Diocese plans first women's retreat to explore religious vocations

Published: December 10, 2011

By Phyllis Hemann
Associate Editor

Young women in the diocese will now have the same opportunity to explore religious vocations as their male counterparts with the first Women's Religious Retreat Jan. 13-14 at St. John Center in Little Rock.

The http://www.dolr.org/offices/vocations/" target="null">diocesan Vocations Office will present the retreat that will offer women a chance to learn about discernment, understand religious life and the orders working in Arkansas and have time in prayer to contemplate God's call.

"This lets them explore whether they think God might be inviting them to open themselves to discern," said Sister Joan Pytlik, DC, the diocese's minister for religious, who will speak at the retreat. "It's also important for them to be with other young women that may be having the same thoughts."

The event will begin Friday at 6 p.m. with a light dinner and end with a 5 p.m. vigil Mass on Saturday. It will offer talks by religious, panel discussions, Lectio Divina ("divine reading" where one prays using Scripture), small group sharing and private prayer.

"We wanted young women to have an opportunity to spend some time discerning where God's calling them while getting insight from different orders' perspectives," said Liz Tingquist, diocesan director of youth and campus ministries.

Twelve of the 13 orders of religious women in the diocese will participate. They've invited two representatives from each order to give talks, serve on panels or lead the small group sharing, so participants have an opportunity to learn about their orders and the religious life.

The retreat is geared toward juniors and seniors in high school and women up to age 35, but Tingquist said they won't turn anyone away who feels the call to come to the retreat and is mature enough for it.

A grant from the Serra Club will help offset costs and provide scholarships if any of the women cannot afford the $20 registration fee.

Tingquist and Sister Joan worked on the planning committee with Ellen Kanatzar of Little Rock, Sister Mary Clare Bezner, OSB, of Jonesboro, Maria Izquierdo, vocations office executive assistant, and vocations director Msgr. Scott Friend.

"I've had a lot of young girls come to me and say 'I don't even know where to start,'" Tingquist said. "It's important young women in the state know that the diocese is here to support them. We need to give them assistance in knowing how to discern … This gives them an opportunity not to feel overwhelmed and feel included at a diocesan level in vocational discernment."

A similar event for young men, Come and See Discernment Retreat, will be held Dec. 30-31, also at St. John Center. The retreat, which has been held annually since 2008, is led by the diocesan seminarians and is open to participants 16 years and older.

For more information on the retreats, contact Maria Izquierdo at (501) 664-0340.