Vocations retreat in the Salt Lake area will highlight three women’s religious orders

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SALT LAKE CITY — A vocations discernment retreat for women has been scheduled from April 26-28 for the Salt Lake City area.

The retreat is for single Catholic women who are between 18 and 40 years of age who want to learn more about the life of a vowed woman religious.

Women shouldn’t be afraid to say “yes” to God “because we have nothing to lose,” Daughter of Charity Sister Lisa Laguna said. “I know that sometimes we think we think we have so much to lose. … People love to set goals, but sometimes don’t realize that when we ask what plan God has us, that God’s dreams are bigger and better than the ones we could have ever dreamt but we don’t know until we ask.”

Sr. Lisa, vocations director for the Daughters of Charity’s province in California, is organizing the vocation discernment retreat weekend. Sisters from the Carmelite, Holy Cross and Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul religious orders will present talks and help lead the retreat.

The idea for this event came when Sr. Lisa was hosting a retreat at the Daughters of Charity’s provincial house in California.

“We had an unusual interest from the women in the Salt Lake area,” she stated. Although only a few Utahns went to that retreat, “I learned that there were more women that were interested and unable to attend for a variety of reasons, but most of all because the retreat was in California, so I did some digging around – whether it would be helpful or not if we hosted in Utah.”

The idea of having a vocations retreat in Utah raised a lot of interest, Sr. Lisa said, and now that one is scheduled, she hopes that the participants will feel free to ask lots of questions.

“We want them to realize that God might be calling them; we want them to see what it is to live a consecrated life, and to be able to see all the consecrated women living in their own diocese,” she said.

In her perspective, though a consecrated life has challenges, “the greatest joy in a consecrated life is living the community life, living and journeying with [other] sisters,” Sr. Lisa said.

Members of three women’s religious orders currently minister in Utah: the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and the Discalced Carmelites.

The first Holy Cross sisters came to Utah in 1875 to establish a hospital for injured miners and railroad workers. The original two sisters were followed by others through the years, ministering in hospitals, schools and an orphanage.

In 1994 the Holy Cross sisters sold their hospital in Salt Lake City and used the proceeds to created Holy Cross Ministries, a nonprofit organization that continues to serve poor and marginalized people in the local community. Some of the sisters now ministering in Utah work at Holy Cross Ministries, others serve in the Catholic schools.

The Sisters of the Holy Cross “joyfully participate in Jesus’ mission by proclaiming God’s transforming love for all creation. Compassion moves us to reflect on the signs of the times, discern the needs of God’s people and our world, and respond as we are able,” the congregation’s mission statement reads.

The Daughters of Charity also have been in Utah for more than 100 years. The order, founded in 1633 in France by Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, is devoted to serving the sick and the poor. Shortly after arriving in Utah, they founded a Catholic elementary school, which now known as Our Lady of Lourdes School. They also were involved with Judge Memorial Catholic High School and with the administration of St. Olaf Elementary School in Bountiful, where they served until 1995. In 2010 the Daughters of Charity established Give Me A Chance in Ogden, which helps primarily low-income women and children.

“Our charism is our service to the poor and those in greatest need,” the Daughters of Charity mission statement reads.

The Discalced Carmelites, who live a contemplative prayer life enclosed in a monastery, came to Utah in 1952, establishing the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary first in downtown Salt Lake City and then moving to their current location on Holladay Boulevard.

The heart of the Carmelite charism is prayer and contemplation. “Prayer and contemplation for the Carmelite are not private matters between the individual and God but are to be shared with others since the charism is given for the whole world,” reads their congregation statement.

Members of each of Utah’s three women’s religious orders will give presentations and lead discernment activities at the retreat in April.

“We are going to make sure that we all talk about the different charism in each community and what it is like to live in the different communities,” Sr. Lisa said, adding that those attending will be allowed to ask questions about prayer, community life and other topics. “With openness, playfulness and a desire to ask God for God’s feeling for them, we want to hear all their questions.”

 The retreat will begin on Friday evening and go to midday Sunday. The location, in northern Utah, will be given only to participants for safe environment reasons, Sr. Lisa said.  

Women interested in participating must submit an interest form, then Sr. Lisa will contact them. For information, visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdYYuhMbP0dThUGsYHNds6gzPIdlu-eOom7zFJmlFaOEUdt9A/viewform or scan QR code in the photo.