Joining Us!

If You Think God Might Be Calling
You to Join Us... Keep Reading!

How Do I Know if God is Calling Me?

Some signs that God might be calling you to become a Sister of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament are the possession of the following requirements:

• a single Catholic woman, between the ages of 18 and 50,with-
• sound judgment,
• reasonable health and emotional maturity,
• moral integrity and strength of character,
• a true religious spirit that indicates the desire to grow through a life of prayer,
• faithfulness to one's life commitment and apostolic generosity,
• a family spirit which promises growth in love and esteem of our Institute and dedication to its apostolate;
• a high school diploma or higher education.
  
  

Visitors Enjoyed "Come and See" Day at the Convent
A group of young women in Grades 7 -12 and some of their parents spent a Sunday with the Sisters. They prayed, enjoyed a meal, and played with the Sisters; they toured the Convent and the "IWBS Hall of Memories," and learned about the lives of the Sisters. They were especially helpful with dishes after the meal!
			Sister Amata presented a lifetime of photos. Sister Charlene shared highlights of her life.
			Visitors had to make their own bingo cards. Visitors reacted to the recounting of a funny event.
			Sister Colette explained her powerpoint presentation. Some students made use of a photo opportunity.
			Everyone enjoyed a challenging game of "Chickenfoot" with the Sisters. The names of the winners were not announced! Wonder who they were!
	Veronica Becomes an Affiliate with the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament of Victoria, Texas
			Veronica enters the assembly
	Veronica Makes the Affiliate Commitment	Veronica receives a Christian Prayer Book which Sisters use three times a day in prayer
	During the Welcome Rite, Sisters join in prayer asking God's blessing on Veronica
	Veronica with her sponsoring Sisters		Sister Louise Marie and Veronica
Victoria Hosts Incarnate Word Symposium
Sisters and Future Sisters in Formation (Training)
Formation Teams with Those in Formation
	IWBS Corpus Christi	CVI Houston	CVI Mexico
	CCVI San Antonio, Mexico	IWBS Victoria 2009 Hosting Team for the Formation Symposium held at Incarnate Word Convent in Victoria, Texas	Each year the international groups of Incarnate Word Sisters hold a gathering for their members who are in formation. For more information on formation, see "Entrance and Formation" below. They pray, learn, and have lots of fun getting to know one another. Last year the groups met in Mexico City; next year they will meet in Houston.
Patti Becomes an Affiliate with the Sisters
	Sister Mildred, Affiliate Director opens the rite with a prayer	Sister Evelyn, General Superior prays for strength and gratitude	Patti waits to tell her vocation story
	Sister Laura, Affiliate Sponsor, proclaims the Gospel	Patti makes the Affiliate Commitment	Sister Adriana of Sponsoring Community prays the Intercessions
	Sisters extend their hands asking God's blessing on Patti		Father Don blesses Patti's Christian Prayer Book

For young women who feel called to join us in our way of life, the first step is making contact with us. Through visits, weekend retreats, and occasionally joining the Sisters for prayers, meals, and activities, the young woman learns about our story and whether her story can become part of our story. If she feels called to discern further she may apply to become an affiliate. During this pre-entry period the candidate lives at home. She has a Sister director (sponsor) and a sponsoring community to journey with her in the role of guide and companion.

During the Postulancy or Pre-Novitiate the woman lives with a local community and has a sister sponsor. She meets regularly with the postulant directress for instructions, which are combined with an experience of living community life and ministry. The length of this phase is flexible, from a minimum of six months to a maximum of two years.

Novitiate is the time of initiation into religious life. The length of the novitiate phase is two years, including a canonical year of intense study of the religious life and a year which includes some ministry experience. At the end of the novitiate, the sister professes her unconditional personal commitment to God by vowing poverty, chastity, and obedience for one year.

During the Juniorate or Annually Vowed time of initial formation, the sister continues the dynamic movement of growth begun in the novitiate. This phase normally extends from three to five years of annual vows and is culminated with the sister proclaiming a profession of perpetual vows .

Through Continuing Formation the perpetually professed sisters continues to grow in her love of the Incarnate Word throughout her earthly pilgrimage. She carries out the charism of the Order, which is to be in the Church and for the Church "an extension of the Incarnation".

How Sister Louise Marie Discerned Her Call

Sister Louise Marie Jones was born in Victoria, Texas to Ivan and Fredaline Najvar;she was the youngest of three children. She believes that most Catholics at one time or another will admit that they questioned themselves as to whether God was calling them to be a priest or sister. She herself experienced those thoughts many times growing up. She attended public school in Palacios, Texas, and became involved in band, drama, basketball, and volleyball and soon put the thought of a religious vocation behind her. After she graduated and attended college, she met her future husband; God blessed them with two children, and life couldn't have been better.

In 1994 tragedy struck; her husband was accidentally electrocuted on their shrimp boat. She found herself raising two teenagers alone and couldn't understand why this had to happen. In 1998 she was invited to attend a Cursillo weekend. Something happened that weekend that is really hard to explain.It was as if God healed a part of her and she began to live again. She wanted to do something in return, so she went to talk with a Sister friend. She even spoke to her about her early desire to enter religious life. Sister suggested that she might be interested in joining the Associates of the Incarnate Word, and she made her consecration in 2000. At this time she also had a change of jobs and began working at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Victoria, as secretary, and had the privilege of working with Father Celestino Say with whom she had many conversations about religious life.

In 2001 she attended an ACTS retreat and it was at this retreat that she announced she was going to join the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. So she began the process- first as an affiliate, then as a postulant and in September of 2005, she said good-by to her job, her car, her home, her time with family and friends as she was used to, and entered the canonical year of the novitiate; she received the habit of the Sisters and her new name, Sister Louise Marie. This was a time of prayer, study, and working among the Sisters. She enjoyed once a month visits with her family which had now grown to include a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren. It was a very challenging year but also a great blessing.

Sister has made temporary vows with the Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Victoria and is now attending college classes. She us learning what it is to balance ministry, prayer, and community living. Please pray for her as she continues her discernment.

For more information about joining the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament Sisters, please contact:
	Phone: (361) 575-7111 Incarnate Word Convent 1101 NE Water Street Victoria, Texas 77901 E-mail Sister Mildred		Phone: (361) 575-7111 Incarnate Word Convent 1101 NE Water Street Victoria, Texas 77901 E-mail Sister Louise Marie