There are a great variety of religious groups in the Church that carry out different missions. Some help to teach, serve the poor, care for the sick, or minister in hospitals. From the beginning of our country, religious men and women were instrumental in helping to spread the faith, both among Native Americans and immigrants. In our own day, thousands of men and women continue to faithfully live and serve through a consecrated life.

Men and women religious consecrate their lives to God by taking three vows proposed by Christ in the Scripture. Those vows are chastity (to remain permanently unmarried as Christ was), poverty (to be poor as Christ was), and obedience (in imitation of Christ who was completely obedient to His Father’s will). By vowing chastity, poverty, and obedience, a person consecrates him or herself to God’s service and the good of the Church.

Here at Holy Family, we have been blessed by many wonderful Sisters of St. Joseph who have served in our parish school. A member of their community, Sister Sharon Hektor, still serves with us. Another of our parishioners, Sister Pamela Catherine Peasel, recently became a fully professed Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity. You can find more about her story and community at their website.

If you are a single Catholic woman or man who is perhaps feeling a tug by Christ to commit your life to Him in a more specific way, do not be afraid! God is never outdone in generosity. Jesus tells us, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age … and eternal life in the age to come” (Mark 10:29-30).

If you have any questions or want further information, please call the parish office (810-694-4891) or the Diocese of Lansing (517-342-2506).