Sr Jackie First Vows

It is a long time since anyone has made their vows in the Community of All Hallows, so it was with joy that we celebrated Sr Jackie’s first Profession last Monday. It took place in the Chapel of our house in Bungay, where Sr Sheila and Sr Elizabeth live, and we were joined by friends of Sr Jackie’s, plus an Oblate and two Associates who live locally. The Profession took place in the context of the Eucharist, which celebrated the visit of Mary to Elizabeth (found in Luke 1), which was the feast on which Sr Jackie had been Clothed. The service proceeded as usual for a Eucharist until after the sermon, when Sr Jackie (n) approached the altar, with Sr Sheila and Sr Elizabeth, where she answered a series of questions that are asked at each Profession, affirming her desire to continue living as a Sister in our Community. The Girdle was then brought forward and blessed before being tied around her. As a Novice, Sr Jackie was wearing a belt: the girdle is a sign of Profession, and includes three knots which represent the three vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. Putting a girdle on someone else can be complicated, as we are used to tying our own girdles and tying one on another person requires a different technique. Hence, Sr Jackie and Sr Sheila went out of Chapel for this part. On returning, Sr Jackie was handed a copy of the Rule, before reading her Profession aloud, signing it and placing it on the altar. The service then continued with the Peace. Sr Sheila, Sr Elizabeth and I all greeted Sr Jackie first; the advantage of smaller numbers and a smaller Chapel meant that Sr Jackie was also able to go and greet the other members of the congregation. The service ended with the hymn Take my Life. No celebration in our Community is complete unless it involves a get together, normally involving tea and cake, and this was no exception. Sr Sheila had made a fruit cake, and tea, coffee and conversation followed the service. There were also cards, flowers and presents to celebrate this commitment.

Testing a vocation in a Religious Community takes time. There is a period of discernment before an individual joins, but even once that initial step has been taken, it normally takes several years before life vows are taken. After an initial few months as a Postulant, an individual will be clothed in the habit, a ceremony known as Clothing, for obvious reasons. As our Community still wears a habit, for us this involves a literal Clothing. At this point, the individual becomes a Novice of the Community, known as Sr X (n) CAH, the ‘n’ referring to her status as a Novice, and CAH for Community of All Hallows. The Noviciate lasts for around three years, before the Novice takes temporary vows, again for three years. This is known as Profession, and Sisters who have taken vows are Professed Sisters. Sr Jackie made these temporary vows, or first Profession, on Monday. It does not indicate uncertainty, but is a further period of testing and exploration. Normally, this time will end with a Sister taking vows for Life, but we have changed our constitution so that Sisters may continue in renew their vows if desired, although Sisters may also make life vows after the initial three years.

To seek God’s will for our life is a serious and ongoing process, and one that reaches beyond an individual. In our case, a Novice writes to ask permission to make her first Profession, but the Community must also affirm that they believe this is right. It is a balance between what an individual thinks, and what the Community thinks. Both need to affirm a person’s vocation. This is true of other calls as well; however deeply we as individuals may feel called, there needs to be a seeking and an affirmation beyond us. The exact nature of this will depend on an individual’s calling. We are all called to follow, serve and know God; within that, there will always be some kind of calling. It may be to a specific type of job, or place, or church, but it may also involve being where you are, as a follower of Jesus. It will change over the years, and there may be many elements of calling at any one point in time, with family, work, church, all being part of a call. For those of us called to a specific Community, there will still be change over the years. For us, a major change happened when we dispersed in 2018. To be clear, we are still a Community, but now live in ones and twos, rather than in a Convent setting. This means that Sr Jackie is based at her home, rather than moving to join us, as we used to do. It also means that Sr Jackie’s Profession was ground breaking as she is the first Sister to take her vows since we dispersed. While Sr Jackie’s Profession is part of her ongoing exploration of her call to CAH, continuing to ask where God is calling us is something it can be helpful to come back to. It opens us up to the possibility that God may have something new in store, and it may be that it is only in asking that we will receive the answer. To be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives is part of our following of and commitment to our God. One of the questions asked of us at Profession is whether we will fashion our life and all we do according to the way of Christ. It is a question we can all ask ourselves, and come back to regularly.