‘A Manifestation of God’s Mercy’

Casa Guadalupe blessed with vocations as several young women enter religious orders

CLIFTON  When Casa Guadalupe opened in 2011 with Bishop Serratelli’s blessing, it provided a one-of-a-kind residence for young women. The concept of Casa Guadalupe is simple — a house of discernment for women in their 20s to 40s offering community life, prayer and the opportunity to serve the Church while the women work or study full-time.

The home opened with eight residents and since that time, many of the women have found their calling with several entering religious life. In the last 10 months alone, four women at Casa Guadalupe have joined different religious orders and another became a missionary serving in Mexico. Now, five more women are getting ready to move into Casa Guadalupe to begin their discernment period next month.

“There are many houses of discernment for men to reflect on their vocations, but when Casa Guadalupe opened we were one of the few for women,” said Holly Wright, director of Casa Guadalupe. “Discernment is fundamental to realizing you a have vocation and we have been really blessed. There’s a real need for houses of discernment for women and we are very grateful to Bishop Serratelli for allowing us to have this home.”

For 23-year-old Rocio Perez, who entered the Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Joseph in Brooklyn, in June, living at Casa Guadalupe allowed her to fully discover her vocation. “Being surrounded by this great group of women has taught me so much,” she said. “Just being with other women, who have experienced the same feelings as me gave me so much encouragement. We lived together, we prayed together, we cried together and we laughed together.”

The house also gave Perez a great transition to learning about how to adapt to community life and a rhythm about what daily religious life would be like. But the idea of community life and religious life was far from Perez’s mind when she was growing up, even though during her enitre life Perez was told she was going to be a religious sister.

Perez, who was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in Perth Amboy, said, “When I was young, I never wanted to be a nun. I would say, ‘anything but that.’”

She went to Catholic school and she would witness the work of the Felician Sisters at her elementary school. “I would see them and I would think, ‘Is God speaking to me?’ But it was something I was running from and I didn’t see it as a beautiful calling.”

In high school, Perez began thinking more about her vocation in life. She started attending retreats and the question about her vocation started to mean something to her. During her first years at Felician College, she began mission work and then the question became, “What community should she serve?”

That question was answered during a pilgrimage with college students to Rome and Assisi. The thought of cloistered life entered her mind during prayer. As a cloistered nun, she would live a life of prayer and meditation in a monastery with little physical contact with the outside world. She said her reaction was, “God, absolutely not. You are asking way too much.”

She prayed about it and at first, she thought about the superficial things. “I wouldn’t have my iPod anymore or travel,” she laughed. “But then, He began to make it clear to me. I began to love silence and realized how necessary it is. Within the next couple of weeks, I realized I had been preparing my whole life for this. People need prayers all over the world, sometimes more than preaching.”

At Casa Guadalupe, Perez isn’t the first resident to enter a cloistered order. Marysia Czaplinski entered in 2012 and is now Carmelite Sister Isha. Judith Guzman also entered earlier this year. Both women are now at the Monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel in Morristown. The other two women who decided to enter religious life are Julissa Espinal, currently with the Sisters of Life in the Bronx N.Y., and Claudia Salazar, who entered the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Trinity in Lima, Peru.

As part of living at Casa Guadalupe, the women commit to live there for one year and are allowed to renew for another year, if they need to continue the discernment process. They are involved in several apostolates, which include a women’s discernment group; mission trips across the country and overseas; and Corazon Puro, a chastity ministry.

The women can often be found attending daily Mass at St. Philip Church nearby. They are all Associates of St. Michael Friary in Paterson and partner with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal serving there. Franciscan Father of the Renewal Agustino Torres is spiritual director to the women and helped start the Clifton residence, which is located in a home that formerly served as the diocesan Office for Clergy Personnel and Vocations on Valley Road next to the Diocesan Center and the St. Pope John Paul Center.

With the many vocations coming from Casa Guadalupe, Father Agustino thinks this is a blessing for the diocese as the world celebrates the Year of Consecrated Life. “When I approached Bishop Serratelli about the idea of Casa Guadalupe he was so incredibly receptive, but I do not think anyone could have expected this response,” the priest said. “These vocations are clearly a manifestation of God’s mercy especially since I can vouch that these are not flippant decisions these woman are taking. Every vocation is a mystery. It is a process of discovery. Learning to listen to God means a whole bunch of things including teaching ourselves to listen through prayer, community, service and spiritual direction. God always calls. Casa Guadalupe is a place where we are learning how to live that call.”