Vocation Letters: Beginning the Aspirancy

Our Vocation Letter series continues with this letter addressed to her grandmother by our fictional discerner, Melanie.  It sure is hard to keep up with her progress!

Vocation Letters Cartoon: the aspirant Melanie helps the novices gather flowers in the garden
Melanie helps the novices cut flowers to decorate the altar.

JMJ

Dear Grandma,

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!  I am so glad you were able to attend my graduation.  It was such a whirlwind of finishing up finals, packing up to move back home, and the whole excitement of commencement weekend.  Me, a college graduate, and almost ready to enter the cloister?  I can hardly believe it!

Mother suggested May 31, the feast of the Visitation, as the day to begin my Aspirancy.  The nuns always like to plan important events as much as possible on significant feast days, especially feasts of Our Lady.  In traveling “in haste” to assist her cousin Elizabeth, Our Lady was responding to God’s call with great generosity and without doubting His word or His guidance.  May God grant me that same grace as I begin the Aspirancy in the cloister!

Do pray for me though, because I do want to follow God’s Will, and even amid all my excitement and the different preparations I’ve made over the past few weeks, I am still a little nervous and uncertain.  After all, I’ve never been inside a cloister before.  I’ve visited the nuns several times, spoken with them in the parlor, joined in singing the Office, but I know that actually living the life will be a very difference experience.

By the time you receive this letter, I will already be experiencing my first few days in the monastery.  I will be staying about four weeks for my Aspirancy.  I will be sure to visit you once I return home!  If all goes well, I may be able to enter for good before the summer is over, God willing.

Again, please pray for me, Grandma!  I will keep you in my prayers, too—I will be doing a lot of praying in the next month!

With love,

Melanie


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