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General Process for Entering the Great Bend Dominicans A woman who is called to religious life must: ¨ Be a baptized single Catholic woman with an honest understanding of herself. ¨ Have the desire for religious life. ¨ Have the right motivation. ¨ Have the fitness for life. Initial Contact with the Community Initial contact may be with a member of the Great Bend Dominicans. Eventually, as interest in the community develops, a woman makes contact with the Vocation Minister. The Vocation Minister meets with the person to become acquainted and to allow the person to get to know the community. Part of this is to assist the woman with her discernment and to assess the woman’s capability for ministry and religious community life. The Vocation Minister would invite the woman to participate in a weekend discernment retreat, days of prayer, discernment group and personal discernment. The woman is encouraged to have a spiritual director to assist her in her discernment and her prayer life. Application Process When a woman is ready to start discernment, she would begin the application process. This process takes place under the guidance of the Vocation Minister. For a woman to begin the application process, she would need to be debt free, and not have any family responsibilities. Single, Catholic women between the ages of 18 and 45 are encouraged to consider religious life, although women above the age of 45 will be considered on an individual basis. Before the formal application process begins, the woman would be actively involved in an inquiry discernment with the Vocation Minister and the community. Stages of Initial Formation After a woman has completed the application process and has received formal acceptance into the formation program, she begins a process of initial formation to help her and the community discern her vocation to the Dominican Sisters of Great Bend, Kansas. ¨ Candidacy: During the year of candidacy, a woman is offered the opportunity to live in a community of Dominican Sisters, while at the same time taking some classes in spirituality, theology, and the Dominican way of life. She participates in some ministry, and visits other Dominican sisters in order to learn about the Great Bend Dominicans and their ministries. ¨ Canonical Novitiate Year: During this first year of Novitiate the opportunity to attend the Dominican Collaborative Novitiate in St Louis is given. The Collaborative Novitiate is for women novices from Dominican communities throughout the United States. This is a year devoted to prayer, study, and personal enrichment. She would take some classes in theology at Aquinas Institute. She continues to study the Rule of St Augustine, Dominican life, the Vows, Mission and Ministry, and community life, as well as being involved in a ministry experience. ¨ Apostolic Novitiate Year: During the second year of Novitiate the woman returns to the Great Bend Dominican community and is involved in ministry. The ministry would be for which she has been trained previous to her entrance, or she begins further exploration/training for a new ministry. As during the other years, she continues to study about aspects of Dominican life and she lives in community with Dominicans of Great Bend as she integrates these experiences and discerns her call to vowed membership. ¨ Temporary Profession: After personal and communal discernment, the woman requests to further her commitment by professing her Dominican vow of obedience which encompasses chastity and poverty. This commitment is made for a period of three years and may be renewed up to an additional three years. After a woman’s temporary profession, she would profess her lifetime commitment to God and community as a Dominican Sister of Great Bend. |
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Becoming a Sister |
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Formation in Dominican life is a lifelong process of total personal and spiritual development. We strive to be formed into apostolic women through our Dominican spirit and charism, our way of contemplation, our interaction with people, and our response to all the events of our lives. From our initial call to the moment of our death, there are definite progressive stages in our lived experience of being formed as Dominican women religious. |
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We open ourselves to receive others who give evidence of a call to share life with us. |
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Give the night to silence and prayer, the day to good deeds and toil. Give the day to your neighbor and the night to God. |
