Hope

Hope

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Feed your spirit: The gates of hope

Feed your spirit: The gates of hope

By Victoria Safford

Our mission is to plant ourselves at the gates of hope. Read more...

Hope in vocation ministry is not an oxymoron

There are those who believe that the very phrase, “hope in vocation ministry,” is an oxymoron. Vocation ministers know all too well what it is to be surrounded by those-including some in our own congregations-who think religious life is on its way out, based on their own attitudes and experience. Read more...

Creating a hopeful future for religious life

By John Klein F.M.S.

Several years ago former New York Mayor Ed Koch bemoaned that “…there are so few people who are fierce about anything.”1 Today we are challenged to be on fire, fierce, for the Mission of Christ, for that is our call as religious. Read more...

Let’s celebrate consecrated life

By Katherine Doyle R.S.M.

The author of this article presented these reflections in February 2002 during a celebration of Consecrated Life Day in the Diocese of Sacramento, Calif. Read more...

Fools for Christ: Promoting vocations in tumultuous times

This address was delivered at the opening of the September, 2002 Convocation of National Religious Vocation Conference. Read more...

Nurturing a hope rooted in Jesus

Nurturing a hope rooted in Jesus

By Br. Paul Bednarczyk C.S.C.

Let's look to our Savior, remember our heroes in faith, and keep a grateful heart. Read more...

God has shouted, "Yes, yes, yes!"

Creating communities of hope

Hope is deeply rooted in the Christian vision. If religious communities are going to offer this virtue to the world, a closer look at its many dimensions can help. Read more...

Hope and security: new foundations

By David Couturier O.F.M., Cap.

Religious communities can tap into a rich source of hope by clinging to their faith foundations and consciously embracing a God of abundance—rejecting the culture’s philosophy of scarcity and competition. Read more...

What gives me hope

By Jennifer Gordon S.C.L. and Mary Catharine Perry OP

Youthfulness and hopefulness tend to go together. These three young religious point to a dozen reasons for optimism about religious life. Read more...

Religious life history and new membership

Through the lens of the paschal mystery.

By Joel Rippinger O.S.B.

Dying and resurrection are central tenets of our faith. They are also central concepts in understanding religious life as it has waxed and waned over the centuries Read more...

How I stay healthy and hopeful as a vocation minister

By Renee Daigle M.S.C.

A threefold formula has helped this vocation minister to thrive for a decade: a mixture of healthy living, spiritual groundedness and an ability to focus on signs of new life. Read more...

Hope from the trenches

By Father Jim Kent, O.F.M. Conv.

A seasoned vocation minister tells how he has watered a wellspring of hope through 12 years of ministry. Read more...

Would life on this planet be any different without religious life?

By Annmarie Sanders I.H.M.

When a sister is asked to explain her life, she sees anew the value of living with a group whose main purpose is to be “the life of God in the world.” Read more...

Hope begins where hope begins

By Michael Downey

Hope is our driving force, our sign of faith, our source of comfort, our cure for despair. It is essential to life. Read more...

You are God’s unshakable hope

By Fr. Joseph Delargy O.C.S.O.

The ordinary calling of St. Aelred to religious life centuries ago offers nuggets of wisdom to modern-day vocation ministers. Read more...

Renew the glory of your vocation by clinging to the hand of God

By Br. Paul Bednarczyk C.S.C.

Why must something so beautiful—seeking God’s call—so frequently be difficult? The paradoxes of vocation ministry are resolved in surrendering to God, who bestows and sustains each person’s vocation. Read more...

Hope in an anxious age

By Sr. Doris Gottemoeller R.S.M.

Religious can find plenty of reasons to feel anxious today, but our Christian roots offer a balm. Read more...

Spirit still alive in “shaky situations”

Spirit still alive in “shaky situations”

By Fr. Conall O’Cuinn S.J.

A parable about a postman reveals truths about following our own call and sparking a vocation in others. Read more...

Signs of vitality in religious life

Signs of vitality in religious life

By Sr. Gemma Simmonds CJ

Early results from a British study of vitality in religious life reveal signs of hope for the future. Read more...

11 reasons to keep building our future

11 reasons to keep building our future

By Fr. Bernhard Eckerstorfer O.S.B.

We need a fresh perspective on religious life and a new way of thinking about the present and future. Read more...

Reflection: God does more than we can ask or imagine

By Sr. Catherine Bertrand S.S.N.D.

We are also turned upside down—every time we are faced with change or choices, we are forced to see things in a whole new way. Again and again we encounter the God of surprises. Read more...

Book notes: A hopeful, if undefined, view of refounding

Book notes: A hopeful, if undefined, view of refounding

By Sr. Judith Schaefer OP

One of O’Murchu’s strongest ideas is his reclaiming of the purpose of religious life as “our allegiance to the new reign of God.” O’Murchu proposes a new phrase to describe this priority—the Companionship of Empowerment. Read more...

A new springtime in vocation ministry

A new springtime in vocation ministry

By Sister Joyce Detzel C.D.P.

An unlikely community begins to receive new members. Among the reasons is a conscious decision to embrace new life and not allow grief and downsizing to take center stage. Read more...

A message to vocation ministers

A message to vocation ministers

By Pope Francis

This text is the message the Holy Father sent to participants in the international congress entitled “Vocational Ministry and Consecrated Life: Prospects and Hopes.” The conference was promoted by the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and took place in Rome in December 2017. It was part of the preparation for the bishops synod in October 2018 focused on youth, faith, and vocation discernment. Read more...

Feed your spirit

Feed your spirit

Rise Up Rooted Like Trees

By Ranier Maria Rilke

How surely gravity’s law, strong as an ocean current, takes hold of even the smallest thing and pulls it toward the heart of the world. Read more...

Reason for our hope: a testimony to our life, death, and resurrection in Christ Jesus

Reason for our hope: a testimony to our life, death, and resurrection in Christ Jesus

By Sister Addie Lorraine Walker S.S.N.D.

Three steps for rekindling hope are to recall the past, live the present with passion, and embrace the future with hope. Read more...

Finding hope in reconciliation

Finding hope in reconciliation

By Father David Kelly C.PP.S.

A ministry focused on reconciliation builds hope in a tough neighborhood and reminds vocation ministers of why religious life matters. Read more...

Voices of newer religious

Voices of newer religious

Newer religious reflect on signs of hope in their experiences of communal life, with all its cultural and generational variety. Read more...

Feed your spirit: Christian hope is different

Feed your spirit: Christian hope is different

By Father Richard Rohr O.F.M.

Even a small indicator of God is still an indicator of God—and therefore an indicator of reason, meaning, and final joy. Read more...

Feed your spirit: Receiving the adjacent possible

Feed your spirit: Receiving the adjacent possible

By Sister Margo Ritchie C.S.J.

And if we stay with the image of adjacent possible, I think we could easily describe the various prototypes of life in common that we now call religious life. Read more...

Feed your spirit: Hope calls us to something bigger than ourselves

Feed your spirit: Hope calls us to something bigger than ourselves

By Brother Joseph Bach O.F.M.Conv.

Tell the story of your founders and foundresses, those first brothers or sisters who took the risk to travel to a new place or undertake a new ministry. They had hope. Read more...

HORIZON Fall 2024 ...

This edition focuses on discernment, particularly how vocation ministers can accompany ... More

Convocation Gratitude ...

The National Office and Board extend its appreciation for your participation, ... More

Nominate a board member ...

Board members have the opportunity to lead the NRVC into the ... More

World Day for Consecrated Life ...

There are several ways to celebrate World Day for Consecrated Life! ... More

Bold and Faithful Storymap ...

Our Bold and Faithful Storymap links people interested in religious life ... More

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February 2, 2025,

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Sister Jenny Wilson, R.S.M.

Sister Jenny Wilson, R.S.M.

Short-term volunteer stints have proven to be a good way for Sister Jenny Wilson, R.S.M. to get to know women who might consider religious life. Building a relationship with people is key, she says, and the volunteer experience allows time for that. Read more...

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