Marianne takes comfort in call to become sister

Marianne Comfort of Troy is a discerning woman. Currently in the final stage of a two-year candidacy program with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, she's discerning the steps she needs to take towards full membership.

She has taken her time moving towards that membership. When she was growing up, she had no thoughts of becoming a sister at all.

Now in her forties, she is going through the order's candidacy program and hopes to be accepted into the two-year novitiate program in August.

Invitation

Several years ago, while they vacationed in Maine, a friend who was a Sister of St. Joseph "asked me if I'd ever considered joining the Sisters of St. Joseph," Ms. Comfort recalled. "Until that time, the thought had never occurred to me. But I had no other definite plans that would interfere with doing so. I thought I might consider it."

She contacted some members of the order, and was given information about religious life and the local community, which is based in Latham at St. Joseph's Provincial House.

"I spent the next year getting to know the sisters," she said. "I attended a few discernment group meetings with other women who were considering joining the community. I even lived in a convent with some of the sisters for one week."

Next step

After the first year, Ms. Comfort decided to officially enter the candidacy program because "things were looking good to me, and I decided I wanted to find out more."

This spring, she will take the next step: applying to enter the order's novitiate program, located in Framingham, Mass.

"I will spend one year living with the St. Joseph community there," she said. She will also be involved in a program of deeper reflection and study, which includes monthly group discussions in Boston. There, she will meet with other candidates and novices from other congregations.

Confidence in God

Ms. Comfort has confidence that God will place her wherever she can be the most effective, but she noted that the order's diverse ministries are something that attracted her in the first place.

"Initially, they were involved in the fields of teaching and nursing," she said, "but I really appreciate their involvement in social justice issues today. They have a great sense of vision and excitement about their work in the future. I want to be part of that future, to do what they are doing -- serving the community through Gospel values."

Community

For Marianne Comfort, "the idea of living in a community is different" from sharing an apartment with a roommate "because it is a group of individuals working and planning together for a common goal. I'm actually looking forward to living with a community whose goals and ideals are shared. I seem to be the type of person that needs having people around me, people that will push me and challenge me."

(While she has been exploring religious life, Marianne Comfort continues to work for Schenectady Inner City Ministries (SICM), an ecumenical partnership of 58 churches that runs a food pantry, job placement for the unemployed, an afterschool program and the Damien Center, which assists those suffering from HIV/AIDS. She is a grant writer with SICM's public relations department.)

(1/22/04)