Photo by Sr. Bernie Claps, CBS

Contrition simply is being sorry for our offenses against God and our brothers and sisters. There are two types of contrition: perfect and imperfect.  In either case we are sorry for our sins because they are an offense against God. 

In the Life in Christ, A Catholic Catechism for Adults, it states that “In imperfect contrition the motive is fear of the justice of God and the punishment which our sins deserve. In perfect contrition, the motive is the goodness of God, which prompts us to love God above all else for God’s own sake to be sorry that we have offended him.” 

The Sacrament of Reconciliation involves confessing our sins and also facilitates our reconciliation with others.  This also helps us to change our ways and to grow in God’s love.  God is merciful and forgives our sins.  

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger son was sorry for his sins and went to his father to admit his behavior and attitude.  His father in return blesses him.  Jesus also always announced forgiveness of sins so that the person knew they were forgiven.

Sunday is 47^th World Day of Prayer for Vocations and is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Easter which is Good Shepherd Sunday throughout the Church.  It is a day to pray that women and men will be open to God’s call to the consecrated religious life and priesthood, and respond with generosity, joy and courage.  The pope’s message to the world-wide church this year notes that though God initiates a call it’s also the personal witness of the sister’s life (or priest’s) which helps to awaken another person’s desires to generously respond to Jesus’ calling.  He then points to three aspects of the sisters (and priest’s) life which gives witness:  friendship in Christ, the total gift of one’s self to God and a life of communion.  Below is a Vatican website link to his message.

I’d like to share some memories of a two sisters who by their lives influenced my own life.  Growing up, I loved visiting the “Dragan family homestead” in Melrose, MA, where my grandparents lived, along with other great aunts and uncles – it was like no other experience.  All us kids thought we were really special if Auntie Annie asked us to go with her to St. Mary’s convent of the Sisters of the Holy Child to deliver overflowing pots of cut garden flowers for their chapel.  We were intrigued by the sisters, but also a bit shy of these women in long black habits. 

My father’s cousin Rosemary is a Sister of the Holy Child Jesus, and she claims having influenced my own vocation to religious life as a catholic sister.  This may be true because Sis, a nickname from the time she was a kid, was the only sister I personally knew, other than the four who taught me in school.  Sis is a real lady – a petite, less than five feet tall 90 year old today.  She has always been kind and soft spoken and always interested in whomever she is talking with.  She loves to garden and likes a good laugh – Dragan family characteristics.  Sis taught school over her career at various levels and it was obvious she enjoyed it.  She loved helping people.    

 Once, my brother and I drove Sis back to a girl’s boarding school in Suffern, NY and just as we unloaded the car, a helicopter landed returning a girl back from Easter break – she was a student of Sis’.  She and her family were in a federal protection program and were being guarded from the “mob.”  I wondered then about Sis’ life and who else she taught over the years.  She was never one to brag and very unassuming.  Though Sis never asked me about religious life, I know she is right about being an influence in my life.  She is was the first one I talked with about religious life and her advise took me in directions that eventually led to Bon Secours.  She witnesses to God’s call daily and I know she feels kind of proud that I answered God’s call too. 

 Sr. Elizabeth Durney was also another influence in my life as a young and not-so-young sister.  Elizabeth is probably the most open person I ever met and I loved her sense of wonder at things.  Her interest in the new sisters and helping us to get through that transition in religious life and Bon Secours is probably the reason why I’m still here today.  Besides being a dear friend, she was also a mentor, something everyone needs in life.  There wasn’t anything I couldn’t say and feel that she wouldn’t listen with an open ear.  Its not that she didn’t challenge me – she did that too; she wanted you to grow, as much as she did for herself.  Elizabeth had an adventurous spirit and loved people, tennis, the outdoors and her God.  She loved her ministry and the people she ministered to.  She could see where needs were and took steps to address them – like starting a hospice program.  She loved art and so took a class to see if her creativity could be released through painting – the abstract here is Elizabeth’s. 

Abstract Still Life Painting by Sister Elizabeth Durney, CBS

To read Pope Benedict’s message on World Day of Prayer for Vocations click on this link:

Let us pray too that women and men will be open to God’s call to religious life and that our efforts to promote vocations will reach the hearts of minds of those who will be the future sisters and priests that the world needs.  To learn more about how to become a nun, visit this link:

Have the glorious springtime surroundings opened a glimpse into something bigger than yourself?

Is God speaking to you through the new scents of budding flowers, or the soft songs of the baby birds?

Have you found yourself desiring something more in your life?

Tell me about it. If you have found yourself with questions, ask me!

I would like to be a nun but want to pursue a profession, and I feel like I’m stuck. What is your advice?

Do you have to be a virgin to be a nun?

Find the answers to these questions and more…or ask your own!

http://www.society.me/patthenun

These are all terms that I  find myself talking about daily.  They are also terms that many young Catholics cannot define or differentiate.

I am asked frequently, “What is the difference between a nun and a sister?”

Traditionally, there   is a clear difference, but nowadays, the lines have become a bit blurry.  Both nuns and sisters are women who have dedicated themselves to live vowed religious lives (of chastity, poverty and obedience) within the Catholic Church, following in the footsteps of Jesus in ministry.  Both have dedicated themselves to God. 

So, the difference, then, to put it simply, and traditionally, is that a nun lives her life within the walls of a monastery cloister,  serving others through contemplative prayer, while a sister shares her gifts out in the world, directly impacting those in need. 

Nuns live a cloistered life within their own community/monastery, rarely going outside of their monastery.  That is where they live, pray, work and recreate. 

Sisters, however, are never called “nuns”.  They are vowed religious sisters and are considered apostolic, or active.  Some sisters live, pray and work both within their own community and its ministry, and others work outside of their community in the public.  That’s right!  Many sisters, self included, live within the areas we serve.  Sisters have professional occupations which allow serving the needs of the world according to the special mission of their congregation.  You will find sisters who are physicians, social workers, community organizers, lobbyists, nurses, therapists, spiritual directors, teachers, parish associates, lawyers, accountants, case workers, and so on. 

As I said before, this is a very simple and very traditional answer.  Give me your input on what you think…did you know there was a difference?  Do you think that the terms are used more interchangeably in current times?

If you want to find out more about the apostolic life of a Sister of Bon Secours, CLICK HERE.

On Ash Wednesday a mixture of ashes and consecration oil are imposed on the foreheads of the faithful in the sign of the cross.  This symbolism is rooted in the Old Testament and in some early churches as the practice of wearing sack cloth and ashes to symbolize penance.

Lent is a feast of friendship and it is always a new beginning.  It is a time to be more loving, more generous, more forgiving and more grateful.  Our Lenten journey should bring us closer to Christ and it is a perfect time to discern a call–maybe to religious life as a Bon Secours Sister.  Or to whatever changes we may see fit to change in our own lives.

As little girls, we were always given baby dolls, with the preconceived notion that it is practice for when we grow up and become moms.  On my first birthday, my grandmother gave me a baby doll with a green dress and hat.  On the back of the doll was a winder that, when wound, made the baby say her bedtime prayers.  Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray dear Lord my soul to keep…I even had a doll carriage for my baby doll when I was really young.

I still have that baby doll at my parent’s house.

During the time I was discerning, being married and having children was certainly something that I contemplated.  God gives us each a vocation…He has a purpose for every individual in His kingdom.  So, when I realized that my calling was to a consecrated life, I would be lying to say I didn’t feel some sort of sadness regarding having children.

On the road through Ecuador, as we stopped and visited with the children, I saw God’s greater purpose for my life.  I realized that there were hundreds…no, thousands of children in Ecuador, in the United States, and around the world who need to love and devotion of a strong, caring female role model.  

Over the years, in my experiences, I have impacted many more children than I would have if I were not a Nun.  I have helped feed starving children, I have helped educate children who were longing to learn, and I have provided shelter and hope for children and their mothers who suffered abuse.  Most importantly, I have spread God’s message of love.

Now, I am not telling everyone who is considering religious life to make their decision solely on whether or not they want to have children.  Perhaps you do have a calling as a married person.  But do know this…God has plans for you.  He knows what your heart longs for and He will fulfill those desires.  All you have to do is listen and obey.

To find out more about some of the ministries served by Bon Secours, visit http://www.bonsecoursvocations/what-we-do/.  

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.  Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.”     -Jeremiah 29:11-13