Engineering Nun?

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Hello all

I am a 16yr old who is discerning religious life. But I am also a passionate engineer of robotics. Is there a way that I could follow both?

I love robotics and have been doing it for 4 years now. But i love being Catholic and have been for 9 years.

When I consider following my vocation, it feels as if I would be letting the world down by not contributing my ideas to the world for advancements in technology. But when I consider not following my vocation and being an engineer, it feels as if I were letting God down.

Or is all of this just irrational and I am to young and scared to be knowing what I am talking about???
 
There was a young man who posted last week who desires to be a Priest and a scientist. Everyone was real supportive, and I want to be with you also, but it does seem that most Nuns/Sisters have less liberties than the Ordained. Maybe its just because I dont know many sisters personally. I hope someone chimes in and gives you a positive answer though! God bless.
 
catholicrobot said:
Hello all

I am a 16yr old who is discerning religious life. But I am also a passionate engineer of robotics. Is there a way that I could follow both?

I love robotics and have been doing it for 4 years now. But i love being Catholic and have been for 9 years.

When I consider following my vocation, it feels as if I would be letting the world down by not contributing my ideas to the world for advancements in technology. But when I consider not following my vocation and being an engineer, it feels as if I were letting God down.

Or is all of this just irrational and I am to young and scared to be knowing what I am talking about???
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Please just stick to one thread, I know you have another one on the same topic. By the way, didn’t the last one answer you questions?
 
Oh youre the same person? I dont know why i thought you were female this time!
 
catholicrobot said:
Hello all

I am a 16yr old who is discerning religious life. But I am also a passionate engineer of robotics. Is there a way that I could follow both?

I love robotics and have been doing it for 4 years now. But i love being Catholic and have been for 9 years.

When I consider following my vocation, it feels as if I would be letting the world down by not contributing my ideas to the world for advancements in technology. But when I consider not following my vocation and being an engineer, it feels as if I were letting God down.

Or is all of this just irrational and I am to young and scared to be knowing what I am talking about???
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One time I was at dinner with the CSB (Congregation of Saint Basil) while I was a student at UST. The nuns came over for dinner. One of the nuns was a lawyer with bar licenses in at least more than 10 states. She works as one too, immigration if I remember correctly. Yep, an attorney in a habit.

I guess it would depend on what order you join, and if your work advances your spiritual duties. As a male I could not tell you anything really about what convents do, but I thought you would like to hear about a nun that is an attorney.
 
You’d definitely want to be looking at women’s religious communities that are active as opposed to contemplatives if you feel that God is calling you to exercise your talent and expertise in engineering and design for His greater glory. There are all sorts of active religious communities, including one that is composed almost entirely of Sisters who are also physicians. I came across their website a while ago, but can’t recall the name of that community.

Remember, Sisters have been involved in teaching, health care, and other active ministries almost since the emergence of communities for women religious centuries ago.

She wasn’t an engineer (at least, I don’t think she was,) but in high school I had a wonderful Sister who was our biology teacher. Although I spent 22 years as a professional ballet dancer, when I retired from the stage, the memory of Sister’s classes and laboratory experiences were one thing that influenced me to pursue a second career as a physical therapist.

Vis-a-vis engineering: I know that among my colleagues and other co-workers, those of us who had a Catholic education are the envy of others who did not have the good fortune of having studied arithmetic and other mathematics under the tutelage of Sisters. You couldn’t survive Catholic school and emerge without a good grasp of math!

Best wishes in the discernment of your vocation and the pursuit of your career interests!
 
catholicrobot said:
Hello all

I am a 16yr old who is discerning religious life. But I am also a passionate engineer of robotics. Is there a way that I could follow both?

I love robotics and have been doing it for 4 years now. But i love being Catholic and have been for 9 years.

When I consider following my vocation, it feels as if I would be letting the world down by not contributing my ideas to the world for advancements in technology. But when I consider not following my vocation and being an engineer, it feels as if I were letting God down.

Or is all of this just irrational and I am to young and scared to be knowing what I am talking about???
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I think you can do both, I know a nun who does; Sister Christine Kabumbu in Kasama Zambia, this is an article she wrote on Factors Influencing Bacteriological, Hydrocarbon and Heavy Metal Pollution on Lake Tanganyika and Their Effect on Public Health in Mpulungu Area, Zambia:

sistersofthechildjesuskasama.com/Pages/001E_Articles.htm
 
catholicrobot said:
Hello all

I am a 16yr old who is discerning religious life. But I am also a passionate engineer of robotics. Is there a way that I could follow both?

I love robotics and have been doing it for 4 years now. But i love being Catholic and have been for 9 years.

When I consider following my vocation, it feels as if I would be letting the world down by not contributing my ideas to the world for advancements in technology. But when I consider not following my vocation and being an engineer, it feels as if I were letting God down.

Or is all of this just irrational and I am to young and scared to be knowing what I am talking about???
Click to expand...
God’s vocation for you is the place where you can serve Him best, and by extension serve the world best. There are sacrifices we have to make to do His will, but He rewards us so many times over. Offer your desires to God and open yourself to His will, even if that means having to give up this passion.
 
youtube.com/watch?v=sW8A9uvSjSg

I’ve always found this video sort of interesting. They are a teaching order.

Maybe look into orders that serve internationally? I know a sister in Africa who works to build wells and pipe systems to build fresh water. She came from an engineering and maths background. Of course, this isn’t your traditional desk job of an engineering - but that’s not all engineering is! There are many ways to use those skills to serve others!

Best of luck in your discernment process.
 
I know of a priest with a degree in civil engineering who got to use his skills while doing missionary work to help design and build a church in such a manner to make sure it didn’t fall apart. Perhaps while you won’t find a religious order whose apostolate is robotic engineering, you may get to use your skills somehow.
 
WOW! the Sisters in the video just gave it all up! i wonder if i would have the strength to do that if i am called to be a religious’
 
When you give everything to God you don’t “give it all up” necessarily because God uses everything you have to further his will and his life in the world. If you are an engineer, God will use that, in probably different ways than you can imagine, to further his kingdom in whatever vocation he has called you. If you become a sister who teaches, your background will be used to teach others. If you become a contemplative you could end up responsible for a building project in the convent.

God wastes nothing of ourselves for his service.
 
SrMarie said:
When you give everything to God you don’t “give it all up” necessarily because God uses everything you have to further his will and his life in the world. If you are an engineer, God will use that, in probably different ways than you can imagine, to further his kingdom in whatever vocation he has called you. If you become a sister who teaches, your background will be used to teach others. If you become a contemplative you could end up responsible for a building project in the convent.

God wastes nothing of ourselves for his service.
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exactly!
 
SrMarie, I am assuming by your name that you are a Sister. If you are, what Order do you belong in and if you dont mind, whats your vocation story?
 
I’m afraid I don’t have much advice to give, but I am in the same boat as you, so to speak. I’m 22 years old and studying computer science :compcoff:. I love programming but also feel a strong call to be a nun.:nun2: Like you, I worry that giving up my career would deprive the world of the things I can do using my engineering skills.

I think that a nursing order or missionary order might be good for someone with an engineering background: nursing orders because you may be able to work on medical equipment or work in IT, missionary orders because you may be able to use your engineering skills to help a poor community. I suppose teaching math or science would be good as well. Actually, even cloistered communities need problem-solving skills when it comes to supporting the community (I was once told that all farmers are engineers of sorts :)).

So in short, I’m sure the opportunities are out there, but they may be somewhat hidden. What I plan to do is get to know various communities and see if there’s any way they can use me. 😃

You’re in my prayers! :gopray2:
 
CarmenParvus said:
I’m afraid I don’t have much advice to give, but I am in the same boat as you, so to speak. I’m 22 years old and studying computer science :compcoff:. I love programming but also feel a strong call to be a nun.:nun2: Like you, I worry that giving up my career would deprive the world of the things I can do using my engineering skills.

I think that a nursing order or missionary order might be good for someone with an engineering background: nursing orders because you may be able to work on medical equipment or work in IT, missionary orders because you may be able to use your engineering skills to help a poor community. I suppose teaching math or science would be good as well. Actually, even cloistered communities need problem-solving skills when it comes to supporting the community (I was once told that all farmers are engineers of sorts :)).

So in short, I’m sure the opportunities are out there, but they may be somewhat hidden. What I plan to do is get to know various communities and see if there’s any way they can use me. 😃

You’re in my prayers! :gopray2:
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That has been my family’s concern as well. I have discerned that religious life is the path God wants me to take but I am currently a junior in the aerospace program at my school and still have two more years to go after this one before finishing my degree. But I have learned that God doesn’t always uses our gifts, skills, and talents in the typical way. Like you said, problem solving could be the main focus but it could also be used in the prayer life, the logical side of prayer and meditation. St. Thomas Aquinas is the best example of this.

Please pray for me as well as I try to follow God to the right religious community.
God Bless you.

BTW so you know, I am currently 20 yrs old.
 
You should familiarize yourself with Sister Sandra Yost, CSJ, who is a Sister of St. Joseph of Baden, PA. She has a blog called “Nunsuch: The Adventures of a Techie Nun,” and is a professor of engineering at the University of Detroit-Mercy. [Note: My nickname here is “nunsuch,” but I am not Sister Sandra!] She invites conversation on her blog from people interested in religious life, so you might want to contact her. See also: yostsa.faculty.udmercy.edu/
 
I don’t want to be an engineer, but I do feel like I wouldn’t want to stay in the same country for the rest of my life. The trouble is, I would only want to be with a traditional order. To be a nun and not attend mass in the old rite would be awful. Does anyone know if traditional nuns can be apostolic nuns and still move around a little bit? I’m so greedy, I want it all 😦

There definitely has to be a lot of sacrifice when it comes to religious life but I can’t help thinking that it might be possible to have all those things I mentioned above in religious life.

The problem is we’re all asking questions and nobody here has answers!
 
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