• What does it mean to be called?
• How do I know if God wants me to consecrate my life to him?
• What do I have to do if I want to find out God's will for me?
• Our formation Program

What does it mean to be called?

God's call is only one:
the call to follow Jesus and to work for the Kingdom.

There are many different ways of following Jesus, of working for his Kingdom, and of living our vocation to love. In all of these, Christians participate in the same call to holiness in different styles of life:

• married life
• priesthood
• consecrated life
• permanent diaconate
• committed lay ministry

What is important is to discover, what is the path for you? What is God's will for you? How do you do this?

• By opening yourself to God and making yourself available to do his will.
• Learning more about yourself, your dreams, limitations, gifts, and aptitudes.
• Becoming familiar with the different forms of Christian life or "vocations."
• Finding a spiritual guide, someone that can walk with you in this process of discernment.
• Deepening your faith, listening to what the word of God awakens in you.
• Developing a prayer life that is regular and consistent.

How do I know if God wants me to consecrate my life to him?

• Do I want to live for God and give myself entirely to him?
• Do I feel attracted to religious life?
• Does the thought of being a consecrated woman affirm who I am deep inside?
• Do I feel called to give my life to others, to serve?

I must ask myself, why am I inclined to religious life? What am I looking for? What are my motivations? Consecrated life, like any of the other forms of Christian life, may not be pursued with the thought of what it can give us, but WHAT IT ALLOWS US TO GIVE.

Through the religious consecration, one publicly makes a commitment to God in the service of others:

• By the vow of chastity one promises to love selflessly, freely giving of oneself to others.
• By the vow of poverty one promises to live a simple lifestyle, sharing with others everything we have and we are.
• By the vow of obedience one promises to live in total availability to God's will.

Each religious community has a particular spirituality. We invite you to learn about our religious family.

What do I have to do if I want to find God's will for me?

First of all, it is important that you begin putting aside some time for prayer, quiet time alone, where you can ask God what he wants of you.

It is also important to share your search with your spiritual guide. Reading the Gospels is a great way of getting to know Jesus better, so we can become more in tune with Him. Become involved in some Church ministry if you are not already.

Contact different religious communities, visit them, and get a feel for their way of life. Sometimes, it is only through personal contact that we can find out if a particular lifestyle is for us, and if that particular community is the right one for me. Listen to your heart.

Finally, if it starts to become clear that you are called to a particular community, ask for more specific guidance from a member of that community. Ask them what the process of formation entails and what they require.

Our Formation Program
	Our formation house is in South Florida. We accept candidates 18-39 years old through the following process: Initial discernment stage. Allows the individual and the community to get to know each other, while the person remains living outside the community. Postulancy is the initial transitional stage, where the candidate begins living with the community. It can last from 6 months to 2 years, depending on the process of each individual. When the Postulant is ready to continue to the next stage, she asks to enter the Novitiate.
Novitiate is a very special time of spiritual growth and learning about the community and an opportunity to experience most of the demands of religious life by practicing the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, community life, and the apostolate of the community. At the end of this 2-year period, the novice and the community discern if she is ready to make her first vows. Juniorate is the period between the first vows and the perpetual vows. When the sister makes her first vows she continues for a period of two years in formation as a Junior Sister. After the second year she is assigned to one of the communities to work and to acquire the necessary education to better serve the Church and others. The Juniorate lasts for 5 years, although it may be extended up to 9 years. It prepares the sister for her perpetual vows, which express her total commitment to God.

For more information: :vocations@claretiansisters.org

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