They were smart. They were good at sports. They were fun to hang out with.
But spend the rest of her life with them?
Nope, not what Showalter planned. She was going to college, intending to become a scientist, a wife and a mother.
But in late July, as Sister Maria Faustina, Showalter took permanent vows in the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, an order based in Ann Arbor Township.
"God puts this call in your heart; he places it there, and it’s a gentle call. You can choose to ignore it, and I tried to for three years,” said Sister Showalter, 27.
The Sisters of Mary, founded in 1997, are growing at a time when many other Catholic religious orders are shrinking or simply disappearing. Four young sisters, including Sister Showalter, made perpetual vows late last month, and Friday morning, six more made their initial vows. A new group of 17 postulants – beginning sisters – is expected in September, which will bring the community total to 64.
Now someone please help me out here – I’ve wasted several minutes here, looking for a link to another Ann Arbor-based order (I think) – very solid spiritually and vocationally, that does not, in fact, wear full habits, but rather some simple clothing and a large cross. I actually wrote about them once, in an article for OSV. As I recall, their primariy apostolate was care for the impoverished elderly. Anyone?
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