Invitation to Transformation – A Young Adult Enters Postulancy

One of the most joy-filled members of the Young Adult group at SMG has just left us to enter postulancy with an order of nuns. Her Catholic upbringing was typical – her family attended Mass when it was convenient, meaning there wasn’t a practice or game or something better to go to instead. In college she was invited to join a Bible study and ended up leading one herself. After college, Madison provided her a secular job, and St. Maria Goretti parish provided her a spiritual home. She met new friends through Young Adult events, joined a women’s small group, and was a generous volunteer.

I am blessed to have witnessed what I know is only the tail end of her conversion, her deepening of faith. The first sign of such a transformation is often more time spent in church – Confession, daily Mass, Adoration, and just sitting unassumingly in a pew. Other indications include a joy and a peace that the world cannot give. Religious life is not always the destination, but a simultaneous urgency to fully embark on whatever one’s vocation is and an acceptance of God’s will are typically present. Our culture, however, makes it far too easy to begin a gradual de-conversion, a drifting away from the church, whether aimless or intentional. I have witnessed that too many times, as have you.

When I see someone growing in and living out the fullness of the Christian life, I can’t help but feel an instinctive envy – I want that too, God! Our Lord is indeed calling us all to a radical transformation – the old saying is that he meets us where we are but loves us too much to leave us there. While young adults may be more “green” and malleable, everyone in the pew and in the world is being called to deeper conversion. Often that transformation is kicked off with an invitation – to Mass, to a parish program or event, to dinner, to a real conversation stripped of the pleasantries and requiring baring of the soul. The process of conversion is no walk in the park. Sacrifice is required when altering one’s course of life, whether newly-established or well-worn. Our Lord warns us of the hard times involved in daily picking up our cross and leaving behind father and mother, but the burning desire for a dwelling place prepared for us at the end of our tumultuous journey must keep us marching toward Heaven.

Pray for vocations. Be bold in asking God to fill seminaries and convents and homes with holy priests, nuns, and families rooted in holy marriages. Pray for conversion for you, your family, and your fellow parishioners. Pair your prayers with a leap of faith into the unknown – go make disciples by inviting someone you know to something, even if it’s just learning more about them over coffee. Jesus wants to transform our lives and our world through us, his hands here on Earth, and doing so requires a nudge. Our postulant protagonist’s journey did not begin with an invitation to a Bible study in college, but that did initiate a chain reaction that included a stopover in the Young Adult Group at St. Maria Goretti. Through monthly spiritual, service, and social events, we aim to meet all Young Adults of the parish and beyond where they are at and foster growth, especially in holiness. Learn more on the Young Adults page on our website or Facebook page and join our weekly email list to stay up-to-date on all upcoming events.