Why cant i stop thinking about this?-being a carmellite nun

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MaeganFlinchum1

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I have a yearning deep down inside to be a nun. A carmellite specifically. I know im 14 right now and not baptized yet, but i will soon be the ONLY Catholic in my family come Easter Vigil. I love God so much and i know its not the converts zeal because if you read some of my other threads you know ive had terrible doubts and temptations about being Catholic. And for almost a year ive had a continous yearning to consecrate my life to God. Is it possible for me to be called sooo young and not being Catholic yet? And also do you think i could get a spiritual director? Would one want to help me because im so young? Thank you and God Bless.

St Teresa of Avila…Pray for us.
 
MaeganFlinchum1 said:
I have a yearning deep down inside to be a nun. A carmellite specifically. I know im 14 right now and not baptized yet, but i will soon be the ONLY Catholic in my family come Easter Vigil. I love God so much and i know its not the converts zeal because if you read some of my other threads you know ive had terrible doubts and temptations about being Catholic. And for almost a year ive had a continous yearning to consecrate my life to God. Is it possible for me to be called sooo young and not being Catholic yet? And also do you think i could get a spiritual director? Would one want to help me because im so young? Thank you and God Bless.

St Teresa of Avila…Pray for us.
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This seems like a calling from God from what you have told us, but continue to discern as you get older. If possible, pick a priest as your spiritual adviser, and feel your way along.
 
MaeganFlinchum1 said:
I have a yearning deep down inside to be a nun. A carmellite specifically. I know im 14 right now and not baptized yet, but i will soon be the ONLY Catholic in my family come Easter Vigil. I love God so much and i know its not the converts zeal because if you read some of my other threads you know ive had terrible doubts and temptations about being Catholic. And for almost a year ive had a continous yearning to consecrate my life to God. Is it possible for me to be called sooo young and not being Catholic yet? And also do you think i could get a spiritual director? Would one want to help me because im so young? Thank you and God Bless.

St Teresa of Avila…Pray for us.
Click to expand...
Keep studying and reading about the Catholic faith. When you’re 16, if you are still as earnest about being a nun, then ask your pastor to recommend a Carmelite monastery to visit. A retreat there should give you a better idea of the lifestyle of the nuns, and you’ll be in a better and more mature position to determine if this life is for you.
 
It is certainly possible for you to be called to be a carmelite nun. St. Therese was very young when she entered, so I guess it depends on the person and how mature they are. You have plenty of time for serious discernement. You must finish high school and during those years try to go on retreats and see how things go. And you should definitely get a spiritual directior at some point
 
Thank you all so much!! 🙂 it makes me so happy just to think about it
 
dshix said:
This seems like a calling from God from what you have told us, but continue to discern as you get older. If possible, pick a priest as your spiritual adviser, and feel your way along.
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Thank you!
 
MaeganFlinchum1 said:
I have a yearning deep down inside to be a nun. A carmellite specifically. I know im 14 right now and not baptized yet, but i will soon be the ONLY Catholic in my family come Easter Vigil. I love God so much and i know its not the converts zeal because if you read some of my other threads you know ive had terrible doubts and temptations about being Catholic. And for almost a year ive had a continous yearning to consecrate my life to God. Is it possible for me to be called sooo young and not being Catholic yet? And also do you think i could get a spiritual director? Would one want to help me because im so young? Thank you and God Bless.

St Teresa of Avila…Pray for us.
Click to expand...
It wasn’t uncommon in former times for a girl to enter religious life at your age. But they stopped doing that and for pretty good reasons. I read once about a girl in the 60s, I think it was, whose Pastor used some influence to get her into a Convent when she was 15. She left years later, but she said herself, if she had waited a year, she probably wouldn’t have gone in, in the first place. And she had wanted to all her life.

Allow yourself to grow, in wisdom and in experience. Allow yourself to not decide until it’s time to decide. A true vocation doesn’t go away. But it does sometimes ebb and flow so that you can travel the path God has laid out for you. Be 14, and be 15, and have the experience of being those ages fully engaged in the world, but embracing your Faith and being a witness to it by the way you live your life.
 
Julia_Mae said:
It wasn’t uncommon in former times for a girl to enter religious life at your age. But they stopped doing that and for pretty good reasons. I read once about a girl in the 60s, I think it was, whose Pastor used some influence to get her into a Convent when she was 15. She left years later, but she said herself, if she had waited a year, she probably wouldn’t have gone in, in the first place. And she had wanted to all her life.

Allow yourself to grow, in wisdom and in experience. Allow yourself to not decide until it’s time to decide. A true vocation doesn’t go away. But it does sometimes ebb and flow so that you can travel the path God has laid out for you. Be 14, and be 15, and have the experience of being those ages fully engaged in the world, but embracing your Faith and being a witness to it by the way you live your life.
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Thanks for the advice. I would definetly go very slow (as i am) in my discernmet. 🙂
 
Discernment retreats are usually for ages 16+ or 17+, so if you’re still interested when you’re old enough, you should go. 🙂

I know of a girl who entered with the Dominicans when she was only 17. She did both her junior and senior curriculum in the same year (she was home-schooled) so she could enter as soon as possible.

Different groups have different requirements for entry. Some only require a high school diploma. Others require a college degree and no student debt upon entering.

Another factor is looking into different groups and deciding what you want to do (besides your vocation as a religious), as each group has different things they focus on. Some religious orders are devoted to education, some for nursing, some are for perpetual adoration and contemplation, etc.
 
MaeganFlinchum1 said:
I have a yearning deep down inside to be a nun. A carmellite specifically. I know im 14 right now and not baptized yet, but i will soon be the ONLY Catholic in my family come Easter Vigil. I love God so much and i know its not the converts zeal because if you read some of my other threads you know ive had terrible doubts and temptations about being Catholic. And for almost a year ive had a continous yearning to consecrate my life to God. Is it possible for me to be called sooo young and not being Catholic yet? And also do you think i could get a spiritual director? Would one want to help me because im so young? Thank you and God Bless.

St Teresa of Avila…Pray for us.
Click to expand...
John and Teresa are for everyone. Carmel means ‘interior garden’ and when the church wants to know about interior prayer, they always have recourse to this order.

Each charism has an aspect of Christ. Carmel is the interior life, the Dominicans fight for the truth, etc.

At your age, the greatest thing you can do is imitate St Therese’s Little Way by doing your best at school and practicing obedience to parents, teachers, and other authority figures. Study Carmel, but study others as well. If you live in proximity to a Visitation monastery, make a retreat and see what life behind the walls is like.

HTH

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
Thank you both. Although i know i kniw i couldnt decide right yet im thinking about the allentown carelmelites 😃 and i love st thrrese and have recently started trying to follow her little way.
 
MaeganFlinchum1 said:
Thank you both. Although i know i kniw i couldnt decide right yet im thinking about the allentown carelmelites 😃 and i love st thrrese and have recently started trying to follow her little way.
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Excellent! We’ve been praying for them! There are two other OCarm monasteries–one is Wahpeton, ND; and one in Texas.

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
🙂 really? Texas and ND too? I live in sw virginia so i would have to be in Pensyllvania
 
MaeganFlinchum1 said:
🙂 really? Texas and ND too? I live in sw virginia so i would have to be in Pensyllvania
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Virginia has the Visitation in Rockville; the Trappistines of Crozet; the Poor Clare Colettines in Barhamsville…

Pennsylvania is chock full of monasteries, too:

Passionists of Pittsburgh and Clarks Summit
Dominicans of Lancaster
Pink Sisters, Visitation, and Discalced Carmelites in Philly
Poor Clares (forget location)

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
Cloisters said:
Virginia has the Visitation in Rockville; the Trappistines of Crozet; the Poor Clare Colettines in Barhamsville…

Pennsylvania is chock full of monasteries, too:

Passionists of Pittsburgh and Clarks Summit
Dominicans of Lancaster
Pink Sisters, Visitation, and Discalced Carmelites in Philly
Poor Clares (forget location)

Blessings,
Cloisters
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Im gonna look up all of those tonight. I knew we had the Visitation sisters here in Va. But not the others thanks! 🙂
 
MaeganFlinchum1 said:
Can i get some names of places in Kentucky? 🙂
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That’s what we have termed the Ohio River Tour:

Poor Clares – Cincinnati, OH
Passionists – Erlanger, KY
Discalced Carmelites (1990) – Louisville, KY
Passionists – Whitesville, KY
Poor Clares --Evansville, IN

Of course, there’s Gethsemani Trappists south of my hometown, Bardstown

HTH

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
Cloisters said:
That’s what we have termed the Ohio River Tour:

Poor Clares – Cincinnati, OH
Passionists – Erlanger, KY
Discalced Carmelites (1990) – Louisville, KY
Passionists – Whitesville, KY
Poor Clares --Evansville, IN

Of course, there’s Gethsemani Trappists south of my hometown, Bardstown

HTH

Blessings,
Cloisters
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Thank you sooooo much!!! Ive always loved Kentucky
 
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