Mercedarians building a new novitiate house

[DameAgnes]

I'm really curious -- does anyone have any news about communities building or expanding their novitiate houses? I think I might have read that the School Sisters of St. Joseph are? 

Oh, I'm sorry I think it was the School Sisters of Christ the King, I meant. 

[Lady Grey, Hot]

Such a cool and joyful community. I did a vocation event with them last year and would love to get back in touch, except that I'm not sure teaching's for me. 😉

[Feankie]

A reply to Lady Grey, Hot.....

Ok, your previous thread was all about you feeling you have no use/worth in the Church as you're not a man and how you feel so bad about being a Catholic woman and are suffering such angst. (Paraphrasing of course.  That was the nugget). But now you write that you did a vocation event with this Order and would love to get back in touch.  So.....are you playing games here and/or on the other thread?  It makes no sense you went on and on about your lack of self-worth in the church and now you say you did a vocation event with this order, calling them a cool and joyful community. AND... would love to get back in touch. 

You can't have it both ways.  Game playing? If so, what a waste of our time and energy.......

[Lady Grey, Hot]

51 minutes ago, Feankie said:

It makes no sense you went on and on about your lack of self-worth in the church and now you say you did a vocation event with this order, calling them a cool and joyful community. AND... would love to get back in touch. 

I understand why you would say that, so let me explain my thought process.

I affirm that, as a woman, I am not necessary to the Church. And joining a religious order would not change that, because women religious are no more necessary than "laywomen." I don't see why I can't observe that the Mercedarian Sisters are cool people who seem very happy with what they are doing and also observe that what they are doing is not, ultimately, necessary. Good? Certainly. Useful? To a limited degree. Necessary? Not at all. We could wipe all women religious from the face of the Earth tomorrow and the Church would persist.

However, my issues with my sex notwithstanding, I do still, one way or another, have to live my life. In the interest of my salvation, I cannot end it, and for the same reason, I will likely have to live it within the context of the Catholic Church. Finally, I'd as soon live it in a way that leaves me something less than abjectly miserable.

I certainly think there are compelling things about consecrated life, and I'm open to the possibility that I could experience some degree of happiness living it. That doesn't make it useful or necessary, and I do mourn that. But then again, being female, I was never going to be those things. That's no reason to eliminate it from consideration. Even if I am inevitably useless and unnecessary, I think it's at least worth it to explore the different permutations of uselessness and unnecessity that are available to me. 

I don't see an inconsistency here. Better (and more objective) minds than mine might. Both posts, however, were made in good faith (if you'll pardon the phrase).

Finally, I'll also direct you to this quote from the other thread:

Quote

 

On 6/13/2022 at 1:16 AM, caterinaquinas said:

It could be that you are not called to any contemplative order or teaching order, which is why you find them unsatisfying, and that is totally fine.

 

My reply (6/14/2022, 11:34 PM): Actually, neither is unappealing to me - life in a religious order is something I would almost certainly be willing to at least try (though there are compelling reasons why I think some communities would be reluctant to have me). Still, I think my implicit attitude is that vowed life would be the best that I could do as a woman, but that I could do better if I were a man.