Sister Jessica Vitente and the ‘School of the Heart’

I, Sister Jessica Vitente, SP, am currently a tertian. Tertianship is often described as the “school of the heart,” the final stage of formal formation for those preparing to profess perpetual vows in religious life.

It is a time of prayerful discernment, inviting a deeper encounter with the Divine, and an honest examination of one’s vocation. For several years now, I have been living the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

These vows are more than discipline; they are pathways that orient my life toward the living Divine. Through them, I continue to ask, discover, and follow Divine Providence, trusting that God will reveal where I am called to dedicate my life fully.

A required component of tertianship is a global immersion experience. I was sent to Taiwan, an experience that called me to live with courage, openness, and deep trust in God’s guiding presence.

Living in another culture has been both humbling and transformative. It has stretched me to listen more deeply, to remain teachable, and to recognize the presence of God in unfamiliar places and people.

This experience has also deepened my reflection on culture within religious life. When a person enters a congregation, they bring their history, language, traditions, and ways of understanding the world and their faith. These are not things to be set aside but gifts that shape how one encounters God and others.

At the same time, as a newer member, I am being shaped by the congregation’s culture, while the charisms formed before I was born and rooted in my baptism continue to deepen and unfold in new and deeper ways.

This raises an ongoing question for me as a Sister of Providence: How willing is my congregation to cross into the cultural boundaries of the one who enters, while honoring the integrity of that person’s identity?

Perhaps in this space, I sense that the deeper call to religious life is not only personal transformation but also mutual conversation, where both the newer member and the community grow together in God’s unfolding grace.

As Saint Mother Theodore Guerin said, “This is the path traced by Providence, and I follow it.” I, Sister Jessica Vitente, am convinced this is the path traced by Divine Providence, and I plan to follow it forever when I profess perpetual vows this summer.