Some religious communities have age limits, usually around 40 years of age. But many also accept women older than 40 including my IHM Congregation. I recommend you check out my post with a good discussion about entering religious life after 40-ish. You’ll find a bunch of links there that people have offered. My own IHM community (active) accepts women over 40.

Probably all congregations work for and with people who are poor. It is a ministry that many, many nuns have been involved with.

All religious communities have convents. There might be a variety of ways that sisters live in community. Many times it is living in a convent that may range in size from 7 to 77 and beyond! Other times ministry or location might dictate that a nun live singly or in smaller communities of 2-7. It really depends on the community.

I recommend that you get in touch with sisters. Get to know them and their way of life. You might start by attending Mass at their motherhouse or volunteering to help at one of their places of ministry. It’s one of the best ways to discern a call to religious life. And of course remain faithful to prayer and find ways to nurture your spiritual life through the sacraments, spiritual reading, and service of others.

Thank you,
Karen

seriously, i’m sure fr. had good intentions…i hope he learned something from this and that folks did not attack him personally….

there are a million ways to show the world how genuine and wonderful it is to live as a bride of Christ, as a servant of the Lord…but i think the most effective way cannot be done by showcasing it or parading in front of the whole world to see…but instead by the seemingly “little” things priests and nuns do, things that arent known to the world but very well known to individuals whose lives they have touched — the way they have counseled people, the way they have uplifted their spirits, the way they struggle to be more faithful to each vow they have professed, the way they inspire people to be more obedient and closer to God by being living testimonies of His mercy, compassion, wisdom and love…there is no need to blow out horns and shout to the world what it is like to be a nun or a priest. good works shine on their own and sincerity is loudest in silence. i think it is enough that priests and nuns have created blogs to share to us lay and young people what it is like to be a consecrated servant of God in the 21st century. we are learning a lot from the blogs that we read and because of these we are appreciating and respecting your vocation more and more.