Welcome!!!
You are now entering Kelly’s world. A world of seeking..journeying..and
discernment. For those who are reading
this and may not know me, I began a discernment (aka: prayerfully seeking God’s
will for your life and in this case in regards to entering or not entering a
religious community) journey seven years ago. (Discernment is the journey of a
lifetime I am told.) It began with a bit
of nudging from God and a few friends during my college years. You see I first
met the Sisters of St. Joseph while I was on a silent directed retreat in
college and there was a spark that drew me in..thinking…maybe? who me? You’ve got to be kidding God? Don’t I need to
finish college??? (Mind you these were
all questions I asked as I’d randomly pull up information on different Congregations
online while doing school work.) But…God persisted and so in 2005 I became an
Associate (a lay woman or man who shares in the mission of a religious
congregation) of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Erie, Pennsylvania to learn what
they were really all about and what more God had to say to me. I kept feeling
the nudge toward something more..something deeper than commitment as an Associate.
So…I continued on the journey of discernment and entered the Congregation as a
candidate on January 9, 2011. Since then I have been living in a house with two
other Sisters and am learning about religious life. On Sunday, June 17th,
I will become a Novice with the Sisters of St. Joseph. Excited? Check! Nervous? Check! Filled with possibility of
what might be? You better believe it!
In August,
I will be heading to Chicago for our Federation Novitiate. Some of my young nun friends call this “nun
boot camp”. And in a way that is exactly what it is…basic training will be
learning about our Congregation’s history, the vows, and from what I hear, LOTS
about myself! And having met all the others I’ll be in the Novitiate with,
hopefully a lot of fun as well. So….come and journey with me……
