More than a passing encounter

“I did not think of God today until I saw you.”
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A man crossing my path to the recycling blue bins here in Calgary said this to me. It really touched my heart, and I was grateful to God for my vocation to the Religious life that drew someone to think of God.

I suspect that other Religious Sisters, Brothers, and Priests have comparable stories to tell of brief encounters with someone who is touched by the sight of a Religious. I know that the Friars Minor in their brown habits have been repeatedly asked if they are Jedi Knights who, if you know the stories of Star Wars, are the selfless defenders of what is right and good in the galaxy. I think that the Friars fit that description quite well.

Often my students in high school told me that I was the only Religious Sister that they had ever met. Happily, some students told me that they had had a Sister teach them in elementary school. I was glad to hear that I was not the only example they had because there are many different communities of Religious, each with its own charism and mission in the Church.

Charisms are the gift of the Holy Spirit to the founder of the community and to all those who subsequently follow Jesus in the same spirituality. This gives the community its particular way of living the Gospel, such as Franciscan, Dominican, Jesuit, Marian, Carmelite, Benedictine, Precious Blood, etc..

Once someone senses the call of the Lord to give oneself totally for Him in the Religious life, a further discernment is needed to identify which of the spiritualities in the Church attracts that person. Identifying one’s own charism enables one to discern to which community the Lord is calling. There is a sense of deep resonance between the individual and the community, something that can be hard to put into words, but yet is very real. This is because the community and the individual share the same charism from the Holy Spirit.

Frequently I have conversations with people in the grocery store, people that I am meeting for the first time or ones that I see often when I go to shop. They speak to me of their concerns with their lives and ask me for prayers. Some share openly of their faith in Christ simply because they know that they are talking to someone who also believes. Think about how beneficial it would be to have ten times more Religious around us!

People seem to know instinctively that there is something special in their midst when they encounter a Religious man or woman. In Vita Consecrata, Pope St. John Paul II wrote:

The Consecrated Life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord, is a gift of God the Father to His Church through the Holy Spirit. By the profession of the evangelical counsels the characteristic features of Jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient One — are made constantly "visible" in the midst of the world and the eyes of the faithful are directed towards the mystery of the Kingdom of God already at work in history, even as it awaits its full realization in heaven. (Vita Consecrata 1)

Perhaps you know young men or women who might be called by God to become consecrated as Religious with undivided hearts (cf. 1 Cor 7:34), willing to follow Christ like the Apostles, leaving everything behind in order to follow Christ because they love Him, and to put themselves at the service of God and their brothers and sisters. (cf. Vita Consecrata 1).

​Our Church in the Diocese of Calgary needs them. Please support them and the Religious communities in our Diocese with your prayers. Please encourage these young people to answer God's call and reach out to the Office of Vocations. We can help.

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Written by Sr. Dianne Turner, OSE - Associate Director for Office of Vocations - Consecrated Life. Call 403-218-5500 or email Sr. Dianne at [email protected]