Ways Women Can Respond to God’s Call
Religious Orders
Religious sisters dedicate their lives to God through vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Living in communities, they serve in various ministries like education, healthcare, and missionary work, bringing Christ’s love to those in need. Rooted in prayer and guided by their order’s unique charism, they witness the Gospel in a powerful, communal way.
Communities of Consecrated Women
Consecrated women in these communities live a life dedicated to Christ through prayer and commitment, but they may not take formal vows as in traditional religious orders. Instead, they live in smaller, intentional communities that focus on fellowship, spiritual growth, and service within the Church. Each community has a distinct mission, allowing members to serve others while deepening their relationship with God and each other through a shared calling.
Consecrated Virginity
Women called to consecrated virginity dedicate their lives to Christ without joining a formal religious community. Living in the world, they commit to perpetual chastity and a deep life of prayer, serving as a sign of Christ’s love. Consecrated virgins embody a unique vocation, witnessing to the kingdom of God through their faithful devotion and service.
What You Should Know Before Starting the Journey of Discernment
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you are called! It might be the call to build a family here on earth (with a husband and children) or a spiritual family (with a community), or remaining single but with a mission focused on God's plan for you.
If you go through the right discernment process you should be able to hear God's voice inside you.
Most congregations follow this: pre-postulant, postulant, novitiate, temporary vows, final vows.
It depends on each congregation. It could take 6-12 years before the final vows.
The daily life of the sisters can be slightly different from each community depending on their charism. They usually wake up early and begin their day with morning prayers - most communities pray the liturgy of the hour twice a day, morning and evening, and attend Mass daily. They also commit at least one hour of personal prayer daily. They share community life with one another, which helps them to live in simplicity and dependence. Together they establish a rhythm of life in a community that ensures a balance in prayer, ministry, recreation, and leisure, and which allows time and space for reflection.
Communities of Consecrated Women involve women who live together in intentional communities dedicated to the sanctification of the world, particularly by working and evangelizing within the world through their specific charism and mission. These women take formal vows of poverty, chastity and obedience not in a religious order but in a lay movement in the Catholic Church.
In contrast, women called to Consecrated Virginity live individually in the world rather than in a community. They make a public commitment to lifelong chastity, dedicating themselves solely to Christ while continuing their work and ministry within society. Consecrated virgins witness to God’s love through their personal devotion and service without joining a formal community.
"Thank you, women who are daughters and women who are sisters!"
"Into the heart of the family, and then of all society, you bring the richness of your sensitivity, your intuitiveness, your generosity and fidelity."
–Saint John Paul the Great