Young women today are searching for belonging, purpose, and authentic relationships rooted in faith. Through Come and See weekends, Zoom conversations, and visits to the convent, Sister Maria Magdalena Rybak creates welcoming opportunities for them to explore what a vocation to religious life might look like. These gatherings allow women to experience the rhythm of community life as they join the sisters for prayer, meals, Eucharistic Adoration, and recreation while discovering the spirit and charism of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
In these conversations, Sister Maria Magdalena often hears about the struggles many young women face, including bullying, misunderstanding, and the challenge of finding acceptance. Their stories reveal a deep desire for connection and community. This longing reflects Sister Josephine’s thoughts in her article “Walking the Road Together,” in which she writes that ministry with Generation Z often focuses on accompaniment rather than on having all the answers. She notes young people are drawn to authenticity and genuine relationships, and some of the most meaningful moments happen in simple experiences such as sharing a meal, praying together, or having an honest conversation.
These encounters show how the Nazareth charism continues to resonate with a new generation seeking faith, belonging, and purpose.
A WELCOMING SPACE FOR YOUNG WOMEN
By Sister Maria Magdalena Rybak
As a sister and vocation director, I have the privilege of accompanying young women as they discern God’s call in their lives. Through initiatives such as Come and See weekends, monthly Zoom calls with women interested in religious life, and convent visits — including live-in experiences upon request — I strive to create opportunities for them to encounter the beauty and reality of consecrated life. When young women visit, they are invited to join us for prayer, recreation, and shared meals. As a Formation Community, we intentionally offer a welcoming space to anyone who desires to come and spend time with us.
When young women are invited to share in our daily life, they follow our regular community schedule. We gather for morning and evening prayer in common, share our evening meal together, and come together for Eucharistic Adoration three times a week and recreation twice a week. Whenever possible, they participate fully in these moments. I believe it is important that they experience not only what we do, but who we are — women united in prayer, mission, and sisterhood.
In my vocation ministry, I also collaborate with other vocation directors and participate in vocation fairs, panels, discernment circles, and retreat days.These opportunities allow me to meet young women where they are and to listen to their hopes, questions, and concerns. In my conversations with them, I often hear about struggles with bullying, misunderstanding, and a lack of acceptance for who they are. Many carry a deep longing to be seen and valued.
One of the main reasons I find young women seek religious life is their desire for belonging. They are searching for a community where they can truly be themselves — loved, supported, and encouraged in their faith. They are hungry for authenticity and for a genuine experience of prayer and community life.When they encounter sisters who live joyfully and sincerely, it speaks more powerfully than words.
This ministry is both rewarding and humbling. Walking alongside young women during such an important time in their lives reminds
me of God’s faithful presence and guidance. Witnessing their courage and openness as they seek His will is a blessing. My focus continues to be spreading the word and charism of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth through the ministries I serve, trusting God will continue to call and gather those who are meant to share in our mission.
WALKING THE ROAD TOGETHER
By Sister Josephine Garrett
I would not say I made a conscious decision to have a focus in ministry on Generation Z, the young among us between the ages of 14-29. It is more accurately as though we encountered one another at a pivotal moment in my own vocation — and in many ways, we have been growing up together ever since, they in their own lives, and I learning what it is to be a religious sister. It was less a ministry placement strategy than a kind of mutual flourishing.
In 2013, I was nearing the end of my postulancy and preparing for novitiate. I had just left my career — something I had allowed to shape my identity. I had sold my car and was preparing to turn off my cell phone. Beneath the surface of all those practical changes was real grief, uncertainty, and some sense of overwhelming about all that I was surrendering in a short amount of time.
In the midst of that season, I was asked to help at a diocesan youth conference and participate in a vocations segment. The plan was simple: The emcee would interview a newly ordained priest and myself, and we were to “share the joy” of our vocations. That afternoon, I remember sort of dragging up the steps of the hotel and convention center where the conference was being held, wondering how I was going to speak about joy with a presently heavy heart.
Then I walked into the main gathering space.
There were nearly a thousand teenagers — and they were glorious. They were grateful and overjoyed to be together. Overjoyed about their faith. They were not passive participants; they were witnesses. Their joy was contagious; by the time I walked onto the stage, joy was not something I had to figure out how to manufacture. Their faith cut through my fog and cleared the way for me to see clearly the joy of Jesus in them and in my own life in the midst of all the changes and surrendering. It was, for me, a kind of transfiguration moment.
Since that day, we have been walking the road together. And it has been mutual.
I have a deep desire to encourage young people in our Church in America. Yet they, in turn, encourage and inspire me. I have come to believe this mutuality is the foundation of meaningful accompaniment. It is not simply serving the young; it is recognizing the profound gift they already are. God is working in them now. God has something to say to all of us through them — not only in the future, but in the present.
The Gospel image of the road to Emmaus comes to mind. The two disciples were carrying grief, confusion, and difficult questions. The younger generation I encounter carries its own heavy stories — experiences of anxiety, division, cultural and political tension, and sometimes deep personal suffering. They ask very real and very hard questions about faith, identity, purpose, belonging, and topics the Church herself is still learning how to articulate with clarity and compassion.
For a time, I believed to serve them well I needed to have perfect answers to every complex question. Over time, I have learned something different. More than answers, they are hoping for sincere and authentic companions — people willing to walk with them, to listen deeply, to share faith honestly, and to seek Christ together.
In accompanying them, I have also had to confront my own doubts and fears. I have had to ask whether I really believe Christ truly is enough — not only for me, but for them. Again and again, I have found when a young person truly encounters Christ, it changes everything. They do not ultimately need a conference, a dynamic speaker, or a talented Christian band, as beautiful as those moments can be. They need to encounter the living Christ. Everything else must serve that encounter.
Through this journey, I have seen how our Nazareth charism is truly evergreen, and the gift first entrusted to our Mother Foundress and now us — the sisters and all the carriers of our charism — is a truly prophetic message for our times.
If I were to summarize the hopes, questions, and longings of the young adults I meet, I would put it simply: They are seeking loving relationships.They long for authentic connection. They want places where they can offer their lives in ordinary ways and discover ordinary love is profound. After the mountaintop experience of large gatherings, what many of them desire most is surprisingly simple: a shared meal, a cup of coffee, a weekly Bible study, and helping with a small project at the convent. They want to belong. They want to give. They want their lives to matter in concrete, relational ways. Many times, I have had to learn the lesson that with them, less really is more. In this, they are drawn — perhaps more than they realize — to the hidden life of Nazareth.
One of the most beautiful traits I have come to admire in this generation is their ability to recognize what is profound in what is simple. They are not easily impressed by grandiosity, but they are deeply moved by authenticity.
If I could offer one encouragement, it would be this: Go. Even as I write that, I am recalling their favorite part of participating in a conference; it has been the many times over the years that each day, many young adults find their way to our booth in the exhibit hall and ask if they can sit with us while they eat their lunch. In a world that is almost constantly seeking entertainment, for them, they are looking for a place to share a meal.
Go where young adults are. Do not be afraid if the encounters are ordinary. Do not underestimate the quiet power of presence. A simple conversation, a shared prayer, a meal at the table — these can become Emmaus moments.
Be a witness to them. And allow them, in turn, to be witnesses to you. We truly are walking along the road together.
