Well, I was thinking about the word.
Speaker A:What was it?
Speaker A:Kidding.
Speaker A:Last night, I was like.
Speaker A:Kidding is a weird word.
Speaker A:Why do people just use it in a sentence?
Speaker A:It just sounds so weird.
Speaker A:Or is not a weird word.
Speaker H:Hitting is not weird or is a weird word.
Speaker C:You spell it too.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker I:Circle back.
Speaker I:Junior producer, get your girl.
