All Christians are invited to know, love and follow Jesus Christ ever more closely. Some experience an overwhelming desire to totally dedicate their lives to God by a public commitment to gospel living within community.
Initial Process If you are a single Catholic woman considering a vocation to religious life, the Sisters of Mary Reparatrix will give you ample opportunity to explore the authenticity of your call and the charism of the congregation. You will be helped to discover whether or not there is a fit between your gifts and personality and the particular culture of our group. As you first get to know the congregation you will be invited to meet sisters in at least one of the communities and to talk, pray, and eat with them. You’ll be asked to find a spiritual companion/director and to make an eight day retreat or a retreat in daily life in the tradition of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. If you desire to continue your exploration of religious life you will eventually write a letter to express your interest in becoming an Aspirant. Those sisters who have been in contact with you will give their opinion to the Region Council about your readiness for this next step.
The Aspirant Period During this time a designated sister will be your Companion. She will be available to you for conversation, reflection, and discernment. She will suggest appropriate reading material, help you deepen your prayer life, invite you to spend more time with the community, and share with you the history of the congregation and the contemporary expressions of the charism in the different parts of the world where we serve. During this time you will continue meeting with your spiritual director. Every six months you, your Companion, and the Welcoming Community will evaluate the experience and make the necessary adjustments. This extended period will allow you enough time to decide whether you feel moved to become a Candidate or to continue your relationship as a friend, Associate, Companion in Reparation, or as an Auxiliary.
Candidate Period As a Candidate you will spend longer periods of time living in community. One of the sisters will be your Candidate Companion who, in conversation with you and with the Welcoming Community, will outline a process and suggest materials that will allow you to know the congregation, its spirituality and its history at a deeper level. Opportunities for retreats and extended periods of prayer will be provided. Engagement in the Candidate Period ministries of the community will be expected. During this time you will be invited to consider whether or not you are called as a follower of Christ to live as a happy and productive member of a religious community who is ready to embrace the whole universe and its creatures, especially the most endangered and poor.
Pre-Novitiate and Novitiate If after serious discernment and evaluation you, the sisters, and the Region leadership agree that you are ready for this next step, you will be officially admitted into the Pre-Novitiate. Most likely you will be asked to go to Latin America, Africa, or Europe to join other women from different countries who are preparing to make vows in the Congregation of Mary Reparatrix. In order to do this you will need to have a functioning knowledge of either Spanish or French. In depth study of the vows, the charism, Ignatian spirituality, and Congregational documents as well as fidelity to prayer, a vibrant community life, engagement in ministry, and remunerative work will fill your days. The aim of this stage, which can last up to four years, is to prepare you to freely make temporary vows as a Sister of Mary Reparatrix.
