How Mentorship Helps Sr. Mary Rachel Live Out the Feminine Genius: GIVEN Mentor Sister Mary Rachel Craig, SOLT

“We must be saved together. We must arrive in Heaven together… We must all return together to our Father’s home… what would he say to us if one of us came, if one of us returned without the others?”

— Charles Peguy

The GIVEN Institute provides young women with the opportunity to receive a mentor for a full year after going through the GIVEN Forum experience. The GIVEN mentors come from all forms of vocations including marriage as well as religious and consecrated life. Additionally, some GIVEN mentors return to the program year after year to accompany new GIVEN alumnae. One such “veteran” is Sr. Mary Rachel Craig from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) Community. 

Sr. Mary Rachel has served as a GIVEN mentor three times in 2021, 2022, and 2024. She shares that being a GIVEN Mentor has been, “a wonderful chance to be a spiritual mother and mentor, using my experiences of life to help others as they undergo their own experiences. Each mentee taught me something about the beauty of God as they shared their stories, their strengths, their gifts. Each inspired me, using their creativity and gifts in their Action Plans.” Through this opportunity, Sr. Mary Rachel has exercised her own feminine genius and helped the feminine genius of her mentees flourish. 

Originally from Texas, Sr. Mary Rachel grew up in a large family with five brothers and one sister. Sr. Mary Rachel went to Franciscan University of Steubenville for Undergraduate studies in Theology and wrote her Senior Thesis, “Our Lady, Personification of the Feminine Genius.” Sr. Mary Rachel took her Final Vows as a SOLT Sister in 2021. Founded in 1958, The Society of the Most Holy Trinity is a missionary community of priests, consecrated brothers and sisters, and laity. Their missions throughout the world serve in teams comprised of all the vocations, in areas of “deepest apostolic need.”

Sr. Mary Rachel is currently assigned to the SOLT mission in Kansas City, Missouri, where the Sisters serve at a Catholic Montessori school. Prior to this assignment, Sr. Mary Rachel served at the SOLT mission in Belize for five years as a Director of Religious Education and became fluent in Spanish. Throughout these various experiences, Sr. Mary Rachel explains that, “As a consecrated woman, I strive to be obedient to what I am asked by my superiors and faithful and generous in whatever is asked of me in the present moment.” These assignments have helped Sr. Mary Rachel realize her gifts in administration, and both spiritual motherhood and childhood as she balances responsibility with lightheartedness.  

Sr. Mary Rachel was able to incorporate the experiences and skills she gained as a SOLT Sister into her mentorhood with the GIVEN Institute. During her time as a GIVEN mentor, Sr. Mary Rachel has enjoyed learning more about each of the participants and their personal stories they bring into the Forum. She shares that being a GIVEN Mentor has helped her grow personally as well: 

“I grew to be a better listener, to lean into the Holy Spirit more for direction and guidance. I was able to share resources, encouragement, and prayer with each mentee, to let them choose how to navigate their course, but helping them to know what their options are. It was an experience of friendship and motherhood.”

Thanks to the faithfulness and intentional care of GIVEN mentors like Sr. Mary Rachel, the GIVEN Institute is able to provide its alumnae with helpful guides throughout the Forum experience as well as the year of mentorship following the conference. GIVEN alumnae are able to receive counsel, encouragement, and practical advice to carry out their Action Plans and utilize their gifts for the glory of God.