Sister M. Karolyn Nunes, vocations director for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George, explains why vocation discernment is a way of life rooted in relationship with Jesus, not just one big decision. She shares simple daily prayer habits for recognizing God's voice, why silence matters in a noisy world, and the story of her own call to religious life. Sister Karolyn also previews two upcoming discernment retreats for young Catholic women in Illinois and Kansas.
Sister M. Karolyn Nunes, FSGM, vocations director for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George — known as the Alton Franciscans — joins Bo Bonner to talk about discernment. Sister Karolyn explains that discernment is a consequence of relationship: the more we lean into friendship with Jesus, the more we learn what his voice sounds like, so that saying yes to the big decisions comes with ease.
She shares practical habits anyone can start today: beginning each morning by asking, "Jesus, what are we going to do today?"; ending the day by praying through "where was it me, and where was it we?"; and a daily exercise she gives women visiting her community — noticing one thing seen, heard, and tasted or smelled in the last 24 hours that still has your attention. Pointing to the noise of modern life, and to young NET Ministries missionaries she recently watched thrive during two weeks without phones, she encourages listeners to build real silence into their days.
Sister Karolyn also tells her own vocation story: the "explosion of joy" she felt walking into the convent for the first time, her time at Franciscan University of Steubenville, her advice to "walk through the doors that open and don't shake door handles that aren't opening," and entering the community 21 years ago this week "96.3 percent sure" — until the Lord closed the door behind her.
Upcoming retreats:
Veni Si Amas Discernment Retreat — September 25–27, 2026, the weekend right after Venerable Fulton Sheen's beatification in St. Louis. Hosted by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George in Alton, Illinois, for single Catholic women ages 18–30. With a major renovation underway at the provincial house, retreatants will still visit the motherhouse but stay at an alternate location. Register at AltonFranciscans.org.
Love's Reply — a November discernment weekend at Prairie Star Ranch in Williamsburg, Kansas, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Built from the monthly discernment groups Sister Karolyn has led in St. Louis for nine years, it brings together sisters from ten religious communities to help women explore how God has shaped their hearts to love. It's not a recruitment weekend — it's tools for discernment.
Heard on the Catholic Morning Show, weekdays at 7 a.m. Central on Iowa Catholic Radio. More at IowaCatholicRadio.com.
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