AS046 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on October 29, 2010. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: mother superiors, nun rings, sin and voting, solitude v. loneliness, called to be a nun, prayer and having a Mass said for someone, and more.

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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:

• Who determines who will be the leader (sometimes called the President or Mother Superior) of a religious congregation?
• Did Saint Francis of Assisi wear a wedding ring?
• Can religious leaders attempt to influence voters by suggesting that voting for or against someone is “sinful”?
• From a spiritual point of view, what is the difference between solitude and loneliness?
• How do I know if I’m called to be a nun?
• Did religious life change in the past 30 years?
• Does your prayer change as you progress in religious life?
• Can a person from one country join a religious community from another country?
• What does it mean when a person asks you to say a Mass or have a Mass said for someone who is living or has died?

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Question from a reader …

Dear Sister, I notice that religious nuns wear a ring just like a wedding band or wedding ring married couples wear. The wedding ring of my brother and my sis-in-law has an engraving of their names underneath the ring. What about religious nuns do they engrave something on the ring like Our Lord Jesus name or ICHTUS or JMJ or AMDG? (acronyms etc.)

What about the design of the ring … do they have one or they’re just plain? Thanks for answering. Adia

Good questions! First, the tradition of Christians wearing rings is an interesting one. The Catholic Encyclopedia article on rings notes that Christians, like their non-Christian counterparts, wore rings as a sign of their station, occasionally having them engraved with a religious symbol or bedecked with a jewel. The ring in some cases was used as a seal but it also was a symbol of “conjugal fidelity”. And so a bishop might receive a ring as an “episcopal ornament conferred in the rite of consecration … as emblematic of [his] betrothal … to his Church.” Other ecclesiastics might also receive the privilege of wearing a gold ring. In terms of nuns, the article notes that “nuns and consecrated virgins wore “plain rings … in memory of their betrothal to their heavenly Spouse”.

So this symbol of fidelity, of lifelong commitment unto death is a significant one for wearing the ring. The tradition of wearing rings in religious life continues. Each religious community of Catholic nuns and sisters, as well as monks and brothers, has its own customs around the ring — if they wear one, what material it is made from, whether it has an engraving, etc. The ring is normally given when the sister professes vows — for some communities (like mine) the ring is given at first profession; for others it is given at final profession of vows.

In my IHM Congregation, we wear a gold band that is engraved. On the outside of the ring, there is an engraving of two hearts that are pierced by a single sword. The two hearts represent the Immaculate Heart of Mary (our namesake) and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On the inside is the Latin text, Ego te sponsabo, which means “I will wed thee”. What is particularly cool about my congregation (probably others too) is that we “recycle” our rings. I did not receive a new ring when I professed my vows; rather I received the worn ring of one of my IHM sisters that is “dwelling now in light”. I love this tradition because it binds me to the whole IHM “communion of saints”. I don’t know the name of the sister who wore this ring, but I can feel her warm presence and encouragement.

For sisters and nuns reading, what is your ring like and what does it symbolize for  you and for your congregation? Also, for anyone, tell us about the important ring that you wear.