Unusual Personal Hygiene Practices

[InHisLove726]

[quote name='Beatus' post='1852345' date='Apr 29 2009, 04:29 PM']I'm sorry, ladies, but this is disgusting and not chaste. Women are not the only people on this board. If you all want to discuss your intimate bodily functions, please for the sake of modesty, do it privately.

I ask Saint Padre Pio to guard my eyes.

Beatus[/quote]

Beatus, I'm sorry you feel that way. I just thought it would be an interesting topic for those who are joining religious life or discerning. There are some things that people do not know about. Your opinion is respected and appreciated.

Edited April 29, 2009 by InHisLove726

[FiereMargriet]

[quote name='Beatus' post='1852345' date='Apr 29 2009, 04:29 PM']I'm sorry, ladies, but this is disgusting and not chaste. Women are not the only people on this board. If you all want to discuss your intimate bodily functions, please for the sake of modesty, do it privately.

I ask Saint Padre Pio to guard my eyes.

Beatus[/quote]

Beatus, I have struggled and am struggling tremendously with personal purity of heart. Temptation does sometimes rear its ugly head at me, so I understand your concern. But I feel blessed that we live in a day and age where we have this phorum and can discuss the good, bad, and the ugly of the religious life. For us as discerners, I feel it's very important we understand the nuances of the life we're joining. And I am glad that this subject was raised because truthfully I had never thought about it before.

I will pray for you to be pure and I ask that you do the same for me!

[FiereMargriet]

[quote name='puellapaschalis' post='1852279' date='Apr 29 2009, 02:36 PM']It's funny - my own mother and I never, ever had frank discussions about "sanitary matters" (unless you count being told to wash your hands a dozen times a day), and yet I don't have much of a problem just coming out and asking.

Mind you, at the moment I'm just [i]longing[/i] to enter this community, and I figure that if I'm going to live there - it's enclosed - for the rest of my days, I'd better get clued up on where those and other necessaries are kept.[/quote]

I totally agree There's one fairly young, very humorous Novice Mistress I know and I feel like I would have no problems asking her anything at all. But I have also encountered some more "old-school" superiors who, while just as holy and kind, are older and more serious-seeming and I would struggle to put my questions delicately. It's funny, because in general I have a reputation for being overly conservative, but my family knows that I will broach the most inappropriate subjects if given a chance--with a side of Church doctrine and admonishing sinners. (My new favorite hobby is pointing out TV characters who are living unchaste lives.)

[FiereMargriet]

Edit-double post

Edited April 29, 2009 by FiereMargriet

[mariaassunta]

All I can say and recommend on this topic is do not be afraid to ask any questions, no question is stupid, but it is wise to direct the question in a private way with the superioir, you can only learn the truth by asking the community. hope it helps.

[walburga]

I'm just saying that, if a person is very serious about entering a community, these types of things are probably not going to be 'deal breakers'. I agree that this particular 'sub-topic' is immodest and doesn't need to be hashed out in detail.

Edited April 29, 2009 by walburga

[the lords sheep]

[quote name='Beatus' post='1852345' date='Apr 29 2009, 09:29 PM']I'm sorry, ladies, but this is disgusting and not chaste. Women are not the only people on this board. If you all want to discuss your intimate bodily functions, please for the sake of modesty, do it privately.

I ask Saint Padre Pio to guard my eyes.

Beatus[/quote]

IMHO, the normal biological functions- and discussions of such functions- of the female (or the male) body are neither disgusting nor unchaste. It's something that every woman, by the gift of being fertile and able to carry children, deals with.
If it leads you to sin, I too pray for your purity and that Padre Pio guard your eyes, but more importantly, that he will your heart. However, if you are ever a priest, and if you study moral theology (which you must to be ordained), you will necessarily be exposed to many MANY questions that deal with sexuality- both male and female. As a priest, you may very well be asked these questions by the women of your parish and be required to speak explicitly (albeit politely) about these issues.
I will pray for your battle with living chastley.

God bless you,
Lauren

[puellapaschalis]

[quote name='angelofmary' post='1852371' date='Apr 29 2009, 10:22 PM']All I can say and recommend on this topic is do not be afraid to ask any questions, no question is stupid, but it is wise to direct the question in a private way with the superioir, you can only learn the truth by asking the community. hope it helps.[/quote]

Yup. There are some questions which shouldn't be brought up at recreation.

[puellapaschalis]

[quote name='Beatus' post='1852345' date='Apr 29 2009, 09:29 PM']I'm sorry, ladies, but this is disgusting and not chaste. Women are not the only people on this board. If you all want to discuss your intimate bodily functions, please for the sake of modesty, do it privately.

I ask Saint Padre Pio to guard my eyes.

Beatus[/quote]

I think others have replied to you much better than I could ever have. There is only one thing I'd like to add: menstruation is [b]not[/b] disgusting.

[Maria Faustina]

First of all-this is an ahmazing thread Props to InHisLove for having the courage to start it!!
I have always wondered about a ton of stuff like this!
But yeah, I have nothing to share about this topic, except that at my old school, we had sisters that taught there. My best friend always wanted to ask the sisters "the question": pads or tampons? Thankfully, we graduated before she ever got the chance to!!
But I've wondered that too lol.
so thanks for this great thread

[TradMom]

+Praise be Jesus Christ! Alleluia!

As a mother of boys (as well as my girls!), bodily functions can often seem mysterious and sadly, for a period of time, unappetizing (to put it mildly). I believe Beatus' reaction reflects his age and some of his concerns, which as long as I have seen him on this board, seem to center around purity and chastity. With maturity and gentle guidance (not to mention education and the practical experience of life!), boys do seem to grow out of their fears. They even grow to see the body as further proof of God's creative beauty! There is nothing about us that is not absolutely miraculous!

I hope none of us feel ashamed of our bodies or our natural functions.

Beatus, I understand your feelings and perhaps even your shock at seeing some of the most intimate (and foreign to you) details discussed. Perhaps you will be able to see the glory of God's creativity in how He designed our bodies, and the risks the posters took in asking questions that are difficult to talk about. I find it quite interesting that you choose St. Padre Pio to help you guard your eyes. He worked at a hospital at one point in his life, you no doubt know. I'm sure he saw many intimate moments and was able to remain holy. Perhaps he will serve as an inspiration to you!

Pax,
TradMom

[InHisLove726]

[quote name='Maria Faustina' post='1852492' date='Apr 29 2009, 07:26 PM']First of all-this is an ahmazing thread Props to InHisLove for having the courage to start it!!
I have always wondered about a ton of stuff like this!
But yeah, I have nothing to share about this topic, except that at my old school, we had sisters that taught there. My best friend always wanted to ask the sisters "the question": pads or tampons? Thankfully, we graduated before she ever got the chance to!!
But I've wondered that too lol.
so thanks for this great thread [/quote]

You're welcome, Maria Faustina. I have many questions that I still need to ask Sister Superior when I go in May pertaining to health insurance, doctors' visits (especially Ob/gyn), and personal hygiene issues. There are some things that I have trouble compromising on, and one of them includes health. Living without makeup is one thing, and I know I could do that (since I didn't wear makeup until I was 14), but health issues are uncompromisable.

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='InHisLove726' post='1852634' date='Apr 29 2009, 10:16 PM']You're welcome, Maria Faustina. I have many questions that I still need to ask Sister Superior when I go in May pertaining to health insurance, doctors' visits (especially Ob/gyn), and personal hygiene issues. There are some things that I have trouble compromising on, and one of them includes health. Living without makeup is one thing, and I know I could do that (since I didn't wear makeup until I was 14), but health issues are uncompromisable. [/quote]

Actually you'd be surprized how you can survive *without* health insurance. Some communities depend on benefactors who provide free services; other communities have insurance, other simply both.

I was with one community which depended on benefactors, and one community who didn't have insurance (but was in a foreign country, so it was possible to get free basic care, especially in a habit).

[johnnydigit]

[quote name='Beatus' post='1852345' date='Apr 29 2009, 01:29 PM']I'm sorry, ladies, but this is disgusting and not chaste. Women are not the only people on this board. If you all want to discuss your intimate bodily functions, please for the sake of modesty, do it privately.

I ask Saint Padre Pio to guard my eyes.

Beatus[/quote]

i understand your concern. my radar slightly jumped when i first read certain words also. not sure what would be the most prudent decision here, but i have pondered similar things, like why God chose to use a certain Jewish ritual that is painful to males, the natural cycles and things of the female and male, and discovered there are many connections between these things and God's bigger plan and salvation history. the womb, the blood, the seed, creation, man, woman.. it's all actually very beautiful how they relate to each other, genius even.

perhaps you can read up on Theology of the Body, [url="http://www.chastity.com"]www.chastity.com[/url], etc.. now talking about immodest acts and going into unnecessary details i can see as inappropriate, but there are basic things that i think are fundamental for the mature, adolescent Christian to know nowadays..

.02

[AccountDeleted]

I have found active communities to be much more flexible in this regard than the cloistered contemplatives, but even there, it is simply a matter of asking for what is needed.

In the Carmelite cloister there were no mirrors, no razors (so no shaving legs etc) and no tampons. We bathed once a week (whether we needed it or not ) but were provided with all personal items like shampoo, toothpaste and brush, deodorant, sanitary pads etc. ). During the week we washed in our cells, using a bucket of water. At Edmonton, they were a bit more modern, and allowed additional baths/showers during free time if that is how we wanted to spend our free time.

I did not find any of these austerities a problem. Mother Teresa's sisters used a bucket of water instead of a shower when I was working with them in Australia - they told me that since the poor don't have showers, they didn't have them either! If you have ever been on a camping trip or been really poor (like I have) then these things are not as important as they appear to be in our society. Cleanliness does not have to mean a hot shower twice a day! (although I do love my showers!). In England they had baths and no showers! In Canada, of course, they had both. Most of the things that we worry about, aren't what will cause us the real problems in religious life.

I don't necessarily consider any of these things to be "unusual practices" but rather, austerities and penances offered up to God in reparation for sin. I do know that not everyone is able to undertake some of these things though, so that is why it is so wonderful that there are so many different religious communities to choose from!