WAYNE Jessica Long, a member of St. Ann Melkite Catholic Parish, Woodland Park, will quickly point out that she has followed in her parents’ faith-filled footsteps in getting involved in her faith community. The junior at DePaul Catholic High School here has been a part of St. Ann’s youth group and recently started as a second-grade religion teacher — a catechist like her mother.
But on the evening of Sept. 24, Long was asked to dig a little more deeply and think about the future to consider a vocation that would deepen her commitment of service to the Church as a single woman, married woman or a religious sister. She and about 54 other young women from grammar and high schools in the Diocese gathered at DePaul for an Evening with Sisters and the Bishop where Bishop Serratelli encouraged them to listen to God’s call, followed by Adoration in the high school’s chapel. At this vocations-awareness event, religious sisters from various communities spoke to the young women about their own vocations and diversity of their ministries, followed by dining on pizza in DePaul’s media room.
“I’m strong in my faith. I look forward to it [attending Mass]. As a CCD teacher, I find it uplifting to have the same effect [of making the faith engaging] on my students that my CCD teacher had on me,” said Long, who also belongs to DePaul’s St. Vincent de Paul Society, which performs “extra service,” including running retreats for incoming freshman. “I would consider it [a religious vocation]. I love the way the nuns talked about their faith. It’s appealing because of the way they are strong in their belief in God,” she said.
That night, religious sisters from the following religious communities attended: Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station; Sisters of Christian Charity, Mendham; Vocationist Sisters, Florham Park; Dominican Sisters of Caldwell; Religious Teachers Filippini, Morristown; Franciscan Sisters of St. Elizabeth, Parsippany; and St. Joseph Sisters of Peace, Englewood Cliffs, in the Newark Archdiocese. The students came from DePaul; Morris Catholic High School, Denville; Pope John Regional High School, Sparta; and St. Gerard Majella School, Paterson.
In the glow of DePaul’s chapel, Bishop Serratelli started the event with a reflection that focused on Samuel of the Old Testament, who was tasked to be part of the revitalization of Israel. God called the teenager three times while serving in the temple of Eli. But it was Eli who finally gave Samuel the words to speak in reply: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening,” the Bishop told participating religious and the young women, who were accompanied by staff from their schools, including a few priests.
“God speaks to us through his Word, our friends and family and his Creation. He makes the choice and reveals it slowly to us. He speaks to us directly and through the stirrings of our hearts and other people, who might say, ‘You would make a good doctor or religious sister.’ The Lord has a vocation — a purpose or plan — for all of us. He loves us for all eternity and wills us to live in this period. We can do something that no one else can do,” Bishop Serratelli said that night. “We need to learn to listen to God’s voice. You should find a mentor to help you sort out your feelings and spend quiet time with the Lord to ask him [about a vocation],” he said.
After the Bishop’s talk, Father Julio Barrios, DePaul chaplain, led the Adoration in the chapel. Then, the group walked to the other side of the high school to its media center to listen to talks by religious sisters, such as Filippini Sister Barbara O’Kane, vocations director of her community and a member of the diocesan Vocations Awareness Committee that organized the event.
Sister Barbara spoke to the young women about leaving her previous career in information technology to answer God’s call to religious life.
“I didn’t think about teaching [the charism of the Filippinis] before God called me. I love educating young people in faith and academics. Jesus calls us to something new like he called me to teaching,” Sister Barbara said. “You can find your vocation by getting in touch with God’s Word. I hope that you leave tonight with an understanding of the joy of religious life, where you will find peace and joy, and the ‘Good News’ about life in the Church. The Lord is leading to your vocation. How will you hear his call? Tonight is a perfect opportunity to find out how,” she said.
That night, Vocationist Sister Gelsy Mosca, who had run Perpetual Help Day Nursery in Newark in the Newark Archdiocese, spoke about becoming interested in the Vocationists, after meeting — and then helping — a few sisters, when she was young. Many of the sisters talked about the broad range of ministries available today from clinical psychology to serving the poor, as well as outreaches that could send them to other countries. They called religious life “a blessing” and urged the young women to discern their vocations by praying the rosary and before the Blessed Sacrament and receiving Holy Communion at Mass. Then, the young women shared pizza with religious, where they had lively conversations.
After the Evening with Sisters and the Bishop, Savannah Connolly, a Pope John freshman, told The Beacon that she was impressed with the religious sisters, who spoke.
“It was interesting that many of the nuns travel all around the world and that they do so many different things. I didn’t know that. They were very nice,” Connolly said. The Evening with Sisters and the Bishop
for young women — the second such event held in the Diocese — presented a “good opportunity for them to know about the various religious communities here in one spot,” said Dominican Sister Pat Stringer, promoter of her community and chairperson of the Vocations Awareness Committee. She also spoke about her community’s call to love, prayer, service and study.
“This event is an opportunity for us to plant the seed [of thinking about a religious vocation],” Sister Patricia said. “The young women were attentive and interested.”
The diocesan Vocations Office will continue its series of “Pizza with the Bishop” vocations-awareness events with Bishop Serratelli and young men of the Diocese on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at DePaul Catholic High School, Wayne, and on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. at St. Pope John XXIII High School, Sparta.