In the spirit of Lenten anticipation, we welcome you to the “almost but not yet” new website at aNunsLife.org!

It’s “almost” because the new structure and design are up and running. It’s “not yet” because, well, the it’s not finished yet. We’ve got links and articles to add, a couple of new gizmos to find, and lots of stuff to test–you get the idea. We hope you’ll be part of the process. Let us know what you think about the look, the content, and the navigation of the site. Got suggestions or ideas? We’d love to hear them! Send us an email.

Peace,
Sister Julie and Sister Maxine

A Nun’s Life Ministry — building community in the context of faith and prayer.

Greetings and happy Monday after Christmas! I’m hanging out in the Buffalo, New York, airport with free Boingo wireless (thanks, Google!) and about 45 minutes before we start boarding.

I had a wonderful Christmas with my sister and her family, my parents, and friends and family. And Sister Maxine is headed back from her family home too and will be picking me up in Chicago. We’ll both be on the air tonight at 6 p.m. Central Time (click for your timezone) for our regularly scheduled Praying with the Sisters Podcast. Join us!

Speaking of podcasts, I am delighted to announce that A Nun’s Life Podcasts are now  available on iTunes! Right before Christmas we worked with Cliff Ravenscraft of PodcastAnswerMan.com on creating an RSS feed for our podcasts and submitting it to iTunes. With his help we were approved and are up and running on iTunes! He also helped us with a few other bits of technology to help us improve our podcasting skills and technology. If ever you need help with podcasting, definitely check out Cliff and tell him Sister Julie sent you!

Here’s our iTunes link: A Nun’s Life Podcasts on iTunes

We only got a couple past ones up but will have other soon. Be sure to subscribe. If you are not an iTunes user, you can also use these links:

This is only the first of enhancements to our ministry that we’ll be bringing to you. We’ve got some other cool stuff planned and, as always, will maintain the hospitality and warmth of A Nun’s Life! And I’ll be back to blogging on a regular schedule!

Peace and all good things to you!

As A Nun’s Life Ministry grows, I’ve begun learning more and more about entrepreneurship and what it’s like to grow an organization from the ground up! I recently picked up Martha Stewart’s  book The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Grow, or Manage a Business because she’s not only a great source of creative ideas for food, gardening, and organizing, but she has such a good entrepreneurial spirit and insights.

A Nun’s Life Ministry is becoming a bit of an entrepreneurial enterprise. We started as a humble blog with no anticipated readers and now we’ve grown to a website with podcasts, a blog, live chat, a forum, and lots of links and resources. As I write this we are engaged in a process to redesign our website to make it easier to get around and to participate in our community here. We are also planning “offline” ways of connecting as well as more online ways.

We are actively seeking — and receiving, thanks be to God! — grants and donations to help our ministry grow so that we can continue to be present to you in the same ways and in new ways! We’ve got a faithful reader who donates $5 each month religiously, and we’ve got others who make one-time donations when they can. And we’re beginning to look at other ways such as offering both tons of free stuff (the blog, articles, podcasts, etc.) and a subscription service to additional podcasts, articles, etc. to help cover the costs. Our goal is to turn A Nun’s Life Ministry into a self-sustaining ministry. If you have any ideas, or in-kind gifts or services, or financial help that you’d like to use to help us grow, we’d love to hear from you.

And of course, let us know what you’d like to see, listen to, and experience at A Nun’s Life Ministry?

* * *

Join A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. CST (your time zone). Tomorrow is the Ask Sister Podcast. If you have questions for us, please email them to us at sister (@) anunslife (.) org.

Tomorrow, Tuesday at 1 p.m. CST (time zone converter), we have two special guests coming to our LIVE podcast — Brother Paul Bednarczyk, CSC, Executive Director of the National Religious Vocation Conference, and Patrice Tuohy, Executive Editor of VISION Vocation Guide.

They’ll join us to discuss the newly released study on Catholic Vocations and Religious Life. This is a very important study, and if you haven’t done so already, read through the executive summary and other related resources (Mythbusters section is quite interesting).

We’ll ask them about the survey itself, its aim and who participated, and also some specifics about the survey such as what it means to create/have a “culture of vocations”. Since both guests have expertise in the field of vocations, we’ll ask them for their observations on and advice for vocation directors and people considering a vocation.

We’d like you to join us by listening and also by participating in the chat room during the live broadcast. The chat room is just for listeners of the show only and it is the place where you can interact with one another and with us. During the broadcast you can ask your questions and offer comments to our guests which Sister Maxine and I will read on the air.

How do you listen? Just come to ANunsLife.org tomorrow … there will be a post with all the info that you need.

For an email reminder tomorrow, please leave a comment below with your correct email in the box that asks for your email or email us directly (NOTE: your email address is never made public).

What do you think about the survey? What questions do you have for Patrice and Brother Paul about the survey or about vocations in general — e.g., discerning a vocation, attracting new members, the state of religious life, etc.? Let’s get a good list going!

On Wednesday we broadcast our first live podcast here at A Nun’s Life. You’ll notice a new widget on our sidebar which is an audio player for our live podcasts and past episodes. Be sure to listen to our first podcast Lying Awake Book Discussion 08-12-09.

Sister Maxine and I are in the process of creating regular podcasts–both live and pre-recorded–for the A Nun’s Life community. We’ll be exploring topics similar to what we are doing on the blog while at the same time taking full advantage of the benefits of an audio format.

We have two live podcasts already scheduled. Today at noon CST (time zone converter) we will pray The Angelus live with you. Join us for a 15-minute sacred pause at midday.

On Tuesday at 1 p.m. CST (time zone converter) next week we will be interviewing Brother Paul Bednarczyk, CSC, Executive Director of the National Religious Vocation Conference, and Patrice Tuohy, Executive Editor of VISION Vocation Guide. They’ll join us to discuss the newly released study on Catholic Vocations and Religious Life. This is a very important study and I encourage you to click on the link to read through the executive summary and other related resources. We’d like you to join us by listening and also submitting your questions using the comment box below or during the live broadcast there will be a chat box that you can use to ask questions.

For an email reminder for the Tuesday podcast, please leave a comment below with your correct email or email us (NOTE: your email address is never made public). We’ll give you more details this weekend about the survey and the Tuesday podcast.

I am just beginning to resurface after IHM Community Days and have no idea where to begin! I have a major backlog of email, mail, comments, laundry, phone calls, household chores, errands, etc. Yikes!

I’ll get myself together sooner or later!

In the meantime I have a few ideas about which I’d appreciate having your input as Sister Maxine and I move forward with growing A Nun’s Life. Here they are in no particular order:

1. ¿Hablas espanol? We are very aware that Spanish is a major language in the United States (not to mention in other countries). We’re in the process of expanding our own ability to understand the language and are wondering if the A Nun’s Life community has ideas around this. Would it help to have a translation button or some posts written in English and Spanish? What else? Any suggestions around good resources for using Spanish on websites?
2. Donations accepted. A Nun’s Life Ministry is moving toward becoming a full-time self-sustaining ministry. We are currently brainstorming ways to offer new stuff (e.g. podcasts) and to financially support the ministry. The blog of course will always be as it is — no ads, no commercials, no fees. But as we expand, we have to find ways to fund stuff. So a couple questions … would you be okay with a “Donate” button on the home page (currently it’s tucked away here)? What other ideas do you have that could help us with revenue generation so that we can continue and grow A Nun’s Life?
3. New Features. As mentioned, we are working on a podcast series that is going to be awesome (once we figure out the logistics)! What else would you like to see A Nun’s Life offer? What would help you or interest you or excite you?
4. Topics and Issues. What kinds of topics and issues would you like us to address? We write on a variety of things here and are always open to addressing the things on your mind and heart. Let us know!

I am deeply grateful for each one of you. It is always a delight to work on A Nun’s Life because we have the opportunity to get to know you and to engage with one another around faith and life.

Just came across a new-to-me blog by Catholic Sister — Sister Helen Prejean: Talking about life, death, New Orleans and social justice. You can now find this blog regularly in my listing of Blogs by Catholic Nuns. Sister Helen is a member of the Congregation of Saint Joseph and has done a lot of work around the injustice of the Death Penalty and has worked with many people on death row.

Any other blogs that you are aware of that I can add to the list of blogs by Catholic nuns? My basic criterion is as follows:

• blogs by women religious and those women who are formally in the process of formation AND
• blogs which are currently active and not anonymous

Any that are listed that are no longer updated? Any links that are wonky?

While we are on the topic of soliciting feedback, anything you’d like to see more of on A Nun’s Life? topics? media (e.g. video, podcast, etc.)? guests?

Would appreciate your input!

Happy NUNDAY! It’s a beautiful day here in the Illinois — the sun is shining, the breeze is cool, and I’ve got a full day of domestic and ministerial responsibilities! The new IHM house is up and running. Hoping to score a bed frame from Craigslist today and to get the moving boxes to the recycling center. Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes as we transitioned out of the Petri Dish convent to our new home.

We celebrate Nunday today with two beautiful photos from Amparo, a young woman from Argentina.

Writes Amparo (who is pictured on the left), “In the middle is Sister Ceci, from the congregation of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, and the picture was taken in a “Life’s Projects” camp they held at the beginning of this year. She chose not to wear the habit, though she usually wears a blue skirt. Ceci is a great friend of mine.”

“In this pictures all of the ladies, minus the one wearing pants are disciples. The one with the veil is Sister Gaby (she chose to wear the habit), the first disciple I met and also a great friend of mine. In the bottom the two are Luciana and Ceci in order. The one between the two men is Sister Luz and the other one is Sister Ana, the Superior of the Argentinian province.”

To see all the photos of Catholic sisters and nuns and links to their stories, visit the A Nun’s Life Facebook photo album. If you’ve got a photo and story (how you know Sister) of a real Catholic sister or nun, check out the details on submitting your photo for consideration.

Check out Psychology Today magazine this month for an interview with me about being a Catholic sister and about A Nun’s Life. It’s called “Mass Communication: God connects through a new medium” by Jessica Pilot in Psychology Today (May-June 2009).

While I’m not happy that my name is misspelled — VIEIRA, not VIERA — I am thrilled that they put the photo of me in full regalia on the front cover of the magazine.

Nah … I’m kidding, that’s not my habit although if it were, I’m pretty sure no one would mess with me or dare to suggest a nun stereotype in my presence.

Welcome to the first ever A Nun’s Life photo caption contest. On my neighborhood walk yesterday I discovered the Blessed Virgin Mary in the front yard of an apartment building. The photo begs for a caption so I thought I’d toss it out to you to come up with the best caption for this picture.

Here’s what you do:

1. Pray and meditate on the perfect caption for this photo. (Suggestion: Befriend the BVM. She will help you with ideas and inspiration.)
2. Submit your entry by writing your name/pseudonym, real email (so A Nun’s Life can contact potential winners — enter where it says “email” — never made public), website (optional), and caption in the comment box below this post.
3. Check back often to see other divinely-inspired caption entries.

The contest will run through this Friday, March 27 midnight (CST).

Over the weekend, my nun Sister Maxine and I will go over the entries and select the finalists. Then on Tuesday, March 31 (one week from today), we will announce the finalists. You will have 24 hours to vote for your favorite one. The caption with the most votes wins! The prize? Well, that has not been decided. Far more important than the prize will be the personal pride and joy you will feel at winning this contest!

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!

Today we have the pleasure of welcoming Sister Patricia Farrell, OP, a San Rafael Dominican Sister, to A Nun’s Life. Sister Pat was my gracious host while I was on a recent trip to San Francisco. While in San Francisco, Sister Pat and I sat down for a chat about her life and ministry as a Catholic nun. Sister Pat is a Promoter of Preaching and the Vocation Director for the San Rafael Dominicans.

Enjoy this A Nun’s Life Podcast! The play button is at the end of this post. Among other things, you’ll hear about nuns preaching, Saint Catherine of Siena, stories of Sister Pat’s sisters, and Sister Pat’s advice to young people thinking about religious life.

To learn more about the San Rafael Dominicans or to contact Sister Pat, check out the following:

Sister Pat’s blog – OPreach.org

Sister Pat’s community – San Rafael Dominican Sisters

And if you have any questions for Sister Pat or for me, feel free to comment below!

The Sisters of Charity of New York are joining us at A Nun’s Life this Thursday to talk about the movie Doubt. We’ll chat about the making of Doubt, which they served as consultants for (the Sisters of Charity are the ones portrayed in Doubt) as well as their impressions of the movie as a whole.

This “live discussion” is happening from 2 – 4 p.m. (EST) on Thursday here on A Nun’s Life. The discussion is like other discussions we’ve had here (e.g. Jim Martin, SJ, and Joan Wester Anderson) where the interaction is through comments back and forth on the blog. So all you need to do is visit around 2 p.m., read and offer comments/questions on that day. This is your conversation! You can email me or comment directly on the blog post of that day. You’ll have to update/refresh your screen to see new comments/questions.

If you have any preliminary comments or questions about the movie please write them in the comment section below. If you can’t join us on Thursday from 2-4, check in anytime later and you’ll be able to see the discussion.

Tomorrow I’ll post my review of the movie and my preliminary questions for the sisters and for you!

This Thursday A Nun’s Life is hosting a discussion about Doubt, the movie about a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of having an improper relationship with a student. The discussion will be here on the blog on January 8 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

We will be joined by two Sisters of Charity of New York, the community of nuns who are featured in the film — Sister Connie Brennan, SC, the community’s archivist and Sister Regina Bechtle, SC. I am delighted and honored that they can join us and give us their impression of the movie, the making of the movie, and their experience as Sisters of Charity.

I just saw the movie with Sister Maxine Kollasch, IHM, so I’ll write up my own review of the movie and post it here prior to the discussion. I encourage you to see the move (or play) and join us for an online discussion about the movie, the Sisters of Charity, and other related topics.

If you have any questions now for the Sisters of Charity or Sister Maxine and myself, please offer them below and we’ll try to incorporate them into Thursday’s conversation.

Doubt is based on the play by John Patrick Shanley who also adapted and directed the movie version. The cast is stunning with Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman,  Amy Adams, and Viola Davis.

The time has come to bid farewell to 2008. In honor of 2008, I have gone through all my blog posts of 2008 and have chosen one from each month that is a personal favorite of mine.

January – Living Simply — the closet tells the story

February – Nuns Minister via Running

March – Being a Nun is a Life, not a career

April – Portrayals of Nuns in Film and Popular Culture

May - Join the Convent, See the World

June - Ride Like a Nun

July – Letter to a Young Religious

August – A Nun, a Lutheran, and the Perfect Storm and Miss Sister 2008 – a beauty contest for nuns??

September – What God Sees

October – Nuns Just Want to Have Fun

November – The Secret Life of Bees and Images of Mary

December – Flying Kansas farmboy versus flying Nun

What topics or posts were most memorable to you?

Sister Maxine Kollasch and I spent our second day in Manhattan visiting with Sister Marie Pappas and Jackie LoFaro who star in and produce the “Pathways of Learning” radio show on The Catholic Channel on Sirius Radio. You may remember me writing about Sister Marie awhile back when she interviewed me for the show.

We had a great time with Sister Marie and Jackie. You can hear about our visit on our second A Nun’s Life podcast. As noted earlier, we are just beginning to experiment with podcasting so it’s a bit rough but it works!

A Nun’s Life Podcast 08-12-10

(There’s another podcast link at the end of this post — it has a web-based player in case this link doesn’t work.)

Here are a few pictures from the day.

Behold the mic!

Raven the radio technician extraordinaire!

Sister Marie, Jackie, and Father Miles

Sirius art

Sirius ornament

Today is a first for A Nun’s Life. We are trying out podcasting! Take a listen to our first podcast ever. Prepare yourself, however. It is a very low-tech production and kind of rough, but I think you’ll enjoy it. It chronicles our trip to and first day in New York City which is where we currently are.

A Nun’s Life Podcast 08-12-09

Please comment below with your feedback and perhaps what ideas you have for A Nun’s Life podcasting.

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.

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!

Today’s Nunday picture comes from Siobhan, a Reform Jewish woman who was a high school graduate of the Sacred Heart school in Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) and who has known and worked with Catholic sisters and nuns. The photo is of Sister Elaine Fortin, SC, a Sister of Charity from Halifax who is currently studying at Boston College for her Masters of Social Work. Last summer she worked for Habitat for Humanity in Romania for three weeks.

Writes Siobhan, “I like the [photo] of Elaine because it defies what many presume about nuns. I suspect if I was Catholic, I might will have become a nun but I am a Reform Jewish woman who occasionally reads your blog. I teach at a university though am on leave to assist Tzipi Livni as she tries to cobble together a coalition in Israel. We need all the prayers we can get!”

Well my prayers are with you, Siobhan — sounds like you should be blogging yourself! Thanks so much for the picture of Sister Elaine!

Got a nun photo? Send it in along with a little description — you and/or your nun might be featured on A Nun’s Life!

I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting author and speaker
Joan Wester Anderson for a day-long visit at ANunsLife.org!

This Thursday, October 2 — which happens to be the Feast of the Guardian Angels in the Catholic tradition – Joan will visit this blog and discuss her new book Angels and Wonders: True Stories of Heaven on Earth. Joan is the author of numerous books on angels. You can learn more at her website JoanWAnderson.com.

How this works is that Joan will be checking in at my blog from around 8 a.m. Central Time to about 8 p.m. in the evening. Both she and I will be in and out but will try to get to all your questions and comments throughout the day. I’ll create a special post for that day and start the conversation off with Joan by asking a few questions. She’ll respond via the comment section which is open for anyone to write in any questions/comments for Joan. She’s here to engage with you so please come and visit throughout the day. I am so looking forward to getting to know Joan and coming to a deeper understanding of “heaven on earth”.

Read the Introduction of Angels and Wonders courtesy of Loyola Press.

Loyola Press is also raffling an autographed copy of Angels and Wonders. Everyone who joins the Thursday online discussion by writing in (via the comments section) is automatically entered into the raffle. Readers of ANunsLife.org will also be given a special discount code to order the book. Thanks, Loyola Press!

Please join the conversation this Thursday, October 2, and bring your questions and ideas for Joan Wester Anderson.

Photos of Catholic sisters and nuns are difficult to come by here in the World Wide Web. The Internet collection of nun photos is abysmal. I’m tired of looking for images and coming up with caricatures of nuns and erotica. Neither speak the truth about the women who are Catholic sisters and nuns or about the vocation of religious life.

With your help, I want to change the face of nun imagery on the web.

This is what I propose: Send me your photos of real, Catholic sisters and nuns today. Approximately once a week (depending on the number of submissions I receive) I’ll dedicate a post to your nun image.

My goal is two-fold: provide a repository of images for all to see and use, and get a glimpse of what nuns are like today from YOUR perspective. Who are the nuns that you see and know?

So here’s what you need to do:

1. Email me a nun photo (can be one nun, many nuns, whatever). If your nun image is already online, send me a link. In either case, in order for me to post the picture on my blog, I need your permission to distribute the photo and assurance that the persons in the photo are okay with having their image made public via the Internet.
2. Write me a few details about the photo such as the date and location taken, a description of the photo, and the name and congregation of the nun(s).
3. Tell me your story in relation to the image. (e.g., Sister Gabriel was my 7th grade teacher and taught me how to do a handstand.)

It will be helpful for many people to have good, authentic images of Catholic sisters and nuns. What do you get back? First and foremost the satisfaction of beginning to change the face of nun imagery on the web. You also get your nun photograph published on a widely-read blog for all to see!

While I may not be able to publish everything that is sent to me, I’ll do my best. I highly encourage all you religious communities to send me stuff too.

And for everyone who has a blog or website or who comments on blogs, forums, online articles, etc.: the more you link to these authentic nun photos, the more the photos will be ranked higher which has the effect of pushing the other unsavory nun images to the back.

Together we can give the Internet real visual images of Catholic sisters and nuns.

You are in for a treat today! A few weeks ago, my IHM nun Sister Maxine interviewed a Catholic sister from India. Sister Sabitha is a Sister of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ who was studying here in Chicago for the past two years at Catholic Theological Union where Sister Maxine also studies.

I’m pleased to show you this interview because the best way to learn about religious life and Catholic nuns is to see who they are and what they are doing.

Now this was our first attempt at videotaping and editing movies, so please bear with us!

Sister Sabitha returned to India shortly after this video was made. She and her congregation have just finished Chapter (big congregational meetings that all religious communities have), and now she’ll be headed home to work with the novices. Blessings to you, Sabitha! We miss you.

It is a pleasure to welcome Father James Martin, SJ, to A Nun’s Life blog. Father Martin is a member of the Jesuits (the Society of Jesus), a Catholic religious community for men. He is also a fellow blogger at In All Things, an editorial blog at America magazine where he is an author and associate editor. (Read more at James Martin, SJ – Biography.)

Father Martin is here at A Nun’s Life to chat with you about the saints, becoming a saint through your everyday life, and much more. Since I often write about religious life and discerning God’s call, I’ve asked Father Martin some questions around his own vocation as well as religious life and discernment in general — click here for my initial questions for Father Martin. Those questions are just to get the ball rolling because really this conversation is for you!

Here’s how this works …

1) Ask your question(s) for Father Martin by writing a comment in the comment box below this post or any post today (all of the posts today will be part of the conversation with Father Martin).

2) Father Martin will be scanning all of these posts and comments and will respond to people’s questions. He’ll send me an email so that I can re-post the questions along with his responses in a new post. The most recent questions with responses will appear at the top of the blog. Father Martin’s responses will be in blue text.

3) If the questioner, Father Martin or anyone else would like to further a particular conversation, they can click on that post and comment there.

4) Loyola Press, the sponsor of Father Martin’s blog tour, is raffling off a free autographed copy of Father Martin’s book My Life with the Saints – you are automatically entered in this drawing when you post a comment or question for Father Martin.

5) Loyola Press is also offering a 35% off discount to A Nun’s Life visitors who wish to purchase My Life with the Saints. You can order at Loyola Press website or by calling Loyola Press toll-free at 800-621-1008. Please use the code 2679 to receive the 35% discount off the hardcover or paperback of My Life with the Saints. This offer is good through June 8, 2008.

My gratitude goes to Father Martin for joining us, to Loyola Press for sponsoring this, and to you readers and guests of A Nun’s Life for joining in!

We’ve already received some questions, so sit back, relax, and join in the conversation!

Welcome, Father Martin!

Welcome, Father Martin!

Father Martin: It’s great to be with everyone today on the second stop of my blog tour, or as I prefer to call it, my blog camino. I’ve long admired Sister Julie’s blog, and feel in good company with a younger religious. (For a Jesuit, anyone under 75 is young!) Anyway, I look forward to answering your questions about the saints, and, most of all, hearing what you all have to teach me!

You may have noticed that things around the blog have changed a bit. I’ve made the leap of faith to hosting my own blog using WordPress.org open source software. Basically it means I have more control over my blog all the way down to the coding. My blog has all the same posts, comments, and content that was on my previous blog. Also, the web address is exactly the same as the old. And, if you have links to particular posts or pages, those are all in tact. What is different is the look and feel as well as a lot of “behind the scenes” things that help me do a better job of blogging and creating and responding to your ideas, questions, thoughts, etc.

For you the reader, the transition should be seamless … but if you notice any oddities, I’d be glad to know and figure out how to fix them. So here’s a quick look at the old and the new:

OLD

• my blog with “old” format
• can still be seen at http://nuns2day.wordpress.com
• won’t be updated

NEW

• my blog with “new” format
• the current live site at http://anunslife.org
• will be updated as usual

I still have a lot of tinkering to do, especially with the look of the new format. But for now, it has everything and over time it will continue to evolve. Any suggestions or feedback along the way is always helpful.

As you may have noticed, I’ve been using a new “skin” for my blog. So far so good. I’m also trying to make this blog a bit more easy to navigate and to make resources on religious life more accessible.

I’ve added a page called “Blogs by Catholic Nuns” … it’s an annotated list of blogs that I’m aware of. Check out what other sisters are doing. If I’ve missed a blog or you see something that needs to be changed, please let me know.

A while back I wrote a page called “Nun or Sister?” which addresses the difference between the two terms and how they are often used interchangeably.

The sidebar of the blog is ever changing. I added “Recent Comments” because often people comment on past posts and it is not always easy to know where new comments are in the vast corpus of posts and comments. I also added “Decoding Formation” which is a little “series” I started a few months ago. Eventually I have to sort through “Categories” which are not as easy to define as one might think and have them more accurately reflect the content of posts.

What else would you like to see? Are there topics, resources, widgets, etc. that you would like to see addressed or used on this blog? I would be most grateful for your feedback. Sister Julie

An interesting article from the Sacramento Bee. What is most significant to me in this article is the story of Andrea Jaeger. I am impressed and inspired by her. Her story (read more about her in the Sports Illustrated story linked below) presents a good image of women religious today. Thanks, Andrea … you rock. P.S. Colts v. Bears … go BEARS!

A new tradition: The average age of nuns is 70, but a younger generation of women is turning to the religious life

The Sacramento Bee Newspaper

January 20, 2007
Section: SCENE
Page: K1

By Jennifer Garza
Bee Staff Writer
RELIGION

–To Andrea Jaeger, the dream she had one night last year was clear. She should be a nun.

And that is how the former tennis prodigy, known for her intensity on and off the court, started on the road to sisterhood. On Sept. 16, Jaeger became an Anglican Dominican nun.

“This is what God is calling me to do,” she told Sports Illustrated [click for the SI article on Andrea] in an interview earlier this month. Jaeger quit tennis in 1987 after a series of shoulder injuries and donated all her winnings to start a foundation that helps needy and sick children. This is now her ministry.

While Jaeger’s transition from tennis star to nun may have taken many by surprise, her decision to enter religious life is not unusual. After years of little growth, several religious communities are reporting an increasing number of women answering the call. The numbers are still small, but they are a ray of hope for religious orders worried about their future.

Who are these women choosing the religious life? These new nuns are a paradox — they are likely to embrace traditional dress and teachings, but they also are savvy about the latest in technology, pop culture and fundraising techniques. They feel as comfortable wearing their habits and living in a convent as they do writing about what it all means on their blogs.

While Jaeger comes to the religious life from the Anglican tradition, many of the new Roman Catholic nuns are the so-called “JP2″ generation. They grew up admiring the seemingly tireless Pope John Paul II, the first pope to venture beyond the Vatican’s walls. And like him, they seem determined to break stereotypes.

“People are surprised when I write about biking or drinking wine,” says Sister Julie Vieira, whose blog, “A Nun’s Life,” gets about 500 hits daily. Vieira, who works for a Catholic publishing company in Chicago, started the blog last summer as a way to educate.

“There’s a lack of understanding about what it means to be a religious today. I want to show there are all kinds of nuns.”

Vieira’s blog is one of many written by sisters about life inside a convent.

In blogs such as “the ear of your heart” — described as the adventures of a canonical novice in a Benedictine monastery out in the boonies — the nun writes about her exercise “addiction” as well as her love for Christ. On another, “Musings of a Discerning Woman,” a new sister talks about movie night at the convent (“Field of Dreams”) and the importance of meditation.

Blogs, mentoring by e-mail and online questionnaires where young women can choose a community in the same way they would a date are just a few of the innovative ways some religious communities are reaching out.

These efforts appear to be paying off — for some.

“The numbers are increasing for certain communities, and we’re excited by what we’re seeing … at the same time some orders are not receiving any new members,” says Paul Bednarczyk, executive director of the National Religious Vocation Conference.

Bednarczyk’s group created Vocation-network.org, the online questionnaire he says has received thousands of hits in recent months because of publicity.

This interest is happening just in time. The number of Catholic nuns in this country dropped from 173,865 in 1965 to 79,876 in 2000, according to the Web site for the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

The numbers have remained steady over the years in the Anglican community, which includes the Episcopal Church in the United States. “For us, it’s always been about the same growth, there’s no big tsunami,” says Sister Teresa Martin of the Community of the Transfiguration in Eureka. “But then we’re much smaller than the Catholics.”

Many Catholic orders receive only a few new members a year. The average age of a nun in the United States is 70.

Newer orders that focus on a specific ministry and place a strong emphasis on community life are the ones that appear to be growing, according to Bednarczyk.

Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist is one. This Catholic order started with four members in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1997, mostly with the financial backing of Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza. There are now 72 nuns in the community with an average age of 24.

The religious order has impressed a Granite Bay couple so much that they’ve donated 38 acres in Loomis, valued at about $3 million, to the community.

They hope to build a convent for 100 nuns, a chapel and, one day, a high school for girls.

“We have 12 children who are all happy and healthy,” says Joan Cordova, 80. She and her husband, Fred, 86, own several businesses and feel blessed. “It’s time to pay back … and this is the way we want to do it.”

The couple picked this order because, among other things, they liked the group’s adherence to traditional practices such as structured prayer hours.

“I like what the order stands for,” says Joan Cordova, who is overseeing the renovation of a house on the property where the nuns will live. The first three nuns are to arrive in September. “We are happy to be doing this for them.”

The head of the religious order attributes the growth of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist to several factors. The order sponsors three annual spiritual retreats at which possible candidates can see what religious life is like. The group’s leaders follow up with e-mail.

“Our vocation director corresponds with them, answering their questions,” says Mother Assumpta Long. “After a while, they feel more comfortable.”

Of course, the communities also receive women in mid- career, as well as widows. But it is the interest among the younger women that has surprised church experts.

“For a long time, people thought that women weren’t going to choose this way of life because they had other options,” Bednarczyk says. “And that’s true to a certain extent … but we’re also seeing women — ones with energy and from all walks of life — entering.”

As a symbol of their decision, many are wearing the traditional headdress. Bednarczyk compares it to the growing interest of young Muslim women in wearing the hijab, or veil.

“They’re wearing them as a statement of their faith and their decision. It’s pretty radical.”

Jaeger, the former tennis star, is aware of life outside her religious community. Now 41, the woman who once screamed at linesmen is ministering to children for her foundation, www.littlestar.org. She constantly raises funds for the group, which helps terminally ill and needy children.

Like many of her peers, Jaeger keeps up with pop culture and sports. She does not follow tennis so much anymore, she told Sports Illustrated. But she does watch football. There’s a good chance Sister Andrea will watch Sunday’s game between the Patriots and the Colts. And she’s picked her team.

She says she’s praying for Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

Welcome to A Nun’s Life, a blog about being a Catholic nun in today’s world.

Mostly, this is my story–what it is like for me to be Catholic nun, that is, a member of a Catholic religious community of women. It’s also about nuns (or sisters … the distinction between the two will be addressed in a future post) in general, how we are portrayed in the media, and who we are “for real.” I have been very fortunate to develop friendships with many nuns, and it is through them that I have come to better know myself and this crazy thing called religious life (more on the meaning of “religious life” in future posts).

Being a nun has not always been my lifelong goal. When I was growing up, I did not dress up as a nun for Halloween. When I was a young, impressionable Catholic school girl, I did not secretly (or otherwise) pine for the veils, habits, odd religious names, and overall mystique of the nuns who taught me. The whole “nun” thing kind of snuck up on me when I wasn’t paying much attention. I absolutely love being a nun. It’s what makes me who I am and helps me to be the best person I can be for God, the Church, and the world.

A Nun’s Life is intended to be an open forum — in terms of both my musings and your comments. Please write to me about how being a nun or knowing a nun has impacted your life. Keep us posted on nuns in literature, the media, popular culture, or current events. Although the focus is on being a Catholic nun, I also welcome perspectives from nuns in other Christian or religious traditions.