As a child, Maureen Girard admired the Daughters of the Holy Spirit as teachers of the Catholic faith. As an adult she took their charism as her own.

Harold Hunt, a member of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, uses his weekday pre-dawn light rail commute to work as a time to pray and to begin the spiritual rhythm of his day.

Kathleen Molaro, the mother of six children, made a discovery that changed her life when she learned about the Secular Franciscans from her Bible study group.

Whether counseling families in Sacramento or witnessing poverty head on in Tanzania, lay Salvatorian Margaret Crosby sees the face of God in the people she meets.

Girard, Hunt, Molaro and Crosby are among the thousands of laypeople who are changing the face of religious life by linking themselves with a religious order and committing to live by its charism, or mission, in their daily lives. The charism is expressed through the order’s work, prayer, spirituality and ministry.

Attracted by the desire for a deeper spiritual life, more than 25,400 laypeople have become affiliated with religious institutes in the United States, a growth of about 11,000 since 1995, according to the findings of a 2002 national study by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

Although lay associates do not take formal vows as religious do, they go through an official formation period to learn about the religious institute’s charism and commit to living the mission of the institute.

Associates are similar in many ways to oblates and third-order members, all of whom share a calling to live out religious orders’ various charisms.

Girard, Hunt, Molaro and Crosby recently shared with The Herald their lived experiences of becoming associated with religious orders.

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The eldest of six siblings, Girard grew up as a member of Our Lady of Grace Parish in West Sacramento. As a teenager, she delighted in visiting her younger sisters and brothers who attended the newly-opened Our Lady of Grace School, staffed by the Daughters of the Holy Spirit.

“There was just something about them — their simplicity, their ability to go out and connect with people attracted me,” said Girard, who would later enroll both her own children in Our Lady of Grace School.

By 1994, Girard was an empty nester working at the Diocesan Pastoral Center as executive secretary for Mercy Sister Eileen Enright, vicar for pastoral ministry. At that time she accepted an invitation by a Daughter of the Holy Spirit to become a DHS associate.

What followed was a year of formation, attending monthly meetings at the Daughters’ convent in West Sacramento, and studying the history of the congregation and the sisters’ service to the poor, disadvantaged children and the sick.

“The charism of a religious congregation is really a gift to the whole church,” Girard said. “Lay associates are really a way to extend that charism to our families and into the workplace.”

DHS associates may be married, single, men or women of various Christian denominations.

Since becoming a lay associate, Girard has made some significant discoveries. Morning and evening are times for prayer, but not the only times.

“You pray when you can and try to make it part of who you are, recognizing when you meet someone, you try to see Christ in them,” she said. “There are different ways to pray and an active lifestyle does not preclude being prayerful.”

Girard has worked as a volunteer at Loaves & Fishes’ Mustard Seed School and volunteered as an English as a Second Language teacher at Families in Self Help adult school in West Sacramento and at Sacramento Food Bank Services.

For the past six years she has also been taking Communion to an elderly homebound couple.

“For me being an associate is a way to live out my vocation as a Christian, as a Catholic,” Girard said. “You’re living a tradition and spirituality that has proven itself.”

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Hunt was in his late 20s and attending graduate school at Humboldt State University in Arcata when he began feeling the pull of prayer drawing him closer to God.

A priest serving as chaplain at the campus Newman Center assisted Hunt in exploring lay vocations. The search eventually led him to the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, Catholic men and women called to spiritual growth through contemplative prayer.

Over the next six years Hunt completed the process of spiritual formation, making temporary then definitive promises to live a life of prayer, poverty, chastity and obedience.

As a secular Carmelite, he prays meditatively for a half-hour daily, says morning, evening and night prayers from the Liturgy of the Hours, and attends daily Mass.

“If you love someone, you want to spend time with them,” Hunt said.

A member of St. Mary Parish in Sacramento, Hunt now serves as formation director for 50 Sacramento-area secular Carmelites.

Hunt and his wife, Kathleen, the parents of three children, agreed early in their marriage on a simple lifestyle.

“We try to be content with what we have and can reasonably afford,” said Hunt, who acknowledged that “a 500-inch plasma TV is not part of the deal.”

“That doesn’t mean we short our family. Part of the Carmelite charism is bringing the needs of family and friends before God,” he said.

A favorite time of day for Hunt is 5:30 a.m., riding light rail to his downtown office where he works as an environmental research manager.

“Praying is an important part of starting the day,” he said. “There are a lot of other ways I could have lived. God’s love has helped me live a life for him in many little ways.”

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Molaro is a mother to six children, a kindergarten teacher, a Secular Franciscan, and member of St. Patrick Parish in Grass Valley.

Fifteen years ago when she chose to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi, she promised to pray, study and support a charism devoted to living a simple life serving others.

“St. Francis preached and lived in a way that greatly appealed to me,” said Molaro, a member of the San Damiano Fraternity of Secular Franciscans. “He challenges us to seek joy even when life seems unbearably tough, to respect and care for our earth and her creatures, to be peacemakers and work toward justice for all.”

Living simply came naturally when the Molaro family first moved to Grass Valley.

With three children and expecting the fourth, the family was living in a trailer on property they owned while starting a small business.

Then one day while attending Bible study at St. Patrick, Molaro heard about a group of parishioners who were Secular Franciscans.

“I found people who were trying to do the same thing as our family — choosing to live a simple lifestyle,” she said. “It was a godsend.”

Molaro attended an orientation meeting and began the required formation process of study, scriptural reading and prayer prior to making a profession required to become a Secular Franciscan.

There are four Secular Franciscan orders in the diocese, two in Sacramento and others in Grass Valley, and Auburn/Loomis, with 58 professed members.

She said her family has incorporated the Franciscan social justice ethic into daily life, purchasing organic food, recycling, and opting for a primarily vegetarian diet.

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Eight years ago Crosby and her husband, Charles, were leaving morning Mass at Divine Savior Parish in Orangevale when their parochial vicar at the time, Salvatorian Father Neil Seidl, pulled them aside.

What he did next would literally change their lives. He invited them to attend a lay Salvatorian retreat in Santa Cruz.

“One of the things I found I like about lay Salvatorians is they incorporate prayer, ministry and fun,” Crosby said. “The Salvatorians are so dedicated you just want to learn from them.”

The Crosbys joined 30 men and women serving as lay Salvatorians in the diocese.

Salvatorian Father Jeffrey Wocken, parochial vicar of Divine Savior Parish, said when people commit to become lay Salvatorians, they make a promise that shapes how they live their lives.

“We pray together and are obedient to God’s will,” he said of the lay Salvatorians who meet monthly as a community. “There is a commitment to chastity according to their state in life and mindful of the needs of the poor.”

Crosby has worked the past 20 years as a licensed marriage and family counselor since retiring as a Catholic high school teacher. She now takes pro-bono clients referred to her by former clients, priests and other lay Salvatorians.

“I like blending spirituality and psychology, looking at the spiritual dimensions of people’s lives,” Crosby said. “Once people start opening up to you, you see God in that person one way or another.”

For the Crosbys, prayer has become a powerful undercurrent seamlessly shaping their days. Whether attending morning Mass or weekly prayer group meetings, or packing up rosaries to mail to Salvatorian missions in Africa, Crosby said she finds herself “talking to God all the time.”

One of the aspects she likes best about being a lay Salvatorian is the group includes men, women, married and single persons.

“We are all equal by our example to others doing what Jesus is telling us to do,” Crosby said.

Being embraced in prayer by the Salvatorian community is an added blessing that became personal recently after Charles was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus.

“There are Salvatorians on every continent and when the word goes out that someone is ill, you’ve got people from South America, Africa, the United States and Europe offering prayers,” she said.

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