Today we have a special blog post written by our Sister Josephine Sferrella, IHM. Sister Josephine wrote this last summer and graciously gave us permission to publish it here.

For 164 years, we have had one place-which we call home: our motherhouse at 610 West Elm Avenue. It is here where most of us were introduced to the religious life as Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is here that the foundations of our uniqueness as IHMs were planted, nourished and nurtured. It is here where we returned every summer (until the early 70s); it is here we come for conferences, learning seminars, congregational updates, meetings, assemblies and chapters. It is home for our major celebrations; especially our jubilees, anniversaries, and funerals.

It is a place of new beginnings when a sister makes her first vows and it is a place of retirement when one no longer can actively minister. It is the place where we make our first commitment and it is the final resting place when God calls us “home”. It is the intangible bonds which have developed over the years, the spirit underlying the relationships which define our uniqueness. Nothing can replace these relationships. What is it that makes this “home?” for me?

What is the strong link that binds me to “Home”?

• It is rising each morning knowing that in a short while our family meets together around the table, the altar in our simple but elegant chapel for morning Liturgy or the Eucharistic Celebration. Whether I’m confined to my room using in-house channel 11 or brought down in my wheel chair, walk with a walker, and drive myself with a mobile cart or walk unassisted I actually physically, participate with all our sisters in what is one of the essential parts of our religious life.”Together we know Jesus Christ in the breaking of the bread and in sharing the cup of salvation. We believe that where two or three of us are gathered in his name, Jesus is in our midst and that whatever we ask in his name he will give us.” (SSIHM Constitutions Chapter 3 Art. 20)

• It is in this place where we come together for communal evening prayers. It is here where I can sit quietly in the Presence of God uniting my prayers with the needs of the entire global world. But I am not alone; everywhere around me are sisters affiliated with me in an inimitable, specific covenant. “Like Jesus, who prayed-in solitude-in the midst of action, and-in public gatherings of his people, we promise to be faithful to personal and communal prayer.“(SSIHM Constitutions Chapter 4 Art. 32)

• It is here where the Eucharist is central to our lives; where the sacraments of reconciliation and anointing are celebrated communally; where we extend our times of prayer. The link among us is situated in the call we all answered in entering this congregation. This relationship is real but intangible embedded in spirituality but lived in practicality.

This Home is indeed sacred space for me: it is not just brick and mortar but rather the vitality which the various spaces imbibe from the relationships that formed our history, enhance our present and gives us courage to move into the future.

Its bricks remind me of the sacrifices our first sisters made and so many of us continue to make in order to ensure we would have a home. Whether I walk slowly through the cloister leading to the dining rooms or to the chapel or the cloister leading to health care or residents’ rooms it is this kinship which enables me to be.

The windows of this dwelling place bring in the light of God’s external beauty-landscape — flowers, bushes, trees planted and nurtured by the loving hands of many of my sisters — where each segment of the land recalls a blessed piece of IHM history in time and space.

The various wings of the building make real for me my life as a member of this religious family:

• the community room where relationships begun earlier now enable us to discuss our lives as women religious; our ministries; or come together to socialize when we celebrate jubilees of 75, 60, 50 and 25 years of service. The community room– a hallowed area in which we have been called to make serious decisions as a family — where each of us has actively entered into these life giving processes. This place is a hub— for fun times like card games or karaoke; even a tailgate party-another opportunity to meet with my sisters regardless of walkers, wheel chairs, scooters and or canes; for reflective times when we gather for contemplative prayer, yearly retreats or remembering those who died during the past year. Again entering into a close alliance forming the “I’ into the “we” a vital source of synergy.

• the library where our minds are fed with knowledge needed to carry out ministerial activities but more so where the soul finds great theological and spiritual resources–a quiet place to catch up on the news, locally and nationally; a book mobile that comes to my room if I’m not able to get to the Reading Room or the stacks — and if I wish, a time to be an active member of a book club — And it is all mine for the asking. Thus, the lifelong learning process begun in early years gels into savoring wisdom and expanding mental acuity even as the aging process shows its signs.

• the Health Care Center where so many of our elderly sisters reside — what sacredness is felt as one walks this cloister — knowing here live those who no longer can be active among us but are with us physically and spiritually, whose active life was an asset, gift to community and now is dependent on family, whose countenance glows when another sister visits, stops in to pray with or helps with reading or addressing envelopes … or simply reminisces days of yore —whatever is needed is there at the hands of another sister family member—Lovingly and graciously—anytime of the week, day or night—ties of a distinctive union spanning time and age ever increasing our relationships —”we are drawn together in community by Jesus Christ … ” (SSIHM Constitutions Chapter 3 Art 18.)

• the Health Care Center where I know I will be cared for—no matter how incapacitated I’ll be, I’ll never be away from family—I’II never be alone. That even though I receive the best of care from staff, one thing I’m certain—I can always be physically present to the community and to the activities I have committed myself as a religious member of this congregation whether it be via channel 11 and/or 12 or having an aide wheel me to the area of the specific activities. My sisters will be there waiting for me to enter into the event—or in many cases bring the event to me. Again, the ever present relationship-connectedness which no one can ever take from me for “The love of Jesus Christ unites us in community … ” (SSIHM Constitutions Chapter 1, Art 1)

• the dining rooms where we meet for meals several times a day; an opportunity for me to be with my sisters-my family-where I can be part of a camaraderie that is integral to a family’s life and energy. Whether it is in the main dining rooms or the dining areas in Health Care, sisters find life in discussions, reminiscing, reflecting, sharing today and yesterdays — in laughter or in somber wistfulness or in compassionate sorrow. Kindred souls empathize, intimately allied in vision and mission as we continue to forge vibrant forces within this community — this one of a kind family — in my home, our home.

This home is indeed sacred space for me:

• Where else can I hear the resounding peals of our chapel bells calling us to prayer at noon and at six pm every day, a united family heeding the call of Jesus to be who we are and do what we do best?

• Where else can I seek the willing hands, hearts and counsel of other sisters in pastoral care or close sister friends who understand the queries, the fears and joys I experience as a religious woman?

• Who can count the sense of belonging whenever I encounter a sister in hallowed cloisters narrating sacred history of who we are together by just being together?

• Who can measure the sense of security, love and affirmation that envelopes your very being as sisters remember your birthday with a shaky scrawling signature on a homemade card, or greeted by a great big smile, even at times belting out the happy birthday tune wherever and whenever one is met?

• Who can describe the underlying ‘esprit de corps’ that melds us as family in a ‘home’ that breathes the very spirit of our founders, which reminds us in every nook and cranny of the commitment we made living our life of vows within community (SSIHM Constitution Chapter 1 Art.4)?

• Where else will I find the loving attention of my sisters sitting with me as I begin my last journey of dying; no matter how long the process knowing that their physical comfort and encouragement and powerful prayers are with me even to the last?

• Or who can ignore the sense of “coming home” when we meet the coffined body of a sister as she is wheeled into our front foyer and met by all her sisters with a hymn of Thanksgiving and Praise for who she was among us, raising our hands in blessing as she enters into her ‘final home with God’? What more fitting manner to celebrate the end of one’s physical journey as sister among sisters gathered around the table in our magnificent chapel to celebrate the Eucharist, rejoicing in the shared gifts of a family member who has gone home to God?

Home is indeed a sacred place “where each lives for the other and all live for God”.

I found an interesting article and video from Faith and Leadership (out of Duke University) featuring the great scripture scholar N.T. Wright, former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England. He offers the metaphor of a building in order to understand the institution of church and the community of church.

Take a look at the video and article see what insights and questions come to mind.

VIDEO:

ARTICLE:
N.T. Wright: Working on a building (Faith and Leadership website)
Institutions are essential to the church’s mission, but they are not reality, Wright says. They are merely the scaffolding and plumbing that make possible the building called community.

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

A great story from our IHM Community in IHM Archives Notes v1.4 (August 2010).

Jerome Van Develde, a keen observer of human nature, on one occasion characterized the pickers. “The postulants eat, the professed talk, and the novices work!” (Continuum 9-6-1991)

Jerome Van Develde, an IHM employee and friend for a lifetime, supervised the gardens/farm on the back of the IHM campus.

Often during the summers when hundreds of IHM Sisters were “home” in Monroe over the summer break, Jerome would send the message that the strawberries, currents, apples, cherries, or beans, were ready to be picked.

Then, after supper, a long line of sisters stretched all along the lane going back to Stewart Road could be seen walking out to the designated picking areas; and then later, often around 8:30, the same line could be seen headed back to their residences at the Academy, Motherhouse or Hall of the Divine Child.

Flatbed trucks, loaded with the harvested crops testified to fruits of the evening’s work.

"The Long Blue Line" of IHMs picking strawberries

During those years, there was a popular film about life at the U.S. Army’s academy, West Point, where the cadets wore grey uniforms. It was called, The Long Gray Line.

More than once, an observer of the sisters going to and from their picking chores referred to their traipse as that of “The Long Blue Line.”

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Although I would have loved working side by side with my sisters and with the earth, I’m pretty sure I would have been a wilting flower on a day like today (hot and humid here in Chicago area). Still, I absolutely love how our IHM community has been and continues to be “down-to-earth” both literally and figuratively!

Does your religious community or one close to your heart have a similar history? What does this say to you about the community, it’s mission and way of being with God?

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

It is Wednesday morning and I am very, very tired! Sister Maxine and I have been at our IHM Motherhouse in Monroe, Michigan, for all of last week through the weekend — and what a celebration it was! We had Mission Unit meetings (clusters of about 12-20 IHM sisters and associates), retreat, talks by Father Tony Gittins, CSSp, Ask Sister special edition podcast from the Motherhouse, visitors from A Nun’s Life community in person, festive meals, prayer in solitude and in solidarity, cookies from Cakes by Stephanie (to die for), Jubilee Eucharistic liturgy and celebration, and the final profession of vows of nuestra IHM hermana Maria Antonia Aranda Diaz, IHM (more on her profession mañana).

It was truly a graced time, but I for one am exhausted! But it is a good exhaustion, one that reminds me that living life to the fullest, savoring every moment, working and praying and celebrating together — these all are good things that reflect who we are and whose we are.

For today, I’m going to catch up on some work and emails and sleep — but with lots of inspirations, ideas, and memories to accompany me!

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

Much is written about the Body of Christ, but does anyone every pay attention to the lowly thumb? Today, we celebrate the thumb of Christ. Why the thumb? Well, because I just smashed mine when I too vigorously closed the convent window. I now have renewed appreciation for all the little parts that make up the Body of Christ.

Christ Pantocrator mosaic from Daphni, Greece, ca. 1080-1100.I especially like this image of Christ because he looks like he just slammed his thumb in a carpentry mishap.

Here’s the thing. The thumb is a very small part of the whole body. It’s not all that fancy, and it almost never gets the attention that parts such as the heart receive. But that little guy is part of the whole, and its presence or its absence affects everything else. I am painfully aware of this as I accidentally use my thumb to hit the space bar as I type. Until part of the body ceases to function “normally” we tend to take it for granted, not thinking for a moment about it’s total awesomeness and it’s essential place in our daily lives.

So this of course gets me thinking about the imagery of the Body of Christ, an image Saint Paul uses to talk about how we are all interconnected with each other and Jesus the Christ.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27)

Just as the thumb is a small part of the body, not very glamorous or coveted (no one asked the Wizard of Oz for a thumb, after all), so we too might feel like a small, barely significant part of the whole Body of Christ. Yet we are indispensable. Our gifts and talents and unique way of being in the world are needed to fully make Christ present in the world, present to one another and to the whole world. And even when we feel crushed, tired, weighed down, we can still live fully. Even a crushed thumb can still eke out a space bar or two!

So here’s to the Thumb of Christ, my friends!

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Join the Sisters and the A Nun’s Life community for prayer today at 6 p.m. Central Time (check your time zone) at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Diversity of perspectives and opinions are always welcome here. We encourage dialogue even when it includes agreement or disagreement with us or with one another. When doing so, it is helpful to keep in mind the way in which we agree or disagree with one another.

Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love
Commitments in Times of Disagreement

from the Mennonite Church (Español y English)

“Making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3), as both individual members and the body of Christ, we pledge that we shall:

In Thought

1. Accept conflict. Acknowledge together that conflict is a normal part of our life in the church. (Romans 14:1-8, 10-12, 17-19; Romans 15:1-7)

2. Affirm hope. Affirm that as God walks with us in conflict we can work through to growth. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

3. Commit to prayer. Admit our needs and commit ourselves to pray for a mutually satisfactory solution (no prayers for my success or for the other to change but to find a joint way). (James 5:16)

In Action

4. Go to the other… Go directly to those with whom we disagree; avoid behind-the- back criticism. (Matthew 5:23-24; Matthew 18:15-20)

5. In the spirit of humility… Go in gentleness, patience and humility. Place the problem between us at neither doorstep and own our part in the conflict instead of pointing out the others’. (Galatians 6:1-5)

6. Be quick to listen. Listen carefully, summarize and check out what is heard before responding. Seek as much to understand as to be understood. (James 1:19; Proverbs 18:13)

7. Be slow to judge. Suspend judgments, avoid labeling, end name calling, discard threats, and act in a non-defensive, nonreactive way. (Romans 2:1-4; Galatians 5:22-26)

8. Be willing to negotiate. Work through the disagreements constructively. (Acts 15; Philippians 2:1-11)

In Life

9. Be steadfast in love. Be firm in our commitment to seek a mutual solution; be stubborn in holding to our common foundation in Christ; be steadfast in love. (Colossians 3:12-15)

10. Be open to mediation. Be open to accept skilled help. If we cannot reach agreement among ourselves, we will use those with gifts and training in mediation in the larger church. (Philippians 4:1-3)

11. Trust the community. We will trust the community and if we cannot reach agreement or experience reconciliation, we will turn the decision over to others in the congregation or from the broader church. (Acts 15)

12. Be the Body of Christ. Believe in and rely on the solidarity of the Body of Christ and its commitment to peace and justice, rather than resort to the courts of law. (1 Corinthians 6:1-6)

Adopted by the General Conference Mennonite Church Triennial Session and Mennonite Church General Assembly, Wichita, KS, July 1995 (Mennonite Website)

One of the first things I noticed when I started hanging out with nuns (aside from their beautiful spirit!) is that there is such a thing as a Nun Car. It seemed that most of the cars in our fleet (kind of like the Spanish Armada of Nun Transport) were either Geo Prisms or Neons. As time went on I saw some Ford Focuses and Chevy Cavaliers in the mix and now we have some Toyota Prius hybrid cars which reflects our growing awareness of the environment and our care for all of God’s creation. Oh sure, we have a few oddballs like a minivan or two, an Alero and I think even a Scion. We briefly had a Cougar when one of our new members first came to the community but then one day the Cougar was gone with a modest yet somewhat sporty two-door Cavalier in it’s place.

I admit, I used to mock the Nun Car genre. I would always be amused when going to the mall or grocery store in Monroe and seeing a Nun Car. They were easily identifiable not only by the make but by the little crocheted thingie on the end of the antennae. It warmed my heart to know one of my nuns was nearby.

Well the time has come when one of those Neons will be my personal Nun Car. Up till now I’ve received oddballs which pleased me. But now, it’s a Neon. I feel like such a nun now. Understand, I’m in my thirties and have always loved cars and driving. I used to dream of having my own car — when I was younger it was a red Firebird Trans Am. Now it’s a blue Toyota FJ Cruiser.

I’m not sure what I expected when it was time for me to get a “new” car from Sister Carol, our Car Nun. (A Car Nun is the sister who is in charge of the fleet — all of our cars belong to the IHM Community, not to an individual.) But I guess I harbored a desire that she’d say, “You’re in luck! One of our sisters just returned from mission in Florida and she’s turning in her 1985 Firebird Trans Am. Hope you’re okay with red!”

That’s not what Sister Carol said to me, rather it was the news that a silver Neon was available. I of course thought of all my poking-fun at Neons and Nun Cars but then it dawned on me, I am a nun! Why not a Neon? More than that, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude for my nun Sister Carol and for my IHM community that they were sensitive to my needs and also conscious of the needs of our whole community. The fact that I have a car for my use is such a gift. I treasure that it is not one of the “odd balls” of the fleet but one of the classic Nun Cars. Somewhere within, I’ve had to let go, and yes, grieve, the fact that I will never own the car of my dreams but I’m getting to be okay with that. It’s funny, I’ve been in the IHM community now for over 10 years and there are still bits and pieces of life as a nun I’m learning and perhaps more accurately deepening my understanding of.

I write this because I think it’s important to know that even when you commit to doing something — be it becoming a nun, or marrying the love of your life, or starting your dream job — there is always a growing in understanding what it is that you’ve actually done! It’s not like a vocation is a single stop and you instantly know everything and have reached the pinnacle of your experience. It grows, deepens, challenges, surprises!

For now I must go, I have an 8:00 a.m. appointment with my Car Nun to pick up the keys to my new-to-me Nun Car!

Catholic sisters and nuns live in community in a wide variety of ways. Often we only think of community as living under the same roof, that is in “the convent” or “the monastery” but community actually takes many forms. Simply living under the same roof does not make a community. Likewise, living singly does not mean you are living alone or without community.

Since I’ve been an IHM Sister, I’ve lived various configurations of physical proximity but in all of them have striven to live deeply our IHM community life. I’ve lived singly with few IHMs around me because of the demands of my ministry; I’ve lived with 5 other sisters; I’ve lived with one other sister; and I’ve lived on our Motherhouse campus with nuns everywhere! Each way of living calls forth different aspects of living community.

Because our community like many others is ministerial based, our choices for community life are necessarily diverse so that we can respond to people’s needs. I’ve been told stories about how our sisters years ago heard the news that babies in Korea were dying because there was no one to hold them in the orphanages. The infants needed human cuddling to live and to grow. Our mother superior immediately sent nuns to Korea to minister by “simply” holding the babies. Didn’t think about the fact that we had no convent there or that there were only a handful of nuns she could send. She saw the need and knew that we could help.

I’ve also been thinking about a friend of mine who is in the national guard. She is stationed hours away from her home and family. She lives singly on base and gets together with her family whenever possible. Though certainly a struggle, her marriage and family life is not any less real or authentic. It is now expressed in new and different ways.

Today’s world is full of so many ways to live community and family life. While some of us live this community through physical proximity, many of us also experience community and family in ways that go beyond this proximity. In what ways do you experience this kind of community or family life?

Today is the World Day for Consecrated Life. It was initiated by the Vatican in 1997 and is an opportunity to celebrate the life and work of women and men religious and to pray for vocations to consecrated life.

In a recent news release, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap., chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, noted that “We Americans owe a huge debt of gratitude to the religious in our nation. Their loyal service to our church and country are unparalleled…. The presence of both apostolic and cloistered religious in our nation has been a source of spiritual comfort to many people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. I don’t know of any other country that can make such a boast.”

A Nun’s Life is participating in today’s celebration by hosting a “social hour” with people discerning God’s call and with a guest blog post at From the Pews in the Back.

1. The social hour is on the Vocation Forum at 8 p.m. EST tonight. All are welcome. To participate in the discussion, you have to be a member of the forum (free and easy to register). Once you are a member, look for the topic “February 8 Social Hour” in the discussion area. Also, I put together some Suggestions for a “Live” Discussion.
2. On the blog From the Pews in the Back I wrote a post today called For the Sake of the Gospel. It’s based on the Sunday readings and talks about my own experience of being called to consecrated life. Stop by and offer your comments.

Have a blessed day!

Is God really calling me? How do I figure out what God is trying to say to me? Am I the only one who feels this way?

If you have some of these questions, especially if you are kinda, sorta attracted to (but simultaneously terrified of) a call to consecrated life in the Catholic Church, then the Vocation Forum is for you. What is the Vocation Forum, you ask? It’s a discussion area for people who are discerning God’s call in their life. It’s a place to share vocation resources and questions with other discerners. It’s a fairly new forum and one that we hope will grow and continue to be a welcoming, supportive place for people discerning. Got a friend or daughter or coworker who is thinking about religious life or wondering what their call is? Send them over to the Vocation Forum.

Occasionally I or my nun Sister Maxine Kollasch, IHM, will be on the forum to support you and to figure out any weird technical issues, but mainly this is your place, your conversation.

Not sure if this is for you? Well, give it a shot. A good way to get to know the forum will be at our live “social hour” this Sunday, February 8, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It’s an opportunity to get to know others and to discuss thoughts and questions around discerning God’s call.

You need to be a member of the forum to participate, but not to worry, membership is free and easy to do. If you have any questions, just let me know. Feel free to comment below. Also, if you have any other requests or suggestions around how A Nun’s Life can help with vocational questions, issues, etc. please let us know!

And if you’d like to check out other resources that help in discerning your calling, visit Catholics on Call or VISION Vocation website.

Every person is called by God, and that means you too! Sometimes this call is best expressed through a life of marriage and parenthood, and other times through consecrated life such as being a Catholic sister or a monk or a deacon. God also calls us in other ways, such as to this or that relationship or job or ministry. No matter who you are, no matter what creed you profess, no matter your history or how you are living right now, you are called.

It can be both exhilarating and perhaps a bit spooky to know that is calling you (yes, you). The spooky part (for me anyways) came from my fear that God had one expectation for my life and if I didn’t figure it out I was screwed. But I’ve realized that’s not the case at all. God’s desire for us is always goodness, that which helps us to best be us and to best relate to God and to serve our community (be it our family, neighborhood, country or universe). There can be many ways to live out God’s call. I’ve also realized that we’re not stuck trying to figure things out by ourselves. God’s Spirit is right there with us, guiding and nudging us along, in sometimes unexpected ways.

Take a listen again to yesterday’s “nuncast” podcast with Sister Pat. She said some pretty powerful things about being called by God and what God’s desire is for us.

If you are sort of, kind of, maybe but not really, thinking about religious life, why not give it a shot and check it out. And if I can help in any way, drop me an email and I’d be glad to listen and help out.

Also, check out the Vocation Forum on A Nun’s Life. You just might find others like yourself who have questions and who are open to exploring how God is working in their life.

How is God calling you?

The calling to be a nun is a pretty amazing thing. It’s a real adventure because it is always full of twists and turns and the unexpected. You never know where the Spirit will lead you. Being a nun is also pretty countercultural — we live in community, we hold all things in common, and we are celibate — all these things are meant to help us be free, free to serve God and God’s people. It’s a radical way of life.

Sometimes it’s difficult to know if what you feel is really real until you begin to act on it, test it out. Keep this desire in your prayers and take some steps to see what being a nun is like. Read a book about or by a nun, go on retreat at a convent, or get to know some sisters. Also, it’s okay to want to think about becoming a nun but also feeling bummed out about being a wife and mom. Any life choice a person makes involves some kind of sacrifice — doesn’t mean that a nun wouldn’t have made a wonderful mom or wife. This is definitely something that is good to pray on and begin to talk with a spiritual director about.

For some people, the call is crystal clear. For others, like myself, it’s a process of trying it out, testing it, and ultimately living into it to see if that is where God is calling me. I think it becomes clear when you feel like it is as natural as breathing air, that it just “fits” with you. When you feel like you are living fully into who God calls you to be and feel like you are growing and able to use your gifts and talents for the good of God, the Church and the world. For me there was no precise moment or flash in the sky, it’s just that I grew into it and was at peace, even though I doubted, struggled, resisted, yelled … there was always this undercurrent of peace.

I personally never wanted to be a nun. It was the kind of thing that snuck up on me. I resisted and resisted because I wanted to be married and have a family. But the more I considered religious life, the more it just seemed to fit me. I tested it out, even when I wasn’t totally sure. What I found was that learning about religious life and getting to know sisters helped me to sort of try it on and begin to imagine my self as a sister and see if it was really something God was calling me to. There was a lot of uncertainty, but also a lot of peace. It took time time for me to grow into God’s call for me. Over time a lot of questions were ones that I was able to live with — and be happy with.

If you are thinking about becoming a nun or are discerning any major life decision, find ways to test it out and don’t be discouraged if things are unclear or unsettling for a bit. Hang in there and know that the Spirit is with you and is guiding you. If you’d like to hang out with others who are discerning, do stop by Vocation Forum. Or for more info you might stop by Vision vocation network or Catholics on Call.

Blessings!

Blogging Nun Updates

Sister Macrina Walker, OCSO, a Cistercian monastic, is the author of the blog A Vow of Conversation. Sister Macrina blogs and reflects on her current theological reading as well as other topics on her “pilgrimage to the sources of Christian truth”.

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a blog by Sister Amy Hereford, CSJ, a Sister of Saint Joseph. Sister Amy is in a degree program in Canon Law at the Catholic Univerisity of Leuven.

Sister Colleen Clair, FMA, a Salesian sister, write the blog Happynun Thinks Aloud … a Salesian Sister’s Take on Stuff. Sister Colleen has some great photos. Be sure to check out her Flickr links.

You can find these blogs listed now on Blogs by Catholic Nuns.

A Nun’s Life Updates

A Nun’s Life launched a new page called How to Become a Catholic Nun. So many folks have asked me questions around this that I thought I’d pull together a page just for you! I’ll be updating the last part on formation soon.

The Vocation Forum is doing well. Vocation Forum is a place where you can explore vocations to religious life. This forum is for those who wonder if religious life is for them and for those who are actively discerning religious life. Check it out and meet others who are discerning their vocation.

Requests

If you write or know of a blog by a Catholic nun (or woman in discernment) please let me know. I like to keep my Blogs by Catholic Nuns up-to-date so you can easily find other blogging nuns. Only requirements are that the blog be updated regularly and that the blog not be entirely anonymous.

Send in your Nun Photos!! I continue to host “Nunday” on Mondays here at A Nun’s Life. We need more submissions from you! Read Nun Photos – Got em? Send em! for details. Click to see previous Nundays.

Donna raised an important topic in religious life — the role of lay associates (or affiliates) in religious life — in her comment on my post The Demise of Religious Life. Here’s what Donna said:

Sister Julie and others:

What role do you think lay affiliates of religious orders will play in the future in religious life? Do you think these folk will be more integrated into a given community’s life(i.e., their ministries, activities, etc.) than they are now?

How do you view the associates of your order?
Is it difficult for older, more traditional sisters to accept associates?

First things first … Lay affiliates or associates are women and men who wish to formally associate themselves with a religious community, their mission and spirituality. Not all congregations have associates, and those that do vary in the formation process and the degree to which associates can be involved in the life of the congregation. For a specific example of a congregation’s associate program check out the the Monroe IHM page on IHM Associates.

Now, specifically regarding Donna’s questions … Lay people (including associates/affiliates) already play a significant role in many of our communities. They may hold significant positions in our institution such as financial manager, building administrator, nurse, development director, etc. While these positions are all responsible ultimately to the leadership of a religious community (which is made up of sisters who are our elected leaders/superiors and council members), they still are in positions which enhance and exert influence on the life of the community. Not every community, for example, has a sister who is trained in development work. So we hire someone who is willing to enter into our vision and work with us in that capacity. So congregations have for a long time now relied on the expertise and gifts of lay people. Associates/affiliates are lay people who formally choose to associate with us. They may already be our coworkers, alumna/us from our schools, relatives, former sisters, or simply innocent bystanders who somehow came in contact with us and are attracted to our mission and life. So, since lay people have for a while been part of religious communities, I believe they will continue to play a role in the future of religious life as well.

Do I think associates/affiliates will be more integrated into a given community’s life than they are now? Depending on a community, associates/affiliates may already be integrated into a community’s life. In any given congregation, there may be a range of ways an associate can be involved — from a prayer partner to heading a community’s office of peace and justice. An associate may come to one or two events yearly, while another associate may be on a committee and attend as many events as she/he is able to.

To take Donna’s question in another direction, one might ask (as many have): since some religious communities are experiencing a decrease in numbers, does that mean that communities will become more fully integrated with vowed and lay members in order for the community to survive? A big question which many communities have discussed. I’m not sure I can really answer this question. I do however think it is important to be clear about the significance of God’s call. Being an associate is part of a lay person’s larger call from God. The lay person may be married, have children, and/or be involved in some profession utilitizing their God-given gifts. The call to lay life is no less significant than the call to religious or ordained life. Choosing to associate oneself with a religious congregation does not mean that one wishes to be a quasi-nun. Quasi-nunness (for lack of a better word) is a disservice to the integrity of both the religious life vocation and the lay life vocation. They are two distinct lifestyles. Is there overlapping? Sure. Do we learn from one another? Absolutely. However religious communities proceed with associates/affiliates, I believe we must be clear about this.

In terms of how I view associates … check the link above to see my community’s web page on IHM Associates. I treasure our IHM Associates and have enjoyed working with IHM Associates on various committees and projects, learning with them, and worshipping with them. Each Associate in her or his own way enriches our community.

Finally, is it difficult for “older, more traditional sisters” to accept associates? I’m not really sure. We really can’t make generalizations about this group because there isn’t really one way that any particular age group or type (?) of nun thinks about a particular issue. In my experience, our sisters have been very welcoming of associates. There is a wisdom in our older members that sees beyond labels and embraces people for who they are and respects their journey. Whether liberal or traditional (I use such labels sparingly and with great caution because I believe they are too much of a generalization and do more harm than good), young or old, new to the community or a veteran, a sister may accept associates joyfully or with hesitation. There is such variance.

Well, there’s my two-cents … well, maybe four- or five-cents. Do comment, friends. I’d like to hear the range of thinking on the role of associates in religious life.