 |
|
|||||||||||||
|
Home
> Vocation: Calling > Consecrated Life
> Why We Entered
Janna Tumbach My name is Janna Tumbach. I'm 25 years old and originally from Maple Creek, SK. I graduated with a medical degree from the University of Saskatchewan in May 2004, and became a canonical novice with the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary on August 1, 2004, along with a woman from Montreal and one from France.  I grew up in a great Christian home.
Prayer, attending Sunday Mass and spending quality time together were very important in my family.
I grew up knowing well the love of God the Father. When I went to St. Angela's Academy in grade ten, I really began to discover the richness of the Catholic Church and got to know Jesus on a personal level.
Since high school, so many communities and ministries have played an important role in my spiritual journey, including Camp Lemieux, Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO), National Evangelization Teams (NET), and my home parishes in Maple Creek and Saskatoon.
I've been very blessed to be able learn about the Faith, to pray and worship, to meet the Holy Spirit and to serve God in so many places and roles.I first thought of religious life when I left home for boarding school. I admired the faith and lifestyle of the Sisters with whom I lived. I thought that I could make a commitment like that (with God's help) and I was very attracted to how radical, wholehearted and special their choice was - all for God! As I went through high school and university, God guided me and gave me the grace to grow closer to Him. Looking back, I know I've been set aside for something special and I'm so thankful for His protection. My appreciation for religious life has grown through out the years with the help of the truly joyful priests and sisters that I've known, through their openness and the opportunity to share in their prayer and lifestyle, especially with the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. I've also grown in love and respect for the vocation of marriage through the great Catholic couples who've shared their lives with me. Although I still feel a desire from time to time for that exclusive human love and to have a family of my own, I also feel and am faithful to the call God has placed in my life to be only His. In 2002, I spent six weeks on a summer mission project with CCO and World Youth Day and I began to feel the call to really discern. We got to know many great Catholic families and priests. Some of my friends were actually going to the convent or seminary when the summer was over. These people were so willing to share their stories with me and I was so encouraged by the community's excitement about religious vocations. I came home and began regular spiritual direction and praying with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Over the year, my call became clearer and I knew I had to make a more serious commitment. It hasn't always been an easy decision. Not everyone in my life understands why I am making this choice. It's meant a lot of letting go and trusting God for me. I love my medical work, but it has to be put on hold for now. It means changing a lot of my relationships, but I have a lot of joy and peace and freedom, too. I have a great desire to grow in prayer and service and knowledge of the Church. The call to religious life is, for me, the call to love universally, belonging not just to one person or group, but to every person. I know that God will use my gifts in His work with the Sisters.  I've chosen the Sisters of the Presentation because I love the way they pray and their call to make Jesus Christ known and loved.
The Sisters of the Presentation represent and really live all the things I love about the Catholic Church.
They have a real focus on the Sacraments, making liturgy beautiful and special, Marian devotion, international community, simplicity, solidarity with the poor, foreign missions, hospitality and a place for everyone.
And so, while I am still discerning on a certain level, I am growing every day in prayer and in love with Jesus and the life to which He has called me. | |||||||||||||
|
Jeffrey Burwell Jeffrey is from Regina and is in his fifth year in the Jesuit community. 
There was nothing typically Catholic about my childhood. Neither my mother or father were
devout Catholics, and we went to mass only on Christmas Eve and Easter
morning. However, it was during my time at the University of Regina that
I began to take ownership for my Catholic faith.Like many students, I went to a lot of house parties and spent many nights in dance clubs. One night while sitting in a pub, I realized that while there was a sense of immediate gratification in such activities, I ultimately wanted something that would give me a deeper and more lasting sense of peace. I began searching for this peace by becoming involved with a number of social and pastoral activities at Campion College on the campus of the University of Regina. Over the course of my last two years at school I grew closer to the Jesuit Fathers and their important work both at Campion College and within the city of Regina. I was exposed to the Spirituality of their founder St. Ignatius of Loyola, and I found his “Spiritual Exercises” profoundly impacted the way I saw the world. Filled with a zeal to follow in St. Ignatius’ footsteps, I applied to become a Jesuit. Since then, my life has been changed in ways that I cannot begin to describe. Everything I now do as a Jesuit is done “Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam”- For God’s Greater Glory. There is nothing greater than knowing my every thought and action begins and ends with God. I have come a long way from my first few years as an Undergraduate at Campion College, but I have never once looked back. The road ahead is filled God’s abundant grace, and with that knowledge I bravely journey on. Jeffrey S. Burwell, SJ Cardoner Jesuit Community Toronto, Ontario M5A 3E7 416-350-8885 We invite you to contact and pray for the candidates as they continue their journey. There are more candidates from the Archdiocese of Regina and hopefully we’ll hear from them at some time. | ||||||||||||||
|
