We understand that it is very difficult for to know where to begin to explore the real possibility of Religious Life! Unveiling Religious Life is an initiative sponsored by the Handmaids and by the Jesuits, in collaboration with diverse congregations in the Church, meant to:
- “Demystify” Religious Life
- Accompany those who are exploring by providing practical resources for their vocational discernment
- Foster connects and community among those who are exploring the possibility of entering Religious Life
The initiative is open to men and women who are undergraduate students or recent college graduates who are open to exploring Religious/Consecrated life, but who have not yet established a formal connection with a particular religious order. Vocational discernment is certainly not limited to that age range, but the questions of a discerner at that point are different and deserve a different space.
Format
The Unveiling Religious Life Initiative will launch with a series of three Religious Life discernment events hosted on Zoom, beginning on Saturday, November 13, 2021, which will feature panelists from a variety of women’s and men’s religious orders.
- Session 1: “Am I Called?” (Intro to discernment: Sat., 11/13/2021)
- Session 2: “A Day in the Life” (A look at religious life today: Sat., 12/11/2021)
- Session 3: “What’s Next” (Finding support in discernment: Sat., 1/8/2021)
- All sessions: 10am PST / 11am MST / 12pm CST / 1pm EST
Registration Link (join us for all or one of the panels!)
Upon completion of these three sessions, the Initiative will create discernment groups among those undergraduate and recent college graduate participants who seek to continue in the discernment process. These groups will meet on a regular basis either via Zoom to provide peer support and foster community in the discernment process.
We will also provide individuals with spiritual and practical resources they might need to help them move forward in the discernment process, including finding a spiritual director and contacting vocations directors of various religious orders.