The turn of the new year often fills us with ideas and inspirations to try something new, to set out on a new path for the new year. To those of you who have entertained (however briefly or maybe for a long time!) with the idea of becoming a sister or nun, I invite you to consider the following:
Do you long for something more, a something that just can’t seem to be filled by your current work, relationships, endeavors, etc. even though you experience these as good?
Are you interested in deepening your life of faith through prayer, ministry, and community with others who share similar values, vision, and mission?
Are you open to the Spirit and the often surprising ways the Spirit leads?
Are you attracted to the life of Jesus the Christ and to lives of saints and holy people who strove to follow Jesus and live the Gospel?
Do you wish to live and think and “be” in a way that places the common good ahead of other goods such as personal wants?
Are you able to let go of preconceived images of what religious life is or should be?
Can you accept the humanity of yourself and of sisters and nuns and at the same time trust that the Spirit is alive and well in and through our humanity?
Do you feel both attracted to and terrified of the though of religious life, wondering perhaps, why God would call you of all people?
Are you willing to use your gifts, talents, experience, energy, and passion for God’s purposes and for a common mission and life in God?
Are you up for the greatest adventure of your life?
This is your invitation, your opportunity to take a step toward responding to this call. You don’t have to have it all figured out, or rationalize it, or be without doubt or fear. That’s all part of the package. Yo are invited to take a leap of faith, trusting that though you do not know where it will lead, that God is right here with you and will lead you to good.
What do you do now? Start reading and doing any of the suggestions on our page How to Become a Nun. Say something to that sister you admire but were afraid to say anything to about your desire. If you’ve felt attracted to the mission and life of Sister Maxine, myself, or other sisters here at A Nun’s Life, then take a chance and contact us. Check out Catholics on Call. Call the vocation director of the community you’ve been thinking about. Attend a retreat or day of prayer where you can explore how your desires and attractions are part of God’s call to you.
There is only one thing left to say.
Begin.
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Please join us at 6:00 p.m. CST (your time zone) for Praying with the Sisters podcast, a ministry of A Nun’s Life. Visit aNunsLife.org/LIVE.
Listen to our last Praying with the Sisters podcast from December 31, 2009. Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Julie,
I SO love and appreciate all that you are doing here to promote religious life [US!] in the 21st century – THANK YOU!!
Blessings,
Sarah ;]
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have the desire in all that I am doing, I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” by Thomas Merton from “Thoughts in Solitude” (a wonderful book by a great author).
If I could have bolded text to highlight most of my feelings at this point, I would have begun with “But I believe the desire to please you does in fact please you…” and continue to the end.
All else I have to say is Oh yes…
hey sr julie, you know i just thought, if we are so sure that we are called to be sisters, then why is it so hard to tell our loved ones. my own very anti catholic father would just say that im an idiot following an out dated path that isnt fair to women and why bother getting a university education just to become a sister.
my catholic mother on the other hand, i have no idea how she would take it even though we talked about it even before i recieved a (scary as anything) call.
could it be so hard to kinda make us think of why it is happening, make us think of all the reasons why we shouldnt do it, but why it means so much anyway, is that a part of the descernment process in a way… just throwing it out there…
We in the chat room, at A Nuns Life, for daily prayer and podcasts, are very proud and happy for our friend Suze, who is beginning the discernment process with the IHM sisters. I have written a little verse to commemorate the event, loosely based on a well known childrens verse.
Jesus and Suze sitting by a tree,
P,R,A,Y,I,N,G.
Jesus said,” Suze, Come and See”,
Suze asked breathlessly,
“Dear Lord!! Me?”
Congratulations and God Bless you.