A Religious Vocation

Responding to God’s Call

An Invitation to Love

At your baptism, original sin was washed away and the Blessed Trinity came to dwell in the depths of your soul, clothing you with grace and all the virtues needed to live on the supernatural level of knowledge and love of God. From that initial beginning, throughout your life God invites you to grow in grace and into a deep, personal, intimate, and ultimately fulfilling friendship with Him.

This is true of every Christian, young or old, single or married, layperson or priest, monk or nun. Do you know that God loves you in a profound and personal way?

When you come to consider a religious vocation, it is an important foundation to believe and trust deeply in His love for you as yourself, prior to any state in life or vocational choice. He created you out of love, He desires your happiness more than you do, and His loving Providence will always guide and care for you along the path of your life.

Religious Life: Pursing Love Without Obstacles

Religious life is a response to this invitation to grow in love for God by renouncing not only sins that destroy friendship with Him, but also those things, even good things, that can be obstacles to the total outpouring of His love. As Our Lord said to the rich young man who had kept all the commandments from his youth, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have, give the money to the poor, and come, follow Me.”

This invitation is open to all. “Let him who can accept it, accept it,” Jesus said about those who would live chastity for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Often, however, Our Lord will make the invitation to follow Him personally felt in the hearts of those whom He especially desires, through Holy Mass and Communion, Eucharistic Adoration, the Words of Scripture, loving community, or other moments of experiencing His love in particular ways. Isn’t that why you are reading this now?

To move forward and act on this invitation, thank God for the grace to desire to follow Christ more closely, and ask for His continued guidance. Then use your God-given reason enlightened by faith through the virtue of prudence to consider three simple criteria: desire, suitability, and acceptance.

A Specific Vocation: The Call to Marbury

Every religious house, even one that is part of a larger Order or Congregation, has its own unique personality and culture, an effect of the manifold grace of God working for the building up of the Church. We will consider these three criteria, then, as applied to our community in particular.

Do you desire to consecrate yourself to the service of God and His People? For a vocation to our community, you could be moved by desires such as one or more of the following:
- To give yourself completely to God; to have your whole life and every day organized around Him
- To belong completely and totally to Jesus; to be a spouse of Christ
- To spend your life in and out of Eucharistic Adoration, in Jesus’ Presence
- To console Our Lord and make reparation for the grave offenses of our times
- To be immersed in the liturgy: the yearly, weekly, and daily round of praise of God and participation in the mysteries of Christ
- To be nourished continually with the Word of God in Scripture and the study of sacred truth
- To live devotion to Our Lady to the max!
- To be surrounded by a community of women all seeking holiness along the same path
- To reach as many souls as possible through giving yourself directly to God in the spiritual motherhood of the contemplative life
- To live at the heart of the Holy Preaching of the Dominican Order, united with Dominican friars, nuns, Sisters, and laity all over the world in a total outpouring with Christ Crucified for the salvation of souls
Are you free to choose a state in life (that is, unmarried, not already in vows, and acting freely), and do you meet the requirements of your chosen Religious Institute? Do your God-given gifts and desires match those of your intended Religious Institute?
Our community is looking for the following:
- Single, practicing Catholic women between the ages of 18-28. (Converts must have been Catholic for at least 3 years before entrance.) Must be a U.S. citizen.
- High school education at minimum; capable of college level study.
- Good physical and psychological health; emotional wholeness; maturity appropriate to age.
- Love of the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Our Lady.
- Deep desire to have a more intimate relationship with Jesus.
- Good judgment, willingness to learn, and a spirit of generosity.
- Capable of living in community and in solitude.
- Good sense of humor.
Each step of the way, the approval of the superiors of the Institute confirms your vocation so far, from the initial contact, through the stages in formation, to the definitive confirmation of professing final vows.

If you think that you are being called to the Dominican contemplative life, we encourage you to contact us and arrange for a visit.

Anyone suspecting that God may be calling her, will find a sure help in Our Blessed Mother. She will guide you with exquisite delicacy and the greatest possible certainty. Eventually one arrives at the point where she must leap with Faith into the arms of God. Fear not—He always catches you!

Come and See

Take a Deeper Look

Learn more about becoming a cloistered Dominican nun, helping your family understand this life, and growing closer to Jesus and Mary as you consider and prepare for a religious vocation.

Stages in Formation

Learn about the five stages a young woman goes through while becoming a Dominican nun in our monastery: aspirancy, postulancy, novitiate, simple profession, and solemn profession.

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Come and See

The best way to get to know a community is just that — coming to visit! Take the first step in considering our vocation by getting in touch with our Vocation Directress and asking about a visit to our monastery.

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Resources for Families

A cloistered vocation can raise many questions and concerns for your family. We have put together a number of resources to help families understand this beautiful call or foster vocations in the home.

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