Preparing For The Religious Life

[OnlySunshine]

From my (rather) limited experience...

 

I'm sorry, you might have posted elsewhere and I didn't see, but are you discerning with a particular Order, Joyfullife? If so, it might be an Order where a community would allow you to come and stay for a week or even a few months if possible. No obligation for you to enter their community afterward.

 

I had some ridiculous anxieties about what cloistered life might be like. A lot of that vanished when I was able to spend a week within the cloister and observe what kind of life they were living. All of the advice anyone could give me couldn't have done for me what a week's live-in did; it began to look like something that was very, very survivable.

 

Also, religious life is NOT something that, ultimately, you can plan (unfortunately -- I love plans). :hehe2: So its good to improve in the meantime, but don't worry too much about trying to do everything "right". You can't accurately predict how it will all play out. Trust that God is going to take care of you, regardless of the outcome, regardless (or even through) the sacrifices and obstacles that you will face. Anxiety makes it awfully difficult to hear and trust God; that is something that I'M working on as I wait.

 

Just FYI, JoyfulLife hasn't been active on PM for 2 years.  I'm not sure if she'll return, either.  I haven't heard from her in a long time. 

Edited April 9, 2014 by MaterMisericordiae