Our Call

Duc In Altum – Put Out Into the Deep!

My name is Sister Mary Magdalene of the Immaculate Conception, O.P. I am the Novice Mistress and Vocation Directress for the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary.

If you are interested in our way of life, I would enjoy talking with you and helping you in finding out more about God’s plan for you. I know the discernment journey can be an uncertain and frightening process; I went through it myself!

The contemplative life allows us to focus on “the one thing necessary” (Lk 10:42) and, therefore, it will be a great privilege and a joy for me to be a part of your vocation journey no matter where God might be leading you.

Do not be afraid to take the first step and may God bring to completion this good work begun in you. Do not be afraid!

My prayers are with you as you seek to follow God’s will.

In Christ, Our Lady, and our Holy Father, St. Dominic,
Sister Mary Magdalene
of the Immaculate Conception, O.P.

Stages of Formation

  • 1. Initial Contact

    Sometimes just making first contact with a community can be daunting! What do I say? How do I share the desires of my heart? My love for God and the need to respond to that love? The easiest thing to do is to fill out the vocations contact form (above) or a simple email just telling us who you are and that you are interested in getting to know more about our Dominican monastic way of life.

    Usually the novice mistress responds to this initial contact with an email or a phone call so that we can get to know each other better. There are more questions and answers. It’s really not any different when strangers meet and find they have something in common and are becoming friends. Of course you are a little scared and nervous. Everyone is! But you don’t need to be! The novice mistress is happy to help you to learn what God’s will is for you and to answer questions and concerns. Don’t forget that the Holy Spirit is guiding. Entrust your vocation to our Lady’s maternal love, too!

  • 2. Discernment Retreat

    After initial contact with the novice mistress you may be invited to the monastery to make a discernment retreat. Periods of silence, prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, lectio divina and talks with the novice mistress and other sisters all provide the atmosphere to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit in your soul.

    A discernment retreat is usually 2-3 days. If you live near the monastery you may come for a day visit and if you continue to express a desire to discern your vocation with our community you may come back for a retreat.

  • 3. Aspirancy

    According to the Instruction Cor Orans, aspirancy is the time of initial contact and a time of further mutual knowledge between the candidate and the monastery including times of experience within the monastery. In our monastery the live-in experience is period of 3-6 weeks when you live within the enclosure and get a first-hand experience of our way of life. The community in turn is able to more authentically evaluate if you are truly seeking God, your maturity and the motives which draw you to live our way of life. If both the candidate and the monastery believe there is a vocation to our way of life the candidate deepens her knowledge of Dominican monastic life through further visits, especially during the time when the application for postulancy is being completed. According to Cor Orans aspirancy must be a minimum of one year.

  • 4. Postulancy

    If it seems that God is calling you to our monastery you are allowed to ask for admittance and to gather together the necessary papers (medical, dental, letters of recommendation, etc.). If the vote of the community is positive, you enter on a day mutually agreeable, usually a feast day. During the postulancy you gradually come to experience the goal and means of the contemplative life, through suitable catechesis and personal dialogue concerning both the life of union with God and monastic observances. You participate in classes with other sisters in the novitiate to become acquainted with the basics of the Dominican charism, prayer, Sacred Scriptures and community life. Postulancy lasts for one year.

  • 5. Novitiate

    In many ways this is the real beginning of becoming rooted in Dominican life and our monastic family. At the beginning of the novitiate the postulant receives the Dominican habit with a white veil and a new name. Novitiate lasts for two years, the second year being the canonical year. During these two years she continues to receive formation in areas such as the Theology of the Spiritual Life, Monasticism, Liturgy and the Sacraments, Consecration and Vows. She helps in the various areas of work in the monastery, often gaining ability in skills she never knew she had!

  • 6. First Profession

    After 2 years the novice requests to make profession as a Nun of the Order of Preachers. This profession, in which only obedience is professed but which encompasses our whole way of life according to our Constitutions, is made for 3 years, then renewed for 2 more years. The newly professed sister receives the black veil signifying her death to the world. The scapular, the sign of the protection of the Mother of Mercy, is blessed at this time.

    During the time of temporary profession the young professed continues her theological studies under the direction of the novice mistress and begins to take a more active role in the work of the monastery. In her 3rd year she leaves the Novitiate and lives with the Professed Nuns in order to become more fully integrated into the life of the monastery.

  • 7. Solemn Profession

    By Solemn Profession the Dominican nun is totally consecrated to God in the Order until death. By this profession she is dedicated to God, following Christ and leading an evangelical life in the Order so that her baptismal consecration may achieve its effect more completely. Through growth in Charity she becomes more configured to Christ who is her Spouse. Filled with love, she participates in His deepest desires. St. Dominic’s cry, “O Lord, what will become of sinners!” becomes her cry and the intensity of this longing mysteriously wins souls to God. Every moment of her life, no matter what she is doing, is offered as a holocaust, a continual sacrifice of praise to God.

Your Vocation

Choosing your vocation in life is the most important thing you have to do. It is a decision which will have implications for your whole life, one upon which all your future happiness depends. It requires a great deal of discernment, weighing your gifts, abilities, desires and opportunities in prayerful consideration to know God’s will for you. The one who takes time out to think and opens herself up to the action of the Holy Spirit can trust that she will know that joy and peace which only God can give.

From all eternity, God calls some women to be consecrated entirely to Him. The religious vocation is a reflection of the vocation of Mary, to whom God sent the Angel Gabriel seeking her consent to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word. A contemplative nun is called to live in very great intimacy with Jesus. She is called to be a spouse and mother: a spouse of Christ and mother of souls through her life of prayer and sacrifice.

God issues His invitation in many ways—a homily, the reading of a book, the example of a friend or family member, the advice of a spiritual director…perhaps even this very website will be the means of helping you correspond to the grace of a contemplative vocation…but always God leaves you perfectly free to accept or reject His beautiful invitation to this special way of life.

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Signs of a Call to
Dominican Contemplative Life

  • single woman between the ages of 18-35

  • a practicing Roman Catholic

  • fidelity and love for the Church

  • good physical and mental health

  • a joyful, generous spirit

  • willingness to learn

  • ability to live in community and in solitude

  • zeal for the salvation of souls

  • an attraction to prayer and the things of God

  • a desire to give yourself entirely to Jesus Christ

Contact Novice Mistress

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What are the requirements for becoming a nun?

    The basic requirement is that you be a woman, and a Catholic. We also have an age limit that is from about 20-35 but that is sometimes open to interpretation for special circumstances.

  • What advice would you give someone thinking of becoming a nun?

    Pray. Pray. Pray. Get advice and then take the next step! Don’t be always second guessing yourself. Don’t try to find the perfect community; it doesn’t exist! Ask our Lord to purify your desires and to show you what is your greatest desire and what is His.

  • Are there any “spiritual practices” you would recommend to someone who is discerning?

    A regular life of prayer: lectio divina, the Rosary, adoration, Mass, daily if possible. Don’t fill your prayer time up with prayers but give plenty of time to listen!

  • What vows do you take and when?

    Our Dominican profession follows the ancient practice of professing only Obedience but that is obedience according to our Rule and Constitutions and therefore encompasses our whole way of life. Under this profession of Obedience are also the vows of poverty and chastity.

  • What is the process for joining your community?

    See the “stages of formation” section above.

  • Do you have any educational requirements for admission to the community?

    You have to have at least a high school diploma or equivalent. Any other education is valuable but not necessary.

  • Do you accept formerly married women, i.e. divorced or widowed?

    Yes. A woman who has had a divorce must first also have proof of an annulment. We do not accept women with children because of our deep respect for the perennial vocation of motherhood.

  • Do you accept women from overseas?

    Sometimes. With the new immigration laws it makes it much harder and there are certain countries from which we know it is nearly impossible to get the R1 visa. We tend to encourage a woman to seek her place in her own country.

  • Do you enjoy life?

    It is no accident that people always tell us, “You look so happy!” Of course we all have “bad days” but that is because we are human like everyone else.

  • What’s the hardest thing about being a nun?

    Each sister would give you a different answer but probably the give and take of community life. It’s also the source of much joy!

  • How enclosed/cloistered are you?

    We have Papal Enclosure which means that the laws of enclosure are determined by the Holy See. Enclosure is not an absolute but a means of helping us live our vocation to the fullest! We need this Sacred Space to live this vocation of intercessory prayer and contemplative love.

  • How do you earn your living?

    Divine Providence always provides if we let Him!

  • Do you wear the habit all the time?

    Yes, we wear the Dominican Habit. For grungy work we have a blue work habit called a “coverall” which we wear with a work veil. It’s not exactly high fashion but it’s functional!

  • Do your older nuns live with you or do they go to a home?

    We care for our older nuns until we can absolutely no longer care for them ourselves. Our Sisters in the active Dominican congregation nearby graciously care for our sisters when they need more care than we can give them.

  • How good is your library?

    Excellent! Dominican value books and learning.

  • Do you have pets?

    We have a golden retriever named Siena.

  • Do you have to have a good sense of humor to become a nun?

    Absolutely! You won’t survive life without a sense of humor! We need to take God seriously not ourselves!

  • Do you keep silence at all times?

    We have 2 recreation periods each day. Outside of those times we strive to keep silence as much as possible. From after Compline until after Mass is what we call “Profound Silence". Also from 1:30-3:00 in the afternoon is Profound Silence.

  • Do you keep your own names or are you given one?

    It all depends. Sr. Judith Miryam, Sr. Denise Marie and Sr. Mary Veronica kept their baptismal names. This was originally the custom of the Order and taking another name began only in the 16th century.

  • How much time do you spend in prayer?

    Each sister has about 2 hours of private prayer. But don’t forget, the Divine Office is the official prayer of the Church, so in total we pray about 5 to 6 hours daily. However, we are taught by our Lord to pray without ceasing and the prayer of the heart continues throughout the day.

  • When do you get up? go to bed?

    You can read our full horarium here.

  • Do you have any special devotions?

    The monastic life is rooted in Holy Mass and the Divine Office. The riches of the liturgical life are like choicest meat and wine! So, we don’t have a lot of devotions. Our main devotions are Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament joined with Perpetual Rosary. We call this the Adoring Rosary.

  • How much do you fast?

    We fast on all Fridays of the Year and during Advent and Lent and vigils of special feasts. On Fast Days we also have abstinence from meat.

  • Do you have to be able to sing to join your community?

    No, but we believe that everyone can sing and it’s just a matter of learning how. If a Sister doesn’t know how to sing she has to be willing to learn! We have voice teachers that come regularly to work with the community. Singing is “praying twice” and we sing the entire Divine Office and Holy Mass so we sing for about 5-6 hours daily!

  • How often do you see your families?

    Sisters who have family in the area may have a visit once a month. Many of our sisters come from other states and their families come once or twice a year and stay for a weekend or a few days in the guest area of the monastery. We do not visit during Advent and Lent.

  • Do you have any free time?

    Every day each sister has about 1 ½ hours of free time for a siesta, reading, quiet work, exercise, etc. Sundays are free days (if you aren’t scheduled for the kitchen). The Community has a retreat day once a month and each month a sister may take a private “hermit day”.

  • Do you have holidays?

    Not the way people “in the world” have holidays! There are days of extra recreation, a cook-out, extra free-time, etc. but all this revolves around and is centered on our life of prayer: Holy Mass, the Divine Office, Adoration, private prayer. We never take a vacation from our life of prayer. It would be like not having air to breathe!

  • Do you vote in elections?

    Yes, the Sisters are free to exercise their civil rights and vote. In New Jersey we may vote by mail-in ballot.