Just Some Random Questions...and Answers

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St_Annes

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From ourfranciscanfiat.wordpress.com
I recently came across a few questions someone was posing online for others to answer. I thought it might be good to try to respond to them here. (While I am not an expert, I would like to remind people that I would welcome the opportunity to try to answer any of your own questions about our life.)

The questions posed included:

Since sisters either live in or near the church, how do they get the money for food, water, insurance, bills, and other stuff, since they don’t have jobs?
Do sisters have free time to do other stuff they want, or is their life exclusively focused on the church?
How much time for sleep do sisters get?
Are sisters allowed to use technology? I go to a high school focused on computer and arts education, and it’d be tough living without computers to put apart and put back together.
Do sisters ever get to visit family? Half my family I’ve never met, but for the family I do have, like my mom, dad, older half-brother, and younger brother, I’d hate to never see them again.
My response would be:

Sisters do not necessarily live near the church (and not in it). We often receive a salary from our workplace, which goes to our community. The community then provides money to cover our living expenses.

Everybody needs some free time, but we do tend to work fairly long hours. In our community, the amount of sleep we get is up to the individual. Some communities are more strict and have a more set horarium (daily schedule).

Sisters are allowed to use technology, but we need to keep a watch that it does not suck too much of our time and energy. I actually use a computer a lot for my work.
Yes, a sister’s families can visit (in my community) and we do visit them. Cloistered communities and some others may have more restrictions on this. Actually, my parents recently stopped by on their way home from a school reunion and joined us for lunch and a visit.

Sr. Christina M. Neumann
 
Sr. Christina, thank you for taking the time, that’s very kind.

After hearing the call to religious life, what is the next step for a woman to take if they want to live a life similar to yours.
 
Thanks for your question! If I may, I would like to use it sometime in the near future on our blog.
For starters, though, I would say:
Pray (continual a daily commitment to prayer, especially with the intention of finding your vocation)
Seek spiritual/vocational guidance (I met with our parish pastor and found it very helpful)
Find out more (about yourself and various communities)
(Maybe think about what you desire in a religious community (e.g., apostolate, prayer life, habit, community life, etc.)
The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious has a very helpful website where they list their member congregations and have information about them.
Once you’ve done a little self-examination, you might want to look through their web directory and prayerfully contact some communities that seem to fit.
I don’t know how far along you are in the discernment process, and you don’t want to rush headlong into things, but you might even set up to visit some communities.
Where you live in proximity to various communities is definitely a consideration.
We are located in North Dakota.
 
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