In this Random Nun Clip, we talk about prayer in the everyday life of the Poor Clare monastery. Hear the full podcast and see photos, our travel journal, and lots more from our visit with the Poor Clares on the Motherhouse Road Trip page.
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SISTER MAXINE: We are here on a Motherhouse Road Trip and we are delighted to be joined by Sister Catherine Cook.
SISTER CATHERINE: Hello, it’s good to be here.
SISTER MAXINE: And Sister Jane Sorenson.
SISTER JANE: I am thrilled that everyone is here.
SISTER MAXINE: This is not exactly a lot of Catholic territory, is it?
SISTER CATHERINE: Well, the last we heard officially, the Catholic population was about 14%. We knew we weren’t coming to a place where there was a lot of support for nuns, especially nuns that they wouldn’t see much of.
SISTER JANE: When we first got here, people didn’t understand why we were here, what we were going to do. They didn’t understand contemplative cloistered life.
SISTER MAXINE: When you ran into people who had a question, how did you describe what it means to be contemplative and cloistered?
SISTER CATHERINE: A lot depended on how they phrased the question. If it was something like “What are you sisters doing here?” we would simply tell them we are here to pray for the church, to pray for the world, to pray for you and your needs. That usually answered the question in a way they weren’t expecting. They weren’t expecting to be brought into the answer but that really is part of what it’s about.
SISTER MAXINE: What kind of needs do you find yourself praying about here?
SISTER JANE: A lot of grandmothers write us or call us asking for prayers for their grandchildren. We find that that happens a lot. It’s grandchildren. It’s daughters and sons. Bring them back to the church. It’s healing for young children who are very ill. It’s comfort for parents who are dying. There’s varying intentions.
SISTER CATHERINE: People carry a lot of pain. We all find it very touching that they trust us with that pain. They know that we remember and we pray for them. We also keep in touch through the daily paper. We don’t watch the news on TV but we have access to computers and we find out almost too much about what’s going on that way. We do pray very much for so much pain in the world.
SISTER JANE: We have a big jug in our chapel. It’s probably 2 or 3 feet high. We put the prayer intentions in that jug after we’ve prayed for them. It’s a constant reminder to us that we are praying for all these people.
To hear full episodes of A Nun’s Life podcasts, visit the podcast page at anunslife.org/podcasts.
This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.
