M
Marsha_Adams
Guest
newadvent.org/cathen/04340c.htm
The Catholic Encyclopedia refers to convents as nunneries in the link above, as do several other sources if you google “nunnery convent”.
- Status
The Catholic Encyclopedia refers to convents as nunneries in the link above, as do several other sources if you google “nunnery convent”.
S
seeking_light
Guest
the word nunnery was invented at the time of the reformation, as an insult to catholics the convent was compared to a brothal house in that it is a groop of women who live together under the instruction and care of a matriach , and so all brothal houses we refered to as nunneries , when shakespear says ‘get thee to a nunnery’ he isnt telling juliet to atone for her sins (1 the word is convent and 2 he would have been beheaded for catholasism ) he is saying that she is no beter than a whore for loving a capulet .
it is a sorry state of afairs when people are so ignorant of the english language that religeoce text refers to a convent as a nunnery . i can understand lowbrow sun readers making the mistake but the educated likes that rite these scripts ? personaly i find it insulting .
but i shall say no more this thread is about a lucky child receiving her calling .
i wish you the best of luck and happienes on your journey.
it is a sorry state of afairs when people are so ignorant of the english language that religeoce text refers to a convent as a nunnery . i can understand lowbrow sun readers making the mistake but the educated likes that rite these scripts ? personaly i find it insulting .
but i shall say no more this thread is about a lucky child receiving her calling .
i wish you the best of luck and happienes on your journey.
A
AndrewRaZ
Guest
Epic topic resurrection!
Katherine,
Along the lines of those secular third order is a formation house. They have been growing more popular recently, and I know there were a number of them in southern California where I lived. They were often converted convents or on a parish’s property. The ones I’m familiar with would have around ten people who are very serious about discernment who live together in community and serve the parish in various ways to discern whether religious life and/or life in community may be for them. I would encourage you to ask your pastor, or call your archdiocese office and see what they have. You may need to move in order to do this, though. I know one girl who moved from Nebraska to LA to join one of these formation houses.
Someone mentioned paying down loans and debts. I’ll tell you what I’ve been told: money should never be a determining factor in discernment. There are groups who help pay down or pay off student loan debt in order to foster vocations, so there is that option. Personal debt (credit cards, car loans, mortgage, etc) are your responsibility though. If God wills it, he will make it happen.
Vocation directors tend to advise people to wait two years after converting, as someone mentioned. Zeal and enthusiasm fluctuate, and they will, make no mistake about it. Some days you will be very excited for it, some you will think that it is the last thing that you want, some days you won’t think about it at all. For we know that, “The testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Vocations are hard, but we don’t choose, we are chosen. If you feel you have been chosen, then definitely, as others have mentioned, pray about it.
Also, again as mentioned by others, don’t make this decision in a vacuum. Talk to your pastor, and even your RCIA director. If you have friends you think may understand, talk to them about it. However, keep in mind many friends don’t respond the way we think they might. Some people make the decision based on what others tell them; someone asks if he or she has ever considered a religious vocation. That’s poor motivation.
Keep in mind also that there are a lot of criteria that should be met for religious, but not all of them are necessary to enter into the life, or even enter as a postulant. God shapes us and forms us, and he never ceases to do that as long as we are open to His workings. For instance, if you don’t consider yourself a particularly patient person, that is something that you can work on, so long as you recognize that, and are willing to actively work on it, and struggle with it. Some people say, however, that there are certain things that are just part of our nature, who we are; some religious are not particularly people-friendly, and that is simply something they have to work with during their life-long formation. Some things, like a love of Christ, are crucial for vocations.
For me, the biggest question I have to ask is if I am really ready to serve everyone as the lowest, the weakest, and put everyone else’s needs before mine. The life of the concecrated is a life of true service to the visible and especially to the invisible. If we are unable to surrender ourselves, even those little parts that we want to hold on to and say “mine!” then we will not be able to follow Christ as he he asks.
As always, remember, there is nothing “wrong” with not having a particular vocation to religious life. As Lumen Gentium affirmed, we are all called to holiness, no matter what we do.
I hope I am not preaching, and that there is something here that is helpful for you. I will keep you in my prayers.
–Andrew
Katherine,
Along the lines of those secular third order is a formation house. They have been growing more popular recently, and I know there were a number of them in southern California where I lived. They were often converted convents or on a parish’s property. The ones I’m familiar with would have around ten people who are very serious about discernment who live together in community and serve the parish in various ways to discern whether religious life and/or life in community may be for them. I would encourage you to ask your pastor, or call your archdiocese office and see what they have. You may need to move in order to do this, though. I know one girl who moved from Nebraska to LA to join one of these formation houses.
Someone mentioned paying down loans and debts. I’ll tell you what I’ve been told: money should never be a determining factor in discernment. There are groups who help pay down or pay off student loan debt in order to foster vocations, so there is that option. Personal debt (credit cards, car loans, mortgage, etc) are your responsibility though. If God wills it, he will make it happen.
Vocation directors tend to advise people to wait two years after converting, as someone mentioned. Zeal and enthusiasm fluctuate, and they will, make no mistake about it. Some days you will be very excited for it, some you will think that it is the last thing that you want, some days you won’t think about it at all. For we know that, “The testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Vocations are hard, but we don’t choose, we are chosen. If you feel you have been chosen, then definitely, as others have mentioned, pray about it.
Also, again as mentioned by others, don’t make this decision in a vacuum. Talk to your pastor, and even your RCIA director. If you have friends you think may understand, talk to them about it. However, keep in mind many friends don’t respond the way we think they might. Some people make the decision based on what others tell them; someone asks if he or she has ever considered a religious vocation. That’s poor motivation.
Keep in mind also that there are a lot of criteria that should be met for religious, but not all of them are necessary to enter into the life, or even enter as a postulant. God shapes us and forms us, and he never ceases to do that as long as we are open to His workings. For instance, if you don’t consider yourself a particularly patient person, that is something that you can work on, so long as you recognize that, and are willing to actively work on it, and struggle with it. Some people say, however, that there are certain things that are just part of our nature, who we are; some religious are not particularly people-friendly, and that is simply something they have to work with during their life-long formation. Some things, like a love of Christ, are crucial for vocations.
For me, the biggest question I have to ask is if I am really ready to serve everyone as the lowest, the weakest, and put everyone else’s needs before mine. The life of the concecrated is a life of true service to the visible and especially to the invisible. If we are unable to surrender ourselves, even those little parts that we want to hold on to and say “mine!” then we will not be able to follow Christ as he he asks.
As always, remember, there is nothing “wrong” with not having a particular vocation to religious life. As Lumen Gentium affirmed, we are all called to holiness, no matter what we do.
I hope I am not preaching, and that there is something here that is helpful for you. I will keep you in my prayers.
–Andrew
H
Hibernia_Free
Guest
What I do when faced with decisions is to pray and fast. Ask the Lord to direct you to give you wisdom. Ask with full faith. It’s written in the epistle of James to ask with faith, no wavering. I relate to you wanting to spend more time with God. The cool thing about fasting (only water) for at least 24 hours is that it is a kind of continual prayer that we can do even at our day jobs. Good luck.
S
SisterSnowflake
Guest
Something similar happened to me…and I’ve been a Sister of St. Joseph for eleven years now! 
As someone mentioned, do be prepared to be “put on hold”…I had to wait four years before I was officially allowed to enter…conversion AND being too young were not on my side. Looking back, however, I’m thankful for those extra for years of getting to know and love my Sisters.
So, I sometimes say, “I’ve been IN for eleven years, but I’ve been WITH my Sisters for fifteen.”
During my time of waiting, a wise, elder Sister who had been the mistress of novices for many years suggested a book that she used to have the novices read: Twice Called, The Autobiographies of Seventeen Convert Sisters. It was published in 1959 by Bruce Publishing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The author is George Louis Kane. Though it is old, it is nice to read the stories and know that others have been/are in the same place/situation. Two thumbs up!
God bless.
As someone mentioned, do be prepared to be “put on hold”…I had to wait four years before I was officially allowed to enter…conversion AND being too young were not on my side. Looking back, however, I’m thankful for those extra for years of getting to know and love my Sisters.
So, I sometimes say, “I’ve been IN for eleven years, but I’ve been WITH my Sisters for fifteen.”
During my time of waiting, a wise, elder Sister who had been the mistress of novices for many years suggested a book that she used to have the novices read: Twice Called, The Autobiographies of Seventeen Convert Sisters. It was published in 1959 by Bruce Publishing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The author is George Louis Kane. Though it is old, it is nice to read the stories and know that others have been/are in the same place/situation. Two thumbs up!
God bless.
O
otjm
Guest
- Status