NadaTeTurbe Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Hello everyone, It is not a question who is important for me now But some communities that interest me, do not have vocation in my country/continent, since year. One have had last year one novice, the first since 7 years, the other have not, or some have something like one every 5/7 years. But they have vocation in their Asian/African communities. Did this happened to you ? Have you ever been alone as a novice ? Or do you know someone/have testimony about it, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carla Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) Sadly this is quite often in many communities.I can tell experience from my order.They did not have vocation for nearly 10 years,but around 5 years ago that start slowly to change.They got one novice then another and now nearly every year then have at lest one.This year with God's grace it will be 2 in my order because i'm not entering alone.It is my fell that it is great for some orders to get fresh blood and new perspective. and i'm so happy when i see new young vocation.Brings great joy in my heart, Edited May 11, 2015 by Carla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NadaTeTurbe Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 What is your order, if you agree to say ? Is it easy, to go along with so many person of different age ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carla Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 What is your order, if you agree to say ? Is it easy, to go along with so many person of different age ? My order is Carmel of St. Joseph. About your second question i can not tell you yet.I'm entering at June 21. I'm not still part of the order, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marigold Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Is it easy, to go along with so many person of different age ? It's not black-and-white, but I have noticed all that the good, functioning religious communities I know of have a range of ages. No, it's not 'easy' to get along among people of different generations and backgrounds, but then it's not a friendship group, where quite often you will end up with, or choose, people with similar ages and backgrounds. I think communities have the benefit of being both family and colleagues - so you become as intimate as family and yet have the courtesy and respect of professional relationships. At least ideally That goes a long way. And common purpose covers a multitude of sins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NadaTeTurbe Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 It's just... I have been taught since my childhood, if you are with someone much older than you, you smile, you are polite, you don't contradict him, you don't bother him, you serve him, you "know your place". It was something very important in my education. I have a 65 years old friend, but it is a special history. I can not imagine myself living with older people, because of the whole "know your place" things, and how my education taught me to be the "servant" of adult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatitude Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 It's just... I have been taught since my childhood, if you are with someone much older than you, you smile, you are polite, you don't contradict him, you don't bother him, you serve him, you "know your place". It was something very important in my education. I have a 65 years old friend, but it is a special history. I can not imagine myself living with older people, because of the whole "know your place" things, and how my education taught me to be the "servant" of adult. Sometimes God calls us to go beyond our imagination. Look at Jesus' words in the Gospels. When his soon-to-be disciples asked where he lived, he replied, "Come and see." They didn't wait to ask each other who else they might find there or whether they'd all get along. They just went. "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." They went out into the deep. The command was unexpected, perhaps frightening even, but when they obeyed it they saw something that they could never have imagined. This pattern occurs in the Old Testament too. Abraham and Sarah were commanded to leave everything they knew in Ur - their family, their friends, all their comfortable habits and familiar ways - "for a land that I will show you". All that God promised was that he would show it to them. He didn't give too many specifics about what it would be like. They just went. It took courage and it took faith, and it took the willingness to learn to live in a different way. Religious life will change you. Any vocation lived faithfully will change us, because God wants to make saints of us. We can't just stay as we are. Don't hesitate over your current habits when looking at communities. Perhaps if you go to an 'older' community you will end up with many more special friends in their sixties. Perhaps lots of young postulants will follow in your footsteps. Perhaps both. You will never know unless you try. And remember, if everyone hesitated to join communities over fears about the community's age, many people would never become sisters at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaatee Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I have thought that I would love entering a community with mainly older sisters. They are likely to be kindly, experienced, non-judgmental and patient. It would be like having a lot of grandmothers around. You are bound to make a lot of mistakes and look like an idiot wherever you enter, but those professed sisters will say, "Oh, I remember doing that! In our day we had (such and such) a rule and custom, and I could never do it right!" Otherwise, you might have a lot of sisters "ahead" of you that are younger than you, and then you'd really feel like an idiot! NadaTeTurbe, just visit a community for a while, talk to the older members, and see what you feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NadaTeTurbe Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 Well, I would not like to enter a community with a lot (like, a lot a lot) of sisters of my age or around my age, because I have been in boarding school. A cool boarding school. But still, living with people of my age was exausting. I really don't feel ready to live this again. I agree about the "kindly, experienced, non-judgemental and patient". I don't fear older sister. I "fear" myself. When beatitude say "The command was unexpected, perhaps frightening even", it's that. Because I will have to forgot the education of my parent, who were strict on this. But outside of this, I loved to visit the communities. If you can read a little about the life of this foundress : http://www.holyfamilysisters.org.uk/who-we-are2.htm do it. Amazing congregation, and amazing foundress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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