Young Women Gather at the Monastery for our July Come and See Day
Last Saturday, our monastery received a group of young women traveling from different parts of the country to attend our July Come-and-See Day as part of their vocation discernment. The day began with Mass and Terce (Midmorning Prayer of the Divine Office). The celebrant, homilist and guest speaker for the day was Father David Schunk, STL of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
During his conference following Mass, he spoke about every Christian’s baptismal call to holiness and how religious life deepens that call in a special way. He stressed that discernment begins in relationship with God. “To know your mission, you must know your identity, who you truly are, and you can only know that in relationship with God.” He went on to offer reassurance for those who may not feel “good enough” for a particular calling. “He doesn’t call the qualified - He qualifies the called.” Father Schunk is currently serving as Assistant Vice-Rector and Formation Advisor at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
The second guest speaker was Brother Patrick Rooney, O.P., student brother of the Western Dominican Province, who spoke on aspects of Dominican spirituality. “Contemplation is a union of mind with God, made possible only by His grace.” He went on, “true happiness is in giving yourself away to another as a gift and holding nothing back.”
Sister Mary Isabel, O.P., our subprioress, spoke to the group about the monastic vocation. “If you remember nothing else from my talk, remember that the monastic life is, at its heart, a calling to profound friendship with God.”
Our Come and See Days offer young women an opportunity to taste a bit of Dominican monastic life. They are planned around the community’s regular schedule of prayer, work/class and recreation. Thus, the young women in attendance experience the ebb and flow of the Divine Office, personal prayer and adoration, as well as recreation with the community and hearing a few of the nuns’ vocation stories.
Our deepest gratitude to Father David Schunk, Brother Patrick Rooney, and to all those who kept us, and the young women in attendance, in prayer. Please continue to offer your prayers for them (and us!) as they continue seeking God's will for their lives. Deo gratias!