Religious Life and Disabilities

[aliciar]

This dosen’t pertain to me. But once I met a young man who really wanted to be a priest but he had dilexia which prevented him. does the Church deny people like that or what do they recommend them to do?

Also, I knew a woman who was a nun but she couldnt be one anymore because she was bipolar and also had RA. If they are call to service, but they have disabilities, what can one do?

 

[Sister_Rose]

Yes, there are physical and mental issues that can impede people from entering certain states of life like the priesthood and religious life. And, yes God can still call those people to serve, but there are many other ways to serve God and His Church.
No one has a right to be a priest or religious.

Sometimes, we think we are called to something but then something outside impedes us. This can be a sign from God for us. And our disappointed expectations can be a great sacrifice to offer to God. St. Anthony of Padua wanted to be martyr and tried to go down to Morocco to preach, hoping that he would be killed. He got sick and then his ship was blown off course and he ended up in Italy. If this hadn’t happened, we probably wouldn’t have his teachings today and he wouldn’t be a doctor of the Church.
Tony Melendez wanted to be a priest and asked permission but was denied, because he has no hands or arms. Today he performs and evangelizes young people all over.

This is very much like religious obedience. We have to accept that sometimes we can be mistaken about what God wants and have to rely on authorities and superiors and trust that God is guiding them.

 

[Jennifer_G]

Yes, there are physical and mental issues that can impede people from entering certain states of life like the priesthood and religious life. And, yes God can still call those people to serve, but there are many other ways to serve God and His Church.
No one has a right to be a priest or religious.

Sometimes, we think we are called to something but then something outside impedes us. This can be a sign from God for us. And our disappointed expectations can be a great sacrifice to offer to God. St. Anthony of Padua wanted to be martyr and tried to go down to Morocco to preach, hoping that he would be killed. He got sick and then his ship was blown off course and he ended up in Italy. If this hadn’t happened, we probably wouldn’t have his teachings today and he wouldn’t be a doctor of the Church.
Tony Melendez wanted to be a priest and asked permission but was denied, because he has no hands or arms. Today he performs and evangelizes young people all over.

This is very much like religious obedience. We have to accept that sometimes we can be mistaken about what God wants and have to rely on authorities and superiors and trust that God is guiding them.

What issues are they?

I have a hearing loss (from birth), so that means a constant supply of hearing aid batteries, hearing aids, and hearing tests (which last a few hours). I would imagine, at the least, wearing a veil would make a hearing aid constantly beep/buzz, not to mention, I wouldn’t hear any bell (or clapper if any convent still uses them) if I have my hearing aid off, or the battery were to go dead. Obviosly, hearing the penance the priest gives at confession, or even Mass could be difficult if I can’t hear what’s going on. I also have vision issues (very nearsighted, rare eye conditions). I’ll just say I have a handful of rare (physical) medical conditions.

 

[Cloisters]

What issues are they?

I have a hearing loss (from birth), so that means a constant supply of hearing aid batteries, hearing aids, and hearing tests (which last a few hours). I would imagine, at the least, wearing a veil would make a hearing aid constantly beep/buzz, not to mention, I wouldn’t hear any bell (or clapper if any convent still uses them) if I have my hearing aid off, or the battery were to go dead. Obviosly, hearing the penance the priest gives at confession, or even Mass could be difficult if I can’t hear what’s going on. I also have vision issues (very nearsighted, rare eye conditions). I’ll just say I have a handful of rare (physical) medical conditions.

Write your own Personal Prayer Rule, and live according to the Spirit’s breathings for you personally. You don’t have to have any formal public consecration, just have a prudent spiritual director.

Blessings,
Cloisters

 

[Sister_Rose]

What issues are they?

I have a hearing loss (from birth), so that means a constant supply of hearing aid batteries, hearing aids, and hearing tests (which last a few hours). I would imagine, at the least, wearing a veil would make a hearing aid constantly beep/buzz, not to mention, I wouldn’t hear any bell (or clapper if any convent still uses them) if I have my hearing aid off, or the battery were to go dead. Obviosly, hearing the penance the priest gives at confession, or even Mass could be difficult if I can’t hear what’s going on. I also have vision issues (very nearsighted, rare eye conditions). I’ll just say I have a handful of rare (physical) medical conditions.

Hi Jennifer,
Sorry I didn’t see this sooner. There is no specific list of health problems that I know of. I think it is pretty much up to the community to decide whether a given illness or disability would be manageable in their community or not.
As for hearing loss, we have had sisters enter who needed hearing aids. That was back when having a hearing aid meant having a box hanging around your neck and then big ear pieces. And they couldn’t have been cheap then either. The beeping and buzzing thing, well I don’t know for sure, but there are a lot of old sisters who have hearing aids, and they manage. You might have to have your own alarm clock.
When it comes right down to it, you’ll have to talk with any community that you are looking into and tell them your problems up front. They may want to meet you in person to see how well you can function with the community life. They may want some additional testing done on your vision and hearing on top of the usual phyical.
Sorry I can’t give you a definite answer.
Prayers!
SRT

 

[Cluny]

This dosen’t pertain to me. But once I met a young man who really wanted to be a priest but he had dilexia which prevented him. does the Church deny people like that or what do they recommend them to do?

Also, I knew a woman who was a nun but she couldnt be one anymore because she was bipolar and also had RA. If they are call to service, but they have disabilities, what can one do?

One of the signs of a vocation is having the ability–physical and mental-- to carry out the duties of that vocation.

Lack of them are traditionally signs of a lack of vocation.

BTW, were the nun you mentioned diagnosed with being bipolar AFTER her perpetual profession, the community would have a responsibility towards her.

If it happened at any time before that, she would have been returned to the world.

Mother Mary of Bussy, France, an Orthodox nun, was bipolar, yet gave English-speaking Orthodoxy a great wealth of liturgical translations into English.

 

[lovemybatman]

I don’t want to “take over” from the OP, but I wanted to emphasize the mental health aspect. What about those with anxiety/depression issues, or “female problems” like severe PMS and such? It’s rather difficult to find information on these topics.

 

[Sister_Rose]

I don’t want to “take over” from the OP, but I wanted to emphasize the mental health aspect. What about those with anxiety/depression issues, or “female problems” like severe PMS and such? It’s rather difficult to find information on these topics.

Again, these things would be looked at on an individual basis. It would depend on things like the severity, whether or not it could be effectively managed with medication, whether the given community could afford the medication, how well the individual could cope with the community life. Different order might view an individual’s health problems differently.

You really just need to be open and upfront with these things when you speak to a vocation director. Please, try not to be offended by their answer. It is a lot easier to handle not being accepted into a given order, than it is to be accepted and then have to leave.

 

[Shoshana]

It is a lot easier to handle not being accepted into a given order, than it is to be accepted and then have to leave.

I can vouch for that! This is what exactly happened to me. I was upfront and was accepted than…not accepted even if ALL the tests came out very good. Back in '70 these tests were mandatory. Mother Superior decided that stuttering and my IQ test was way too high…she THOUGHT it could cause problems…even if the rest of the community loved me to bits. I was told I had the gift of joy (which I still possess).

This has haunted me for years and if I would have had a spiritual director back in the day, well. things might be different. I hardly stutter now and there are priests I do research for, for their teachings in college, etc.

I can say i have had the best of both worlds. My director whom I have had for over 25 years said there would be no way that I could use the talents God gave me if I remained in the convent, let alone my spiritual life per se. We grow in difficult situations for sure.

The convent that I did join was very traditional at the time…habit, routine, etc, etc. Today they have no habit and seem to be quite liberal. God saved me from such contamination!

 

[Jennifer_G]

So, what kinds of tests do they put you through when you want to join a convent?

 

[Shoshana]

So, what kinds of tests do they put you through when you want to join a convent?

Back in '70, we had to go through a battery of psychological/intelligence tests by a slew of psychologists,e tc It took quite some time. I was also under the supervision of a priest who made me keep a diary and I passed that with flying colors also. I had good and bad days, like everyone else. Which made me ‘normal’.

I had a bit of anxiety and that showed but only because I was told that if I went for conselling for my stuttering and if I was ‘cured’ they would pay. But if I still had my stuttering problem, I was told I had to leave and pay for it myself. Now, talk about stress!

I was sent home after a couple of nightmares (because of the immense stress) and was told to take a course in college (which I did–x-ray technician) and I should see a psychiatrist (which I did, and he was so mad at them. There was nothing pathological about me at all. He was very kind and through talking my frustrations with him, my stuttering was cut in half! (this is in english. I had joined a french order as I was french by birth).

I did what they told me to do and I went back just before graduating to re-enter and they told me to marry a good looking doctor! They had lied to me! So, I do not believe that I did not have a vocation. I just should have joined another order…it is as simple as that! But because I felt like a failure (in my parents’ eyes), I got married just to show I was ‘normal’…whatever that meant.

One must follow one’s dream! Just because one order dismisses you, try another. But pray about it. God will answer you!

 

[Jennifer_G]

I meant ‘you’ in general, not a life story.

 

[Shoshana]

I meant ‘you’ in general, not a life story.

Ha! With we french people, one must be direct!

 

[DL82]

The Franciscan Missionaries of Jesus Crucified have the specific charism of living a life of holiness as people with disabilities franciscanmjc.org/home/page.php?2

Also, there are a few good saints to consider - St Benedict Joseph Labre, who was unable to join a religious order because of mental illness, St Joseph of Cupertino, who became a Franciscan priest by miraculous grace despite some kind of learning disability, and St Margaret Costello was a Dominican tertiary who was born blind and with spinal and growth problems. There’s also a saint who was a nun who became a quadruple amputee due to leprosy, but I can’t remember her name.

 

[CarmeliteGirl25]

Also, don’t forget Leonie Martin of St. Therese of Lisieux’s family. She entered the convent 3 times before finally settling into the Visitation order. She had emotional problems from abuse by the family maid when she was younger.

 

[Amethyst]

There is also Bl. Hermann Contractus, who may have had cerebral palsy, and was a noted scholar. He is often credited with writing the Salve Regina, and Alma Redemptoris Mater!

oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Hermann_Contractus

Ironically, in our modern days of extensive medical care, religious orders may feel less able (and less obligated) to cope with people with disabilities than they did in the past, when it was more obviously a matter of life and death for us to live in supportive communities.

Naomi

 

[s_schmude]

In our archdiocesan newspaper today (Milwaukee Catholic Herald), there is a priest who was born with only one arm (he only has his left arm). He had to get a dispensation from the Vatican to be ordained, but he learned how to do everything one-handed. Now he also ministers to other disabled people.

 

[seremina]

The Franciscan Missionaries of Jesus Crucified have the specific charism of living a life of holiness as people with disabilities franciscanmjc.org/home/page.php?2

Also, there are a few good saints to consider - St Benedict Joseph Labre, who was unable to join a religious order because of mental illness, St Joseph of Cupertino, who became a Franciscan priest by miraculous grace despite some kind of learning disability, and St Margaret Costello was a Dominican tertiary who was born blind and with spinal and growth problems. There’s also a saint who was a nun who became a quadruple amputee due to leprosy, but I can’t remember her name.

They might be more accepting than the Benedictines of Jesus Crucified, but I’m not sure. I tried to apply to the Benedictines of Jesus Crucified, twice, and both times they rejected me. They said they couldn’t accommodate me, so its only certain disabilities they’ll accommodate for. These FMJC look to be a Lay order, I think?

 

[lux_perpetua]

i understand that a disability can be a sign from God that you are meant, or not meant, to enter into a given vocation. As a completely blind individual, i’ve thought about this often. however, it seems that there really is a fine line between what should, and should not, exclude one from a religious vocation, and that these decisions are not always made prayerfully or educatedly by well-meaning superiors.

take blindness. one can be blind from ROP [basically over-oxygenation of the eyes]. a once and done deal, no real follow-up expensive medical care necessary. thus, if this person can learn to lead the religious life and complete all its tasks, why shouldn’t he be allowed to enter? then there are types of blindness which require intense and chronic medical follow-up [glaucoma for instance], which would put an extra financial burden on the person. but too often i think the greatest emphasis is on the overarching disability “Blindness” Deafness", whatever, and not how that disability manifests itself individually in the person.

but stuttering? how could this possibly exclude anyone from participating in a religious vocation? i definitely agree that in this day and age we are less likely to consider disabled brothers and sisters even when that lack of consideration is quite unfair.

 

[CarmeliteGirl25]

I believe sometimes that patience and prudence are in rare form when orders are considering applicants. I have had some flat out refuse my request to discern with them because of my past history of depression, even though it is well controlled now without medication. I don’t think depression is well understood, among other disorders and disabilities. My case was reactive depression (reactive to the death of a friend), and my doctor does not believe it is lifelong. I just had to develop coping mechanisms and deal with post-traumatic stress. I actually found an order that I applied to that was very accepting of my past illness, and was prepared to accept me when I decided to end my discernment there for personal reasons. The applicant (who is now a postulant) that applied with me is on lifelong medication, and was accepted. These were the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus in Milwaukee. I’m not suggesting they will admit everyone with an illness, but they have open minds and are willing to work with the individual to ascertain whether they can live the life.

There are the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Alma, MI have doctors and psychologists, so they were also suggested to me as an idea of where I should look, however, I feel specifically called to the Carmelite charism.

It’s a personal anecdote of mine that St. Teresa of Avila, Leonie Martin (St. Therese’s sister), St. Therese, and St. Francis (among others) would not have been admitted to most communities today because all of them suffered from some sort of illness. St. Teresa and St. Therese both had histories of mental illness (from what we know about mental illness now). Leonie Martin suffered physical and emotional abuse from a maid. All of them persevered and became great saints (Leonie has not been canonized, but is in the process)!! If they can do it, it is possible for us, as well.