Help Send Lauren To The Convent
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The day is finally here! It is with great joy that I can finally announce that I have officially been accepted to the Sisters of Our Lady Immaculate! Praise God! For those of you that don’t speak Catholic lingo, this means that I have officially been accepted into Candidacy, the first step in becoming a nun.
Many of you know that I have been discerning the religious life for many years now. After a long discernment process, I have been accepted to enter on September 8th, 2017. However, I currently have one setback: I need to clear my student debt before I am able to enter the convent. This is necessary since the Sister of Our Lady Immaculate (SOLI) community cannot assume my debt upon my entrance, and I will be unable to work to pay off this debt during that time.
As such, I am asking you to consider supporting me. First, I request that you support me through prayer, because without it, I cannot achieve this goal nor continue in my pursuit of the religious life.
Secondly, I ask that you consider supporting me financially. I am currently working hard as a personal support worker to lower my debt, but I need your help! I would be extremely grateful if you would be able to spare even a dollar, as every dollar will help. Just like a simple Hail Mary said with much devotion, every little bit goes a long way! Whatever you can afford will be appreciated more than words can express. If only 200 people donate $100 each, that would be enough to help me meet my goal! However, there is NOTHING I need more than your prayer and your voice, telling everyone you know who you think may be able to help. Even if you can share this link with your friends and family, it will help others to see that there are individuals pursuing the religious life, giving their lives as a living sacrifice for Christ and His Church.
In order to enter this September, I will need to meet my goal by August 1st, 2017.
Thank you all so much for the support that you have shown me over the years of discernment and through your continued support as I move forward on this journey. Please know that each and every one of you is in my prayers now and forever. If you would like to read my vocation story, I have included it below. I have also included the link for the SOLI Sisters Facebook page and their website for your perusal. If you are interested in seeing more of what the life God has chosen for me will look like in the years to come, please visit the links I have included.
God bless you!
Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/solisisters/
http://www.solisisters.ca/index.html
Vocation Story
You may be wondering how I ended up in this place and why I have decided to give my life to God. My vocation story began when I was baptized and confirmed a Byzantine Catholic around one month old. As I grew up, my family went to Mass on Sundays. However, when I was a young teen, we stopped attending Mass regularly, though I am not sure why. Despite this, I had always felt like I had a strong relationship with God, even if I was not fully practicing my faith.
When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I remember the first seed being planted for my future vocation. I was typically perceived as a “goodie goodie”. A friend at one point even said, “Oh Lauren, why don’t you go become a nun already”. My first thought was, “Well, what is wrong with that?” After all, Mother Teresa was the one person I really wanted to be like.
As I entered high school, and later university, I found that I was growing further and further from God. I also began to question His existence. My life felt so empty and dark, that it seemed as though God had abandoned me. God seemed to me to be a fantasy. It was only a few years later that I realized that God had had His hand on every step of the way in my life. When I was at the lowest point of my life, I woke up one day thanking God for my life and for allowing me to live another day. Though my life seemed to be more on the stairway to Hell than to Heaven at the time, I saw Christ standing over me with His arms outstretched. Christ, the merciful God, stood there, and behind Him, I saw the Catholic Church. This is the only way to describe what was going on in my heart at that point in my life.
Since then, my life has changed dramatically. For years, I had searched for the truth and, eventually, I discovered that I had formed a beautiful relationship with Our Lord. I began to feel that I was called to catechize others and to evangelize the truth. I wished to ensure that others would come to know Jesus in a personal way, the way I had. Soon after, I had the feeling of God tugging at my heart as He was calling me to be a religious sister; thus, I began to pray to come to know His Will.
When I found the vocation video of the Sisters Of Our Lady Immaculate, I knew that God was calling me to this community! I had no doubt that this is what God wanted me to do, that is to catechize and bring His Love to His people. Christ was calling me to bring His people hope and mercy, especially children and the elderly, the most vulnerable in our society. In watching the SOLI’s vocation video, I felt like I had met my family and my future. For the first time, I could see myself as a nun. When I talked on the phone with the sisters and, after my first visit to the SOLI convent, I knew that this was to be my future home. This is what God had desired for my life when He created me.
It has been about three years since I first visited the SOLI Sisters. Now, the day has finally come when God has asked me to follow Him and to become His bride, the bride of Christ. Thus, I look forward to fulfilling the words of St. Clare of Assisi in my vocation as a religious; that is, “Love God, serve God; everything is in that.”
Many of you know that I have been discerning the religious life for many years now. After a long discernment process, I have been accepted to enter on September 8th, 2017. However, I currently have one setback: I need to clear my student debt before I am able to enter the convent. This is necessary since the Sister of Our Lady Immaculate (SOLI) community cannot assume my debt upon my entrance, and I will be unable to work to pay off this debt during that time.
As such, I am asking you to consider supporting me. First, I request that you support me through prayer, because without it, I cannot achieve this goal nor continue in my pursuit of the religious life.
Secondly, I ask that you consider supporting me financially. I am currently working hard as a personal support worker to lower my debt, but I need your help! I would be extremely grateful if you would be able to spare even a dollar, as every dollar will help. Just like a simple Hail Mary said with much devotion, every little bit goes a long way! Whatever you can afford will be appreciated more than words can express. If only 200 people donate $100 each, that would be enough to help me meet my goal! However, there is NOTHING I need more than your prayer and your voice, telling everyone you know who you think may be able to help. Even if you can share this link with your friends and family, it will help others to see that there are individuals pursuing the religious life, giving their lives as a living sacrifice for Christ and His Church.
In order to enter this September, I will need to meet my goal by August 1st, 2017.
Thank you all so much for the support that you have shown me over the years of discernment and through your continued support as I move forward on this journey. Please know that each and every one of you is in my prayers now and forever. If you would like to read my vocation story, I have included it below. I have also included the link for the SOLI Sisters Facebook page and their website for your perusal. If you are interested in seeing more of what the life God has chosen for me will look like in the years to come, please visit the links I have included.
God bless you!
Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/solisisters/
http://www.solisisters.ca/index.html
Vocation Story
You may be wondering how I ended up in this place and why I have decided to give my life to God. My vocation story began when I was baptized and confirmed a Byzantine Catholic around one month old. As I grew up, my family went to Mass on Sundays. However, when I was a young teen, we stopped attending Mass regularly, though I am not sure why. Despite this, I had always felt like I had a strong relationship with God, even if I was not fully practicing my faith.
When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I remember the first seed being planted for my future vocation. I was typically perceived as a “goodie goodie”. A friend at one point even said, “Oh Lauren, why don’t you go become a nun already”. My first thought was, “Well, what is wrong with that?” After all, Mother Teresa was the one person I really wanted to be like.
As I entered high school, and later university, I found that I was growing further and further from God. I also began to question His existence. My life felt so empty and dark, that it seemed as though God had abandoned me. God seemed to me to be a fantasy. It was only a few years later that I realized that God had had His hand on every step of the way in my life. When I was at the lowest point of my life, I woke up one day thanking God for my life and for allowing me to live another day. Though my life seemed to be more on the stairway to Hell than to Heaven at the time, I saw Christ standing over me with His arms outstretched. Christ, the merciful God, stood there, and behind Him, I saw the Catholic Church. This is the only way to describe what was going on in my heart at that point in my life.
Since then, my life has changed dramatically. For years, I had searched for the truth and, eventually, I discovered that I had formed a beautiful relationship with Our Lord. I began to feel that I was called to catechize others and to evangelize the truth. I wished to ensure that others would come to know Jesus in a personal way, the way I had. Soon after, I had the feeling of God tugging at my heart as He was calling me to be a religious sister; thus, I began to pray to come to know His Will.
When I found the vocation video of the Sisters Of Our Lady Immaculate, I knew that God was calling me to this community! I had no doubt that this is what God wanted me to do, that is to catechize and bring His Love to His people. Christ was calling me to bring His people hope and mercy, especially children and the elderly, the most vulnerable in our society. In watching the SOLI’s vocation video, I felt like I had met my family and my future. For the first time, I could see myself as a nun. When I talked on the phone with the sisters and, after my first visit to the SOLI convent, I knew that this was to be my future home. This is what God had desired for my life when He created me.
It has been about three years since I first visited the SOLI Sisters. Now, the day has finally come when God has asked me to follow Him and to become His bride, the bride of Christ. Thus, I look forward to fulfilling the words of St. Clare of Assisi in my vocation as a religious; that is, “Love God, serve God; everything is in that.”
Organizer
Lauren K
Organizer
Thorold, ON
