'young Nuns' Tv Program

[somethingfishy]

There's an article about the programme [url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/oct/20/young-nuns-life-vow"]here[/url], from the Guardian. May want to avoid the comment section.

[marigold]

faith, none of the articles have mentioned which enclosed community it is! Intriguing...

I of L, it's not a link I've got but an actual file (you have to subscribe to [i]The Tablet[/i] to get its articles online, I'm guessing my friend just downloaded the article once he'd read it - naughty!) and I can't see a way to upload a PDF to here.

somethingfishy, thanks for the link. I admit I read some of the comments anyway - you were right, not edifying. Remarkable, some people's sense of entitlement in making public statements about things they know nothing about...

[brandelynmarie]

Regarding the Comments Section: .

[marigold]

Testing... trying to upload the PDF as an attachment to this post. Let me know if you can access it.

[marigold]

File too big....

[marigold]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' timestamp='1319321345' post='2325304']

Marigold--Can you post a link to the PDF file? If not, I at least would be interested in receiving the file.

I'd also be interested in any links to previews of the program, as mentioned in some other posts in this thread, as well as any news we get of how and when there might be a link to the video for U.S. and Canadian viewers. (I'd offer, but besides my general lack of skill at posting links, my computer is not always cooperative.)

This is VERY exciting news for vocations in the UK!

BTW--the Web site of the Dominican Sister's of St. Joseph (the Community to which Phatmasser Laetitia Crucis--now Sister Mary Catherine belongs) has posted a short article on the program, saying that some of the filming was indeed done at their priory. [url="http://www.dominicansrs.co.uk/News/news1.htm"]http://www.dominican.../News/news1.htm[/url]
[/quote]


Ignatius, I tried to send it to you in a PM but there doesn't seem to be a way to attach files?!!? Help! (Sorry for spamming my own thread...)

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='marigold' timestamp='1319383607' post='2325667']


Ignatius, I tried to send it to you in a PM but there doesn't seem to be a way to attach files?!!? Help! (Sorry for spamming my own thread...)
[/quote]

That's okay. Not to worry. It would have been nice to see the article, but I won't die if I don't see it. Thanks for trying so hard!

[faithcecelia]

[quote name='marigold' timestamp='1319380158' post='2325649']
faith, none of the articles have mentioned which enclosed community it is! Intriguing...

I of L, it's not a link I've got but an actual file (you have to subscribe to [i]The Tablet[/i] to get its articles online, I'm guessing my friend just downloaded the article once he'd read it - naughty!) and I can't see a way to upload a PDF to here.

somethingfishy, thanks for the link. I admit I read some of the comments anyway - you were right, not edifying. Remarkable, some people's sense of entitlement in making public statements about things they know nothing about...
[/quote]


Unless this is a complete red herring [url="http://www.twentytwenty.tv/program/Young-Nuns_588.aspx"]http://www.twentytwenty.tv/program/Young-Nuns_588.aspx[/url] its St Cecilia's, which when I thought about it sounds about right. Over the past few years Poor Clares have been ton TV, Carmelites made a documentary, so its time for Benedictines to be highlighted, and it you were to ask 'Joe Bloggs' to describe a nun it would probably be along the lines of a Benedictine habit. Plus these sisters will provide a very definite contrast to the other communities mentioned.

[HopefulBride]

[quote name='brandelynmarie' timestamp='1319381103' post='2325652']
Regarding the Comments Section: .
[/quote]

I second that.

[somethingfishy]

Here's the full text of the Tablet article. Check out the sidebar bit for a few words from a certain sister whom a few of you may recognise.



The Nun’s Tales
By Vicky Mitchell
A BBC television documentary to be shown on Tuesday follows the stories of two women in their mid-twenties who are considering becoming nuns. For the producer of the film, their sometimes intensely emotional accounts lift the lid on the nature of religious vocations in the modern world

While it is certainly true that the number of women joining religious congregations has fallen dramatically since the 1960s, the picture is not quite as gloomy as it may at first appear. A study undertaken by the National Office for Vocation of the Church in England and Wales in 2010 identified a small but significant increase in the number of women joining contemplative communities and also a marked drop in the average age of those new entrants. My conversations with novice mistresses, priests and vocations promoters revealed further reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the future of religious life in Britain. Anecdotal evidence was starting to suggest a shift; there were reports that a number of apostolic orders that had had no British aspirants for decades were beginning to receive several enquiries. So who were these twentysomething prospective nuns? I am ashamed to admit that when I started the project I had all sorts of preconceptions about the type of women who would choose to enter a convent, and conversations with friends and colleagues revealed that I was not alone. Most people assumed they would either be women who had led enormously cosseted lives or (and this was by far the most common myth I encountered) that they must be suffering from a broken heart or some other such trauma and looking to somehow escape the world. Both of these stereotypes were well and truly undermined as soon as I started to meet the women in question.

Over the course of my research I spoke to around 15 young women who were actively discerning a vocation to religious life. Without exception they were bright, independent, sociable and with great career prospects. Most came from loving families and had big groups of friends. Lots had had boyfriends and the vast majority enjoyed a few glasses of wine and a good dance on a Saturday night. It was difficult to see why any of them might be trying to “run away”. Although there were clear similarities between the women I met – most, for example, were university educated – they were by no means cast from the same mould. Their backgrounds varied hugely, and it was interesting to discover an almost equal split between cradle Catholics and converts. Sr Hyacinthe, a wonderful Dominican nun who appears in the documentary, once told me that there was no such thing as a “nun type”, and that “the Lord could call any person at any time”. This certainly seemed to be the case with the small cross-section of aspiring sisters I got to know. When I asked the women what they were looking for in a community, they explained that, rather than fulfilling a list of their own criteria, it was about trying to work out where God wanted them to be. Nevertheless, they did admit that there were certain characteristics that made some congregations more attractive than others. With only two notable exceptions, they wanted to wear a habit, a visible sign that proclaimed the commitment they had made, and an emphasis on daily community prayer was also important. Statistics suggest that contemplative communities are having the most success when it comes to attracting new vocations, but at least half the women I met were interested in active or missionary orders. Above all else, it was clear that each was seeking a way of living and an expression of her faith that was distinctly and dramatically different to “ordinary” life.

The big question, then, is why? Why would any woman give up marriage and motherhood and the freedom to live according to her own desires? I have found there are no simple answers to this question. Some 40 or 50 years ago, when women enjoyed far fewer opportunities in society, there might have been more pragmatic reasons for entering a convent. But today a woman doesn’t have to become a religious sister to pursue a career as a teacher or a nurse. The best explanation I can offer is that these women feel that they are called by God to devote their lives to him. And that in following the path he has chosen, they will find a deep happiness and fulfilment that transcends all the things they have given up. It is an answer that remains incredibly difficult to understand or rationalise if you don’t have faith. That is not to say that it is necessary to be a Christian to admire or even covet certain aspects of consecrated life.

The Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal are a small community of young nuns who minister to the poor and the homeless. I spent a great deal of time with them at their convent in Leeds and was humbled by the satisfaction they drew from simply helping other people. They taught me the benefits of finding calm and silence in today’s frenetic world and demonstrated how much security could be found in the fellowship they shared with each other. Every night the sisters sat down to eat together and talk about their day. There was so much joy and laughter at that table (more than once I saw them laugh so hard that tears streamed down their cheeks) that I would defy anyone not to conclude that in the way they lived their lives, these women had got something right.

I am wary of painting too idyllic a picture as to do so would undermine both the enormity and the difficulty of the decision the young women I met were making. When I asked what was hardest about the prospect of leaving behind their old lives, it wasn’t giving up material possessions (many couldn’t wait to get rid of laptops and mobile phones). It was the separation from their friends and families. For those who do take the plunge, upwards of eight years are spent considering that choice before final vows are taken and in that time around half will leave. In the film itself I focus on the stories of two women – 25-year-old Catherine, and Clara, who is 23. Both found that in religious, as in secular, life, things don’t always work out quite as you imagine. It’s a testament to their courage that they were willing to share some of those challenges and doubts so openly on camera. The documentary barely scratches the surface of the complex and fascinating world
that I have been privileged enough to experience. But I hope at the very least it will challenge stereotypes and prove to anyone who might be wondering that, yes, young women are still choosing to become nuns. And it is a choice that makes many of them very happy indeed.



SIDEBAR: Other women drawn to the religious life

Sr Mary Catherine, 29, novice at Dominican Sisters of St Joseph, New Forest, Hampshire
“As a music student I was occupied by long hours of practice, auditions, rehearsals and performances. Yet, there remained a restlessness of heart. In time, through a consistent life of prayer, regular reception of the sacraments and spiritual direction, I was able to discern God’s will for me – a calling to the religious life. That yearning to be a part of something bigger than myself, that little thread in a symphonic tapestry, transfigured before me: no longer was I merely glorifying God through music, but instead becoming an actual instrument of God’s grace by giving my entire self to him and for him.”

Clare Ainsworth, 24, a graduate in Fine Art, and Child, Young Person and Family Studies, is a candidate with the Daughters of Divine Charity, Swaffham, Norfolk
“I’ve always loved doing voluntary work and so I came into contact with various different orders and had lots of sisters who befriended me. Then I spent a gap year with the Salesian sisters as a voluntary retreat worker. There came a point when I couldn’t ignore the thoughts and feelings that were stirring inside me. I finally found the courage to express them to one of the sisters there, who encouraged me to spend some time to really reflect on what God was calling me to do. The ‘Invocation’ weekend for people discerning vocations in Birmingham was an amazing event and life-changing for me. I got talking to a sister. Although I didn’t plan on taking any formal steps any time soon, we agreed to keep in touch. After an initial three months as a gap-year student I became a candidate. I continue to work in the congregation’s school as a teaching assistant and hope to do my PGCE in the near future.”

Sr Suzanne Cabral, 47, is a novice at Tyburn Convent, Marble Arch, central London
“Even though I was born a Catholic, I came to religion late, after I got to know first-hand what it’s like to live as if there is no God. This was my creed: ‘I believe that I am a good person and that is all I need to live a good life.’ Well, once the dust of the bohemian, hedonistic lifestyle that this creed catapulted me into finally settled, I started to hear the cry of my soul, begging for some nourishment. And so began my spiritual journey back to God and back to Catholicism. After a few years of being an active member of my parish, that ‘soul cry’ started up again and I realised that there was something more – something else I needed to be doing. One of the members of my church organised a course of spiritual discernment for me, to see whether I had a calling to live as a consecrated lay member of the Servite Secular Institute. After about six months, when my counsellor saw that my restlessness wasn’t subsiding, she strongly suggested I approach some convents to find out whether I had a vocation as a nun. And so I did. And God really is good, because here I am living the dream of my soul.”

Catherine Anderson, 25, discerning a vocation and doing a course at the St Patrick’s School of Evangelisation, Soho, central London
“I was baptised and was brought up going to church. However, when I was 15 and at
boarding school, I was very homesick and at a low point in my life. I prayed and at that time had a conversion experience, an encounter with the Holy Spirit. After much searching, reading and praying I was confirmed at the age of 19 while at the University of Nottingham where I read German and Philosophy. Later, I spent a year abroad in Vienna and some time working as a catwalk model. Although it was glamorous, it was not particularly fulfilling. I also worked as a primary-school teacher and started to discern whether I had a calling to religious life. I had three months in India with the missionary sisters of the Queen of Apostles, and on return helped found a charity to support their work. The course at St Patrick’s is a great way to help me live in community with regular prayer and I’m thinking of applying to join the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph in Hampshire.”

[marigold]

You are amazing.

[faithcecelia]

Oh Tyburn....hmmmmmm.......that will be interisting as they had some major problems some years ago and Rome forbade them from accepting postulants. Seemsthat has changed now then, which is really good news.

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='faithcecelia' timestamp='1319413249' post='2325889']
Oh Tyburn....hmmmmmm.......that will be interisting as they had some major problems some years ago and Rome forbade them from accepting postulants. Seemsthat has changed now then, which is really good news.
[/quote]


faith, do you have any specific info to back up this comment because I discerned with them about four years ago and I know a couple of women who have entered and/or discerned as well. I have never heard about this and it does seem a little dangerous to make a comment that might turn people off discerning with them for no valid reason. If you have a link to something that supports what you are saying, please post it - otherwise perhaps this wasn't a very wise thing to post here. No offence intended, but we need to be careful of 'gossip'.

[faithcecelia]

I wanted to discern with them 6yrs ago but was told it was not possible due to Rome prohibiting them accepting postulants. I was given far more information, but as they are obviously back on track there is no need to post it.

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='somethingfishy' timestamp='1319412910' post='2325884']
Here's the full text of the Tablet article. Check out the sidebar bit for a few words from a certain sister whom a few of you may recognise.......

[/quote]

Thanks so much for posting this!! FYI--Sister Hyacinthe (who is mentioned in the article) is Sister Mary Catherine's (Laetitia Crucis') novice mistress. She's in her thirties at the youngest, even though she looks very young in pictures.

Edited October 23, 2011 by IgnatiusofLoyola