Religious life is a 'radical call' to live for God

Published: July 19, 2008

By Sister Mary Thérèse Johnson, OSB
Special to Arkansas Catholic

Sister Mary Thérèse Johnson, OSB

Sister Mary Thérèse Johnson, OSB

The first time I remember thinking about religious life, I was 6 years old and asked my mother how I could help people get to heaven. I don't remember her answer, but as children we were encouraged to think about being priests or religious. That thought was present in all four of us.

From the time I was young, we were always taught that the good priests, brothers and sisters had answered a special, radical call from God to live a life dedicated to him alone.

If we were to devote ourselves to God with an "undivided" heart (1 Corinthians 7:34), we would be able to serve God through serving others as teachers in Catholic schools. When I was young, we children only knew about teaching religious orders.

While on a retreat many years later, I heard the Lord calling to my heart again. After several years of discernment, I came to Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro in 1992 to seek God and to attempt to be obedient to his will, within the context of a religious community of sisters.

Could I not have sought the Lord outside a convent setting? Certainly, but I had grown to love praying the Divine Office in community several times every day, and living in a convent made that more available. Also, knowing that members of religious communities were aging, I knew I would have an extra pair of hands and feet to be of assistance to them.

A university professor once said, "Religious life is absolutely essential for the survival of the human race because of what religious represent."

If you think God might be calling you to religious life, talk to your pastor or visit a religious community to learn more. See this report for a list of all religious orders serving in Arkansas.

According to Pope John Paul II, a Church made up "only of sacred ministers and laypeople would not conform to the intentions of Jesus" and that "consecrated life deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord is a gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit" ("Vita Consecrata," nos. 29, 1)

Pope Benedict XVI said, "The Holy Spirit attracts some people to live the Gospel in a radical way," so living life as a consecrated person is living a radical gift of giving oneself to Jesus through his Church.

It is a necessary gift for current times and for the future of the Church. St. Augustine said the presence of monastic communities are a constant reminder that men and women are made for God, and their "hearts are restless until they rest in" him. ("Confessions, I")

The roles of religious are not as limited as they were in the past. Many are the gifts we are to share with God's people by participating in the changing and challenging ministries of the Church. We have been educators, medical personnel, caregivers and participated in many other ministries. Even now we are given roles in areas not open to us in the past.

As faithful religious, living countercultural lives, we are being asked to boldly bear witness to God's will, especially when it means countering the unjust and immoral laws of our society.

We are to be like Peter and Paul, who declared right was right and wrong was wrong, without worrying about the feelings of those who would intentionally go against God's laws.

When the Lord says, "Come, follow me" we need to find a spiritual director who is able to help us respond, "Yes, Lord! Here I am, your servant, unworthy though I am. Where do you want me?"

Through this process of discernment, he can teach us how to listen to the Spirit's murmurings in our hearts, telling us where we are to witness to Christ's love, light and hope.

Sister Mary Thérèse Johnson, OSB, is vocations director for Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro.

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