Discernment of a religious vocation is both a beautiful and a challenging experience— for the discerner, of course, but also for his or her parents. Even the most supportive mom and dad in the world can find themselves with a lot of questions and heartache. Will I ever see her again? Does he know how hard it will be? Is it wrong of me to be sad? Who can I talk to who will understand what I’m going through?
Read MoreYou showed me that day how to love selflessly, sacrificially, to give out of a poverty that nevertheless must give, because it loves. You reached deep into your heart and found something to give your daughter on her journey into an unknown world, something you knew would be of value to her, no matter how small it seemed at the time.
Read MoreNearly two and a half years have gone by since our daughter entered the cloister of the Passionist nuns. As I have described before, letting go and supporting her answering God’s call was a bitter-sweet experience, marked by a mixture of awe, joy, lonesomeness and a painful tenderness about her leaving the nest and her everyday physical presence with us.
Read MoreEver wonder what it's like for families to visit the monastery? Using their photos and a post-visit thank you letter, here is a little glimpse of life in Saint Joseph Guest House during the final days of 2014.
Read MoreWhen other men’s daughters might have expressed an interest in the convent or the cloister, I wouldn’t have questioned it at all. I would have been respectful of their choice and genuinely happy for them. “What a noble and beautiful vocation!”or “What a meaningful life with a holy purpose!” I, no doubt, would have thought.
Read MoreMy tears just kept flowing uncontrollably as I witnessed this beautiful young woman become the Bride of Christ, bearing the crown of thorns and shouldering the cross of Christ. Little did I know that one day our own daughter, Sr, Mary Andrea, would be making the same profession of vows in this Passionist monastery!
Read MoreSomething happened to make me question my ideals and the things I had built my life around. My older sister Andrea and I have always been close. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when she told me that she had decided to join the cloistered Passionist Monastery. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I most certainly was!
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