In the Company of Grace: S. Karina’s Novitiate Year

“Be diligent in serving the poor. Love the poor, honor them, my children, as you would honor Christ Himself.”

St. Louise de Marillac

By S. Patricia Wittberg

S. Karina Montes-Ayala (back row, second from right) took part in the InterCongregational Collaborative Novitiate in Chicago, Illinois, from August 2024 until June 2025.

Religious life has been an essential part of the Church for more than 1,500 years, often attracting thousands of persons wanting to enter it. For almost that long, therefore, religious communities have required an initiation period for those who desired to join them: a time when the community and the new entrant could discern whether she or he really had a vocation. The Church confirmed the importance of this practice by mandating the novitiate year in Canon Law for all of the many varieties of religious orders, congregations, and societies of apostolic life that arose throughout the ages.

The canonical novitiate seemed quite mysterious to outsiders prior to the Second Vatican Council. Even in active apostolic teaching or nursing congregations, novices were isolated from their families, friends and the secular world in general for an entire year. What were they doing during that time: praying 24/7, studying scripture and theology, washing the Motherhouse laundry? In those days, only the religious themselves knew what their novitiate was like.

The reforms of Vatican II brought many changes in religious life, including in the novitiate. Now even some religious – especially those who were novices themselves before 1970 – may wonder what the novitiate is like today. So we asked S. Karina Montes-Ayala, who recently concluded her canonical novitiate year, to describe what the experience was like.

S. Karina recently participated in the InterCongregational Collaborative Novitiate (ICCN), a nine-month program in Chicago, Illinois, that began last Aug. 30 and ended in early June. This year, there were six women in the program, spanning five different congregations and four different cultures: Saima and Shaista, two Loretto Sisters from Pakistan; Theresa, a Good Shepherd Sister from Vietnam; Jamie, a Dominican Sister from Adrian, Michigan; Janice, a Franciscan Sister from Tiffin, Ohio; and Karina, who is Mexican-American. All lived together in a multi-story apartment with their two directors, Sisters Nancy Gerth, SCN, and Corrina Thomas, FSPA. S. Karina considered the experience of living in this intercultural and intergenerational community to be one of the greatest gifts of the program.

What activities filled the novices days and weeks? Each day was different. On Mondays, S. Karina and the other novices attended a class at the Chicago Theological Union. This past semester, their class was “Trinity in Mission.” They also participated in various workshops in Racine, Wisconsin. On alternate Tuesdays, their directors led a class on topics such as Vatican II, prayer and the vows. On the other Tuesdays, S. Karina joined a Zoom class with Cincinnati Sisters Judith Metz and Lois Jean Goettke on various aspects of her Community’s history. At one point, she was learning with them about the Community’s history of nursing and teaching.

Wednesdays were ministry days. S. Karina used her Spanish to teach English as a Second Language. Last semester she had five students; during her second semester, she worked with a single family. For the parents, she said, it mostly involved listening and accompanying them as they adjusted to life in the United States. She helped their two children on the weekends with ESL and tutoring. Sister also volunteered at Kolbe House, run by the Archdiocese of Chicago, which serves individuals and families affected by the criminal justice system. There, she supported persons released from prison in their re-entry into society, getting them shoes, clothing, bus passes, and other necessities.

Thursdays were the novices’ reflection days, an entire day devoted to prayer, taking walks, and reading. Each novice had a one-on-one session with one of the two directors, and once a month there was a three-way meeting between Sisters Nancy, Lois Jean, and Karina.

ICCN participants enjoyed the gift of companionship throughout their nine months together, sharing meals they prepared for one another and immersing themselves in the rich culture and diversity of the city of Chicago.

On Fridays, the six novices in the ICCN program joined novices from other local novitiate programs for a shared class. Together, they participated in workshops on topics such as intergenerational living, the vows, Vatican II, synodality, and mission, as well as emotional intelligence and addictions.

Saturdays were set aside for chores – cleaning the apartment, grocery shopping, etc. Each Sister took turns cooking, and S. Karina said they enjoyed wonderful meals featuring each culture’s cuisine! She noted that Mexicans and Pakistanis share a love for spicy dishes.

Each day ended with evening prayer in chapel. On Sundays, they went to Mass at different parishes around Chicago. S. Karina said they participated in liturgies in Spanish, Chinese, and Ukranian, in addition to English Masses in various parishes.

When asked what she particularly appreciated about her canonical novitiate experience, S. Karina said that one of the greatest gifts was living together in an intercultural community – learning how to be present for one other and to support each other. She also expressed how much she gained from the various courses, and felt that the holistic nature of the novitiate encouraged the growth of each novices’ spiritual life. The program allowed the novices to walk together through the formation process, rather than alone. They became aware of the gifts of each congregation’s charism and deepened their appreciation for their own.

S. Karina’s time in the ICCN has drawn to a close. She shared that she would miss her friends but felt grounded by her past experiences living in local communities: Visitation House in Cincinnati, Casa de Caridad in Anthony, New Mexico, St. Joseph House close to the Motherhouse, and most recently in Chicago. A Sister once gave her the advice that “anywhere you go you will be at home if you have a home in God” – advice that stayed with her. S. Karina also finds resonance in the quote from Richard Rohr: “Love is where you come from and love is where you’re going.”

As a participant in the ICCN, S. Karina Montes-Ayala (front, right) said living in an intercultural and intergenerational community was one of the greatest gifts of the program.

S. Karina Montes-Ayala (right) recently ended her canonical novitiate year as a participant in the InterCongregational Collaborative Novitiate (ICCN) in Chicago, Illinois.

The post In the Company of Grace: S. Karina’s Novitiate Year first appeared on Sisters of Charity.