So what is the truth of what it means to be a Catholic woman today? The truth is that our vocation is not found in one single decision in time. Our vocation is not proven through what we went to school for, our ability to hold a job, or where we live. Our vocation is not necessarily one thing. Our vocation can change with the seasons. Whether we are married, single, or a religious, God can call us all over the place, to a number of different careers or workplaces; we should not be convinced that one path is the only path.

Where Are You and Where Have You Been?

Sisters, when we are lost, God asks us: “what happened to you and where are you?” Imagine what your life would look like if fear, anxiety, doubt or worry did not dictate any of your decisions. Imagine letting go of control, of your own carefully crafted plan for your life and trusting that God’s plan and timing are so much better than what we can conjure up for ourselves. Imagine surrendering everything. What would your life look like?

Discernment and the Vocation to Love

Upon returning home, I did a lot of reflecting on this trip and why God called me there. And I realized that God doesn’t always give us the answers to our prayers in simple terms. At some times, I’m still confused as to what my calling might me. But through this experience, through God’s love, and through the sense of community I found in Honduras, I’ve learned that I am called to simply love my neighbors. Yes, I’m still unsure of what career I should pursue, but I’ve learned that if I love the people right in front of me and treat them with kindness, God will provide the rest.

Choosing Life in the Face of Mental Illness

I still felt clueless about successfully coping with anxiety but I was steadily on the road to recovery. I was still depressed and still suicidal but, as I held my nephew, I realized the many successes of choosing life again and again that had brought me to this moment of meeting him. So I whispered a soft “Thank you” to him because deep down I knew I wanted to live for God and I’d been searching for a meaningful way of doing so.

Discerning My Career and Letting Go of the Need for Validation

Some days after the conversation with Sr. Hope, though, sitting before Jesus in the Adoration chapel and still mulling over the job offer, I asked a different question: “Lord, what would bring You joy? How do You want me to serve?”

He didn’t answer by saying ,”You’ll bring me joy when you have a Ph.D.”; or, “You’ll delight me when you become a professor.” Instead, He whispered, ever so gently, “You bring me joy when you use the gifts I have given you, right here and now. You delight me already.”

Obedience Over Success

I remember sitting in the crowded pub at my university, tears filling my eyes and anxiety welling up in my chest. I was nearing the end of my senior year of college and after months of searching LinkedIn, filling out job applications, and preparing for interviews, I was swimming in a sea of rejection emails and phone calls.

Our Mother, Our Compass

It was the first time in my career I came to a crossroads where my faith couldn’t blend with my work.

Letters, Vocation, LeadCorynne StaresinicJune 19, 2019Mary, Discernment, Career, Catholic women lead Comments

Surrendering the Unknown to God After Graduation

“You know, they call it a mid-life crisis, but does anyone else feel like it’s more like a daily-life crisis? That may be a little dramatic but I’m sure you can relate to those moments throughout your life that you look around thinking what the heck, where do I go from here?”

Letters, Unlikely Places, Vocation, CreateCorynne StaresinicOctober 24, 2018Post-grad, Graduation, Job, Teacher, Journalist, Discernment, CareerComment

What I Learned from Breaking Off My Engagement

“…When we are choosing between two goods, it can be difficult to see which path to take. We want to do God’s will; we want to live for Him and follow the path He has laid out for us, but if we come to a fork in the road, and He doesn’t clearly point which way to go, we can get stuck. And I was very, very stuck.”

Vocation, LettersCorynne StaresinicJuly 20, 2018Discernment, Break-up, Engagement, Emily Gill Comments

Called to Consecrated Life

“I was standing in the narthex of the Cathedral, with my heart in my throat, hoping that I wouldn’t actually puke in front of the thirty priests and one archbishop standing behind me. Was this day actually here?”

Discerning the Call to Law School

"Dear Sweet Sisters, it’s not every day that your optometrist gives you a piece of earth shattering advice. Per usual, he began his litany of questions about my life..."