What sign will show me God is calling me to religious life?

Sister Rejane  
This Random Nun Clip is brought to you by A Nun's Life Ministry.

Sister Maxine  
Our final question, Shannon, comes in from Cindy in Arizona. And Cindy writes, "I know I want to become a sister. But I'm just waiting on God to give me a blessing. I don't want to start the discernment process yet, but would like to visit a community to see if that can help me get my calling. What are your thoughts about this?"

Sister Shannon  
I smiled to myself when I read your question, Cindy. I was delighted, of course, to read that you are thinking very seriously about becoming a sister, that you felt that that's what you want to do. You were strong in your words: "I know I want to become a sister." But then I was kind of mystified when you said, "But I'm waiting for God to send a blessing." So I don't know what exactly your expectation is. But it sounds to me as if perhaps the blessing has already come in the form of a call.

Sister Maxine  
Well, that's sort of how I read this question too. Because I will admit, I was looking for a sign. When I felt called, I'm like, "No, no, it can't--this cannot be." I had very different plan for my life. And so I thought, "Okay, I'm just gonna wait for a sign." And maybe that's what she means by bless.

Sister Shannon  
Yeah, maybe a sign.

Sister Maxine  
Yeah, like a distinctive sign that was just unmistakable. That's what it's gonna take. And then I'll do it. And she said, she doesn't want to start the discernment process. But, Cindy, it sounds like that's already been happening. Yeah.

Sister Shannon  
You know, when you bring up the notion of the sign, I think you and I talked about this maybe several years ago, but I'm reminded of the story of Gideon in the scripture. God wanted him to go and take a small army and fight against this giant army. And he wasn't so sure he wanted to do it. And he said, "If this is really you, God, then I'm going to put this piece of fleece out on the lawn and tomorrow morning, if the fleece is dry, but the grass is wet, and I'll know it was you." So he does it. And of course, he gets what he wants: the fleece is dry, and the grass is wet. And then he says, "I'm gonna put it out again tomorrow night. [laughter] And this time, I want the grass dry and the fleece wet." And sometimes I think we get a little caught up in, we want to hear God's voice. But then when we do, we're like, "Is that really you? Do I need to do this?" And of course Gideon did what God wanted him to do. But it's not always that clear, the sign that comes. I think there are moments over and over again, if our hearts are open, and we choose to listen, that we see the direction that the Spirit is leading us.

Sister Maxine  
And sometimes that doesn't happen just by itself. And that's why I think Cindy's idea of maybe visiting a community--because if you have a sense of it, even if you definitely feel this calling, there still needs to be some exploration done because it's not just you feel this way and then it happens.

Sister Shannon  
I think there are a couple of different ways that we could consider how she's using discernment here, Sister Max, because she already feels quite soundly that she's got a vocation. "I know I want to become a sister. But I don't want to begin the discernment process." So as you and I think about it, the discernment process is that initial decision of "Do I want to pick a different life altogether? Do I want to advance my career? Do I want to get more education? Do I want to do those kinds of things that will take me in this direction, but not toward religious life?" Or is her discernment process, as she's talking about it here, discerning what community to join. I don't know.

Sister Maxine  
Oh, that's a good point. I did not think of that.

Sister Shannon  
But maybe. And that would be an excellent reason to go to a community and visit, because you need to learn about their charism and their ministries and their values and how they approach life because congregations are different. Many of us, like myself, I had sisters in elementary school. And I joined the congregation of the sisters who were my teachers. I also had two aunts, great aunts, who were religious Sisters of Mercy. And I had a great-great-aunt that was in your community, Max.

Sister Maxine  
But it was just like, coming down the line for ya!

Sister Shannon  
It was! But I knew the Sylvania Franciscans. So that that was that part of the discernment was easy for me. I knew where I wanted to go. The discernment was more about should I become a sister or not. But I think that maybe Cindy is at that point where she's discerning--or not ready to discern what community to join, but knows pretty soundly that she wants to be a nun.

Sister Maxine  
That's an excellent point. Because if she's discerning the community, you know, then her notions here--you know, you're going to live your life in the context of a religious community as a sister. And so it is good to be very attentive to thinking about what community is going to resonate with you? What community is going to feel like home to you, feel meaningful to you?

Sister Shannon  
Yeah. Those visits are essential and getting to know individual sisters who are members of a community, looking at their ministries and how they engage. And I think not to get caught up in the externals, but really to investigate what's the mission of the congregation? And what is their hope? What do they desire to do? What have they committed themselves to? Are they educators? Are they health care workers? Or do they have a variety of ministries? Are they cloistered sisters that live in a monastery? How do they live community life? There are all kinds of questions like that, that need to be explored.

Sister Maxine  
Yeah, and to take that long view to look at the whole tradition that that congregation has. Because you're not just entering religious life, in a sense, at this point in time; you're entering religious life that has a huge tradition. And you are part of that for all those years past too.

Sister Shannon  
You know, people joke when they marry someone, they marry their whole family. And that can be challenging. Sometimes it's the same thing with religious life. You want to dedicate yourself to God, you want to give yourself fully over, but you married the community--I use that term broadly, in the sense that they all become your family. So it's interesting and important to know who they are.

Sister Maxine  
And those family stories become your story. You know, Great Grandpa Jones, who did X, Y and Z, that then becomes part of your story.

Sister Shannon  
Recently, in my congregation, we rededicated a room, a very large room where we could gather, and we call it Serra Hall after Junipero Serra--long story. But as a surprise to the sisters, yesterday, we had a great reveal party. And what we had happen was that we got photographs of every member of our congregation that ever was a member: 522 of us, all the dead and all the living, right.

Sister Maxine  
The whole communion of saints.

Sister Shannon  
The entire community of saints. And a five-by-seven picture of every sister and when she lived, and then we put them on the walls all around this room, according to the decades when they died. And so when we opened the doors yesterday, and the sisters came in, and they walked around the room and they walked around the room and the stories that they told! And they looked at this picture of this sister that they had lived with at one time or administered with or was their principal in a school where they taught. And it was kind of interesting, because of course they were all in habits to begin with. And then the pictures got more and more colorful as those of us that are alive. And then there were the comments like, "I wish they wouldn't have used that picture for me. That's not my favorite." Was just kind of fun.

Sister Maxine  
[laughter] "My hair doesn't look great there."

Sister Shannon  
But I tell the story because the whole experience of community life is so essential, and who these characters are and who we lived with and how we shared life with them. And that part of the discernment process, it's not too early ever to begin that, to explore where you fit.

Sister Maxine  
And even the sisters, that you may come into the congregation, not having known personally, there will be something in their stories that will speak to your heart. I can't even tell you how many times that has happened for me. You know, I became an IHM--by that time, there are many IHMs who had gone to God. But I made a point to try to learn some of the stories about them, because it spoke to my heart too. And it really encouraged me in my faith and in my own vocation to hear that these are the women who have helped to advance this tradition and this mission that I now am part of.

Sister Shannon  
They built the foundation.

Sister Maxine  
Mm-hmmm. Mm-hmmm.

Sister Shannon  
It's powerful stuff. So Cindy, I think I want to encourage you to begin that exploration. And the signs or the blessings from God, you will see when you when you engage in visiting some communities or talking with some sisters. Maybe that's the next step.

Sister Maxine  
And in that blessing, you know, you're going to walk forward with that blessing upon you right now. And to not forget that, if you feel called to religious life, you've already felt that. Don't be afraid to take those next steps. Don't be afraid. It's going to all work out how however it needs to work out, and you can trust that God is going to do that.

Sister Rejane  
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This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.