The Digital Nun

I put this page here to tell you about temporary commitments. It is now possible, in my community, to make a commitment to live religious life for a period of time. The program is called the Providence Companions in Mission and I am actually the director of it.

Say you thought you might have a calling to religious life, but at the same time you also felt called to marriage, or parenthood, or the single life. Or maybe you are thinking about a lifelong commitment as a Sister, but are kind of overwhelmed by that. Well, now you can have an experience of religious life that doesn’t require you to make a lifelong commitment.

First, you would apply, be accepted and enter just like any other Sister, and then go through a sort of mini-formation time. Our formation time lasts for years, but for this program the time is two weeks initially and then 90 days for further discernment to see how things are working out. After that, you would make ‘promises’ that are like our vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. You would live in a convent with other Sisters, and essentially live the life we are living, as well as work full-time in one of our ministries.

This really isn’t totally new in the Church. Centuries ago, there were some European monasteries where people came for a period of time and then left.  Also, Pope John Paul II, in “Vita Consecrata” suggested that some communities may wish to develop programs like this.

I think that if a person were just finishing high school or college, or had maybe worked for a few years but was still trying to figure out where she is being called, this program could be ideal. Even if a person knew she was being called to marriage or something else, the experience of living, working, and praying with an intentional faith community for a period of time could really be pretty valuable in terms of the quality of her life and her service to God after that.

There is lots of information about this program on my community’s website, like where we are located and what are the ministries in which we are involved:

www.divineprovidenceweb.org/companions

but if you want me to send you a brochure, just call me at:

412-318-3327

or write me at:

Providence Heights

9000 Babcock Blvd.

Allison Park, PA 15101