I just read an article in our home town newspaper about the uptick in young women choosing religious life. It spoke of a couple of communities of religious women in the United States who are adding considerably to their numbers. One of these communities has a sister who does a blog about her daily life. The article spoke of the popularity of the blog saying that she shares the details of day to day living of a sister including going to bars to enjoy a beer.
Is this what women are really looking for today? There was a time in the not so very distant past that I think young women wanted to see religious life as a more "normal" existence. I'm not sure that is true today. In any case I read such reports and sigh. This is not my life as a sister. I'm not really sure what young women of today are looking for. What I do know is that I found what I was looking for when I came to religious life some 30 years ago. My circumstances were not those of today exactly, but some constants remain. I was looking for a relationship with God that was more than piety. I was looking for a life of faith and dedication I could share. I was looking for a life of meaningful service. I was looking for challenge and peace. I've found it all. If that is what young women of today want, then maybe they should inquire within communities like our Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity. I can't presume to know what others out there want. I do know what we have and what we treasure!
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I am a young, Catholic woman in the process of discerning my vocation. I'd give up the bar scene to kneel at the foot of the cross any day of the week. God bless you Sister!
I am going to jump in here. "More than normal," I would think, encompasses "normal." It is not about having a beer; it is being able to have a beer while living out a religious vocation. I sincerely doubt that the beer was the focal point. The beer is barely an ice crystal on the iceberg. People tend to still be surprised that a nun can do "normal" things such as drink beer. I perceive the beer/bar reference as an attempt to show that religious life is "more than" not "less than" a normal existence. Certainly we give up some "normal" parts of life, but in return we receive more through our close relationship with God. I Younger women today really are not that shallow that they would think that religious life is more appealing if they can still go to a bar.
Isn't is amazing to consider the spectrum of reactions to things? Congragulations to both Sara and Rookie Nun for following the call you discern! That's the biggest reality that goes far beyond the bar scene! Thanks for your responses and may your unique relationships with the God of your life be a consuming reality for both of you!
Sr kathleen.. of course you are right... We who are Nuns should have different standards and interests than lay folk...We are out working some of the time, yet we are cloistered also and have a strict Monastic life. What has been lost - along with the Habit in many cases - is the Consecration and the apartness it has to create. If you see else as "giving up" anything then you ned t rethink your vocation. It is simply focussing on Jesus. But then you are in the US and I am in Ireland and the cultures are very different. Every Christian needs a close relationship with God; no need to enter an Order for that. There is something very different about Consecration. Totally and utterly different. No there is no way I would drink alcohol - period. Let alone in a bar. I bet folk are more than surprised, and wonder what they are really thinking..rookienun; you miss so much through this... You miss so much in depth and in holiness. I wish you find that.
PS.. nor would we ever display life within the enclosure on line or give detail re our religious life. These are intimate things..... Between us and Jesus. Cloister and enclosure mean just that for us.
I was mildly interested to see if anything new had been posted as a comment; indeed there was. I continue to navigate the waters of religious life fully admitting I don't know everything, and thus I continue seeking. I am not cloistered, and yes, there are vast differences in cultures. I don't especially like alcohol, though I don't view it as taboo in moderation. Do I frequent bars? No, even prior to convent life, that was not my scene. Perhaps I am a product of the diminishing focus on consecration and "being set apart," but I continue to discern what religious is. I do see that it emcompasses much and people approach it from very different perspectives.
Thanks Sister Gayle Lynn! The idea of consecration, to me, is like many other concepts. It can be negative or positive. The idea of being set apart can connote elitism, or narrowness. It can also imply striving for a singleheartedness that leads to depth rather than breadth of experience. I've been reflecting with my Religious Ed class about the ways in which we may have other gods in this day and age. We may have computer gods, fashion gods, sports gods, etc. I think the same might be said of consecration. To what or whom do we consecrate ourselves? For what or for whom do we set ourselves, our time and our talents apart? For God? For social action? For study? For recognition? It's good for me to return to the day of my profession of vows and recall to whome I consecrated myself. Then I have to look at this day and ask how I am keeping that commitment. Challenges are the gift of each day!
Thank you for your thoughts as well, Sister Kathleen.
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