Hello Melanie,
melaniem75:
I voted no because I tend to be liberal in my religious views . . . . So even in progressive convents thereās still remnants of conservativism. I respect anyone who chooses to be part of a conservative faith community. I would also like to visit a conservative convent in the near future although Iām not certain of which one yet.
As buffalo pointed out, in the Catholic Church there are only two ways to be: orthodox (in keeping with Church teaching and obedient to the Magisterium) or heterodox (differing in belief and/or action in one or more ways from the Magisterium).
As long as they do not disagree with the teachings of the Church, the political views of a community or its members are irrelevant to whether a community is orthodox or heterodox. The fact that some have tried to apply political terms (liberal, conservative, etc) to the Church is an indication that either (1) they are unaware of the connotations or (2) they have decided to take doctrinal matters into their own hands and have the mistaken belief that we are free to pick and choose which Catholic teachings to accept and which to reject. Here is a good article about this phenomenon:
The Spectrum Virus
melaniem75:
I think itās wonderful to give oneās life completely to God, God bless you for being certain of that . . . . I was just reviewing what I just posted and reviewing also what you had written previously. I stated above that you were certain but youāre still discerning too. I got my wires crossed - sorry.
Donāt worry about it. You were correct in the first place. Perhaps you read this in my profile
There has been a passing of time, and recently I decided for sure that this is what I want to do in the future (before I was seriously considering). God has given me many graces to confirm this in my life, and I would be lying to myself to deny it at this point.
melaniem75:
My discernment with this will be going on for years to come and thats ok with me, this is something that doesnāt require an absolute decision on my part any time soon. Who knows, maybe fifteen or twenty years from now Iāll find myself wearing a habit!
I am glad that you are taking the time to investigate communities and discern your calling. This part of the process is vital to your search. Do not worry that you are not certain yet ā continue praying and ask God for confirmations of your calling. He will be faithful to show you what you need to know in HIS timing (not necessarily your timing). (And I do hope you decide to wear a habit
).
melaniem75:
General Question: Why is the word religious in my above message hi-lited in red and bolded? I didnāt do that intentionally. Is that because the word religious appears in the subject heading? (I should spend more time by the water cooler.)
My best guess is that if you searched the forums for the word āreligiousā, that term was highlighted to show you where it appeared on the page.
I will address the religious habit in a separate post.
God bless you & I will keep your discernment process in my prayers.
Lily628
I echo all Augustine said and want to add another point. I have observed that all the women religious that went to secular dress also pursued secular activities and picked up some very damaging āhabitsā - no longer serving with humility and obedience. Their numbers dwindled down to nearly extinct. Wearing of the habit adds strength to the religious life!
sorry.
)