Since the Fall of 2005, a group of women has been meeting with Sisters Barbara Leonardo and Sharon Casey to discuss and discern the call to religious life. Their time together has been an opportunity for exploring feelings, questions and the perceived urgings of the Holy Spirit. One of the women, Annie Michaud, a former Cabrini Corps Missioner, shares her feelings about the gatherings in the following reflection:

A lot of times, people's pursuit to follow Christ more fervently can be one of deep frustration, mysterious direction, and loneliness. Our will is constantly weakened and stripped to allow the realization of God's will to enter in. Mother Cabrini lives on as a powerful example of this because of her desire "to consecrate herself wholly and unreservedly to God." She always accepted challenging moments in her life with patience and love, although sometimes grief-stricken, she saw them as times to strengthen her obedience to God's will. She carried an abundance of virtues that seem impossible to nurture at times, but it was the dominant virtue of her nature that integrated all of them: "an inexorable determination to carry out, at any cost, what she perceived to be the will of God."

Why do I begin with a reflection on Mother Cabrini and the will of God planted in each of us? Because these two things contribute much value to my daily thoughts and prayers as a discerning woman today. I experience struggle and confusion while trying to commit myself more fully to the dream God has designed for me.

Right now, the world seems like a vacuumed space, deprived of depth, hope, consistency, courtesy, love, and most especially, the presence of God. I'm presented with the fact that religious vocations are lessening due to multiple factors, and the initiative to want to seek out God's plan is viewed as nice, but not profitable in the long run. But 'thank goodness' for Mother Cabrini's model -- she proved otherwise, and she is the vision and the pillar of truth that supports us, the collective group of women discerning a vocation together now.

(L-R) Jayne Pickett, Ann Plyler, Stephanie Birk, Sr. Barbara Leonardo, MSC, Annie Michaud and Sr. Sharon Casey, MSC, take time for a rooftop photo during their gathering last Fall.

The tremendous thing about these vocational gatherings is that they provide a comfortable place for us women to share our hearts, concerns, and questions. We don't feel so alone embracing this challenge together. We can try to bring hope to each other's shadowy reservations by validating the fears and weaknesses we all have. We can openly communicate our thoughts with no pressures for explanations or a resolute understanding of what they mean.

The direction and experience of the sisters present have been invaluable elements to me, and the others, I believe. What's especially nice is that these [gathering] times have been circulated to other [religious] Orders and schools, so now we have two additional women, Sr. Celia and Maria, joining us from Barnard College, and that was a wonderful surprise, plus a comfort. I thoroughly enjoyed their company and hearing about their journeys that have led them to this present spot. They came with complete openness and a willingness to explore this feeling that one woman so expertly quoted, "I guess I decided that I'm discerning something." The laughter and relaxed sense of peace that grows with each gathering is a sign, I believe, that the Holy Spirit is present smiling within each of us providing courage and a pureness of heart to hear and answer the inner whisperings strongly guiding us.

~ Annie Michaud