As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. All are called to holiness: ‘Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’” (CCC #2013)

In the diverse Body of Christ, we have three primary vocations that are the means of sanctifying one’s soul, including: ordained clergy (bishop, priest, and deacon), laity (marriage), and consecrated men and women as presented in the Catechism. Consecrated men and women respond to the call of imitating our Lord – living chaste, poor, and obedient lives – and being an eschatological sign of the world to come.

To assist women who are discerning God’s call in their lives, the Diocese of Saint Petersburg hosted its first Miriam Dinner of the year on Friday, April 17, 2026. A Miriam Dinner is a wonderful opportunity for women ages 16-35 to learn more about a call to consecrated life in a casual dinner setting. The evening consisted of joining in prayer and listening to the vocation stories of different religious sisters and a woman in formation for consecrated virginity.

A young woman who attended the event stated, 

“The dinner was a wonderful time being in community and reflecting on the stories that were shared. I would recommend it to any young woman who is starting to take her faith more seriously.”

Religious life and consecrated virginity are two of the five public ways in which one could live out one’s call to consecrated life in the church. The other three forms include: society of apostolic life, eremitical life (hermit), and secular institute.

Some of these forms of consecrated life are lived in a convent or monastery; others are lived out in the world, financially supporting themselves. All are given a particular gift of celibacy for the sake of the kingdom. They are, as Fr. Thomas Dubay says in the book And You Are Christ’s, “…chosen by the Lord to be set apart from the ordinary creation, consecrated in a special manner for the sacred sphere of a complete preoccupation with God.”

A Salesian sister at the Miriam Dinner explained that when discerning a call, it’s not just to religious life, but to a specific community. She taught the importance of learning the different charisms of the religious orders. A charism is the particular gift of the Holy Spirit given to a community for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church. The Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco’s charism, as the sister shared, is: “to bring young people to God.”

The Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco are one of the local religious orders within our diocese. Located in Tampa, the Salesian sisters teach and operate Villa Madonna School.

Sister Sherly Vazhappilly, vicar for religious and associate director of vocations for our diocese, synthesized the recurring characteristics between all the vocation stories shared. Among those were a sense of being at home, peace, clarity, and a deep sense of knowing what direction to go in one’s life. She also shared her own vocational story, and her experience with a ‘come and see’ event. A ‘come and see’ is an event hosted by different religious orders to visit the community for a short stay. She shared that this gave her the clarity to know which community she was being called to enter.

One religious sister offered some advice on discernment, “Our Lord only works in clarity, and to remain at peace, as our Lord will bring you exactly where He wants you to be.” She also shared that while praying in the chapel, she heard the Lord calling her to be His. As Fr. Cantalamessa writes in the Virginity book, “It is a matter of renouncing one concrete love for another concrete love, one real person for another Who is infinitely more real.”

Another religious sister shared about entering her religious community at 15 years old. She revealed that God provided the grace she needed to leave her family at such a young age. She expressed, “I encourage you...religious life is a beautiful life, if you are called to it.” As our Lord says in the Gospel of Mark, “Amen I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers and sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age…” (Mark 10:29-30).

A discerner who was attending the event for the second time shared, “Whether you’re just starting to discern, or are discerning religious orders outside the diocese, it’s an enriching experience to be accompanied in one’s own vocational journey. It’s a gift to share in the joys, fears, and prayers of other women in our diocese who are opening their hearts to God’s invitation to learn more about religious life.”

Another woman who attended in the past stated, “One of the most confident ways to encounter Christ and know Him is by encountering those who know Him well, who have radically left all things to follow Him, not just in spirit but also in the flesh. Indeed, you grasp an idea of your own vocational call by looking and listening to their response to God.”

Additionally, a quote from And You Are Christ’s says, "While the ordained ministry of men is directly concerned with service, the virgin’s role is directly pointed to a loving communion with the lord himself. Her vocation lies at the core reality of the ekklesia, the biblical ‘one thing’ to gaze on the beauty of the Lord.”

The next Miriam Dinner will take place in the fall.

For more information about the Office of Vocations or about discerning a call to consecrated life, click here.