In this first of a two-part Becoming a Franciscan Sister discernment post from Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Novice Sister Rose Reed, Sister reflects on the need for prayer. If you are a Catholic, Young adult woman in need of further guidance regarding your own discernment, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and Cistercian Nuns invite you to a silent Discernment of Spirits Retreat on April 25, 2026 at Valley of Our Lady Cistercian Monastery, Hollandale, Wisconsin. Click here to find out more invitations that may fit your life.
Discernment is one of those words that gets tossed around when discussing a call to religious life. Whenever I was a teenager attending a vocation event, the leaders always emphasized the prayerful aspect of discernment. And that is a key aspect. Having that communication with God on what his plans are for your life is vital to living that life he has in mind for you.
However, once we have spent a lot of time in prayer, we eventually arrive at a crossroad of being and doing. We are the hands and feet of God. If we do not act on what we have received in prayer, then we are obstructing God’s will.
My experience of becoming a sister is unique, just like every sister is unique. When I was in eighth grade the archdiocese was putting on a vocation event called “Insight” for high school girls. I asked my mom if she could get permission for me to go even though I wasn’t in high school yet.
I loved getting to meet all the different sisters and visiting their convents. There were habited, unhabited, and those in-between. Every year for five years after that first experience I returned. The thought of religious life never left my head completely, even if I was consciously or unconsciously trying to ignore it.
But God is patient. He knows how to steer our lives in the direction they’re meant to go in. Part of that discernment process is learning to let go of those ideas and plans that were made that are no comparison to what God has intended.
Photo Damian Chlanda
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