Welcome!
"Be Not Afraid!"
Hello!
My name is Sr. M. Karolyn and I am excited to introduce myself to you as our Vocation Director!
Veni Si Amas ~ come if you Love
The monstrance in our Adoration chapel says, "Veni Si Amas." This Latin phrase means, "Come if you love." Jesus invites each of us to follow him more closely - to open ourselves to receiving His love and to give His love to others.
In seeking His Heart, we are faced with the encounter of Him who has first loved us. As you actively search and attentively listen to His voice, has He been drawing you closer to reach out into the deep?
If you would like more information about our Community during your time of discerning His call, we invite you to complete our Vocational Inquiry.
"If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life."
~ Pope Benedict XVI, April 24, 2005
An Introduction from
Sister M. Karolyn -
Or
iginally from Rhode Island, I graduated with a degree in Theology from Franciscan University and worked as a youth minister and director of religious education in Tennessee for two years.
It seemed that the Lord was always asking me for “more.” Thinking, however, that I could satisfy him by working in his vineyard, I ran away from my vocation, but I could not hide.
During that time working in the parish, I grew in prayer and fell more in love with him. I slowly began to discover that he was inviting me not to do more for him, but to be more for him. It became evident that he desired for me to express my feminine genius as his spouse in consecrated religious life and to live the capacity he gave me for spiritual motherhood.
I was attracted to the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George, whom I met during my years at Franciscan University, because I love the incarnational spirituality of St. Francis who encountered Christ in the crib, on the cross, and in the Eucharist. My prayer was continually focused on the cross and the pierced side of Christ which is the very spirituality and charism of our congregation: “to look upon him whom we have pierced” (John 19:37).
In 2005 I entered our community after finally deciding to give Jesus the “more” he had been asking for: the gift of myself. I was particularly inspired by the life and admonition of my hero, Pope St. John Paul II, for whom I take my religious name, to BE NOT AFRAID. Since first profession of vows, I spent time working in a parish, teaching and doing campus ministry and retreats in high schools in New Jersey and Kansas.
On August 14, 2015, I promised to give Jesus “more” forever when I made my final vows. Following the Lord in this way of life has been a great adventure, and in my giving him more, he has given me more than my heart could have ever imagined.
Please do not hesitate to contact me by phone (618.463.2757), email (vocations@altonfranciscans.org), or mail (see address at the foot of the page). I look forward to hearing from you.
God bless you!
In the joy of Jesus,
Sister M. Karolyn, FSGM
We joyfully welcome into our Community those Catholic young women who have the following qualifications:
- Between the ages of 18 and 30 (exceptions can be made)
- In good physical, mental, and moral health
- Appropriate personal maturity
