Pauline

 

Vocational discernment is a process that the young woman and the community enter into together to arrive at a clear understanding of the Lord’s call and a free choice on the part of the young woman.

With the assistance of the vocation director a young woman is:

► helped to embrace her own life and the lives of others as gifts of God;

► challenged to follow Christ the Master and fan into flame a passion for announcing the Gospel;

► accompanied in discovering the signs of her own call to a particular manner of consecration and mission and in freely and joyfully embracing it.

► encouraged to open herself to the plan of God and to see if she may be called to share in our Pauline ideal and charism.

Our work of discernment with young women is based on the conviction that each religious vocation is born and develops in the Church and for the Church and reaches the fullness of love through the charism proper to each religious institute.

Our vocational discernment, therefore, is a service given to the Church, so that the gifts bestowed by God on his people might find a generous welcome everywhere and the Church might effectively carry out her service of evangelization.

 

 

 

  

 

Application Process

 

After a young woman has spent time in prayer and discernment with the vocation director and has grown in her knowledge of the community by visiting and working alongside the Sisters, she may wish to make an application for entrance into the Daughters of St. Paul.

The Admissions Process is a time of deeper discernment, which is carried out in stages, including the writing of an autobiographical sketch. The discernment of a young woman’s vocation is also on the part of the congregation of the Daughters of St. Paul.

After this autobiography has been submitted and the young woman has been advised to continue with her application, she fills out a questionnaire about her life and her health, submits school transcripts and continues speaking with the Sisters personally of her desire and aptitude for religious life.

 

 

 

Candidacy

 

Although not required for entrance, the Candidacy Program may be recommended for those who have completed the admissions process but for various reasons (for example: payment of debts, completion of education, etc.) are not ready for entrance into the Postulancy program. Candidacy may be lived at home, or in one of the local communities of the Daughters of St. Paul. It seeks to put the young woman in closer ongoing contact with the congregation through:

► personal understanding of her call from God

► studying and reflecting on various aspects of the Pauline charism

► experiencing the apostolic work of the community as much as possible

► personal accompaniment by a sister to continue the journey begun.

There is no established length for the candidacy. Each person is considered with her own personal and unique gifts, situation and circumstances and advised accordingly.

 

 

   
Copyright 2009 by The Daughters of Saint Paul
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