The Holy Spirit Center inspires a sister’s vocation

The Holy Spirit Center in Anchorage can open one’s ears to God’s calling: a vocation. Derived from the Latin word for “to call,” a person’s vocation is the way they are called by God to express their love for Him through their daily acts and thoughts. Some are called to build families in love as parents. Some are called to choose the priestly life of sacrifice for the faithful. Some are called to serve as deacons through word, liturgy, and charity. Some are called to contemplate the mysteries of the faith and live in community. Some are called to be single, dedicating their time entirely to God. And there are many more ways in which God calls people to follow Him.  

The Holy Spirit Center offers comfortable, quiet space to help those attending retreats to listen to what God might be saying to them. 

Many people have a fondness for the center for the ways in which it permitted them to understand their vocations more deeply, be it through marriage retreats, priest meetings, and more. Sr. Laura McGowan of the Daughters of St. Paul is one such retreatant. 

This past July, Sr. Laura came up from the Lower 48 to make an eight-day silent retreat at Holy Spirit Center. This was not her first retreat there, however. 

Sr. Laura said, “I attended this event at Holy Spirit Retreat House (former name of the Holy Spirit Center) in Anchorage. And it was there, 50 years ago, that the Lord spoke to my heart, saying, ‘This is where I want you.’” 

Sr. Laura recalled growing up as part of a faithful Catholic family in Minneapolis, Minnesota and attending Catholic school grades first through twelfth. She came to Anchorage through her education at a veterinary technical college and was hired full-time by the clinic she interned at after completing her program. There she helped with everything short of major surgery and assisted with examining sled dogs before the Iditarod sled dog race. 

Though she always wanted to be a religious sister, she hadn’t found the right congregation. In January of 1976, she saw a bulletin ad for a day retreat hosted by the Daughters of St. Paul at the Holy Spirit Center. 

“I remember thinking that I would both love the retreat as a time for prayer and also an opportunity to meet those sisters,” said Sr. Laura. Three months after hearing God’s calling at Holy Spirit Center, she entered her convent. She said, “It was there my true life adventure began!”

For Sr. Laura, this has meant a life of evangelizing through operating printing presses, bindery machines, working at book centers, infirmaries, the kitchen, collecting food for her community, and, since 2007, painting scenes from the Gospels with oil on canvas. Her work furthers the mission of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of women consecrated to spreading the Gospel through media.  

“I loved the peace and beauty I found at Holy Spirit Center, and I am so grateful to Michelle Waclawski (current director)  and Alan Muise (former director) for their hospitality! They arranged my schedule and everything so perfectly, so that, even with another large group of retreatants there, I found the peace and silence I had once found 50 years ago.”

The Holy Spirit Center continues its mission today. Like the prophet Elijah, retreatants listen beneath the clamor of daily life for the still small voice that guides and beckons all. Amidst the trees, on the patio, or in the chapel, the emphasis is on connecting with God. 

One may find the very same peace that unveils the voice of God as Sr. Laura did 50 years ago. One can also support Holy Spirit Center to ensure people in the archdiocese are also able to seek that same peace. If you would like more information about the Holy Spirit Center, please contact Michelle Waclawski at (907) 346-2343.