April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.

Seventy join order's associate program


By KATE BLAIN- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

At a time when vocations to religious life are ebbing, more than 70 people in upstate New York are living "vocation" in a different way: as Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) Associates.

Associates are lay men and women ages 18 and up who commit to living the charisms of a certain religious order. For CSJ Associates, this means focusing on unity and reconciliation.

"We get married people, retired people, young people who would not enter religious life," explained program co-director Sister Monica Murphy, CSJ. She noted that while associates don't take vows as clergy or women religious do, they do "add a spiritual dimension" to their daily lives.

Why they join

Shirley O'Neil, co-director of the program, is one of these associates. A participant in the program for 15 years, she told The Evangelist, "I've always had a love for the Sisters of St. Joseph. They taught me at Sacred Heart School in Troy, Catholic High in Troy and The College of Saint Rose in Albany."

Mrs. O'Neil was a Sister of St. Joseph herself for six years but left the order and later decided to become an associate.

"It's a like desire," she said of her inner urge to join the group. "You're with people who support the same spiritual desires you have."

A teacher for 30 years, Mrs. O'Neil said being an associate has given a new dimension to her life. She used the example of having a difficult student: Living the charisms of unity and reconciliation helps her in dealing with such students and having conferences with their parents.

Specialty

"Our thrust was always, `What do we have to offer that people couldn't get somewhere else?'" Sister Monica explained. "We felt our strongest gift was our spirituality -- to help people develop their spirituality."

Associates meet monthly to pray and share together. Mrs. O'Neil noted that the group may also read a book on spirituality or listen to a guest speaker. In addition, associates attend an annual retreat and do volunteer work to support the CSJs, from golf tournaments to ziti dinners.

There are groups in the Albany, Amsterdam and "north country" areas, as well as in Syracuse, Utica/Rome and Binghamton. Every year, a commitment ceremony allows associates to renew their commitment and new ones to join.

Getting together

The co-directors, who were appointed in January, have since visited each group to learn the needs of its members. Sister Monica called the visits a joy.

"It was wonderful to hear [people] saying, `Our spiritual life is so tied into the spiritual life of the Sisters of St. Joseph. I do [my job] with the vision of unity and reconciliation,'" she explained.

This year's commitment ceremony was held May 20 at St. Joseph's Provincial House in Latham. Sister Monica said that the CSJ Associates program is not only "growing by leaps and bounds," but may represent the future of vocations.

"Everybody doesn't want to join religious life," she stated. "I think there will be temporary vocations -- and why not have this program they can move into? Maybe vocations are not dying out; maybe they're just changing."

(For more information on the CSJ Associates, email [email protected] or [email protected], or call Sister Dorothy Bunal at 315-593-8150.)

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