“Hello Sister. I am a fifteen year old catholic girl and attending a catholic school. I feel that God is calling me to become a nun. I am planning on finishing high school and then taking to a religious life. The problem is I do not know where to go now that I know God is calling me. Can you tell me where I need to go to become a sister? Alyssa”

Hi Alyssa, Thanks for writing. Here are a few resources to check out on A Nun’s Life website:

• How to Become a Catholic Sister or Nun: a general idea of where to start, what the general logistics are, and some helpful hints from someone who’s been there and is now a Catholic sister
• Vocation Forum: a place to explore vocations to religious life

The age requirements for each community varies some. Some communities encourage you to get a college degree first. They may encourage you to “experience life” since you’ll be just out of high school. But it also depends on where you are at with your discernment, how long you’ve know the community (or other communities), etc. Even if you choose to go to college first, I’d highly encourage you to stay in touch with the community. Visit them during spring break or on weekends or whenever you have time.

Basically the first steps start with you and your discernment with God. What do you feel God is calling you to? What are you attracted to in terms of a lifestyle? How will you grow in your relationship with God and others?

In terms of the more practical “next steps” kind of thing, it is important to get to know some nuns. Have a chat with one, and see what she is like. Go to a talk by a nun. Go to mass at their motherhouse. Check out a vocation day at one of the communities. Spend some time just getting to know a community. It’s just like developing a friendship. In the meantime know that you are doing God’s will. You don’t have to wait until you decide on a particular calling. Live now how God is calling you to live. Develop (if you’ve not already) a regular rhythm of prayer, do some spiritual reading (scripture, writings of the saints, etc.), involve yourself in a ministry. Be faithful to your vocation now as a student. Remember, that too is a calling from God. If you don’t know a community of sisters, ask one of your parish leaders. Also, every diocese has a vocation office so you can check with them too and let them know what you are thinking. There are also some online vocation resources to help you along. Here are a couple:

• Vision Vocation Network
• Catholics On Call

As you get to know sisters and their communities, pay attention to how you feel, and how attracted you are to the community. Do you feel at home? Do you feel like you are growing in your relationship with God? Can you see yourself flourishing as a human being with these sisters? Keep bringing all of this to God in prayer.

There are no right or wrong steps in this journey. And they may not happen in any particular order. But this is sort of the gist of it. Let me know if you’ve got further questions or more particular ones. God bless you, Alyssa.

* * *

Join the sisters for evening prayer tonight at 6 p.m. CST and every Monday through Thursday at http://anunslife.org/live

AS016 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on March 5, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: novenas, scapulars, nunly traits and characteristics, waiting to enter religious life, discerning a call from God, and more.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

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Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• What is a novena? What is a scapular?
• How do I know what God wants me to do?
• What can I do to prepare as I wait to enter religious life?
• What traits or skills do you need to possess to be a sister or nun?

Do you have a question for us? Call our toll-free Voicemail Hotline at 888-703-4732 and leave a voicemail for us with your question. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast.

During Ask Sister 015 we played a clip from Patrice Tuohy of VocationMatch.com. She offered good advice on what to do if you get an overwhelming number of results using VocationMatch.com, a website matching discerning persons with religious communities.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Patrice’s response is to part of a question from Kristina who had asked: “There are so many orders out there and each one is very unique. I have been researching different orders for a couple of years now. There are so many different orders, some well known like Franciscans, Benedictines, Jesuits, Carmelites and Dominicans, but others that I just recently discovered like the Daughters of Saint Paul and the Salesian sisters. The many choices are overwhelming. Do you have any advice for me in sorting through all of these groups? I have used VISION vocation website, which sorts the orders by my interests, but there are still so many out there. I would welcome any resources you might have to guide me. Thanks!”

Listen to the entire AS015 Ask Sister podcast which was broadcast live on February 19, 2010.

AS015 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on February 19, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: possible to disappoint God?, having so many religious communities to choose from, how long discerning, retreat and vacation and more.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

During the podcast we played a clip from Patrice Touhy of VISION Vocation Magazine and VocationMatch.com. She gave good advice on what to do if you get an overwhelming number of results using VocationMatch.com which matches persons with religious communities. The segment is included in the podcast above and also as a stand-alone audio clip below.

If you have questions about VISION Vocation Magazine or VocationMatch.com, please feel free to contact Patrice.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• Will I disappoint God if I do not join religious life? And if I join, are there any series of change that will occur?
• How do I chose a religious community when there are so many choices?
• How long did you discern to become a nun?
• Is it easy for fully professed religious to change congregations? Do they start over?
• Do sisters and nuns go on vacation?
• Can sisters and nuns wear nail polish?

Do you have a question for us? Call our toll-free Voicemail Hotline at 888-703-4732 and leave a voicemail for us with your question. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast.

AS014 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on February 12, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include finding one’s calling, the liturgy of the hours, jury duty, age limits for becoming a Catholic Sister, immigration, and more.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• how do I know what my real calling in life is?
• do congregations have problems taking young people because of fear of an age gap?
• what do Catholics think about the issue of illegal immigration?
• can you explain more about the Divine Office — The Liturgy of the Hours?
• do nuns have to go to jury duty?
• what’s going on with the Roman Missal?

If you have a question, please email us at sister@anunslife.org or leave a message at our voicemail feedback line: 1-888-703-4732. Messages may be played on the air!

AS013 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on February 5, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include daily life of sisters and nuns, the existence of non-Catholic nuns, spiritual direction, and the diverse ministries of sisters and nuns.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• what do sisters and nuns do all day?
• are there non-Catholic nuns?
• can I continue my love affair with mathematics as a Catholic sister?
• what is spiritual direction

If you have a question, please email us at sister@anunslife.org or leave a message at our voicemail feedback line: 1-888-703-4732. Messages may be played on the air!

AS012 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 29, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include how to tell someone you have a vocation, calling a nun sweetheart, how to trust God, and more! Special guest Sister Camille Brouillard, IHM.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

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Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

You can learn more about Sister Camille Brouillard on our IHM website.

Here are some of the questions we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• what to say: I’m thinking about becoming a religious sister, but I don’t have anyone to talk to. I have already approached my pastor about it, but honestly, I didn’t know what to say.
• what not to say: Is it disrespectful to say “Hello sweetheart” to a nun?
• relating with God: How do I trust and love God? How do I know that I’m doing it correctly?

If you have a question, please email us at sister@anunslife.org.

Join us today for the Ask Sister podcast, a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between! We have a special guest: Sister Nancy Lee Smith, IHM, who is an iconographer and works at Saint Joseph Studio.

Ask Sister Podcast – Episode 011
Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

We’ve received a few questions already and welcome additional ones. You can offer your questions in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

Listen to AS010 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 15, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include family expectations when a person tells them they want to be a Catholic sister; who to talk to when you think you are called to become a nun; and whether or not a person has to be a virgin in order to become a sister or nun.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Join us today for the Ask Sister podcast, a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Ask Sister Podcast – Episode 010
Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

We’ve received a few questions already and welcome additional ones:

• family expectations: One person asks advice around a family that expects her to become a nun and another person asks about how to deal with family that don’t want her to become a nun. We’ll respond to both!
• becoming a nun: To whom do I talk about becoming a sister?
• the v-word: Must one be a virgin to become a nun or sister?

You can offer your questions in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

And don’t forget, tonight is a DOUBLE-HEADER. After the Ask Sister Podcast, we are having a special Community Podcast on Saints. We’d love for you to join us. More information here at Saints, Food, and Prayer Podcast.

Ask Sister Podcast is a production of A Nun’s Life Ministry. Episode 009 was aired January 8, 2010. During the show we responded to questions about deciding to become a nun, being physically disabled, visiting friends and relatives as a nun, relocation, and religious department.

Sister Margaret Chapman, IHM, joined Sisters Julie and Maxine for the podcast. Sister Margaret is the president of Compassionate Companions, a ministry in which sisters and other advocates serve as guardians for adults whose physical or mental condition affects their ability to speak or act independently.

• Is being a nun the hardest part decision you ever made in your entire life? What’s the different between a nun and a normal girl? What’s the benefit of being a nun?
• Do you know any physically handicapped sisters or nuns? Do religious communities allow physically disabled women as sisters?
• Does living as a sister prevent me from seeing my friends, relatives, or parents? Are catholic nuns or sisters required relocate to different parts of the country if the order asks them to?
• what is religious deportment? how essential is it for religious to conform to it?

Click PLAY below to listen to Ask Sister 009 or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Join us today for the Ask Sister podcast, a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Ask Sister Podcast – Episode 009
Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

We’ve received a few questions already which I have cleverly categorized with d-words :

• decision: Is being a nun the hardest part decision you ever made in your entire life?
• deportment: What is religious deportment?
• distance: Would living as a sister prevent me from seeing my friends, relatives, or parents? Are catholic nuns or sisters required relocate?

You can offer your questions in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Today is our weekly live Ask Sister podcast. This podcast is for you and is an opportunity to ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between! During the live podcast we’ll respond to your questions and comments.

Questions already in the queue for today:

• How do you know if God is calling you to be a nun?
• When did nuns stop wearing the habit? After Vatican II?
• I am baptized a Baptist but I feel a strong pull toward becoming Catholic. Any advice?

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

We welcome your questions.You can send them in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show
• calling in during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential. So what’s on your mind?

Listen to other Ask Sister podcasts.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Join us today for the Ask Sister podcast, a place where you have an opportunity to ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between! During the live podcast we’ll respond to your questions.

You can offer your questions in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show
• calling in during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

Questions already in the queue for today:

• What are the big differences between nuns and sisters?
• Can nuns wear a light fragrance?
• How do I tell my parents that I want to be a nun?

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

So what’s on your mind?

Listen to other Ask Sister podcasts.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Join us today for the Ask Sister podcast, a place where you have an opportunity to ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between! During the live podcast we’ll respond to your questions.

You can offer your questions in any number of ways:

• comment below
• email us any time before the podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show
• calling in during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

So what’s on your mind?

Listen to other Ask Sister podcasts.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

It is the end of the week which means it is time for the Ask Sister podcast. We’ve gathered up some questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, etc. from this past week via email and the chat room. During the live podcast we’ll respond to these questions and to any of your questions.

You can do so in any number of ways:

• comment below on the day of the Ask Sister podcast
• email us at “sister AT anunslife DOT org” any time before an Ask Sister podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show
• calling in during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

So what’s on your mind?

Listen to other Ask Sister podcasts.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Today is Ask Sister Day! Sister Maxine and I receive lots of questions each week about our life as Catholic sisters as well as many other nun-related questions. We take questions about community, prayer, and ministry, and pretty much everything except the convent sink! Let us know what’s on your mind! You can do so in any number of ways:

• comment below on the day of the Ask Sister podcast
• email us at “sister AT anunslife DOT org” any time before an Ask Sister podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show
• calling in during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

We are trying out a new time slot for this live podcast. Let us know how it works for you.

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
6 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

Here are a few of the questions we already have for today:

• Once I finish my degree, pay off student loan debts, and do some traveling to work in teaching organizations internationally, I’ll be in my early 40s. Is it okay to consider entering religious life then?
• I struggle a lot with understanding God’s love especially when I know my sins and feel like God could never forgive me. Can this be possible?

What questions are on your mind? Jot them down now in the comment box and we’ll do our best to respond! Blessings to you.

Listen to other Ask Sister podcasts.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Today is Ask Sister Day! Sister Maxine and I receive lots of questions each week about our life as Catholic sisters as well as many other nun-related questions. We take questions about community, prayer, and ministry, and pretty much everything except the convent sink! Let us know what’s on your mind! You can do so in any number of ways:

• comment below on the day of the Ask Sister podcast
• email us at “sister AT anunslife DOT org” any time before an Ask Sister podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show
• calling in during a live show

In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
12 p.m. Central Time (your timezone)

Here are a few of the questions we already have for today:

• Do most nuns have a college degree? Do communities recommend getting a degree first then entering the convent?
• A lot of orders only have old people left in them? How would a young sister deal with that, especially if patience for the elderly wasn’t her best trait!

I am pleased to have Sister Joyce Durosko, IHM, join me today as my guest co-host. Sister Maxine has a meeting but will try to pop in sometime during the broadcast.

We look forward to talking with you. And check out our previously recorded Ask Sister podcasts.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

Questions abound about Catholic sisters and nuns and about prayer, God, faith, and religious life. Over the last few years, we’ve received literally thousands of questions ranging from “Can nuns pluck their eyebrows?” (Yes) to “How do I know if God is calling me to be a nun?” to “Why does it feel like God is silent in my life?” These are all good questions and we are glad to talk with you about them.

We’ve explored this in a variety of ways using email and the blog itself for asking and responding to questions. Last week we did a test podcast to see if a live audio show would be a good format. We had a good experience and good feedback so we are going to start a weekly Ask Sister podcast that will be live and then recorded so that you can listen to it or download it at your convenience.

We’ll take your questions in several different ways:

• comment below on the day of the Ask Sister podcast
• email us at “sister AT anunslife DOT org” any time before an Ask Sister podcast
• comment in the chat room during a live show
• calling in during a live show (still working on this technology!)

However you share your question, your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

So … on with the show!

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
12 p.m. Central Time / UTC-5

Here’s what we have in store for you today:

• “I’m going to enter college next fall and I’m thinking about becoming a nun. Are there any specific colleges or programs that would help me?”
• “How does one cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus?”

We are pleased to have Sister Mary Jane Hahner, CSFN, nunning the mic today with Sister Maxine. I’m in Washington, DC, at the moment but may pop in to listen in between meetings.

We look forward to talking with you. Listen to other Ask Sister podcasts.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to the A Nun’s Life Podcast:

We have a special edition of today’s Nun News Roundup podcast at http://anunslife.org/live. The whole show is devote to YOUR questions about nuns, God, faith, prayer, and religious life.

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
12 p.m. Central Time / UTC-5

We’ve got a number of questions already, for example:

• What do Catholic nuns have to give up to become a nun, other then marriage or sex? Do nuns give up jewelry and music and many things like that?
• Is true forgiveness “unconditional”? Should our forgiveness of someone require the offender to be “worthy”?
• Why it is so hard to have enough courage to follow your heart?

We’ll take your questions and comments throughout today’s show. You can share them in the comment box below or join us for the live podcast today! It’s easy to listen to the podcast. Visit the link above for info. Don’t miss this show!

Listen to other Ask Sister podcasts.

We have a special Nun News Roundup podcast today … well, they are all special, but this one is really special because we have a guest! Sister Mary Jane Hahner, a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth, is joining Sister Maxine in the convent studio. I am going to try to teleport in but have meetings during the live show at the IHM Motherhouse in Monroe, Michigan.

Not only do we have some cool nuns hosting the show, but we’ve got some cool stories. Here’s a glimpse …

• a search for the “right” way to pray
• who’s behind the fanciful illustrations Ale Mary, Sister Mary Merlot, and Mother Shoperior?
• the “Thank You, Sister” letter-writing campaign
• a controversial play called “The Habit”?
• celebrating Carnival at a Cloistered Carmelite Convent
• a request to you for help naming favorite nun movies of all time
• an opportunity to ask the sisters any question about life as a nun

Visit ANunsLife.org/live
Today
12 p.m. Central Time / UTC-5

Join in on the conversation during the live broadcast by listening and chatting in our chat room. We’ll include your questions and comments from the chat room on air. We’ll also have links here to all the stories and the podcast itself after the broadcast.

Question from Therese …

Dear Sister Julie, First of all, congratulations on a beautiful website, and thank you for the chance to ask a question of a real live nun!

I’m in a “helping profession,” and find that often times doing a good job–or even a great job, isn’t enough. The expectation is for us to be “perfect.” This means satisfying people with a broad range of expectations, some of which I’m not always aware of.

Relatedly, I find that my own flaws (many of which I’m not aware of) come to the surface to surprise me (smack me in the face, more like).

I know that I’m “technically” doing a good job. The question is do you have to deal with the expectation (when encountering laypeople) that a nun must be “perfect,” despite the fact that we all are also human and make mistakes? How do you cope when someone you are trying to serve is disappointed in you because you don’t meet their notion of the “ideal”? (Sorry if this is a strange question)

Dear Therese, Thank you for writing! I’m glad you stopped by. Let me first reassure you that you are not alone in terms of what you are feeling. I think many in helping professions experience what you described so well. Needs rarely come packaged in neat, discreet boxes. They are often jumbled together and come spilling out when we encounter someone who is there to help. A visit to a physical therapist for an ankle injury, for example, might cause one’s deep hurt at not being able to run to surface in unexpected ways. Sometimes it’s clear what’s happening, other times, not so much.

In answer to your question, yes, I do have to deal with the expectation that a nun must be “perfect” — and interestingly it’s not just from lay people but from anyone, including myself! A Catholic sister or nun is often expected to be perfect in charity, holiness, virtue, and prayer. We are expected to always be perfectly present to others at all times, whether we are at our “day job” or standing in line at the grocery store. I have had the experience of going to the doctor for my own checkup and end up listening to his personal concerns and spiritual questions! But, even in the grocery line or at the doctor’s office, I’m still a nun. I’m not “off duty” because being a nun pervades all that I am, 24/7. I don’t stop being a nun when 5 p.m. hits, just like my sister is never not a Mom.

Honestly, I don’t always cope well but I am learning. An important first step is for me to know that I don’t have all the answers — and to be okay with that. When I bump into someone who expects me to be perfect, I try to acknowledge my own personal feelings (Hello?? You’re the doctor here. You’re supposed to listen to my aches and pains!) and also to move beyond them to a place of genuine compassion. Sometimes that means spending a little time with someone around their concerns. Or sometimes that means graciously refocusing them on the needs I can help them with or redirecting them to others who can help with the other needs that spill out.

In the end, as you know, not everyone will be satisfied. Not everyone will thank you or even recognize that you are trying your darnedest to help them. But don’t be discouraged. You are doing good, and the Spirit helps bring all good endeavors to grow and prosper, even if we are not there to see the fruits!

Of the many questions that you folks asked of my IHM Sisters
(see Nun Questions) this one was one of the more difficult ones.

Have you ever experienced something that made you re-evaluate your vocation? How did you overcome that experience? (from mjpss)

It is a very good and important question, but I wasn’t sure that anyone would want to spontaneously answer the question — let alone on video camera! I think it’s a question that many people have on their minds, especially as they consider a vocation to religious life.

I am happy to say I was proven wrong because one of my IHM Sisters did step up and take this question on. I’ve watched this video at least a dozen times and am still blown away.

Sister Candyce Rekart, IHM, is a Catholic nun belonging to the Immaculate Heart of Mary congregation. Sister Candyce is a clinical psychologist ministering at Clinica de Salud Mental Inc. in Puerto Rico.

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!

Question from Hayden …

Hi Sister Julie! First of all, I admire you so much! Nuns fascinate me so much. What an amazing spirit you have to lead a life totally for Christ. I am a Christian (Episcopal; raised Episcopal, Methodist, and went to a Church of Christ College), and desire to be closer to God every day! I do have a great relationship with Him, but sometimes think I have trouble hearing what He is telling me. Any advice? I want to learn how to really listen with an open heart and mind. I think it was fate that I even stumbled upon your blog! You are amazing!

Hayden, I’m so glad you came by for visit. Your question is an important one, one that many people including myself have wrestled with. Even Saint Teresa of Avila — a Doctor of the Church in the Roman Catholic tradition because of her teachings on prayer — struggled with prayer and listening to God.

The first thing I want to say is that your very desire to be closer to God is itself a clear indication that God is working within you, drawing you close. As Thomas Merton, the great spiritual writer and Cistercian monk, wrote in a prayer, “I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I have this desire in all that I am doing.” He continued, saying, “And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road although I may know nothing about it.” For me, that is one of the key things to listening to God and responding to God’s call — tapping into that God-inspired desire within yourself to please God, to respond to God in love, to reverence and stand in awe of God.

One of the best ways to do this is to spend time with God as much as you can. Practice Saint Paul’s injunction that we “pray without ceasing“. That means to have a spirit of prayer in all that you do, as you go about your daily life. It also means taking time just to be with God, alone and without distraction. This can be tough to do, and it is also a very intimate and vulnerable thing to do. But just as we would in a relationship with a loved one, we grow into these moments, we’re able to behold a sunset together without words or to gaze into one another’s eyes with great love. These experiences with God nurture us and help us be more in tuned with what God’s desire is for us, what God’s voice “sounds” or “feels” like.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola teaches that there are some other specific ways to get in tune with God’s call to you and to help you better listen to and respond to God. The overall term for this is “discernment”. Ignatius developed a simple method by which you can review each day in a way that will help you grow in self-understanding and free you to follow God’s will. This practice is called the Daily Examen.

Those are just a few of my thoughts as I pray with you, Hayden, and all of us who long to draw close to God.

What ideas or thoughts does this inspire in you? What helps you to listen to God’s call to you?