Vocations
From all eternity, God has a purpose for your life
Maybe this is the first time you’ve thought about what your vocation is… “What is God calling me to do with my life?”
The good news is, He has planned your vocation from all eternity!
God chooses to reveal each person’s vocation through specific circumstances. You are not choosing, you’re trying to discover, with grace, His beautiful mystery for your life.
Vocation Directress
Welcome, my name is Sister Gabriela. I’m thankful to God that you are searching for Him in a deeper way, whether for reasons of discerning your vocation or that you stumbled upon this site. I am privileged to minister to young women who are discerning the call to the religious life.
Many young women call to ask questions about what it’s like to be a Sister and how did I know that God was calling me to the Religious Life. These questions are so important! It is helpful to have someone to speak with who has already gone through the discernment process.
Vocation directors are here to accompany discerners as they navigate the journey God has laid before them. If you have questions about religious life or our community, please feel free to fill out the Vocation Inquiry form. We will then be in touch through email or by phone, whichever you prefer!
May the Holy Spirit guide your discernment.
In Jesus and Mary,
Sister M. Gabriela, SCMC
Vocation Inquiry
Every Vocation is a Call to Holiness
Every vocation is a call to holiness, a call to love. Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. (CCC 2392)
A vocation to Religious Life is a fragile gift, a call, a choice made by God. It is an invitation to live exclusively for Him in undivided love.
A vocation to the Sisters of Charity is a unique call to embrace our way of life, become a part of our family, and participate in our particular mission in the Church; giving our whole hearts to God and His Church in a spirit of heartfelt simplicity.
Your vocation becomes evident in God’s time. To learn more about discernment and the process click here.
We are brides, sisters, mothers and friends. We have, in our own beautiful unique ways, heard the call of God to give up everything and follow Him unreservedly. We choose this way of life because He has called us from all eternity, He has loved us unconditionally.
Meet the Sisters
Hosea 2:19-20
Sister Mary Kathleen, SCMC
Sister Mary Kathleen grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and met the Sisters at a religious conference in Mundelein, Illinois. She enjoys many different activities including: writing stories and poetry, drawing, painting, going for walks, visiting the ocean, photography, learning about how to teach reading, and working with students with special learning needs. She also enjoys praying, talking and laughing with her Sisters.
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
Sister Mary Patrick, SCMC
Sister Mary Patrick grew up in Manchester Connecticut and was attracted to the Sisters’ joyful and simple spirit when they came to her parish in 1960. Sister likes anything with music; listening, playing and directing the Sister’s choir. She can often be found mopping the floors around the house in any spare time.
“The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” Psalm 23:1
Sister M. Josephine, SCMC
Sister M. Josephine was born and spent much of her life in Burundi, Africa. She eventually met the Sisters at St. Agnes convent chapel in St. Paul, Minnesota. One day when she was praying in their chapel a Sister invited her to come on a visit. She was drawn to the Sisters by their generosity and the peace she felt around them. Sister enjoys preparing veggie trays, taking walks, and treating the Sisters to homemade caramel popcorn!
“For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37
Sister M. Gabriel, SCMC
Sister M. Gabriel was born in Bath, Pennsylvania and grew up in Bourne, Massachusetts. She met the Sisters when she came to the Academy of the Holy Family as a sophomore in high school. When her mom first pulled into the Academy parking lot, she felt like this was where God wanted her to be. She was drawn to the Sisters’ simplicity. She enjoys animals, art and basketball.
“God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.” 1 John 4:16
Sister M. Loreto, SCMC
Sister M. Loreto was born in New Jersey, but moved and grew up in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. She picked up a brochure about the community while on a vocational retreat and was inspired to write to them. Mother Marie Alma (the foundress) responded immediately. She was attracted by their conservative way of life, the habit and giving up all for Jesus. Sister M. Loreto enjoys spending time with her community and family.
“…Without Me you can do nothing.”John 15:5
Sister Elizabeth, SCMC
Sister Elizabeth grew up in Bristol, Rhode Island. She met our foundress, Mother Marie Alma at the Blue Army Shrine in Washington, New Jersey. Mother Marie Alma invited her to come visit the convent. She was attracted to the Sisters by their happiness, joy, and, of course, she liked the habit. Sister often spends part of her afternoon crocheting and knitting while enjoying a cup of coffee.
“And he cried, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” Luke 18:38
Sister Marie Lucette, SCMC
Sister Marie Lucette grew up in Belize. She met the Sisters when she came to the Academy of the Holy Family as a sophomore. When a community celebration approaches, Sister can very often be found decorating and planning the celebration!
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” Luke 15:4-5
Mother Mary Mark, SCMC
Mother Mary Mark grew up nearby in Norwich, Connecticut. While studying at the Academy she was drawn to the Sisters’ simplicity. Mother’s hobbies include cooking, ice skating, and basketball!
“Lord, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar.” Psalm 139
Sister Mary Jane, SCMC
Sister Mary Jane grew up in Central and South Vietnam. She moved to Massachusetts in 1992. She met the Sisters through a Vietnamese priest. She remembers being very attracted by the Sisters’ beautiful habit. She says “it was love at first sight!” Sister enjoys Vietnamese dancing, cooking and also appreciates sharing Vietnamese culture with the Sisters.
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life…” Psalm 27:4
Sister Marie Alexandria, SCMC
Sister grew up mostly in Illinois but often moved because of her father’s work. She met the Sisters on a discernment weekend. After getting hired at the Sisters’ nursing home in Wisconsin, she decided she’d like to enter our congregation. She was especially attracted to the Sisters charity and peace. Sister M. Alexandria enjoys many hobbies; drawing, Irish dancing, reading, music, painting, kayaking and playing frisbee.
“God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.” 1 John 4:16
John 15:16
Vocation Stories
Mother Katherine
A general restlessness and a type of seeking were a part of my young adult life; I may have even given my parents a few grey hairs during certain episodes of my ‘seeking’.
When I would come back to center, my parent’s home, I would frequently ask my mom, “When will I find the place and that someone who is meant for me?” She would always answer as the wise mother she is, “God has a plan and He will show you.” I would roll my eyes and sigh!
One lazy afternoon found me flipping through a religious newspaper where I noticed vocation ads to different Communities. What I thought was curiosity as to, “Does anyone do that anymore?” was really a nudge from the Holy Spirit. So I responded to five ads and waited. The SCMC’s sent me a vocation booklet. One of the pictures featured Mother Theresita with a radiantly happy look on her face! My first thought was, “She has found what I am looking for, someplace where I would be radiantly happy!”
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Sister Kateri
When I was in fourth grade, I began to visit a community of Franciscan Sisters who were about an hour away from my home in Wisconsin. I would often go to visit them on their “Come and See Days” through my eighth-grade year. It was a time of joy as I prayed and played with the Sisters. I was always amazed by their energy as we played games, sang songs, cooked meals, and prayed in their chapel. I also had gone on a Nun Run when I was a sophomore as I visited various communities within nine days. However, I was not seriously considering entering Religious Life and joining a community until I met the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church when I was in high school.
I was a sophomore at Aquinas High School in LaCrosse, Wisconsin when I met the first SCMC. I met Sister Faustina at a Vocations Fair at my high school. She drove all the way from Janesville to attend our school’s small fair, and as my friends and I approached her table, I was struck by her joy and simplicity as she explained her life. My friends and I gave her our email addresses, and then we went on our merry way. Little did I know that she would actually keep my email address and reach out to me!
I began to receive emails from not only Sister Faustina, but also Sister Mary Kathleen, who was living at Saint Agnes Convent in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Sister Mary Jacinta, who was the Vocations Director. Through their written words, I sensed excitement, understanding, and dedication. Sister Mary Kathleen was also so inviting as she asked if I would like to come and visit them at Saint Agnes Convent in the summer. My family agreed that we would visit!
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Mother Joan Clare
“Speak Lord I’m Listening” was being sung during the offertory procession at Mass. This was at the age of eleven when I first heard God calling me to be a Religious Sister, a providential response to the song. With much excitement, I first told my parents, then my brothers, and finally, my sister who said “you want to do what!” I realized then, that not everyone would be as excited about this extraordinary calling as I was.
Throughout my grade school years, I prayed that God would guide me to understand this call to religious life. During my adolescence, I became more aware of my vocation, and impatiently waited for God’s Will to unfold in my life. At the age of sixteen, I asked my mother: “Don’t you think that God and I should have figured it out by now?” This impatience stemmed from my wanting to know God’s Will so that I would steer my life and future plans according to His. As time passed, I continued to feel God was truly calling me to be His Bride. The excuses would not do anymore…to think that someone else might go in place of me, or that this call is of my imagination…had to be forgotten. To be a bride of Jesus Christ is a most beautiful vocation and must be answered with a joy-filled yes! As I continued in prayer and discernment, God was asking me to respond through daily challenges and His Will was becoming more evident as He led me through simple and tangible signs concerning Religious Life; signs both surprising and, at times, comical, but always reassuring.
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Sister Gabriela
It all began one summer afternoon in Janesville Wisconsin. I was seventeen years of age and preparing for my final year at home before leaving for college. I had been living on Racine Street, very close to South Atwood Ave. There was a nursing home there, St. Elizabeth’s. I had never heard of it. I even had some friends who lived across from the nursing home, and I had gone by it many times, but for whatever reason, I had not noticed it.
I had never seen any Religious Sisters, and the only Sisters I knew, from my parish of St. Patrick’s where those who didn’t wear the habit. I had great respect for them, but I was not attracted to their lifestyle.
That summer, prior to my senior year, my Mom invited me to join her for daily Mass at St. Elizabeth’s home. She explained how my aunt Lucy had started attending Mass there, and that it would be good to go. I was not thrilled. I loved God, but daily Mass felt like something only my grandmother would do! I knew I would soon leave my mother and step-father for college, and being an only child, I was sure it would be extra difficult for Mom. So, I decided to attend with her, in order for us to spend more time together. Little did I know the plans the Lord had in store for me!
I couldn’t believe my eyes, “Sisters in habits?” I told myself “They are real?” I couldn’t believe it! Prior to my first time at St. Elizabeth’s all I knew regarding sisters or nuns were the movie “Sister Act”, not to mention that if there were any real habit-wearing religious in the world they were probably in reality extremely grumpy, alone in some faraway convent, and very, very old. The sisters I met at St. Elizabeth’s were far from that! They were friendly, joyful, gentle, hospitable, beautiful, and had a glow of youthfulness about them. They looked like angels!
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and then