Sometimes it is difficult to hear the still, small voice of the Lord (I Kings 19:12) while living with family or friends, even in the midst of serving the Church and doing many good things. Sometimes Jesus calls us to ‘come away to a quiet place to rest awhile (Mark 6:31) and to hear His voice. The women at Casa Guadalupe discern their vocation through prayer, healing and service. While the focus of this house is to discern whether or not the Lord is calling one to a religious vocation, the formation received helps to prepare one for every vocation.  This spiritual family becomes a school of love. Casa Guadalupe strives to do this with an integral vision of human formation and the New Evangelization. An emphasis on the good, the true and the beautiful, marks every step in what we hope to accomplish.
       Casa Guadalupe began from a desire of four women that yearned for community life centered in prayer and service.  Inspired by their mutual love for Our Lady of Guadalupe and Mexican food, they came together to pray for priests, serve the poor and the Church, while focusing their efforts on the Pro-Life movement. As more and more women express their longing for the same life of discernment, Casa Guadalupe grew from a two-bedroom apartment to a house provided by the Diocese of Paterson.
      Under the spiritual direction of Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR., Casa Guadalupe has served over 50 women over the past 9 years.  Of our former members, 9 have entered religious life, 7 have ventured out as missionaries in various parts of the world, and 7 have entered holy marriages, and the others are pursuing educational and service opportunities around the country.

Prayer

We commit to praying the Liturgy of the Hours. Some hours we pray as a community, others we pray individually. Each morning when we meet for morning prayer, we adopt priests that we pray for daily. Furthermore, we strive to keep the Eucharist at the center of our lives. Individually, we strive to attend daily Mass and take daily silent prayer in a chapel. Twice a week, we come together for a communal Eucharistic Holy Hour.

Community

Through community, we learn to experience the mercy and love of God through one another as our true selves are revealed. We have a weekly meeting to discuss day-to-day activities, meet for prayer several times throughout the day, and come together for fraternal time to enjoy each others’ company. Once per week we have a community meal together.

Service

We believe that service is an integral part of discernment because it makes us reach outside of ourselves. We commit to serving the poor as a community at least one day per month. However, we frequently work as associates with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal throughout the week. We help each other out with the different ministries we are involved with.