the future of sisterhood

Karen Vollmer, OP

Be prepared to take the journey of a lifetime when you hear and respond to the call to be a “sister” with others in community. Jesus is the tour guide who has the plan for guiding sisters in prayer and on mission.

Their unique call is found in their willingness to journey in solidarity with hearts and minds attuned to God. This call keeps sisters in fidelity to prayer, to dreaming the unimaginable precisely because it is God’s dream, to searching with honesty for ways to be in healthy and right relationship with others and all of nature.

Religious Life is about living in the dynamic movement of God’s spirit. With great trust and dauntless courage women strive to live fully in the present, attentive to the most urgent needs. Often religious women are “first responders” with a concerted voice for the voiceless in critical issues of the day.

The future of sisterhood is unseen, unknown, not yet experienced but we do have glimpses and glimmers as we stand on the horizon of possibilities. Our past is rich in diligent listening to God’s direction and needed action. We embrace the future recognizing and appreciating our past, faithfully living our call with all of its graces and gifts in the present, open and receptive to the future.

Because community living is always a response to God’s initiative, there are many forms that shape it today. In many instances, communities will be smaller and some communities will join together to form a new group. Sisters may not always be easily recognizable by their outer garb but rather by their witness to Gospel living. Their vibrancy can be felt especially by those who pray and work with them, and advocate in areas of social justice.

Sisters move into the future equipped with prayer and confidence with Jesus as their experienced tour guide. Their life of prayer, community, and ministry is a partnership with God and others as they strive to bring faith, healing, compassion, hope, and joy to birth in our world today. To see sisters in action, check the web sites of various communities.

Sisters, parents, family and friends of young women are prime promoters of religious vocations. With their encouragement, prayer, support and conversation, young women are able to discern the path for their life with complete openness to the possibility of being called to life as a “sister.”