The Spiritual Family of Marie Rivier
Serving God's Children
Blessed Marie Rivier believed that formation to religious life had Jesus Christ as its sole foundation. She could be heard saying often to the young people in her care you have left everything to follow this one Master.
Answering God's call to the Consecrated Life is one way of deepening your baptismal commitment as a faith-filled Catholic Christian. There are different steps to becoming a Sister of the Presentation of Mary. Initial formation is made up of four stages: Aspirancy, Postulancy, Novitiate, and Temporary Profession. The purpose of initial formation is to help women who are discerning with our religious community to better know God, themselves, and the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. In addition, initial formation is a time of mutual discernment on the part of the woman and the community.
The Primary Goals of Formation:
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.
Formation at the Novitiate is a favored time of deepening prayer and studying the vows, the spirit of the congregation and our charism within the Church. This first year of Novitiate is followed by an apostolic experience in one of our communities. A novice confirms her choice to become a Sister of the Presentation of Mary at the school of Jesus Christ and the House of Mary by consenting to learn how to walk in the presence of God and to be nourished by the bread of His Divine Will.
"I am going to seduce her, lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her heart." (Hosea 2:16)
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.
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.
Formation as a Sister of the Presentation of Mary does not end with perpetual profession. Initial Formation marks the beginning of a long series of learning experiences that continue during the course of our lifetime. Ongoing formation helps to ensure that we continue to grow in love with the Lord through our prayer life, in our understanding of who we are as a child of God by embracing our gifts and limitations, and in knowledge and deeper understanding of our faith as vowed religious.