Reflect on Professing Simple Vows

 

The surety of wanting to continue with this path of life came with continual growth, but in the end, I had to make a leap of faith and petition to make vows. And the consolation of that leap came the few days preceding my profession and has been continually reaffirmed in the days succeeding it.

 

The obvious differences are the new name and being vowed to God, but being professed comes with more responsibilities, duties, and obligations, both to the community and oneself.

 

My favorite memory from my profession was the exchange of the Kiss of Peace with the members of the community. Internally, there were many significant movements of my heart, i.e., the joy of professing vows to the Almighty. However, during the Kiss of Peace, the internal joys of my heart were externally expressed.

 

The process of discernment involves encountering “the God of the human heart,” which can be frightening, but one must always remember that the encounter is with a Father who loves you. Why did you choose St. Francis de Sales as your name and patron saint? I chose St. Francis de Sales because of the devotion I have to his spirituality and a love for his writings, in particular his focus on seeking holiness through the little or simple virtues and performing them with great love, all with the understanding and gentleness of realizing that we are fallen humans.

 

 

 

My novitiate was a time of consistent growth. Living the monastic life, day by day, for a year allowed me to grow in confidence that our Lord wanted me to stay here at Conception Abbey. I really had to test myself over time that I could live the vow of stability.

 

Juniorate formation prepared me not only in learning about the Rule of St. Benedict and monastic tradition, but also in how to live in communion with members of the monastic community. It’s one thing to learn about community life in a book and another to live it out amongst the juniors and seniors in the community.

 

My favorite memory from my simple profession was having this overwhelming sense of peace and confidence while the Gospel was being proclaimed. I was extremely nervous the whole morning. The Gospel reading for the Mass that day was from Luke 1:39-56. I very much identified with Elizabeth, who asks “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?“ Mary then responds with the Magnificat, “my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,” which we sing at Vespers every day.

 

If you are discerning religious life, don’t make the mistake of waiting around for someone to validate it for you. I spent a lot of time waiting for someone to tell me to join the monastery, whereas I could’ve just said “I want to do this, and I believe God wants me here.” The religious life is a life freely given to Christ and the religious community. No one can make that choice for you or coerce you into it. Ask our Lord for the confidence to be firm in your resolution.

 

St. Boniface was an 8th-century English Benedictine monk sent out to evangelize the pagan Germanic peoples. I chose him as a patron saint as a nod to monastic evangelization which is how Jesus called me to know and love Him. I decided to become Catholic because of the truth, goodness, and beauty I encountered at a Benedictine liturgy.