
FSPA reflects upon World Day of Prayer for Vocations
Praying for religious life on April 22: who will you invite to the conversation?

Sister Marla celebrates, contemplates religious life in jubilee
Tending to discernment requires prayer, guidance, openness ... risking the goodness when found.

Filling our hearts this Easter season
Let us celebrate Jesus and the joyfulness of his resurrection.


FSPA at RE Congress 2018 ... Rise Up!
Sisters Amy and Kathy reached out to hundreds of people with "Discernment of signs along the way: your story of service in the Catholic Church" at the recent Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.

What inspires Sister Sue about religious life today?
"The time is blooming with opportunity, and craving what we have to offer."

What inspires Sister Janet about about religious life today?
"The trust lay people put in me with their personal lives."

These are our own Meribah moments
How can the invitation to discern help you develop your own heart of flesh?

Temptation and transformation in the desert
God guides us to explore the depths of vocational discernment even in the most dreaded circumstances, with us as we confront the temptations that threaten our fidelity to live in communion with God.

Hearts and ashes
When desire to be of service is present, are we ready to love like Christ?

Turn your back or open your arms to discernment?
Will we live with eyes wide open or avert our glance, ignoring our brothers and sisters in need?

It's where I pray
In a chair, near a window, Sister Maris prays and receives stability, change and connection.

Pray as you pray
Silent, spoken, individual, communal, mindful: Sister Clarone reflects on fruitful paths to prayer.

Discovery in discernment: breakthroughs of mind and heart
Like a scientific finding, discernment starts with a question.

Happy New Year!
Wishing you all the joy and inspiration of discernnment in 2018 and a lifetime to come.


Prepare
Discipline and commitment in our hearts: not just in Lent but Advent and discernment too.

Journey of Advent
How is your discernment part of the pilgrimage experience? Are you willing to enter the passage?

A transformative moment
In discernment, abundance is recognizing that God provides more than we could ever consume.

What did you say?
From novice to the common good: the language of discerning religious life.

Sister Antona: comfort, joy and security in prayer
"I thank God daily," says Sister Antona, "for His companionship and love."

Discernment: clothed in your own uniqueness
Call to mind the boldness of wearing orange when the world encourages you to blend in.

Sister Anita: the soul searching question
Calling through quiet to her innermost spirit and that of God, and listening "to find the courage and RESPOND" is, for Sister Anita, prayer.

Action vs. contemplation in discernment?
Active vs. contemplative discernment: visiting communities and meeting sisters equally essential as praying for wisdom and direction.

Sister Rita Mae: painting as prayer
Sister Rita Mae Fischer finds sanctuary, centering, connection and courage in the heartache of death through painting.

Discerning, igniting a revolution of peace
What would happen if we woke up and fostered peace and positivity instead of hate and greed?

Intuition: an essential tool for home improvement and discernment
There may not be assembly instructions for completing the perfect household project or the future, discernment included.

Sister Jean: Praying
Movement ... mindfulness ... self ... love ... presence: Sister Jean's Franciscan Way.

Tuning in to God, discernment
Sister Amy, in her own discernment, found that "Each community carried individual tones and music of life."

Sister Lucy Ann: expression of my time with Jesus
Poetry as prayer: Sister Lucy Ann is "experiencing deep and profound insights about who I am and how to live more fully into the mysteries of life."

Crisis reveals goodness
Walking together — through life changers like discernment — takes courage and conviction but also generates power to shape the future.

Imagination inspires vision in discernment
Discernment: imagining yourself in new climates, cultures an invitation from God.

Sister Georgia: A morning offering
May the warmth of the cup, transferred to my hands, be a reminder of the warmth and love I am to extend to all who I meet today.

Viewing relationships in a discernment eclipse
What happens when parents, friends experience their own moments of obscurity in your discernment?

Sister Katie: ordinary day, invitation to pray
Intimacy with God is not separate from day-to-day life.

New horizons ahead
What would happen if you contacted the community whose website is open in your browser?

Obituaries and celebrating St. Clare
Your obituary: will it speak to your courage, service, voice, gifts?


Sister Amy: grateful for the ways I'm inspired to pray
The Holy Spirit is really good at getting my attention, inviting me to contemplation.

Prayer anniversary sparks compassion
As each bell chimed, my vision of the world widened; I've prayed for people around the globe.

"Yes" to God's invitation
Witness what it means to walk the Gospel-centered journey of life as a religious sister.


Where are we going?
Road of discernment: your gifts and talents may be precious fuel for propelling us into the future.

Celebrating religious life renewed, perpetually professed
Sisters Kristin and Laurie celebrate religious vows: rejoice and pray with us!



What if it's you?
The circle of discernment: even wider when you consider that the whole Catholic church is praying for you.

Unpredictability, overwhelming beauty coexist
Discernment: soaking up spring storms and the greening world around us.

Mantle of grief
Easter alleluias always come: God will not abandon you on your discernment journey.

A promise to build a new life upon
By choosing to distract ourselves from listening—particularly when we are called to rise to the potential already within us—we can hide from God.

Commitment doesn't emerge overnight
Are you ready to allow God--not a stagnant statue of your own creation--to be the form you follow?

Mary and our "Yes" to mystery
When we say "Yes" to vocation we—like Mary—must walk the road, learning as we go, trusting God is always there.

Grumbling through the desert of discernment
Traveling through your own Egypt experience for the cool waters of friendship, understanding and companionship in discernment.

Kindness: we are all called to be Esther
On the Lenten road of kindness and spiritual growth, Esther is a model for discerners.


Sharing courage to walk in darkness and light
Does love want others to lose in order for someone to win?

World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life
Will you be part of the next generation of consecrated life?

Service Saturday: mutuality at its core
Service and discernment: are you open to the idea that God co-creates with you the future?



Resolutions and reflection in discernment
Trust—on the days you feel like you aren't measuring up to your discernment resolutions—in the power of prayer.
Advent light and joy: the vocation that may shine from deep inside you
The searing questions we hear on the lips of Jesus are held in tension with this sense of Advent joy.
The hope and conversion in Christmas
The clear invitation of the Advent season: amidst the work make way for hope in our hearts, hope in discernment.

Thankfulness, flaming rolls and the illusion of perfection
Leaving your illusions at the door: who you are and why God calls you to discern religious life.




Trying on your metaphorical lenses
Religious discernment: scrutinizing, eliminating and finding the right fit.

Surrendering to the task at hand
Have you invited God into the task you're putting off?

Following Francis: the margins may be closer than you think
Searching and serving--every day--those on the periphery.

Documenting discernment
Journaling by hand or tweeting by phone: are you documenting your discernment?


Carrying the wounds of the cross
How is your life marked--celebrated--as a discerning follower of Jesus?

Earthquakes: when ground is no longer solid
Discerning through the dust of spiritual earthquakes: a readiness and responsiveness to what becomes unearthed.


Praying through the storms of the heart
Are external sources determining your interior disposition in discernment?

St. Clare of Assisi: model, mentor, friend
What if, like St. Clare, you lived your life steeped in prayer?

Blisters, discipline, perseverance and joy
Olympics and religious discernment: to win not a gold medal but a relationship with God, you don't have to be a skilled athlete of prayer.

Doorways to celebration
Crossing 800 and 138-year-old thresholds to love, acceptance and forgiveness.

Grilling, chilling and discernment
Are you nurturing the coals and fanning the flames of discernment?

Peace in the midst of unrest
Discerning in a hurting world: when our faith asks us, in difficult times, to look again.
Jesus under wraps
Would your life be different if Jesus and your relationship and your beliefs were unwrapped?
Franciscan family reunions
Are you called to join a family of Franciscans working in service of the Gospel?

A jubilant life
The jubilee of your life: is discernment leading you to enjoy it rather than endure it?

Use words when necessary
Words, vows, renewing commitment: what does your life call you to today?

Trailblazers and touchstones along the path
Who are the trailblazers in your life? Are you willing to go where God leads?

Listening with a discerning ear
Sometimes we have to wait in a state of contemplative silence to really know what to do next ...

The chronos and kairos of our lives
How does your calendar tell the story of chronos and kairos in your life?

Threshold moments
How are you dealing with the storms of life that can be part of discernment?

Seeing discernent from new heights
Ask yourself: are you seeing discernment from new heights? A different point of view?

On the road of discernment?
When I am discerning I’m not always sure where I’m going, and often times someone else is driving. That someone else may be God ...

Let's begin with your story ... and a step
Your journey to religious life starts with your story... and a step.
