The Spiritual Family of Marie Rivier
Serving God's Children
A religious congregation is a group of men or women who take public vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and who live under a common rule of life.
As Catholics, we believe that every baptized person has a vocation a personal call to love and serve God. How we choose to live out our vocation is the question God invites us to discover. Some people are called to live as single people others are meant to get married and raise a family. Still, others are destined to live a life of serves as a member of a religious community.
The discernment process for a vocation to religious life involves prayer, reflection, gathering information, and honest discussion with others you trust. Visiting with communities of religious sisters, looking at their websites, and participating in their community gatherings can be beneficial to discerners. It is important to note that in the end, no one can answer this question for you except yourself.
The best answer to this question is to pray. The more time we spend with God the more we will be able to hear and reflect on his word. God speaks to us in the silence of our hearts. The closer you move toward God, the easier it will be to see where He is leading.
We recommend that you find a spiritual director who can help with your discernment. Finding someone with whom you can share your spiritual journey is very important as you seek to know God’s will. Making sure you feel comfortable with this person is also essential because talking openly and honestly with him/her is key to good discernment.
No, this simply means that you are normal! Some of the same qualities needed to be a good wife and mother are needed to be a good woman religious. We are all women and we love with the same capacity. As religious, Christ is our spouse and we express intimacy with Him in our life of prayer.
Yes, “ALL FOR GOD! ALL THROUGH HOLY LOVE!” is the motto that expresses the absoluteness of our consecration.
“Following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, presenting herself in the temple, we are called to live in a spirit of adoration and self-offering and to participate in the teaching mission of the Church by the Christian Education of youth. The compassion of Jesus impels us to be deeply attentive to the needs of the people of our time.” ~Rule of Life~
We are an international congregation with communities in the United States, Canada, England, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. In the United States, we live and work in New England performing in a variety of ministries including education, retreat work, outreach to the poor, prison ministry, home healthcare, and work with immigrants.
The age at which a woman enters our community varies because the best age to enter is when God calls. This being said, a vocation to religious life is sustainable only if there is a certain level of human and spiritual maturity.
Yes, women who want to join the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary must spend some time getting to know the sisters. At some point in their discernment, it is recommended that they have the opportunity to spend some time living in one of our local communities. Such a living situation provides an atmosphere of Christian Living for single women as they seek to live their Christian commitment more seriously and it also gives them the space needed to discern their call to married, religious, or single life in the Church.
If you do not live in the United States, we suggest that you contact the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary in your home country or in the country nearest you. To find their contact information and inquire about their formation program, the e-mail address to our General House is [email protected] and a sister will reply to your request.
Yes, you can still join the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. If you are divorced you will need to obtain an annulment from the Church before you can become a postulant. If you are a widow or someone who has obtained a marriage annulment and all other canonical conditions are met you are welcome in our congregation.
Your children need to be independent and self-supporting so that you are free to enter fully into the formation process.
What a Sister of the Presentation of Mary does with her day is so varied that only a sampling can be given here. We spend our day in prayer, work, ministry, community activities, and some leisure.
Prayer is central. It is a relationship with God who loves us. Can you imagine having a best friend or husband or wife with whom you never speak or relate? The Eucharist and the Word of God are the source and center of our life.
Most Sisters of the Presentation spend about two hours a day in prayer; part of that time is praying with others, at Mass and other communal prayers, and another part is alone, in reading and quiet attentiveness. One of the chief benefits of prayer is that it makes us more sensitive to God's activity in our lives, in the lives of others, in the events and circumstances of our daily life.
No not always! There are times when prayer doesn't come easily. We often depend on the support of our communities or the help of a spiritual director to help us keep praying during difficult times. Most of us have times when we don't feel like praying but because we've made the commitment, and because it will help us come closer to God and others, we try to make regular prayer time a part of our lives.
The basic differences among religious communities are things such as the charism, the specific ministries of the community, styles of prayer, and community life. All congregations are alike in that their primary concern is to share with others the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Religious communities were founded in response to the specific needs of the times. A religious congregation has a charism. The foundress/founder perceived the Gospel from one particular aspect (charism) which gave her/her the vision for his/her congregation. A charism is a gift from God. The Sisters of the Presentation of Mary’s charism is found in the mystery of the Presentation of Mary and Jesus in the Temple.
Every Institute exists for the Church and must enrich her with its distinctive characteristics, according to a particular spirit and a specific mission. Therefore, as Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, we are called to share in the teaching mission of the Church by Christian education of the faith. We must adapt ourselves constantly to the needs of evangelization.
Some have opted for the veil and religious garb so as to be instantly recognized as persons who are fully given to God. It is a sign of poverty, a sign of being for the world but not of the world.
Simplicity in dress is what others have opted for because the founders and foundresses wore the dress of the people of their times.
Aspirancy: The journey to become a Sister of the Presentation of Mary is experienced in the context of prayer and community. A woman considering religious life meets regularly with the vocation director to discern her call. When a woman feels an attraction to the spirit lived at Presentation of Mary, she requests to become a pre-postulant. This experience is usually lived out in one of our communities.
Postulancy: During this initial stage of formation, a woman deepens her understanding of the Spirit and Mission of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary while living at the House of Formation. She continues to discern her call to religious life within the experience of community life and prayer. The Postulancy has a flexible time span of 6-24 months which is lived at the House of Formation or in a local community of the Congregation.
Novitiate: Formation at the Novitiate is a favored time of deepening prayer and studying the vows, the spirit of the congregation, and its charism within the Church. This first year of Novitiate is followed by an apostolic experience in one of our communities.
First Profession: This stage begins with the first profession of vows. Annually, for four to six years, the temporary professed sister renews her vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. During these years the sister can be involved in a period of studies and/or apostolic activities in the congregation.
Perpetual Profession: Prior to final profession the sister enters a year of dedicated prayer, renewal, and preparation for final commitment. She then publicly pronounces her final vows to God. The community gathers to celebrate her gift to the Church and also promises to support her as a full member of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary.
A vow is a solemn promise made freely as an individual gives his or her life to God. Most communities make vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience.
Poverty —We share our goods in common, live a simple life, and realize that we depend on God.
Celibacy —We choose to love and serve God and all God’s people, rather than to love one person exclusively in marriage. We offer our celibacy as a witness and testimony to God’s love.
Obedience —We live in community and try to listen and follow the will of God by taking part in community life, goals, hopes, and work.
Yes, because the process of becoming a member of the congregation is always a mutual decision between the community and the new member. If it becomes apparent that a woman is having difficulty living the many challenges of religious life, there would be a lengthy discernment and discussion, and she could be asked to leave the congregation if it is deemed that she does not have the qualities to live our way of life.
Sr. Holly Gauthier
(978)701-3031
[email protected]