A Commitment to Consecrated Life

Newer religious gather with Bishop for annual Mass, dialogue, picnic

MENDHAM  As summer unofficially winds down, the newer religious of the diocese took advantage of the pleasant weather Aug. 27 to gather together with Bishop Serratelli for the celebration of Mass, followed by a dialogue and discussion, an outdoor picnic and lawn games at the Quellen Center on the property of the motherhouse of the Sisters of Christian Charity here. The diocesan Office of Consecrated Life coordinated the annual event.

Under beautiful summer skies, nearly 100 women and men from more than a dozen religious orders, who are in the early formation stages through five years after first profession, enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together to reflect on their vocations to religious life. This year was especially profound since Pope Francis designated 2015 as the Year of Consecrated Life. With the theme, “Wake Up the World!,” the readings and hymns at Mass reflected that message for the religious.

In his homily, Bishop Serratelli said, “We are not the masters of what we have. Everything is a gift from God. Jesus reminds us he is the Master and we are the servants.”

Following Mass, the newer religious gathered at St. Joseph’s Hall in the Quellen Center. Sister of Christian Charity Mary Edward Sphorer, who previously served for 10 years as diocesan chancellor and delegate for religious, and now is serving as her order’s provincial superior, welcomed the young religious.

“We welcome you all to our motherhouse,” she said. “This gathering is just another expression of Bishop Serratelli’s strong commitment to consecrated life and vocations in the Diiocese of Paterson.”

In his teaching, the Bishop spoke to the religious about their courage and commitment to stand up during a time when religion does not seem to matter to many.

He said to them, “By the fact you are religious, you are saying Jesus comes first and that religion does matter.”

The Bishop shared statistics about Christian religions, many of which are facing the lowest attendance in services in recent decades. He spoke about the recent ruling made by the U.S. Supreme Court on same-sex marriage, the news about Planned Parenthood and the lack of care for the elderly.

Through all this, the Bishop said, “No matter what the difficulty that we face, we need to place our hope and trust in God. Are we willing to face our culture with faith? With the truth? Are we ready to accompany others to Jesus? This is the purpose of our religious life.”

After the Bishop’s teaching, the young religious, who serve in the diocese or are studying at Assumption College for Sisters in Denville, had group discussions on the challenges and the gift of their vocation.

In her small group, Salesian Sister Guerline Joseph, a fourth-year junior professed and teacher at Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon, shared the importance of family in such a broken world. “Families are even becoming more individualistic rather than a community in a way. I believe the family is the root of how the world is today. It’s important that children come from good, well grounded families,” she said.

Speaking on the microphone to share with the entire group, Little Sister of the Poor Mercy Mary, who serves at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa and recently made her temporary vows, spoke about how many young religious meet people that are confused about their vocation. “At first many including people in our families didn’t understand our vocations, they thought we were moving to an institution,” she said. “But a religious vocation is an encounter with the Risen Christ and growing stronger in our relationship with him. We want to show the world who Jesus is and his sacrifice and that this is love to the fullest.”

Trinitarian Brother Dieudonne Nsom Kindong, serving at the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling, asked the Bishop a question, “How can we bring the Gospel message to young people?”

The Bishop said, “Be with them and be present to them. It’s important you lead them to question. While it’s important they know what we believe, it’s more important for them to know why we believe.”

Also speaking with the larger group was Julianna Staab, a resident at Casa Guadalupe in Clifton, who is discerning her vocation. She recalled attending Catholic grammar school but never knowing who Jesus was until her time living on the campus of the University of Miami. “Young people are experiencing a real emptiness and they want something real,” she said. “While so much is going on in the world, perhaps we are the generation of hope and renewal.”

After the discussion, the religious enjoyed a barbecue dinner and then played volleyball and badminton until sunset. The Bishop said to the religious, “You share one important message to the world through your lives and that is that God cares intensely and passionately about each one of us in the world.”