Update and Timeline

Hello!  It's Anna again with a quick update - I had a wonderful home visit over the last week.  I spent most of the week just hanging out with my family.  We went canoeing, baked cookies, prayed the Liturgy of the Hours, and chatted about faith and life.  I am about 8 ½ months into the postulancy and things are going really well.  God just continues to overwhelm me with His grace and the beauty and fullness of His plan.  I wanted to provide a timeline of what the next few years look like as I continue in the religious formation.

June - August 2014 – Close Season: In the 2 months leading up to investiture, the postulants enter into a more intense period of preparation to receive the habit.  More distractions will be eliminated as we will not leave the motherhouse over the summer and will take more time for prayer and spiritual reading.  Close Season ends with our annual silent retreat.

August 10, 2014 – Investiture: After a lot of prayer, I submitted three name choices to our provincial counsel who voted on my name.  I will learn my new name and my “name day” (feast day) when I receive the Franciscan habit and white veil on August 10^th.  I will then be called a novice.  While I was home I got my haircut so that I can try on the veil and get it fitted to my head.  Here's some pictures that Caitlin took of the before and after.

 

Stay tuned to the blog in August for a picture of me in the habit and my new religious name!

August 2014-August 2015 – Canonical Year: Cannon Law (Catholic Church law) requires one year of more intense preparation for religious in formation.  During this year, I will not leave the motherhouse overnight and will have more time for prayer to continue to build that foundation of religious life which is the intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. 

August 2015 – Home Visit: I will have a two week home visit in August 2015 at the culmination of the canonical year.

Spring 2016 – Mission Experience: In our community, the second year novices are assigned to responsibilities within the apostolates of healthcare or education at a smaller mission convent for a short period of time.  This allows the young sister to experience the work that the sisters do and allows them to begin balancing the life of prayer with the life of apostolic service. 

May 2016-August 2016 – Close Season: The second year novices that are preparing to make first vows spend 3 months of more intense cloistered preparation.

August 10, 2016 – First Vows: I will take temporary vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity for 3 years.  I will then receive a black veil and an apostolic assignment to serve the community in healthcare or education or to go back to school to work towards another degree.  The ceremony is open to the public and in our community the parents walk the sister down the aisle at the start of the ceremony which I think is just beautiful.  I'm sure I will not shed any tears ;)


I keep all my blog readers in my daily prayers.  Thank you for all your support for me and for my family.  God Bless!