An SSND Case Study: Sister Betty Uchytil

Sister Betty Uchytil, SSND, was recently featured in her local newspaper for starting a new role as principal at a Catholic primary school. While the school is new to Sister Betty, serving as an administrator in such a school is not - and, as the headline of the article indicates, her vocation as both an SSND and an educator has brought her to a great variety of schools over the years.  

A few things I'd like to highlight from this article:

• Sister Betty became a teacher and taught in public schools for ten years before becoming an SSND. It's normal to try a career or two before entering into serious discernment with a community!
• Her journey brought her to a school in Nepal - and, soon after, back home due to the temporary closure of the school. You never know what might happen, or how quickly your course might change, when following God's call! 

Read more about Sister Betty and her new role as a school principal here!

TREVOR MCDONALD/COURIER-POST

 

SSND has been attending ecumenical prayer services in Ferguson

Sister Cathy Doherty, SSND, has been attending ecumenical prayer services in Ferguson. She was recently featured in the St. Louis Review, which is published by the Archdiocese of St. Louis. You can find this excellent article here: http://t.co/cadEyAdAbz

Not in your 20s? Neither are most newly professed sisters!

When I read this great article on Global Sisters Report today I knew that I had to share it. Many of the women that I have encountered in vocation ministry are not fresh out of college, and Dan Stockman over at GSR does a great job here explaining why that is and what that means for religious communities. This info graphic is a great teaser - be sure to read the article, too! 

Education in Many Forms

We shared some months ago a brief description of what has been called "The Nun Study" - an in-depth, ongoing project involving Alzheimer's research and the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The Global Sisters Report has published a fantastic article about how this study came to be, what the experiences of the sisters and the scientists have been like, and what has been learned! Well worth a read. 

http://globalsistersreport.org/news/educating-many-forms-school-sisters-notre-dame-committed-long-term-alzheimers-disease-study

The Arts of Discernment

 by Wendy M. Wright

In general, it might be said that discernment is about two things: attentiveness and discrimination. We need to attend to both what goes on around us and within us. Ideally, this attentiveness goes on much of the time, a sort of low level, constant spiritual sifting of the data of our experience. But there are times when discernment becomes much more focused, when a crossroad is reached or a choice called for. At times like these the cumulative wisdom of tradition tells us to pay attention on many levels: 

• to consult scripture 
• to seek the advice of trusted advisors
• to heed the sensus fidelium (collective sense of the faithful) 
• to read widely/deeply the best ancient and modern thinking 
• to pray 
• to attend to the prick of conscience and to the yearnings and dreamings of our hearts                                                                                
• to watch 
• to wait 
• to listen

Discernment is about discriminating: sifting through and evaluating the evidence of our focused attention. It is not, however, identical to problem solving. It is not simply a question of lining up the pros and cons and then judging which choice is feasible or which will benefit us, or others, in the long run. Discernment is more like the turning of  the sunflower to the sun, or the intuitive hunch of the scientist... . Discernment is about feeling texture, assessing weight, watching the plumb line, listening for overtones, searching for shards, feeling the quickening, surrendering to love. It is being grasped in the Spirit's arms and led in the rhythms of an unknown dance. 

From "Passing Angels: The Arts of Spiritual Discernment," Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, Vol. X/6 (Nov/Dec 1995, (Nashville, TN: The Upper Room, 1995), 11-12. 

Discernment as Paradox

 by Thomas E. Clarke, S.J.                                                                

Discernment, like faith itself, is a paradoxical journey. If it calls for faithfulness and integrity in seeking the light of truth, it also involves ... the acceptance of a certain darkness, a letting go of purely rational assurances. It is profoundly different from any purely autonomous discovery of truth. When I discern, I do the best I can with the pros and cons of decision, and then surrender myself in trust to the One whom I believe loves me. 

In this respect it is helpful to distinguish between a correct decision and a good decision. Decisions are correct when they correspond to the requirements of an objective situation in its ethical and pragmatic requirements. Good decisions, on the other hand, are those which we make, correctly or not, with that awareness and freedom by which we respond obediently to God's inner call as we perceive it at the moment of choice. The light we seek in true discernment is the light to know God in knowing ourselves, in sorting out what is from our God who is Light and what is from the darkness of sin.

From "Discernment  Through the Senses," Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, Vol. X/6 (Nov/Dec 1995, (Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 1995), 19.

Helpful Advice about Vocational Discernment

I always appreciate hearing advice from someone who actually has first-hand experience with what they're talking about, don't you? I just read a great article on Vision Vocation Network about the keys to discernment when it comes to a possible vocation to religious life. Check it out here:

The Three Keys to Successful Vocation Decisions by Sister Rosann Ocken, O.S.B.

What do sisters DO?

I just loved this article from the folks over at Global Sisters Report about the great variety of ministries in which one can find Catholic sisters and nuns these days! Many people are surprised that they aren't all catechists, nurses, or silent contemplatives. Here's a small sample of the 18 surprising ministries mentioned in this article:

• NGO reps at the United Nations
• Herbalists who make medicines
• and even an archeologist!

You can find the full list here - as well as lots of other great articles from Global Sisters Report. 

A UK Vocations Boom?

A recent study indicates that last year marked a 25-year high in the number of Catholic women entering religious life in England and Wales. There has been great interest in this news, of course, and one of the best interviews I have seen on the subject came from a young woman named Theodora Hawksley. There is a great video interview with her here, as well as an article she wrote here. Both are brief but offer wonderful insight into this springtime for the Catholic Church in England and Wales!

What are your thoughts about this surprising trend? Do you think that it is possible for something similar to happen here in the US? Why or why not?

TBT: The Selma Effect

For this week's edition of Throwback Thursday we'd like to share an article published earlier this week on Global Sisters Report. Sr. Margaret Ellen Traxler, SSND, was one of the Catholic sisters who marched from Selma 50 years ago - an experience which led her to become more deeply involved in that movement. This excellent article explains how sisters wound up at the famous march, why their presence became important, and what the impact of Selma has been on sisters across the country in the decades since. Well worth a read!

Who We Are - As Sisters

S. Tracy Kemme, contributor to Global Sisters Report

This article from a young soon-to-be-Sister of Charity (she is currently a novice) is a gorgeous reflection on the vows that all consecrated religious take. Though this article is not directly about the School Sisters of Notre Dame, it gives great insight into the lived experience and the way of life of generations of religious women and men, SSND and otherwise! If you are discerning about a call to religious life, or even just curious what religious life is all about, we encourage you to grab a mug of something cozy and READ THIS: Vows That Wake Up the World

Great Article from a Young Sister!

Sister Julia Walsh shares powerfully about her journey to religious life, particularly celibacy, as an average teen/young adult who liked and dated boys. What a great article! It will be particularly helpful to anyone who wonders how folks live this life - or whether or not they can, themselves!

Find Sister Julia's Article Here at The Global Sisters Report