In the sight of God and the face of this congregation, having left my previous community in goodwill and charity according to their provisions, and desiring to deepen my vocation by continuing to offer myself to God in the company of the Holy Angels, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Benedict, Saint Romuald, Saint Thérèse my patroness, and all the saints of God, I, ... known as Sister Therese, do consecrate myself to the service of our Lord Jesus Christ, to spend the rest of my life solemnly vowed in the service of God’s one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church as a Solitary within the Community of Solitude. I voluntarily take the vows of Obedience to the will of God, Conversion of Life, and Stability to a life of Prayer as recognised in the Benedictine tradition of our Community, having discerned and recognised the implications of such vows. I accept the invitation to surrender to the privilege of Love in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
May God be my help and my guide.
Accept me, O Lord, as you have promised, and I shall live. Do not disappoint me in my hope.It was a profound moment, lying on my face in front of the altar as a sign of my total surrender to God, and then being robed in the cuculla (the big black cloak of a professed Benedictine) was like a shout of joy. I have accepted God’s invitation and vowed myself to it: now I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what the ride is like!
We videoed the service, and here's the link. Thank you to all who have supported me, prayed for me, loved me into this place. I am who I am meant to be: a wife, a mother, a nun – all of those things in the eyes and sight of God.
May God be my help and my guide.
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