Grandma Nun And More Vocations – UPDATED

This time of year I generally put together a huge “Vocation Round-up” and give news of vows and clothings and entrances. Here we go.

First, the Grandma Nun:

When Sister Shirley Shafranek makes her final profession of vows as a Catholic nun Sunday morning, two of her grandchildren will be gift bearers at the Mass.

The 59-year-old mother of three and grandmother of five will become the first grandmother ever to join the Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin as a nun and the first mother since Elizabeth Schaeffer, who co-founded the religious order in 1869.

“The call was always within me but I chose to ignore it for a while,” Sister Shirley said in an interview last week.

In Romans, last Sunday, St. Paul told us: “. . . the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” Along with the growth in young vocations, I’m reading lots of stories about these “delayed” vocations — older women and men responding to a call they heard in their youth. The call is irrevocable.

If you feel inclined to help young men and women settle school debt in order to pursue their vocations, see here and here.

The news for 2011 is the clear increase in numbers to these classes of postulants, novices and juniors.

The Little Sisters of the Poor (very great ladies whom we deeply admire) received four first professions and seven new novices on July 18th.

Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (Alabama): Very busy over there! Sr. Mary Paschal makes final vows, Sr. John Paul first vows, a new postulant, and new novice. Also, noteworthy anniversaries

The Carmelites Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: celebrated a solemn profession (with two more earlier in the year), two first professions and received seven new novices. Seems they have a huge postulant class coming in, too.

Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist: As I wrote here last week, they added 18 new novices, with four final and seven first professions.

The Nashville Dominicans clothed, I think 24 new novices and professed 15, with (I think) 7 final professions, too. But they haven’t updated, so I don’t know for sure. The blog attached to the Fund for Vocations has a little photo essay

Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration: expands their novitiate by four