I really loved this article.I was Confirmed last Sunday, and have thought off and on throughout my life about maybe being a nun.
But I am have always wondered, would I have to give up everything I enjoy? I love to ride horses, read, go to plays and music concerts that might be played at small bars (with my mother’s permission of course!), go out to eat, hang out in general, and I really love to run and play soccer.
If I became a nun, would I have to give up all of that?
(The part I would miss most would be the horses, I admit.)
I also really want to go to college, and I kind of want a career…but I would give the career up (minus the college) if I knew it was my calling.

That was a weird question.

Margaret

Interesting, your observation about “calling.” I’m in a place now where I really have to think about what “my calling” is. I like doing Education for Ministry, a lay program for people interested in thinking about questions of faith. But I have to think of what direction to take this into…some form of theological study…ministry? Lay ministry or ordination? I’m glad there are several female ministers in my parish I can chat with.

Regards!

I’m glad I found your blog. I am a former Catholic, and I find it interesting the perceptions of modern-day nuns. The nuns I knew from Catholic school didn’t wear habits. I once thought I would become a nun, during a course of years when I was intensely religious and wanted to do more in terms of my faith. I realized though, that some of the eternal questions raised by many Catholics, especially around the ordination of women, as some spoke of in your survey, made it difficult for me to remain in the church, much less to become a member of an order. I’m Episcopalian now, and I find that what you and others describe among the nuns of today, I have found among female Episcopal priests!

Highly educated, competent, I thoroughly enjoy talking to them.

As a non-Catholic, my experiences with nuns are probably skewed, but for the last few decades they have been positive, rewarding, and often the antithesis of the description I get from many of my Catholic schooled friends! : )

My first experience with sisters was at a large urban Catholic hospital in the late 1960’s where I was one of the few male “candy-stripers.” There were a number of nurses and administrators who were sisters, as were all the instructors for the volunteers. They were, without an exception, caring, competent, warm and ranged in age from their 20’s to their 60’s.

When I went off to college in the 1970’s I met and worked with other sisters in the Boston area on anti-war, poverty and social justice programs. Many of these sisters wore less conventional habits, but they were clearly well educated, bright and dedicated. We marched, did court monitoring with the American Friends Service Committee, tutored children, and helped each other weather frustrations and celebrate victories.

Through the 1980’s to the present, I continue to work with sisters on social justice and disability issues (particularly deafness and HIV/AIDS), and the services provided by sisters have been crucial- often filling what would otherwise be a void. The sisters with whom I have worked are lawyers, teachers, psychologists, administrators, speech pathologists, interpreters of many languages (including American Sign Language), social workers, etc. For many, the “accoutrements” of their calling have changed, and the various means of answering the call of service have been expanded, but their dedication and service have been steadfast.

As has been noted, the population has diminished. I know many former sisters, most of whom are still doing good work (“God’s work”), and still heeding God’s voice with new directions.

In terms of the “covers of the books,” the sisters in my life have been diverse: tall, short, thin, heavy, straight, lesbian, white, black, Asian, Latina, brilliant, not so brilliant, funny, not-so-funny, baseball fan, football fan, etc. I hope to nobody’s surprise, they look (and pretty much act) just like the rest of the human family.

The only difference I have experienced is their consistent desire to help others based on their belief of God’s will.

That’s why (to paraphrase Willie Nelson), “my heroes have always been nuns.”

Best regards, wishes and prayers- particularly to all those sisters with whom I have had the pleasure to cross paths.

David

that being said, this article reminds me of the sisters i know in italy who have defeated every one of my pre-determined assumptions about nuns. 4 years ago, i spent a semester in orvieto, italy and lived in a convent with a small group of italian nuns from the company of mary our lady. there, i befriended and still keep in touch with these nuns who not only defiled hollywood’s negative portrayal, but reached beyond cultural/religious boundaries to get to know us american college students better. the mother superior drives a silver volkswagen sports car, wishes she owns a ferrari, loves watching formula 1 (car-racing) and soccer on TV, speaks several languages fluently and has traveled all over the world. though the order’s primary mission is to educate women, young people and children (especially in the developing world), the mother superior is also a business woman who came up with a brilliant business plan to turn the unused rooms of this enormous convent (which dates back to the 1600s) into a bed & breakfast/religious housing for tourists and pilgrims alike… this is in addition to the daycare program they’ve been running for over 20 years. they also email, use excel spreadsheets and take care of administrative businesses. sure, there is always work to be done in and around the convent, but these nuns enjoy every moment possible to hang out in the courtyard, watch movies, sip wine, drink espresso, go out for movies, go on a road trip and eat gelato together. most importantly, they have a passion for what they do, serve God with their various spiritual gifts and touch the lives of everyone they come into contact with… =) this is christian feminism at its very best!

thanks for posting this article. God bless always!

That puts in modern words what our Constitutions have said my 30 yrs in community (If not from the beginning). I’ll bet those words, or ones like them, are in just about every order’s constitutions. If our work isn’t relevant to the Gospel, then it doesn’t promote the mission of Christ. Right?