Millennial writer Bethany Welch writes:

During my novitiate with the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia — a period of study, prayer and ministry in preparation for professing vows of poverty, chastity and obedience — we novices were asked to prepare semi-weekly reflections that expressed our understanding of content presented in workshops and classes.

We could write papers or do something different. One novice wrote short poetry. I ended up painting on scraps of paper and cutting them into shapes. In one case, I used these bits to create a mandala on the vow of celibate chastity. The exercise was so fruitful that I kept turning to this medium throughout the novitiate.

I was a studio art major in undergrad, worked as a graphic designer, and often turned to art to make sense of the world. However, my initial inclination in the novitiate was to choose writing reflection papers over making art. It felt safer. It felt like school. In my estimation, I had already been vulnerable enough to enter the novitiate. I sold my house. I gave away my car and most of my belongings. I closed my bank accounts. I, gulp, moved to the suburbs. Writing a paper was a controlled, measured way to report back to my formators.

Yet, as we sunk deeper and deeper into the interior examination of our own relationship with God and the ideas that shape the vowed life, I realized I needed to see, touch and physically deconstruct and reconstruct the substance of what was shifting within. I stepped away from the laptop and picked up a paint brush and scissors.

I chose mandala making because, like icons, these ancient symbols help focus one’s attention and are often associated with unity and wholeness, which are at the heart of my congregation’s charism of unioning love. The mandalas I created reflect my current understanding of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience that each Catholic religious professes….

Each of the vows that comprise the “evangelical counsels” are rooted in attributes of Jesus. All three invite self-emptying — that is, the giving up of something for the purpose of something else. The vow of poverty asks me to rely on God for what I need….

We know that the early church, those who identified as followers of Christ practiced a form of mutual care that gathered resources from among themselves and redeployed them to ensure that everyone had what they needed, especially the most vulnerable who couldn’t earn their own living. That interdependence invites solidarity through intentionality.

The mandala pictured seeks to visually capture some of those elements of this way of living. I put my labor, skills and gifts toward the collective of the sisters in my congregation and the larger world. I seek what I need for the day with as little negative impact on others and on the earth as possible. I share from all abundance.

Read the full reflection here.