Visitation Friends Chat, and One of Them Wonders, Should She Join the Convent?

Saint Francis de Sales is known as a master of the spiritual life. One of the religious orders that he helped found is the Visitation Sisters. The discussion below, which has been abridged, is from the “Living Jesus Chat Room,” which takes place every Sunday on the website of the Second Federation of the Visitation Sisters.

The chat below is guided by a Visitation sister, and participants discuss whether one should follow the desires of one’s own soul, or God’s direct call. It ends with one participant wondering whether she should visit a religious community to see if she has a vocation.

God’s Inspirations, and Our Vocations

Visitation Sister: How can we distinguish between God wanting us to follow our soul's desires and following His direct call? St. Francis tells the story of a heretic scholar who was converted by seeing the Carthusians pray Matins, "which they performed with truly angelic attention and devotion." What does that teach us about how we should pray?

Visitation Sister: Hi Liz! Welcome back.

Liz: Hi MOTHER, everything is fine.

Visitation Sister: Your flight was good. I assume and are you a postulant now?

Liz: Next Sunday will be the official start.

Visitation Sister: OH!

Liz: There are two Lizs joining at the same time.

Visitation Sister: Different last names though?

Liz: Yes, she is from Boston.

Visitation Sister: Hi Patty.

Patty: Hi, Sister Gerry, and Liz.

Patty: Liz, I am happy for your new start!

Visitation Sister: First question repeated: Saint Francis talks about how God gives our souls desires and inspirations, yet sometimes God directly calls us to act. How can we distinguish between God wanting us to follow our soul's desires and following His direct call?

Visitation Sister: This applies in vocational situations and others as well.

Liz: Yes, at times our soul desires one thing, but GOD calls us to something else. But a wrong step might lead us to the right path.

Patty: When God calls us to an act it is the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us. I may distinguish the difference as the Holy Spirit can do more than myself when I follow my soul's desire.

Visitation Sister: Good insight. It is hard to know sometimes what is our own will vs. God's will.

Visitation Sister: Also a good way of finding the truth, Patty!The way of God is smoother too.

Liz: Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4.

Liz: The deepest desire of our heart could be GOD's will.

Visitation Sister: Why does God allow some to be "taught by tribulation?"

Patty: My first thought was...because he loves us. And it may be the only way one could hear him, or see him.

Visitation Sister: And life is a spiritual battle so every element of life, positive and negative can teach us something.

Visitation Sister: Hi, Barb!

Barb: Hello Sister Gerry, Patty, Liz. Hope all of you are well. And thinking a lot about Judy these days. Praying for all. I'm on my OLD computer. Big screen easier to see but sooooo slow! Way more than 10 minutes to sign in.

Patty: But you made it here! Glad to see you.

Visitation Sister: Judy said she would return but her health has not been so well.

Visitation Sister: St. Francis tells the story of a heretic scholar who was converted by seeing the Carthusians pray Matins, "which they performed with truly angelic attention and devotion." What does that teach us about how we should pray?

Patty: That we should imitate those who pray this way.

Barb: If only! Total attention has become so difficult.

Visitation Sister: We were blessed to have a very holy priest these past two months who was so reverent — we are very uplifted even as he leaves for another diocese today.

Patty: Yet, there are many ways to pray. And the Holy Spirit intercedes for us at times. This consoles my heart!

Visitation Sister: Reverence in prayer converts even the converted!

Barb: True, Patty, as in the "Imitation of Christ" and the "Imitation of Mary" — by the same author. Not as in "imitation" flowers — artificial.

Barb: So glad you — the whole monastery — had a holy priest.

Barb: I still miss Fr. Mark, a lot. He was like that. But I have to make a day trip to get to Mass at his church. I do that once in a while.

Patty: I came across Benedictine Monks praying in chant .... this was a part of my conversion. And still does lift me. Wonderful you had a Holy priest visiting! Does he go to other monasteries as well?

Visitation Sister: He had direct messages for us — all on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Salesian virtues — he was an altar boy at a Visitation Monastery in Poland.

Barb: Interesting. Does he live in the US now?

Visitation Sister: Oh yes. He is in Brooklyn but is being transferred to Virginia for the time being.

Visitation Sister: So his holiness spread to many in our chapel.

Patty: A blessing for you and the sisters to have him visit!

Patty: I have not heard of the “Imitation of Mary,” thank you.

Visitation Sister: Saint Francis says divine inspirations "are necessary for living well and devoutly, according to each one's condition of life, or for fulfilling holily the duties of his profession." What do these inspirations look like in religious life? Married life? Single life?

Liz: Our Blessed Mother is the first disciple, a role model of love, devotion, and faith.

Visitation Sister: To let the Blessed Mother lead us is very important.

Visitation Sister: Right now for us divine inspirations or at least divine Providence is bringing people to help us. Today a young alum offered to be our cantor and her friend as our Sunday organist.

Patty: Barb, are you still here with us?

Barb: This is not another Barb. I had to move to the office because the old computer was not responding.

Visitation Sister: Sometimes an inspiration is for a very simple thing.

Patty: To do or say something?

Patty: For example, I felt a sudden inspiration to call a certain person. What this person had to say to me I felt was from God, it was important in the situation at the time. But it was a quick inspiration I responded to, no thought about it.

Patty: Is this an example of an inspiration?

Visitation Sister: Yes! I do think so!

Barb: Earlier we were talking a little about vocations. Every day, many times a day, I find myself listing a lot of good reasons why I probably do NOT have a religious vocation. Well, a couple of weeks ago, the words from Shakespeare came to mind: "She doth protest too much, methinks!" So, I made the "decision" that I must at least "check it out.”

Visitation Sister: You would need to go to a special order now which takes all age groups.

Barb: That is, make a retreat at the only monastery you thought would consider someone my age, Sister.

Patty: And these inspirations I think are from the Holy Spirit?

Visitation Sister: There are a few such orders, and if you try them you will have a better sense of it.

Barb: A few. Besides the Mobile, Alabama Visitation?

Visitation Sister: Beyond the Visitation Sisters, I was thinking.

Barb: Any ideas which?

Visitation Sister: I think Mobile is the best possibility for a Visitation.

Visitation Sister: Sr. Miriam of the Lamb of God's group….

Visitation Sister: I have to look up the name.

Barb: Is that part of the Community of the Beatitudes?

Visitation Sister: No.

Liz: Sr. Miriam of the Lamb of God's group, I think this is a new order.

Visitation Sister: Yes, new.  

Visitation Sister: I found the group. Check out the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel's Hope.

Barb: Oh. I did visit ... the Community of the Beatitudes in Denver, CO around 2005. I was still VERY active professionally at that time. And I would've needed to get a position in Denver. Which didn't come about.

Visitation Sister: The Daughters of Mary, in Tulsa, are open to vocations from women 18 years and older who “desire to be a Messenger of Hope bringing the love and presence of God into every situation and to every soul….”

Visitation Sister: For Vocation inquiries, contact: Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope, 466 South 79th East Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74112. Or write to vocationinquiry@motherofisraelshope.org.

Patty: I believe this is Sr. Miriam, who also hosts a radio talk show, or did, I’m not sure if she still is.

Barb: THANK YOU, SISTER! I just opened the site and bookmarked it.

Want to join the "Living Jesus Chat Room"? Check out the Second Federation of the Visitation Sisters.

(Kevin J. Banet is a publicist for the Second Federation of the Visitation Sisters.)