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To follow Jesus in religious life is a marvelous adventure of the spirit. It does not belong to everyone to do so, for it is reserved for those whom He calls. You can be among their number. Religious life is not improvised. It matures slowly like a grain of mustard seed.
One of the first encounters with the reality of religious life is provided by the POSTULANCY. Time is dedicated to experiencing common life in study, prayer, and even recreation. Meanwhile, one reflects on her call to religious life. As a result, there is a growing awareness of what is entailed as, for example, its exigencies and value. All the Postulants are committed to this endeavor of striving for a deeper knowledge and understanding with the assistance of their Directress.
When this period has terminated and the Postulant has been accepted, she passes to the NOVITIATE. This is the time of intensive preparation for religious profession. A Rule is followed that provides the necessary instruction and practical experience in such a way that the Novice experiences the kind of life she is undertaking before she commits herself to the Lord, the Church and the Congregation in a public state of life.
Religious profession must not be a leap in the dark.
Without being actually pronounced yet, the religious vows are now practiced so as to know one’s own capacity to accept joyously the renunciation imposed by the practice of the Evangelical counsels. It must not be only a passive endurance of it.
Time is dedicated to the study of the spiritual and religious aspects of life and to that section Canon Law that is pertinent to them. Great emphasis is given to an encounter with the Word of God. The objective is a dynamic, lived experience of Scriptures which should nurture mental prayer and all prayer life in its various forms of personal and community prayer. Among these excel the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours.
There is an intensive experience of community life because the Novitiate is a separate Community. It is under the direction of a Directress who accompanies the Novices during the entire time of this intensive formation. The success of a vocation largely depends on a fruitful novitiate.
The vocation becomes a mission with the RELIGIOUS PROFESSION. This is the goal of all the preceding preparatory years. Whoever has assiduously lived those years reaches the altar of Profession with jubilation. It is an encounter with Jesus, not only as a Model, but as Beloved Spouse. Now is the time of great celebration for the entire Community because its numbers have increased. Even more, it is the day that one enters a new state of life: religious life. It is a period of intensive formation known as the JUNIORATE.
These years are specifically meant to assist the religious profession in preparation for PERPETUAL PROFESSION. During this time, one’s spiritual formation is rounded out. Customarily, diplomas and professional titles are obtained for the proper fulfillment of the various activities that comprise our apostolate. These years pass quickly, and it is then time for PERPETUAL PROFESSION which makes the covenant with Christ and the Church irrevocable. It entails a ceremony of encouragement, rich with symbolism. Above all it is an inexpressible gift and definitive consecration to missionary work and ecclesial witness.
Our Congregation fulfills its apostolate in the field of social work with preference for the little ones mentioned in the Gospel (Const. 2) to whom Jesus says that He was sent (Lk 4:16) so as to be one with them. ‘‘Whatever you have done to the least of my brothers, you have done to me.’’(Mt 25:40).