Here I am Lord!
You Have Called Me
Thirty Sisters Renew VowsThe pews were overflowing at Mass at St. James the Greater Church in Charles Town on September 6, as 30 Missionary Sisters Servants of the Word renewed their vows. Causing even more celebration and reverent awe was the added blessing that four women entered the novitiate, one sister professed vows for the first time, and four sisters renewed their vows, ceremoniously permitting them to enter their fourth year of religious profession and dedication to evangelization.
To explain this beautiful moment for the Church, Sr. Jessica Bernal, of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Word (HMSP), who has served in Martinsburg since January 2023, wrote the following:
When God calls a young woman to religious life, there are different stages she enters in order to respond fully to the call God makes of consecrating oneself completely and wholly to him. A sister begins in the stage of the Postulancy, from the Latin postulare, meaning “to ask,” referring to the candidate’s request for admission and desire to try out the life of religious consecration. If a community finds her apt, she is then admitted to the stage of the Novitiate. The purpose of the novitiate is to prepare a young woman to live the evangelical councils. It is a time to deepen in knowledge of the order’s charism and spirituality, as well as of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. At the end of novitiate, with the approval of the Mother Superior and her counsel, one goes on to profess your temporary vows. Once a sister is admitted to temporary vows, which are made in the hands of the Mother Superior or the Vicar General, she enters a process of solidifying her call to consecrated life as well as growing in the knowledge of the order and deeper participation in communal life. This stage is one of deepening one’s convictions and relationship with our Spouse, Jesus Christ. For the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Word, the temporary vows are renewed every year for six years. At the end of six years, a sister will ask for admittance to her perpetual profession, meaning that after uniting herself more fully to Christ, she publicity declares her commitment and intention to give herself to Our Lord for the rest of her earthly life and for all eternity in heaven with Him.
On September 6th, 2025, 30 Missionary Sisters Servants of the Word had the great blessing and privilege of having the mass for the renewal of vows at St. James the Greater Catholic Church in Charles Town, WV. One week prior to this great and solemn moment, we were blessed to prepare for this renewal with a week of silent spiritual exercises. We were invited to stay at Priest-field Pastoral Center in Inwood to have the space and means necessary to truly enter the mystery of this consecration and prepare more fully to renew our commitment. The spiritual exercises culminated with the beautiful mass, preceded by his excellency, Bishop Mark Brennan and in company of our Pastor, parish priests and deacons, and visiting priests. During this celebration, we had four sisters enter the novitiate, one sister profess vows for the first time and four sisters renew their vows, entering their fourth year of religious profession.
The mass was celebrated in English and Spanish with visitors from New York, Kansas City, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, Georgia and of course, West Virginia. Our choirs also did such an amazing job at leading the congregation in this bilingual mass.
It was a moment of great grace, and we are immensely grateful to God our Father for having allowed each and everyone of us reach this moment in our religious life. We are also so grateful to Father Timothy Grassi, Deacon Dave Galvin, and all of the St. James parish community for hosting us (at the church and) at priest-filed and allowing us to share the joy of religious life here in Charles Town.
May God our father and our Lord Jesus Christ bestow on many more young women the beautiful gift of a consecrated vocation. We ask for all for your prayers that we may all persevere and live a life of holiness according to the will of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.Editor’s note: the group photo provided by Sr. Jessica. Collage image from the 9-14 edition of parish’s bulletin.
