BELONGING
A woman who chooses consecrated religious life takes a step into a life lived with others who share her values and goals.
Belonging to a way of life lived with others is a quest where the give-and-take of daily living blends with the listening and contributing of conversation, discussion, and participation.
Give-and-take in daily living calls forth much humor, some annoyance, steady forgiveness, spirituality, and overarching joy among women who are committed to each other.
Commitment to each other enables building community.
And community embodies belonging.
COMMITMENT
Shared living in religious community grows out of a common commitment.
Ursulines affirm this commitment in the presence of friends, family, and members of the faith community in a ritual of public celebration.
They set the compass of their lives by vowing poverty, chastity, and obedience.
They commit their resources, their affections, and their choices to God, enacted in shared life with their community and in self-giving ministry.
Commitment to God is rooted in prayer and meditation and expressed in community and ministry.
THE GIFT
Jesus said there is no greater love than to give one’s life for one’s friends.
Religious life is a lifetime gift of oneself within a community and radiating out from that community in service to others.
The individual sister’s ministry is strengthened and its effectiveness multiplied through the community that stands with her in her service to others.
To belong, to commit, and to give is to share life.