Vocations
Monastic life allows drawing our will into God’s
Less than 10 miles north of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, 22 contemplative Catholic nuns of the Cistercian Order live quietly on 112 acres of farmland. A set of renovated buildings and additions off an 1859 stone cottage make up Valley of Our Lady Monastery, where prayer, study and manual labor set the cadence for this cloistered, contemplative order.
Dominican sisters bring love for Christ and young people to St. Agnes classrooms
When Dominican Sister Mary Consolata Klucik walked through the St. Agnes School lunchroom on a recent school day, excited kindergartners and first-graders shouted, “Sister!”
Carmelites recall path that began in Twin Cities
Two Carmelite sisters who discerned their vocations in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis returned to the Twin Cities to share their stories and encourage young women discerning religious life.
Local clergy, religious say prayer, conversations aided in discernment
The Catholic Spirit asked the following clergy and consecrated religious to share a part of their discernment process, what brings them joy in their vocation and their advice for others considering a religious vocation.
Religious brother strives to emulate fellow Franciscan
While in his early 20s living in a discernment house near Denver, Colorado, a friend’s picture of the bald-headed, bearded Capuchin Franciscan caught Brother Richardson’s attention. He soon came to revere Father Casey, who’ll be beatified Nov. 18 in Detroit.
Vocations Holy Hours coming to a parish near you
This year, the Office of Vocations has chosen as its theme, “Pray to the Lord of the Harvest,” a direct reference to the words of Jesus telling his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Lk 10:2). Jesus does not make this as a suggestion, but rather a command that we ask, or pray “to the master of the harvest” for more laborers.
Soon-to-be Blessed Father Solanus Casey lived in Stillwater
Father Solanus Casey and two of his brothers made an unusual threesome as they walked together at the College St. Thomas in St. Paul in the summer of 1937: He and Father Maurice Casey wore brown Capuchin Franciscan habits while Father Edward Casey donned the black clerics of an archdiocesan priest.
Formation a journey — literally — for local Jesuit novices
Located on Summit Avenue next to St. Thomas More, a parish in the care of Jesuit priests, the novitiate serves the provincial territory from Kentucky to the Dakotas. The novices, mostly in their 20s, come from a variety of backgrounds and education levels.
Studies track effect of family encouragement on vocation pursuit
There is no single answer to what spurs a young man or woman to consider a vocation to religious life or the priesthood.
Christian brother reflects on life, future of Lasallian tradition
Once every century during its 300-year history, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools has faced a crisis, and the post-Vatican II period has been one of those centennial marks, according to Brother Paul Grass, a Lasallian Christian Brother who has studied and helped compile the Institute’s history.
Religious community associates adopt charism, not vows
The majority of Twin Cities’ Catholics have not been called to vowed consecrated life. Yet, many lay men and women have sought — and found — a robust spiritual life by formally associating with professed religious men and women.
Building brotherhood
St. John Vianney College Seminary draws men from dioceses across the country into bonds of fraternity as they share life and faith
Social Networks