Young Women Discerning Their Vocation

Eight to ten young women ages ranging from 16 to 22 spent the last weekends of August and of November in a time of prayer and reflection to listen to the Lord’s call in their lives. They come from different backgrounds and experiences.

These young women have been for some months, and even several years, discerning their vocation by spending time in prayer, reading God’s Word, talking regularly to one of the Sisters and attending vocation retreats. However, for most of them these two weekends have been the first opportunity to spend some longer time in silence and reflection, listening to the Lord’s will in their lives.

The sisters of the community in Guaimaca have always worked together in the different efforts to help young women discover their vocation in life. Thus, during these two retreats, all of them participated in some form in the reflections, prayers and follow up of the young women. In August, Sr. Vimala Vadakumpadan, our major superior from the USA was in Guaimaca, and she also took an active part in the retreat.

At the November retreat Sr. María Ceballos, who has been in Guaimaca for ten years, reflected with the young women on Religious Life in the Church, using the Latin American Bishops document from their meeting in Aparecida, Brasil, and quoting Pope John Paul II when he speaks of the gift of Religious Life to the Church. Sr. Gloribel Mendoza and Sr. Teresa María Abelló guided the young women in several reflections based on scripture passages to see different responses to Jesus’ call: • The rich young man, as an example of the imperfect vocation • Matthew and Zacheus, examples of thieves to whom God “stole their heart”. There was good amount of time to reflect on Jesus vocation, God’s Word himself, and in the call of each one as well as some of their attitudes in front of the Lord. It was clear that there are fears that stop each one from responding to God’s call.

We entrust these young women to the Lord, confident that through the intercession of Our Lady some of them will continue incarnating the charism of Marie Poussepin in Honduras!