A Reflection for the Perpetual Profession of Vows of Sister Jessica Vitente

Note: The following is the reflection General Superior Sister Dawn Tomaszewski offered for the perpetual profession of vows of Sister Jessica Vitente on Saturday, August 8, 2026.

“The way is not yet clear. Grope along slowly. Do not press matters; be patient, be trustful.” – Saint Mother Theodore Guerin

Sister Jessica Vitente’s perpetual profession of vows gives beautiful witness to the truth of these words of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin.

Today, we celebrate the wonderful reality that, for Jessica, the way has become clear. Her patient and trustful journey in Providence has brought her to this moment of clarity – a moment in which, in just a few minutes, she will stand before us and say: “I, Sister Jessica Vitente, take the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, forever.”

Trust in Providence

Where does the power to grope along slowly come from? Where does the faith come from to believe in a loving God who says, “You are mine?” And where does the strength come from to cling to the vine so that we might bear abundant fruit?

Saint Mother Theodore tells us over and over through her life and her letters and journals that it is confidence in the Providence that so far has never failed us that enables us to grope along slowly, to be patient and to be trustful.

Like all of us, Jessica will need this confidence to face whatever new challenges will come from answering the call to be a disciple of Jesus, to embrace the mission of the Holy One in these times in which we live.

I have to say I smiled when I saw Jessica’s invitation to this celebration. Seven years ago, the invitation to Jessica’s entrance into the novitiate also featured two chairs sitting side by side. It seems to me that this sister of ours has always had a certain confidence that one of those chairs was meant for her.

Many of you will remember that printed on that invitation seven years ago were the words: “Even if it’s blurry, keep following the light because I’ve been saving this seat for you.”

Called by Name

Thank you, Jessica, for following the light. Today, you are no longer looking for the seat. You are taking your place. Indeed, Yahweh has called you by name. In fact, I suspect that God who has dwelt within you has whispered again and again, “You are mine.” Your loving response and generous spirit have brought you here today.

You, however, are a very different person from the young woman who came to the LA Congress all those years ago searching for a community and a place to channel your energy and love for God.

Your time in initial formation, as a campus minister, your studies at Loyola University, your commitment to the work of the Diversity Direction Statement Team and to the Leadership Collaborative and, more recently, your tertianship have all be part of the pruning, deepening and growth that Jesus describes in today’s Gospel.

Perhaps the best summary of that change in you is your own observation that you have gone from being an only child to a member of a global sisterhood. And, it seems to me you have brought your entire family of origin and the local Filipino community right along with you. As Jesus says, “You’ve been pruned … thanks to the word that I have spoken to you.”

What is that word that has been spoken to you? “Those who live in me and I in them will bear abundant fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” We might add another sentence to Jesus’ analogy: “Apart from each other, we can do nothing.”

Perhaps that’s what it means to be a vowed woman religious in these times in which we live.

SVD Theologian Carlos del Valle has written: “What attracts people to Jesus is that, from his intimacy with the Father (his Abba), he draws the energy to combat injustice and to heal relationships that are broken.”

del Valle continues, “In the consecrated life there is a need for ‘strong friends of God’ who can live the present with passion and give themselves to what they are doing.”

A Community

Strong friends. Two chairs. A vine and branches. A community. None of us bears fruit alone. Apart from God and each other, we can do nothing.

Certainly, this expresses of our own sense of Providence Spirituality – the interconnectedness of all of life and our call to co-create a world where every person’ dignity is honored, and the sacredness of all creation is upheld.

Perhaps this is where the image of the vine and branches speaks most directly to this moment of Jessica’s profession. The vows are not three separate promises, added onto a life already begun. They are a way of living in the vine – in reliance on God, in love for all creation and in openness to the movement of God’s Spirit.

I also hear in Jesus’ words a call for community in mission.

Our Constitutions say, “The Congregation welcomes and sustains those who, in loving response to the divine call, seek union with God and dedication to mission through this vowed life.”

Make a Difference

In offering her own reflection on this portion of the Gospel of John, Jessica relayed to me her own sense of mission. “To be bold. To be courageous. To be compassionate. To be loving to the poor in spirit – migrants, persons who experience injustice, the lonely, the dying. Together in mission we can keep making a difference. Moving towards and against the current. Looking into the horizon. Noticing and seeing people through our listening hearts.”

And I believe that at the heart of our life in mission is Isaiah’s profound message: “Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. You are … precious … you are honored, and I love you.”

Recently, I came across a reflection from Sister Mary Ann Zollman, who told the story of her leave-taking from home to join he BVM Sisters. She remembered that in that moment, her Dad had whispered to her, “You will be just fine; those women know how to love.”

Jessica, I hope you will find in us and in those whom we have embraced in our Providence community, people who know how to love. This is our true mission.

Together in Mission

Mary Ann Zollman speaks of it this way, “I want to bring who I am to a global sisterhood freed by God’s love for the healing of a world bound my massive hurt. I want to listen to the spirit in the Gospel, the cries of the world, the teachings of creation, the yearnings across generations and cultures, and let our contemplative discernment take us places we never imagined.”

To paraphrase Mother Theodore and her message to her sisters in Jasper, “Let our trust in Providence take us to places we never imagined.”

As you commit your own loving heart to God and to us today, Jessica, remember your own words: “To be bold. To be courageous. To be compassionate. … Together in mission we can keep making a difference.”

Let your trust in Providence continue to take you to places you never imagined.

May our trust in Providence take all of us to places we never imagined. May we go with this prayer of Providence on our lips:

Grant, oh my God, that all who dwell in this house will love thee much, will love one another, and may never forget why they came here.

It is my privilege now, on behalf of this Global Sisterhood and Brotherhood, to call you, Sister Jessica Vitente, to the perpetual profession of your vows.

As Mother Theodore called her sisters, I say to you, Jessica, “If … you are quite determined to belong entirely to God, to work with all your strength … I say to you with assurance, Come.”