Living Your Dream
What does the life of a Sister look like?
First let's dispel some myths. We are not the Hollywood stereotype, as nuns depicted in Sister Act or The Bells of Saint Mary's. We are more like Dorothy Day who founded the Catholic Worker movement. Or like Colonel Shafiga Quarashi, a present day Afghan National Police Officer who is a passionate defender of women's rights and recent recipient of a Woman of Courage award from the United States Government.
We are like our founder Josephine Potel, who in 1824 along with 11 of her religious sisters, visited the sick and dying in their homes at the time of the French Revolution. These young sisters dedicated themselves to staying with the patient and their families, offering care, spiritual direction and hopeful words of God's love and redemption.
Times have changed and so has the means we use to respond to those suffering ill health or injustice of any kind. Today we minister through health care, retreat ministry, pastoral, social and human services, education and housing, still embodying the same core values of our order in providing compassion, healing and liberation to those in need. Our religious community founded the Bon Secours Health System in the United States. Sisters of Bon Secours are found in seven countries today.
Community life strengths our commitment to God and to those we serve. As members of a religious order we are deeply rooted in a unique tradition that brings fulfillment and meaning to our lives. Our Spirituality and the taking of vows anchor us and keep us focused on God and on our mission to make this world a better place. In our daily works and in our leisure, we know that our community members are there to support us. We share common interests and enjoy our time together. Our lives are rich with friends both from within our community and with those we meet along the way. We live a very balanced life of prayer, work and recreation, yet always able to make that space for times with our families, our hobbies, music and nature ...
To learn about how to become a sister or about religious life and community, call, email or visit our website.
S. Pat Dowling, CBS (vocation director)
410-442-0267
cbsvocations@bshsi.org
What attracts women to religious life?
As the Vocation Director, I must confess my own vocation was a surprise to me but opening yourself up to hear God in your heart brings lots of wonderful surprises.
My own belief in God and sense of wanting to minister to others and to create a more just world brought me to the door of religious life and the experience has gone far beyond anything I could have imagined.
I have had the opportunity to serve with others in a variety of ministries:
- As a Health Care Administrator creating innovative programs for the elderly.
- As a missionary in Ecuador in a parish without a priest while developing a health care clinic.
- Working with indigenous Indians to bring needed services to their isolated mountain villages.
- Developing a woman's resource center in the United States.
There is no where else that I can think of where your gifts in their many dimensions can become such a meaningful reality in support of the needs of the world today. There is no other place to be supported by community members all sharing a common vision and mission and a centered prayer life. We are all called by God and sent by the church to reproduce in ourselves Christ healing, Christ loving, Christ always aware of the needs of others.
To learn about how to become a sister or about religious life and community, call, email or visit our website.
S. Pat Dowling, CBS (vocation director)
410-442-0267
cbsvocations@bshsi.org
Religious life means putting God at the center of your life. Every person on planet Earth is on a journey to God who calls us to be the person we are created to be. It is in relationship with others that we discover that person. For those called to be a nun, living the life of a sister is like coming home to oneself. It's a knowing deep within that keeps us connected to others and open to God's plan for us.
If you find yourself thinking about ways to deepen your personal relationship with God, and wish you could combine your faith and work in a balanced fruitful life, you owe it to yourself to spend some time with us to experience religious life and how we live out our call to serve the needs of others. There could be a place for you as chaplain, spiritual director, doctor, advocate, nurse, community organizer, social worker, administrator, missionary or educator. God makes use of all our gifts. Find out if this is right for you!
To learn about how to become a sister or about religious life and community, call, email or visit our website.
S. Pat Dowling, CBS (vocation director)
410-442-0267
cbsvocations@bshsi.org
