Vocations
“For greater things you were born…”
Venerable Mother Luisita
Your heart was made for love.
Vocation. God calls you to love. He draws your heart to Love, to Himself. He desires you to be fully alive, and in a word, to be a saint. How has the Lord shaped your heart to love?
“[Each precious soul] is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to Himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for…” (CCC #27)
Has God made your heart for religious life?
What is religious life?
Religious life is a radical response to God’s call to follow and love God more intimately by belonging totally to Him through the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Religious are totally dedicated to God for the honor of God, the building up of the Church, and the salvation of the world. The life of a religious is a radical witness to the Gospel and a sign in the Church of the world to come, a prophetic witness of heaven.
personally, what
does it mean to
be a Carmelite?
biggest joys is…
Jesus’ Love for
YOU…
‘something’ that
told me I was
home…
important thing
is to keep…
to our Lord…
Like Elijah,
a Carmelite hears
the voice of God…
What drew you to
Carmel?
Has God made your heart for religious life?
What is religious life?
Religious life is a radical response to God’s call to follow and love God more intimately by belonging totally to Him through the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Religious are totally dedicated to God for the honor of God, the building up of the Church, and the salvation of the world. The life of a religious is a radical witness to the Gospel and a sign in the Church of the world to come, a prophetic witness of heaven.
Our Spirituality
The very purpose of the existence of a Carmelite is to become an intimate friend of Christ. Carmelites desire union with God, to live in His presence and to be contemplatives for the work of saving souls and spreading the kingdom of God. Carmel is distinctively Mary’s Order, and we look to our Lady as a model for a life of prayer, sacrifice, and openness to receiving Divine Love and doing God’s will. Carmelite prayer, as St. Teresa of Jesus teaches us, is simply being present to God dwelling within your soul, and to “Look at Him, keep Him company, talk with Him” throughout your day. In the church, Franciscans are the poor Christ and Dominicans are the teaching Christ. We as Carmelites are the praying Christ. Our simple, silent prayer bears fruit in the garden of God, and like St. Elijah, from our contemplative prayer comes forth a burning in our hearts, a great zeal for souls, an immense desire to love God and to make Him known and loved in the world.
Our Charism
A charism is a unique gift from the Holy Spirit that builds up the Church for the good of man and the needs of the world. We live the charism our foundress, Venerable Mother Luisita, which is to stand in the presence of the living God, and with Mary, to make known to the world the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Our primary duty is first to constant prayer, as St. Elijah did, seeking to live in His presence throughout the day and being with the One who dwells within our hearts. In our prayer and service, we imitate Mary, our Lady of Mount Carmel, and we follow in her footsteps of silence, sacrifice, charity, generosity, and purity of heart. In the spirit of Mother Luisita, we make known to all of God’s people the love of the Sacred Heart. Our charism and gift to the church is a Teresian Carmelite spirituality animated by the spirit of Mother Luisita.
Our Formation Process
Our religious formation is a lifelong transformation in Christ, a desire to belong totally to Christ and to be more like Him. Throughout our formation, we deepen in our knowledge of self and in the knowledge and love of the Lord. We look to our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and all the saints in our Carmelite family as models as we strive to become more conformed to Christ. In the tradition of the Carmelite Order, our twofold aim is 1) to offer to God a heart holy and pure and 2) to experience in our hearts and minds the power of His divine presence.
Our formation process includes one year of candidacy, one year of postulancy, two years of novitiate, 6 years of temporary profession, leading to perpetual profession of vows. As a perpetually professed sister, we embrace that our formation is an on-going, lifelong journey of becoming more and more like Jesus.
Our Religious Family
Our life is characterized by a life of prayer and union with God, a deep love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, a devotion to our Blessed Mother, steadfast fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church, praying for priests, and a commitment to serve the Church through healthcare, education, and retreat work, and daily community together consisting of holy hour with Eucharistic adoration and the holy rosary, chanting of the Divine office, and two half-hour periods of meditation and mental prayer.
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Our Apostolic Work
From our own life of prayer that flows into our service of the whole person, we accompany others throughout all stages of life through education, retreats, and healthcare in their experience and encounter of the personal love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Our Foundress
Mother Luisita, our foundress, desired her daughters to continue live in a spirit of ardent charity, great recollection, silence, and zeal! With her deep love for Jesus in the Sacred Heart and in the Eucharist, she served the poor, the sick, and all those thirsting to experience God’s love and peace.
Do not be afraid
Open wide the doors to your heart.
You are not alone in this journey of discernment. Discernment is a process of discovering the Lord’s calling for YOU in the innermost part of your heart. This process usually entails prayer and reflection, trusting in the Lord, and making a choice to move in a certain direction with bold faith. The key is an open and trusting heart, to perceive where the Lord is calling you. Three things are necessary to hear His call: inner quiet, inner freedom, and inner strength.
The Sisters are here to accompany you on this journey, especially through prayer. Below are some resources to help you on this journey.
“What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ, and that we love Him in return. In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary. And without the love of Jesus, everything else is useless.” –Pope Saint John Paul II
Tips on cultivating a heart to hear his call:
- Make time for daily silent prayer
- Make visits to the Blessed Sacrament and spend time in Adoration
- Go often to the Sacraments, especially Mass and Confession
- Pray with the Scriptures (tip: the Gospels manifest the Heart of God)
“Asking such questions also means searching for Someone who can neither deceive nor be deceived, and who therefore can offer a certainty so solid that we can live for it and, if need be, even die for it. Dear young people, the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have a right to enjoy has a name and a face: It is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist. Only He gives the fullness of life…”
– Pope Benedict XVI
To live fully in the present moment and to trust that each moment God is already guiding you. Even now, as a daughter, sister, student, friend, co-worker, be the best you can be for the Lord. You can also pray during this time, “Lord, help me to want what you want and to trust in Your plan for my life.”
Here are some practical ways to live in trust during this time of discernment:
What to do now?
The Sisters are here to walk with you and to journey with you.
See below what you can do now:
- Volunteering
- Handmaidens
- Visist the Sisters
- Come and See Retreat
Contact Us
If you want to learn more, get in contact with our Vocation Directress
Get Involved!
If you are just beginning on your journey, consider coming to meet the Sisters at one of our upcoming events! Or volunteer and meet the Sisters through our work!
