I am going to be home for a few days in Monroe, Michigan at our IHM Motherhouse. I’m bringing my handy camcorder with me so that I can film nuns, nature, chapel, and other interesting subjects.
I thought it would be really cool to get some one-line questions from all of you for my IHM Sisters … questions that they could respond to in 2-3 minutes. Some of us (including myself) are a little shy on camera, but if we have an index card with a real question from a real person, we cut loose (well, within reason).
What I need you to do is, using the comment section below, write your one-line questions. They can be serious or light. Examples:
- “Why are you called Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters?”
- “What is your favorite movie and why?”
- “Did you ever want to be married and have children?”
- “Where do you work?”
- “What is your favorite prayer?”
Be creative, friends! My hope is to then post the mini-interviews here on my blog and on my ANunsLife YouTube Channel.
I would LOVE to get at least 50 one-line questions for nuns to respond to. Thanks for participating!
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Kazimer 11.04.08 at 3:38 pm
Hey Sister Julie ~
Here are some questions :
- What one thing about you that when people would hear/see your response would say,”I didn’t know a nun could/would do that?”
- What delights/surprises you about being a nun/sister ?
- Did you always have a sense that you would become a nun/sister or did the notion come as a surprise to you?
- Were your family/friends suprised that you became a nun/sister or did they tell you they knew or could tell this is what you would be?
- What is your favorite meal/dessert?
- How is being a nun/sister for you today different/the same from being a nun/sister in the past ?
- What one piece of advice would you give to someone considering a vocation as a nun/sister that you wish someone would have told you when you were first considering the vocation?
Kaz
Sister Julie 11.04.08 at 3:42 pm
Thanks, Kaz! These are great!
Jason 11.04.08 at 4:04 pm
Hi Julie, from Rochester!
2 questions:
What do nuns give up for lent?
Other than Mary (and Joseph for you SSJ nuns out there) what saint(s) do you feel the most affinity for?
and how about one more for fun: What (current) TV show do watch regularly?
Warmest regards,
-Jason
deerose 11.04.08 at 4:21 pm
Kaz – great questions. Now I’ll see what I can come up with. And Sr. Julie, please feel free to use/discard any of these!
1. Describe your ideal retreat?
2. What is your favorite vegetarian recipe for Lent?
3. What particular spiritual practice is most important to you in your walk with the Lord and why?
4. What style of church art, architecture and/or music do you find most conducive to prayer and why?
5. What is your favorite hymn and why?
6. What is your favorite book on spirituality (or author of books on spirituality) and why?
7. If you were not an IHM, what other order would you belong to and why?
8. What is your favorite Catholic publication and why (i.e., America, National Catholic Reporter, Catholic Digest, Magnificat, etc.)?
9. Do you believe there are any prophets living today? If so, who is it and why do you think of this person as prophetic?
10. If an only child came to you and said she was considering a vocation to the religious life, what special advice might you have for her? What unique challenges and advantages may she have?
11. What are the qualities you most admire in a close friend and why?
12. What is your favorite Gospel and why?
13. What is your favorite holiday and why?
14. Who is the most holy person you ever met? Why do you believe that person is especially holy?
15. What is your favorite depiction of a nun in the media and why?
I think that’s about it for now. Hope some of these help.
dee
Sister Julie 11.04.08 at 4:26 pm
Hi Jason! How’s it going? Always good to hear from the hometown.
Thanks for the questions! Love the last.
Wow, dee! You’ll get me to 50 in no time.
Seriously you all are doing a great job. These are awesome! Can’t wait to give these to my nuns and hear them respond!
Another Sister Julie, CSSF 11.04.08 at 6:39 pm
1. Other than your IHM Sisters, who was most supportive of your vocation?
2. Who was the least supportive and why?
3. What would you say to someone who said, “I’m going to pray that you don’t make it so you can marry some nice boy”? (That happened to me! She even picked out the ‘nice boy’!)
4. How has your order had to change in the last 50 years to keep the viability of your mission alive in the Church?
5. What is your favorite charity and how do you get funds to support it? (I donate the tickets I earn online playing video games. So far I have donated over $25.00 to Catholic Charities!)
Lucia 11.04.08 at 7:57 pm
Were there any other orders you considered entering before choosing the IHM sisters?
Betsy 11.04.08 at 8:30 pm
1. BESIDES the Bible, what is your favorite book?
2. BESIDES the founders of your congregation (and besides Jesus, that’s probably a given) – if you could have dinner with any well known person, living or dead, who would it be and what would you serve? (I would pick Mother Teresa but I’m not sure what I would serve!)
3. What is your favorite Holiday Memory?
4. Would you describe yourself as a cat person or a dog person?
Just some fun questions…looks like you have enough serious ones!
Betsy
Another Sister Julie, CSSF 11.05.08 at 12:39 am
1. What was the silliest thing that happened during your Novitiate?
2. Did you ever get “in trouble” in postulancy? (I couldn’t close a door silently to save my life!)
3. How did you feel the first time you wore your habit?
4. How did you feel the first time you wore a modified habit or went back to wearing lay clothes? (My dad used to whistle at the principal’s legs when the sisters started wearing the shorter habits. She wasn’t insulted by Dad’s attention. In fact, she ate it up!)
5. How do you feel about the outcome of this election?
6. What advice do you have for President-elect Obama?
7. What is your favorite way of praying? WHy is it your favorite?
8. What do you do for fun and/or relaxation?
9. How many careers have you had as a sister?
10. What is one thing you still want to do before you leave this earth?
Jen 11.05.08 at 1:21 am
I’ll play! What’s the one thing about being an IHM sister that sets you apart (in a good way) from all other orders?
Laura 11.05.08 at 7:25 am
I can’t wait to read the answers to the questions!
Marquis 11.05.08 at 10:54 am
What books are you reading right now?
Claire 11.05.08 at 12:46 pm
Fab idea! Just one Q;
What / where is your favourite place in the world and why?
Ta =) x
Holly 11.05.08 at 1:00 pm
What is your favorite brew this time of year?
Helen 11.05.08 at 1:01 pm
I’ll see you at the pub.
DJC 11.05.08 at 1:10 pm
Is the church asking or getting enough of Women Religious views on Church related issues. And were do you think they could or need to make changes?
Sr. Sarah Heger 11.05.08 at 2:36 pm
Sr. Julie,
You recently visited my blog and wanted to know how to describe it. Following the pattern you’ve used I’d say…
CSJ on Mission, Sister Sarah Heger, CSJ (Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet)
Love all you’re doing!
Thanks,
Sarah
deerose 11.05.08 at 3:03 pm
DJC – excellent question. Laura – ditto!
Maureen 11.05.08 at 6:24 pm
I just stumbled across this blog while doing a little research for a community production of Sound of Music; you’re now on my list of bookmarks. I love this Q&A idea and can’t wait to see what answers you get to these questions. Here are a few of mine:
If the Vatican suddenly allowed the ordination of women and you could become a priest, would you? If not, why would you rather be a nun?
If you could design your own habit, what would it look like?
How did you choose your order?
What’s your favorite secular holiday and why?
What’s your favorite religious holiday and why?
What would your dream vacation be like?
Chuck 11.06.08 at 6:26 am
I have a couple..
1. Have you ever smashed up an italian restaurant with the assistance of a priest?
2. What has been your most rewarding experience in religious life?
Denise 11.06.08 at 1:43 pm
No fair – all the good ones I could think of are taken. I really would like to hear the answer to the ordination of women however. I am studying with a priest to convert to being a Catholic, and this one thing really sticks in my craw. I was raised Lutheran, so we have ordained female pastors, and it is a difficult concept to grasp for me that women cannot hold this position. I would really like to hear your – and other nuns’ – opinion.
mjpss 11.06.08 at 3:54 pm
these questions are probably tough…but somehow, in a recollection I recently had, a priest-friend had answered one of these questions without anybody asking him…and i thought wow, he’s the most honest, most inspiring religious i know…and that gave me a different perspective of him as a priest, as a man, as a person, and i respected him even more after that….it also opened my eyes to what it is like to say “yes” to God….now i’m wondering how it is in a nun’s point of view…but maybe these are for the older/more experienced nuns…so anyway, here they go…
1. have you ever experienced something that made you re-evaluate your vocation? how did you overcome that experience? how were you able to stay true to your vows?
2. the vow of poverty is heavy stuff especially if one is not accustomed to “ghetto-like upbringing” or wondering whether there’ll be enough money for tomorrow’s meal….what has been your most unforgettable experience wherein you really felt the weight of this particular vow?
3. have you ever experienced counselling or even talking to someone who doesnt believe in God and is very arrogant about his/her own “belief/ideology”, and yet you felt this strong need to continue counselling/reaching out to him/her? how did you counsel him/her? when did you know to stop and just let him/her go? what happened in the end, did he/she have a change of heart?
4. do family members like parents, siblings or even nieces and nephews ask you questions about their own spirituality/faith?
i’m sorry if my questions seem too serious or dark…but i do believe that these are the things that make a religious life difficult yet fulfilling, beautiful and real. of course the IHM sisters may or may not answer them, but if anyone would do, i’m sure everybody will be blessed by her answers. so, thanks in advance!
Kazimer 11.06.08 at 4:47 pm
These questions are all great, and I look forward to various answers that will be given.
I am especially interested to find out the responses to mjpss questions especially – 1) about the an experience that may have caused a re-evaluation of a vocation and 3) counseling/discussion with someone who doesn’t believe in God and is arrogant about their belief.
This is exciting!
Providence 11.07.08 at 8:08 pm
Hi Sister Julie, I live in Monroe, MI and graduated from SMA. I used to walk the long tunnel to the Motherhouse for the most beautiful masses, but that was not too often, only on special ocassions. I miss the Academy and the beauty inside and out. I never thought I would say that when I was a student there, but it is true.
I have a couple questions for the sisters….
1. Did you like seeing and interacting with the students when St. Mary Academy was open, if you were there at that time?
2. At what age did you decide you wanted to become a Nun?
3. Have you ever served in a Parish with a priest who drove you crazy? and how did you handle it?
4. Who is the most interesting or memorable person you have ever met?
5. Did anyone try to dissuade you from becoming a Nun?
6. Were you ever close to marrying someone before deciding to become a Nun?
Those are just a few questions Sister Julie. Hope you enjoy your time here. The Motherhouse is a BEAUTIFUL place.
Blessings,
Providence
Sister Julie 11.08.08 at 4:47 am
Dear Providence,
You are in luck! After having the camera set up for Pub Night, the Sisters invited me to return today with my camera. I am going to write up your questions and add them to the board.
Blessings,
Sister Julie
jamie 11.08.08 at 8:55 am
I have a question, as we’re coming up on the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays…
What is your favorite Holiday treat?
Do you celebrate St. Nicholas Day?
How do you celebrate on Christmas Day? A large meal, or a quiet day of rest, etc.
Thanks!
Jamie
Sister Julie 11.16.08 at 6:40 pm
Thanks, Jamie!
And Sister Sarah, thank you for the info — I’ve updated my listing of Blogs by Catholic Nuns.