Thank you for posting this!! People do not understand how hard it is to discern. First, the fear that comes with discerning and having to give up everything in your life. Next, taking the leap and following God's call. Then, being discerned out because of [insert your own reason here]. For me it was my past trauma that was affecting me or "could" affect me in the future. During my own discernment, the poor choices of my parents and trauma of my childhood (abusive dad, separated parents) are what led to me being discerned out of an order I loved and that I deeply felt God calling me to. Although, the order only told me that it was "not a good fit." I was never told anything else. I was devastated. And many people that I knew from church, who knew I was discerning, scorned me or saw me as a failure. Breanne is absolutely right when she said being discerned out feels like God rejected you. I struggled with that for so long. As I sat in prayer one day after going to daily Mass, contemplating leaving the faith, I heard St. Peter's words in my head: "Lord, to whom shall we go?" And in that moment, I knew I could never leave the Church. I carried on with life and eventually joined a Third Order. God has brought me on a journey and I know that the place I am in now is where He intends me to be. I still have a very close relationship with the Order that discerned me out. I am not married, and I may never be, but if that is God's will, I accept it. Although many people judge me for not being married or having children. More Catholics need to be made aware of the hardships of discernment and should be more supportive of those who discern out. They do not understand the journey that I have been on. I did not choose for this to happen. I just followed God's will as best as I could. While I do not know what the future holds, I trust in His will for me!
The problem with this is that they would have known about the anti depressants before they let her in. They let her do her initial six months knowing that they were going to reject her. That is beyond cruel. The other orders who rejected her up front were actually the kind ones. To string her along was so dreadful, I can barely comprehend it.
Many saints and blesseds were rejected by religious orders initially and sometimes by quite a few. God allows us to be tested in many ways. He either wills it or allows it for our own good.
Wow I'm crying while I listen to her, this is exactly what I'm going through right now, I've just been rejected from a monastery and I'm devastated. Thank you so much for this testimony!
@@unapequeñaalma I’m so sorry, I know that barely means anything right now. I’ve been where you’re at and it was the worst time of my life. Nothing I’ve been through compares to it. Stay with Jesus in Blessed Sacrament. In the decades, afterward, I struggled because as I came to know the community that I was with was not good. God actually has a better plan and that sounds strange because you just did everything you did to be in the community you joined. I couldn’t understand this either, but I was missing the reality of things that I glossed over, love is blind. That these signs were and remain huge blaring signs that they were not good, and my formation was bad. If you see my message here and want to talk, let me know. I had to undo a lot of the thinking that I came out with mine was monastic and enclosed as well.
I was FIERCELY called to be a Dominican and even stayed as an aspirant in a monastery. I realized I wasn't strong enough physically to be a nun (later, a sister) even before the formation director talked to me about anything like that and was really bummed and "gave it up" for a year or so. I had heard how St. Rose of Lima and St. Catherine of Sienna were Dominicans but not nuns or sisters, and I was like, how does that work? From internet searches, I wandered onto the website for the Third Order Dominicans and realized I could finally be one, where I was at in the world! Not counting the 2 hr commute. lol. It has been amazing (and rough but in a redemptive way). So, don't drop your aspirations (see what I did there lol) of being a nun, sister, etc. because of concerns a community may have. Please don't overlook third orders!
I have a similar story of being discerned out of a Carmelite order and ended up becoming a Third Order Carmelite! Somehow, you can just feel the charism in your soul. If God calls someone to a particular order, but not to the convent or monastery, definitely look into the Third Order! Almost every order has one nowadays. Thanks for sharing!
I was on depressant pills and it made me more depressed and crazy. I just gave myself to the lord, I stopped talking the pills and I never had a problem. If my crazies kicked in I ran to adoration, the rosary or whatever I needed to do in order to control my emotions.
Must've been so disappointing and frustrating however, it seems God guided you through it and now you have just as big of a gift. Pray good health and blessings for you and your family ❤❤❤
I wanted to be a nun.However , I wound up taking care of my mom and dad who were ill.That was God,s plan.Does it bother me no.I had a great aunt, a second cousin, and another cousin who were nuns, cousin Edgar in Germany was a monsignor, and momma,s cousin Bernard was Auxiliary bishop of San Antonio.Guess Jesus felt he had plenty of us and my parents needed me more.
Props to Pints for posting this clip…. It’s far too often a romanticized version of religious orders we are presented with. I’m a married man with 2 kids but I can’t help but fantasize about what life would be like in a monastery. Videos like these help keep me grateful for my own vocation.
Hey, I am married as well, just a comment, marriage is a divine vocation, God wants you to love him in your married life, it's a holy vocation and indeed a sacrament, the holiest male saint was St Joseph, a married man
Compare the 'starry eyed' young Thomas Merton when he first entered Gethsemane with the older Thomas Merton in the hermitage who said that the only good thing about the monastery was the electric lighting.
I know of someone who was asked to leave her convent because she had a stomach ailment. Another friend who had to leave hers for her OCD and scrupulosity. My husband, a former seminarian, knows more men who left the seminary than the very few who became priests. A former seminarian who was one step away from the diaconate is living with my husband and I. Everyone I know who has left active discernment was left to figure out this feeling of rejection from God by themselves, all spiritual direction is ceased. No one checks in on them after they’ve given years of their young life to the church. I understand God is in control in every situation and has a calling somewhere for all rejected from religious life, but I think there is some sort of influence from the superiors which is not of God. Obviously, I know we want those who should not be priests or religious weeded out early as possible. But this is coming from someone who benefited from a seminarian leaving and not becoming a priest because she eventually met and married him due to God’s beautiful plan and perfect timing. However, people need to talk about this phenomenon more, thank you for talking about it Matt.
To be fair, there's no spiritual direction for anyone else , either. I'm a mother of a large family left to figure out the pain of God calling my son home to eternity this year, how to help my children and husband through it, how to navigate the difficult parts of the marital relationship, and many more much more difficult things. There are no spiritual directors available for me. Consecrated religious are lucky to have them at all during the time they're in the convent. They're also fortunate to have the ability to have a longer and more formal and systematized discernment period than married life can reasonably have. That's not to say it wouldn't be wonderful if religious superiors offered a short transition time away.
It is supposed to be discernment. I see many orders I follow get a new postulant and then a year or so later, they are gone. It's fine, not like before where you stayed and were unhappy or it wasn't a fit. Many learn a lot of things about themselves during that time. Some orders are stricter because they say it upset the others when a lot leave although it's still better for them. Many wonderful marriages had people discern religious life first.
@@jhssuthrnmama Praying for you. I know with less priests and religious and they are so busy, it's hard to find someone. They will have them for people discerning because they need religious but I remember not wanting to bother our overworked priest with more. You can find a good counselor who isn't religious and sometimes they have more experience. Many books also but a human being is better for connection. I hope you find it.
@@deb9806 I am blessed enough to be in one of those marriages! I just wish my husband’s and others’ discernment out of religious life could have gone smoother. I wish Breanne, the woman in this video, wasn’t told she couldn’t continue in the order because she was on antidepressants as a child. I think God’s will can be accomplished by us humans in a better way
I felt that God was calling me to be a nun and I went through some of this, eventually becoming a postulant in a religious order. Its easy to idealize the religious life. The truth is that religious orders can be dysfunctional just like families can be. A lot of older sisters entered their orders right out of high school and have never dated or lived alone. They dont really understand modern women, and their rules and expectations can seem out of date and unfair. At a party I was not allowed to sign a birthday card for one of the sisters, because i had not taken my final vows. They had a lot of strange rules I didnt get the point of, and thats when I knew it wasnt for me. They also required me to have one or two MA degrees, but without any debt or loans. And I couldnt figure out how to do that.
That's true. Many arent like that. Cloistered seems to be more so. I think Sisters for Life or many other active orders seems better, they are very involved in things, they believe in exercise and taking care of all parts of your mind/body.
If they regularly catered to modern life, they wouldn't have lasted this long. However, I don't get requiring any kind of degree unless you're going into a teaching order. It is quite possible to get those degrees without debt, however. My husband did it and my children are doing it.
@@jhssuthrnmama I think they want them to be more mature and know the world. If you go from high school, you might be pushed by "I don't want to deal with jobs, school, the world" or a parent pushing it. Even a Dominican order that has a lot of young women had a vocation story where a young woman wanted to join and they made her wait. She was glad because she had an ideal of convent life but it's so much harder. They don't have the freedom of priests and many are cut off (I don't agree with this) for 2 years with visits etc home or in. I'm sure wisdom over the years with issues we don't hear about make many change the rules even though they know they have to be debt free.
Many holy women were unable to enter a convent. St Gemma Galgani found her vocation as a lay Passionist. St Zélie Martin found her vocation in marriage and family life . Her daughter, Servant of God Léonie Martin, was rejected three times before she could enter a convent for good. Servant of God Edel Mary Quinn found her vocation as a lay apostle for the Legion of Mary in Africa, despite her delicate health.
I also wasn't allowed to be a nun, due to the fact that I had an eating disorder, despite being healthy for 7 years. I still don't think it's fair but am trying to accept my vocation and hoping to get a husband, at least.
There are many orders and many different callings in religious life sister; thus, one ‘no’ for whatever reason can be because our Lord was saying no here. Yet, so many other orders may say yes after such a long time being healthy. Also, your remark about “at least” finding a husband may indicate you are called to religious life. I would recommend reading the books “Virginity” by Cantalamessa and “And You Are Christ’s” by Dubay to aid in looking into a consecrated vocation. Also try to find a Director, you can reach out to Divine Mercy institute for grads of their program for direction certification and specify what you are looking for.
Eating disorder shouldn’t stop you I knew someone with an eating disorder ( really OCD ) in Community and she was angry nasty piece of work to other vowed sisters, literally out for blood, when they promoted her, she hated the one that gave her the Obedience to g gain weight and wanted so many vowed sisters gone, out of her perfect doll template she *knew* (demonic red flag). It was just that type that is Jekyll and Hyde, run away don’t walk
This happened to me too. It is only that God wants us to be saints in the world, among the world: and what better than a person who has lived and fallen in the world to evangelize it? Be a holy person, praying and offering, remaining in the world and you will bear much fruit. Be blessed 😇
No, that was wrong. Totally wrong for this order to have her uproot her life, spend six months with them, only to be told something from ten years ago was the issue. No. They should have told her that UPFRONT. I'd say she dodged a bullet if that's how they treat people.
They should have warned her, yes, but it's not wrong for them to have her make all those sacrifices. They need people to let go of those worldly things totally.
@@lalaithan My point is they should have told her up front: she was disqualified for something that was an issue from years ago, not something that emerged during the 6 months stay. If something from ten years ago was an issue, they should have disqualified her before she quit her job and spent so much time with them.
@@lalaithan You uproot your job, your material security, your house, your family, and then have to start from scratch. You'll find that those worldly things are very necessary, even religious orders need them.
I wanted to be a nun, I had relatives who were nuns.Howevet ,.my mother had a heart condition and later a stroke took care of her and my late father had COPD.I sometimes think about it and I,m 68.I am too old , however I will find my own,path, and serve God in my way. This lady could join a secular institute , she could be a secular Franciscan tertiary like St.Elizabeth of Hungary and other people have done with the Benedictine Oblates,etc.
I am going to pray for this young lady. I am sorry she was rejected. I did not know that convents rejected women wanting to become nuns. I thought there was a nun shortage.
I don't remember the name of the book I was given to read before scheduling a vocations weekend to look into the priesthood at Saint John Vianny in Miami years ago, but it had this great and terrible story of an uneducated and intelligent man with a tremendous heart for the Lord, and wonderful ability at bringing people to Him and closer to Him, who was denied entry into the priesthood. That upset me greatly so I asked my spiritual director about it and he got extremely upset and clerical with me by asking who I thought I was to question the decision making process for entrance into seminary. I was in my mid 40s at the time, and coming close to the age limit for entrance, so after politely pushing back on that with him I went to the weekend anyway. It was very eye opening and extremely frustrating because not only did they constantly use the words theology and "philosophy" (barf), they also hardly ever said the name of Jesus in three days. A lot of arrogance and love of authoritarianism, and all molded into an overly intellectual and highly academic platform that's great for apologetics but not so much for evangelization. Win the person for Christ, not just the argument or their blind and subordinate obedience. And with the latter many struggle to fully practice what they preach since they put tradition on par with Sacred Scripture and don't follow or profess Scripture in its literal sense when it doesn't suit them. I left there unbelievably angry and never followed up, nor did they. Can't walk with people who aren't who they say they are and don't even follow the Lord through Scripture, all while wanting you to be obedient to them. Nope! Jesus is first, last, and always, especially when the clergy make stuff up or directly go against what He has clearly left for us all in the revelations of Scripture. In Christ, Andrew
I was rejected after 5 years of living in a convent. It was devastating. They told me I'm not good enough because I'm highly sensitive person. I'm over forty, and have no hope to find my path and my place in the world.
Oh God that’s horrible.. can you name them? Most religious are growing spiritually to be highly sensitive to people, don’t misunderstand, not nitpicky it’s called being closer to God, the more sensitive you are to people. unfortunately, the OCD sick angry prideful nitpicky ones make people miserable, and they usually become superior.
Thank you for such content. I have always want to be a nun missionary nun. Just because it’s sounds Holy - it is still may not be God’s will. Very deep. Mystery indeed. 😅 Humility humility humility. I did not become one as I was a Protestant. Lol! Missionary I became. But still I was lost when that was taken away from me. Today I am a Catholic in the heart - RCIA starting soon for me in a couple of months time. 🎉🎉🎉 God is still doing His work in my life my soul. Thank you for your videos.
I was thinking the requirements of that convent were too harsh until the moment she said she starting pounding alcohol during the first month out of the convent. That right there proved the convent was correct in their decision. This beloved daughter of God had serious substance addiction problems she had NOT resolved that needed healing. It just proves we can't assess things by how good we feel. She felt she was thriving but its clear she had deep seated unresolved alcoholism.
Leaving the convent is the spiritual equivalent of dealing with a bad divorce. It can lead you to the brink of your sanity. Just assuming this woman had an addiction problem because she dealt with the trauma with alcohol is very much a stress.
@@alyciahartley815stop sexualising monasticism. these analogies are not very appropriate. if female nuns are brides of Christ then what are male monks? something that made sense and seemed reasonable was when i read about the meaning of some monastic garments in eastern-orthodox monasticism and it was explained that the hoodie a monastic wears signifies the clothing of a toddler reminding of their innocence and purity which a monastic is trying to preserve and avoid losing
The Lord is ALWAYS in charge. He has a plan that is often not what we want but he leads us to himself in ways we would never imagine. Joining a community is not just about what we want and how well we think we are doing. It isn't about the individual alone but what is best for the community, too. Count your blessings and move on. I did.
I had similar experiences with trying to enter an order. I was told I was too old and rejected by so many. Two were finally willing to give me a chance, but one has significant issues falling into modern day feminism and we're clearly moving against Church teaching and by the time I started discussions with the second, I met my now husband. I didn't realize until I was in a relationship with him and seeing the fruits of the Spirit in our relationship that the obstacles were God's way of guiding me where he wanted me, but there are SERIOUS issues in our American convents and the fact that most only want young girls and are in lock step with feminist bs should concern everyone.
Although I can form some reasons for why such barriers exist, there should be individual examination to see whether or not people with such pasts are reliable or not. If God Himself forgives us for what we did in the past, so should those in power in such areas. It is highly unfair for those who are willing to change and have proven to others they are reliable to have their soul crushed because of their past which they are trying to move on from.
I was a sister for 13 years in Mother Angelica’s community in AL. I ended up leaving which I know now was a huge mistake. I want to return to Religious life and I don’t know how to do that now that I’m in my 40’s and it’s a bit harder with age limits etc. I feel the same thing you did. If you want to be a nun act like one. I’m thinking if I can’t return to Religious Life then I’m thinking of being a hermit.
non-cenobitic monasticism is possible. monastic communities might help by offering resources and a place to stay for those who struggle to survive by themselves, but if it is more quiet and peaceful and you experience less or no human interaction living in your house that is more solitude than someone residing in a monastery so it is more convenient. monastic vows are vows of chastity, unmarried people could do that also, but a monastic promises to remain single for the rest of his life. if wearing decent clothing then having an uniform is unnecessary (although monasteries tended to require that), designs for monastic garments throughout history have changed and some monastic saints did not wear any specific type of clothing if they were decently dressed generally which is suggested for all christians and not exclusive to monastics. in afterlife virgins and monastics who will be saved and go to heaven will receive special spiritual gifts
This really resonated with me. I was in a cloister community, the way they dealt with the formation sisters, and the canonical vowed sister is problematic. I wish I would’ve heard in any of these stories that somebody turned to the formator that would laugh, and say “you’re joking!” because of who I was with, and I had gone in at 18 after high school living Catholic intent on going in to the cloister for the rest of my life. I haven’t been able to receive a yes, from any other community since. And I have asked four or five others. I would encourage others to keep trying. I still feel the pull on my heart of the heart to anywhere He would lead me, if they would just say “Yes” Fiat. My exit from the infamous set was very cruel. I feel like my rejection from other communities has been because of who they were/still are. I would encourage every other human being, who is called to religious life and rejected by one to keep looking for the true vocation of service and prayer in community.
This is such a sad story. I really wonder how the Church will attract enough younger women, then, because in my time, roughly 1/3rd were on depression meds in their teens. I suspect that number has increased over the decades.
That part really bothered me too. It shows a prejudice as if mental health struggles are something that are always in the person's absolute control, but we will give pass for someone who has physical ailments, we will name them and pray about the symptoms and treatments and for healing, because that's out of the person's control. The woman may indeed not have been suited for religious life given her addiction history, but that was the real issue not her history of having taken antidepressants.
@@erichardzzCould not agree more. The fact that she relapsed so quickly into alcoholism showed that she really wasn't in the best place in her life to make such a profound commitment and really needed to work on her addiction. However, it breaks my heart to hear her speak about how much in love with the Lord and convent life she was, only to be rejected for something that she couldn't help. She seems like she would have made a brilliant nun. Thankfully, God brought a wonderful husband into her life instead.
@@Charlotte_Martel oh what was her age, they usually cut off early 30's. I know Dominican Sisters Mother of the Eucharist made an exception but it's rare. I get it, the routine for some is comforting at first but we like to do things when we like to do them and it is much harder. There are orders that do take older women but she might have not felt a "fit" there.
I saw a spanish documentary about cloistered monks and nuns. One of the nuns interviewed told she was married and had 6 children when she got the call and therefore consecrate her life to Christ in a convent. So girl, I wouldn't rule it out yet. No one knows when the Lord can call you.
So how did that happen for the married lady with 6 kids? Like did her husband allow her to go or did she divorce and leave her family, so what happened? Or did the documentary not get into the specifics
@@adamwaugh3373awesome. Yea I was just curious cuz that’s not a too common thing. Basically i just assumed once married, that door is closed unless a widow or something. Thanks for the info. I did not know that about St Kolbe.
Oh no ☹️. I’m discerning religious life right now. I’m 24 and have had depression in the past, took medication for it and I am no longer a virgin. I’ve spoken to the communities about my depression and no one has told me anything about it. I hope it doesn’t become a problem because i really do feel like it’s the vocation in which my life would be fulfilled.
The likely reason for the orders being so exclusionary is the very large number of nuns and priests who initially passed muster and later jumped ship. Suspect they want to weed out anyone they think might be even a mild risk ahead of time.
As the story is told to us it is simply an injustice. Unjust things happen to good people. Try being a novice when a predator in the community starts propositioning novices.
We often hear horror stories of priests who prey on vulnerable children but nearly just as disgusting are the petty, vindictive, resentful post-menopausal Mother Superiors (Mothers Superior?) who take the bitterness springing from their mid-life crises out on young, idealistic novices, crushing their zeal and enthusiasm before they have a chance to blossom. They also tend to foster a strict social hierarchy and the toxic environment of bullying that goes with it, which has caused no shortage of nuns to leave not only their religious orders but also the faith itself. In that sense, Breanne may have dodged a bullet.
I spent 3 weeks at a monastery with an abbot like that. Dear Lord, he was a legitimately abusive person, mentally and emotionally. I had spent about a year prior at another monastery, and moved into this other monastery after hitting a brick wall in my discernment there.
@@GuadalupePicasso It's unfortunate. Like I said in my initial comment, you're probably more than qualified to pursue this particular religious vocation but given the environment that exists in some orders, you probably avoided a worse fate. Thankfully, as there are more good priests than bad, so are there more good monasteries and nunneries than those of ill repute. Perhaps Breanne should consider establishing some sort of lay apostolate. She seems like the kind of person who would be good at it.
@@JP2GiannaT Technically, I can't say that I know with absolute certainty but I choose to remain optimistic. In other words, I have no reason to believe otherwise. Just out of curiosity, why do you ask?
And the Church wonders why there's a "lack of vocations".... Clearly there is some instability in this case, but haven't we had a fair number of unstable saints? Plenty of unhealthy, old, young, and formerly profligate ones too. God is glorified in our weakness, not in our perfection. I can understand communities wanting to avoid scandal, discord, and liability, but that is going to happen no matter what. But the one who is forgiven much will love much.
Yeah... The church is presently made of some serious sinners. Look how often they proclaim low vocations yet act as they did to you. You definitely had a vocation if you made it that far. They will pay for that in purgatory
I got a call to the Permanent Diaconate in 2015. I said "yes" to God for that call. The head of the vocation meetings for our deanery would not even meet with me to discuss this. Later, that priest asked to be laicized after being accused of many sexual scandals. Had I been ordained a deacon, I would be busy today with parish ministry. I would have also missed my REAL call: a call to pray for the poor souls in Purgatory,
Her rejection from the convent is shocking and painful. As a non-Christian, I don't understand how that kind of behavior is supposed to align with forgiveness and repentance.
I can't but think she some similar parallels occurred with Maria Von Trapp. Yes, Breanne's story is different, yet even the Mother Superior had to let Maria go. Maria wanted final vows, yet she received them in her marriage. Breanne is married, serving and loving her Lord through her husband. Maria Von Trapp did the same; the rest was musical history and cinema.
Monastic communities are communities. Aspirants need to fit in, and assist the community in its mission or ministry. Nor must they be a burden. No one has a right to belong to a community.
She is not claiming she has a right to that community but expects basic human respect: if they've admitted her with her story, they must take the responsibility for that decision and not add more suffering to her life by rejecting her after six months.
I must say something about the tattoos on her arm and her thought process, which is self-referential. Being a nun is not about being cool, but being holy. Christians in general no longer understand that the body and the soul are to be one, not divided, and are to be holy and unstained, as James communicated to us in his epistle. Jews nor Catholics stained their bodies with tattoos, because we are to aspire to be like the angels, spotless and aglow with holiness. Tattoos are opaque, make the body ugly, throw up antisocial barriers, and have always been a sign of paganism and evil, going back to the first murderer, Cain. Statistics show a high correlation between tattoos, drug use, and fornication, which is a form of adultery. James: "True religion is to care for widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Unfortunately we are paganizing our religion in the 21st century. The bishops must repent and teach the apostolic ethics again in the seminaries.
I ve been sober 21 years. I can be married to GOD even though I have grown children, abused alcohol and drugs in the past, had an abortion early on in my life, went my own way in life etc. but now Ive abandoned old ways, and live my life for God. I’m celibate, modest in dress, grateful, blessed, provided for by GOD , am in my ninth year of reading entire Bible in a year. I don’t wear makeup, I head cover. I’m 60 years old and GOD is still working on me til I enter into HIS kingdom. I’m not perfect and never will be. I take prescription medication for various reasons, and was diagnosed with MS and a brain tumor in 2000. The brain tumor was benign and I’m not in a wheelchair. there by the grace of GOD I can still do my chores on my own . Thank you my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ for your mercy endureth forever. ❤
That’s awesome that you’ve given yourself to God now. I’m 45, was a nun for 13 years, never married, no kids and I always feel like I should have stayed in my community despite the hardships there. I’m trying to live as a nun but it’s hard when I work full time. I try my best with where I’m at.
Whenever any church organization or ministry is unwilling to forgive the past of a person who has obviously repented and put it behind them with the Lord, they are not living and working for Jesus as their Lord and Savior as they claim to be. God doesn't care who we were before He saved us and restored us to new life with His Son, He cares who we are now with Jesus and our new mind and heart with Him. If there is nothing more to this with the nuns than what was presented they should be ashamed of themselves (and get right with the Lord and Breanne for doing it). We are people of change/repentance, not ones who play kick the sinner forever once the Lord has set them free! In Christ, Andrew
Her experience is similar to St Faustina. She was denied by so many Orders until she finally found one. Our lord never said that the road to sainthood would be easy.
No, you’ve misunderstood a little bit here and it’s a big a little bit. St. Faustina was not admitted into formation in those communities, so it is not the same kind of rejection. This is a rejection when you were living with them and you are living the same life and you are moving along the path and you’re talking with Jesus every day and you’re doing daily hours and work schedule and everything in your common life is geared into oneness with this place these ideals, and these people, so no it is not the same kind of rejection. It is like a divorce. It’s horrible.
After hearing this whole story I agree she should not have been allowed to enter a convent. The church has these rules for good reasons. There are too many scandals and so many people are broken from the lives they led. Yes Grace and redemption are freely available but the effects of those sins remain. Just look at Michael Voris.
I would loved to have heard more from her, l can relate to some of it. I never had a calling but the rejection l can understand, it happened to me in my work life, l kept getting passed by and in my prayer life the same.
God knows ourselves best- we dont understand now but will later. The women was not spiritually there and there would be another problem later. Rejection is protection from God from what would made us unhappy either here but mostly in the other world. God bless this woman and strenghten her faith that God has ALL in His control🙏🕊❤🕊🙏
Why does the Roman Catholic Church have such strict requirements for becoming a Monastic? That seems really odd to me. Isn't the purpose of becoming a Monastic to benefit your Salvation? Just take a look at St. Mary of Egypt.
Sounds like it's even stricter for women then. I know of several priests that become one later in life. They were not virgins, had been in carnal relationships, converted later in life. Didn't seem to be a problem w/ the men. Maybe it was just the area this woman was in and where she applied? It does seem like it might be stricter for women though.
Same! I'm simply too old to hope to join a community and I don't understand why that is the barrier. These rules don't make sense. Then we find that so many priests have come from unsavory lifestyles but no matter how old, they can go through the process, and we end up with the wrong sort of men as priests.
When you're up in age and have a desire for religious life, but have a messy past, it is very risky because the fact a person had a long history of participation in sin and the material world can easily regress. And people of a certain age are very hard to change.
Please let this woman know I think she just helped me with something very profound... I'm desperate for a loved one to come to Christ, through His Church, so much so I've pushed her so hard and she's refusing to budge and it's getting worse.. But I realized she may not be Called yet to Him for some reason, known only to Him and it takes the pressure off me and my burden about it... Interesting... He obviously has a plan for this woman you interviewed outside what she thinks she needs to do for Him... So maybe I have to accept that same type of thinking in my own situation with my loved one...
I think orders are dying because they are not excepting older vocations. They should not judge the past especially if you were not with God at the time when your depressed . I don’t suffer depression anymore like I did when I was young
I went through something similar and God told me they treated me with injustice. I was totally rejected by the Church 7 times. I even thought of leaving Catholicism and it was the Holy Spirit who intervened into my life and told me I needed the Sacraments. The Church today still holds me to my sin.
If a woman starts dating someone rich who is doing a lot of tithing would any priest who is benefiting form the same be insulting to her while she is seeking counselling from him?
Discernment works both ways. The potential aspirant discerns whether they have a vocation to that community and the community discerns whether the aspirant has a vocation there. And, even if the aspirant does have a vocation it doesn't mean that they have the ability to live that vocation. I think we need to stop criticizing religious communities for what is a normal part of the discernment process. Any community would be right to be very wary about someone who is taking any kind of psychoactive medication.
some people are appalled and repulsed of anything sexual and want to remain single, if they choose to be make monastic vows they are totally free to do that at any age. monastic vows are vows of chastity and no age requirements exist for that, they chose to remain unmarried for their whole lives. some people lived in communities in poverty and obedience but were not monastics, because that is not what monasticism is about. some monastics were non-cenobitic and had personal things. a more proper word is more likely modesty rather than poverty. and even in cenobitic communities a monastic can move out in cases of abuse. monasteries could offer access to resources and a place to stay for monastics that struggle to survive by themselves, but if a monastic is subjected to less or no human interaction in his private house and that might be a much better and peaceful option
Does she realize while she was talking, that she turned her time into an idol? Maybe i am wrong, we all go through our trials. It is never about human acceptance, but about our acceptance and our growing love and trust in our Lord. There is more, but well, since i am not articulate, it will let it lie. Thank you for sharing this vulnerable time with us, it is a gift to hear
The Churches judgement of others is a large part its decline. I am an abstinent homosexual who was not allowed to be a priest. I also couldn't afford the education to become one.
It’s wrong for them to send you away bc of past medications. What was their problem with past meds if you weee doing well? That’s a problem in religious life these days, they have ancient out of date rules that don’t make sense.
exactly, they caused her to fall in desperation and pushed her in a vicious antourage among laity which were more likely to condone abusing alcohol and other things
@@respectkindness-oj6xz in my former community they were the opposite. They were obsessed about health and there were quite a few sisters taking antidepressants and other meds needed for whatever reason. 11 sisters in just a few months had to have their gall bladders removed, a few died of cancer, 1 or 2 were over weight, several had hysterectomies for medical issues, if they sent anyone home over medical issues or past medical issues there would have been an empty monastery. Mother Angelica had her share of health issues that started after she joined Religious life. I’m guessing they didn’t feel she had a vocation for some reason and used the past meds as a reason to let her go. I think if a religious order is going to accept someone they should find out more about their past before the woman gives up everything she has including a steady job. This happens too often you’d think the superiors didn’t know anything about what it’s like to live life in the world or something. Totally unrealistic views coming from ‘wise’ women.
I cannot stand that they are so selective. A friend of mine loves Jesus and can’t become a nun because she’s disabled. I have mental health issues and ADHD so I guess I would have been rejected too. Im sure it really does feel like getting rejected by God. 🥺
Look, it's not about "You're not worthy." It's about "If you were called to be in today's very rough religious life, it's likely that God would make you stupid healthy and strong, in mind and body." Orders can't afford much medical care, or psychological care; and religious life necessarily includes a lot of potential triggers for people to go off the deep end. It's a lot more problematic that orders want people to have gone to college, in a world where going to college means incurring debt, and yet they don't have facilities for people with debt. They should encourage would-be monks and nuns to learn a trade, which they could then bring to the convent.
On the one hand, I'm sympathetic because I know there are corrupt people within the Church who manage to get into religious orders and Holy Orders that are far more offensive than this woman. And it's harsh when someone wants to serve and is rejected. On the other hand, this woman has so many red flags. Why is she dating an atheist in the first place? We have a sexual history, medications, mental illness, substance abuse, and impulsiveness present here. It raises a lot of questions on fitness when listening to this. I do wonder if one is rejected from a particular institution does that blacklist them from all other institutions?
Given how many pill pushing doctors there are; I don’t think it’s a good rule in this day & age. Everyone has such pills pushed on them by age 20 whether needed or not.
No one has the authority to discern their own vocation in the Church, apart from the structure of authority that exists. No one has a right to join the community that they like the best. It’s not a fair comparison to juxtapose female religious orders with diocesan priests. Male monastic orders also make sure that postulants are the “right fit.”
@@osar2870 Give us more details. How is that a "horrible" comparison? You mean the Faustina part or the Prodigal Son? "No offense" means 'I know it's a hurtful remark, but I can't be bothered to use tact.'
The Catholic Church always welcomes the prodigal son. Specific convents don’t accept everyone who comes to their door claiming they think/or know they have a vocation. Both the aspirant AND the community discern whether the person is meant to be there
So basically you have to be an angel to get accepted. Got it. Instead of helping out a thriving soul, let’s dump her like she’s trash for having a past. Got it.
There ARE convents that accept older people just like there are places that accept older men. You just need to find them....or just accept that God says no and perhaps do like st rose. She created her own habit and so on.
non-cenobitic monasticism is possible. no age requirements exist. virginity is a quality everyone has from the beginning of their existence and everyone knows how it is to be single, that is nothing unusual
mam, 🤔 ú máy stl do charity work even if you're not a nun. The 'rejections' are a blessing in disguise. You have nary an idea of what & how life is inside the convent.
I’m sorry but I don’t believe she was rejected for being too old or taking antidepressants in her past. It’s annoying that they came up with excuses to reject her, but I highly highly doubt those were the actual reasons. She admits that she needed to go to a 12 step program right after being rejected, so she was an alcoholic who had never been through treatment. I can’t think of any alcoholic I’ve met, who isn’t in the program, staying sober. Do the math. If that is the case, and obviously I don’t know for sure, it would have been better if she admitted that was the reason. Who knows, maybe she was an alcoholic who managed to stay sober for 6 months.
It takes 1 month to destroy a habit, as per psychologists, and it also takes 1 month to make a new habit. They also did a study to find out what the cause of people quitting addictions, and around 90% (cant remember exactly) had a "spiritual experience", which inclinded then to quit. Catholicism is the best spiritual experience. Its about whether you take her word. But in the worst case, she not going to lie that she was sober for 6 months...in the worst case she relapsed here or there in the span of the 6 months.
@@KyleWhittingtonFWIW, mcmilliron's experience, if necessarily limited, does not sound ill-informed. IDK whether you have known people struggling with alcoholism or drugs, but I certainly have. My parents ran sober homes for years - and the only residents (from among hundreds) I saw thriving were the ones who took the Twelve Steps seriously and completed a mandatory requirement to attend ninety meetings in ninety days. In other words, I've never seen anyone float for long between the extremes of alcoholism or total commitment to a Twelve-Step recovery program. My experience is also limited, of course, and I see why it's unfair to speculate about her past. But I also think your dismissal of mcmilliron is a little curt
I'm sure there are quite a few orders that still demand virginity. Thomas Merton was rejected on his initial quest to join the clergy because he had fathered a child out of wedlock.
Yes they do. I attended a multi-order vocation retreat/camp and during a Q and A session a sister was answering questions. One anonymous question was whether you needed to be a virgin to enter. She said in her order you do.
Yup, there are absolutely orders where you need to be a virgin. Generally exceptions are made for r*pe, abuse, etc., because those people are still virgins in God's eyes. But psychological health becomes very important in those cases. OTOH, there have been orders and associated sodalities where everybody was an ex-prostitute; but that took a lot of saintly people to make it work, especially since a lot of wounded souls are prone to having other people take advantage of them. And if people solve that kind of social problem most of the way, the order dies out; and the next person with the idea has to start from scratch, without advice from the previous orders.
We're ALL technically supposed to be the "bride of Christ" as members of the Church. Nuns and sisters just show that in a different, more particular way here and now, in part to remind the rest of us of that.
@@LibreVisionNetwork....the love of God to man as demonstrated in the old testament is like how marriage is and this was demonstrated and taught by Christ in the new testament
@@JP2GiannaTNo, the church (collectively) is the bride of Christ, not each individual. That concept got perverted in the early middle ages (around the 1300s), which drove many men away from the faith due to the feminization of the church. There's a great book about that by Leon Poodles called "The Church Impotent". It's out of print though, so it either has to be purchased used or received on interlibrary loan within the country if your library system does that. In Christ, Andrew
She worked with the youth in my church while I was doing my confirmation classes!! She was definitely an inspiration for me.
Thank you for posting this!! People do not understand how hard it is to discern.
First, the fear that comes with discerning and having to give up everything in your life.
Next, taking the leap and following God's call.
Then, being discerned out because of [insert your own reason here]. For me it was my past trauma that was affecting me or "could" affect me in the future.
During my own discernment, the poor choices of my parents and trauma of my childhood (abusive dad, separated parents) are what led to me being discerned out of an order I loved and that I deeply felt God calling me to. Although, the order only told me that it was "not a good fit." I was never told anything else. I was devastated. And many people that I knew from church, who knew I was discerning, scorned me or saw me as a failure. Breanne is absolutely right when she said being discerned out feels like God rejected you. I struggled with that for so long. As I sat in prayer one day after going to daily Mass, contemplating leaving the faith, I heard St. Peter's words in my head: "Lord, to whom shall we go?" And in that moment, I knew I could never leave the Church.
I carried on with life and eventually joined a Third Order. God has brought me on a journey and I know that the place I am in now is where He intends me to be. I still have a very close relationship with the Order that discerned me out. I am not married, and I may never be, but if that is God's will, I accept it. Although many people judge me for not being married or having children. More Catholics need to be made aware of the hardships of discernment and should be more supportive of those who discern out. They do not understand the journey that I have been on. I did not choose for this to happen. I just followed God's will as best as I could. While I do not know what the future holds, I trust in His will for me!
The problem with this is that they would have known about the anti depressants before they let her in. They let her do her initial six months knowing that they were going to reject her. That is beyond cruel. The other orders who rejected her up front were actually the kind ones. To string her along was so dreadful, I can barely comprehend it.
Many saints and blesseds were rejected by religious orders initially and sometimes by quite a few.
God allows us to be tested in many ways. He either wills it or allows it for our own good.
Yes! Let’s list some …
- Sts Louis Martin & Zelie Martin (Thérèse’s parents)
…
Mother Cabrini was rejected by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart.
Wow I'm crying while I listen to her, this is exactly what I'm going through right now, I've just been rejected from a monastery and I'm devastated.
Thank you so much for this testimony!
@@unapequeñaalma I’m so sorry, I know that barely means anything right now. I’ve been where you’re at and it was the worst time of my life. Nothing I’ve been through compares to it. Stay with Jesus in Blessed Sacrament. In the decades, afterward, I struggled because as I came to know the community that I was with was not good. God actually has a better plan and that sounds strange because you just did everything you did to be in the community you joined. I couldn’t understand this either, but I was missing the reality of things that I glossed over, love is blind. That these signs were and remain huge blaring signs that they were not good, and my formation was bad.
If you see my message here and want to talk, let me know. I had to undo a lot of the thinking that I came out with mine was monastic and enclosed as well.
I was FIERCELY called to be a Dominican and even stayed as an aspirant in a monastery. I realized I wasn't strong enough physically to be a nun (later, a sister) even before the formation director talked to me about anything like that and was really bummed and "gave it up" for a year or so. I had heard how St. Rose of Lima and St. Catherine of Sienna were Dominicans but not nuns or sisters, and I was like, how does that work? From internet searches, I wandered onto the website for the Third Order Dominicans and realized I could finally be one, where I was at in the world! Not counting the 2 hr commute. lol. It has been amazing (and rough but in a redemptive way). So, don't drop your aspirations (see what I did there lol) of being a nun, sister, etc. because of concerns a community may have. Please don't overlook third orders!
Thank you!
I have a similar story of being discerned out of a Carmelite order and ended up becoming a Third Order Carmelite! Somehow, you can just feel the charism in your soul. If God calls someone to a particular order, but not to the convent or monastery, definitely look into the Third Order! Almost every order has one nowadays. Thanks for sharing!
I was on depressant pills and it made me more depressed and crazy. I just gave myself to the lord, I stopped talking the pills and I never had a problem. If my crazies kicked in I ran to adoration, the rosary or whatever I needed to do in order to control my emotions.
I’m so happy you were able to get off your medication and I’m proud of you ❤
I was rejected because I had too much abuse in my past. Obviously not my fault, and it still stings a little. But I have 5 beautiful kids now, so.
Thank God she was rejected, she is evil and that shows
Must've been so disappointing and frustrating however, it seems God guided you through it and now you have just as big of a gift. Pray good health and blessings for you and your family ❤❤❤
What? I don’t understand - what’s that got to do becoming a Nun/Sister/Priest? Mainly saints led pretty traumatic lives.
I wanted to be a nun.However , I wound up taking care of my mom and dad who were ill.That was God,s plan.Does it bother me no.I had a great aunt, a second cousin, and another cousin who were nuns, cousin Edgar in Germany was a monsignor, and momma,s cousin Bernard was Auxiliary bishop of San Antonio.Guess Jesus felt he had plenty of us and my parents needed me more.
Props to Pints for posting this clip…. It’s far too often a romanticized version of religious orders we are presented with. I’m a married man with 2 kids but I can’t help but fantasize about what life would be like in a monastery. Videos like these help keep me grateful for my own vocation.
Hey, I am married as well, just a comment, marriage is a divine vocation, God wants you to love him in your married life, it's a holy vocation and indeed a sacrament, the holiest male saint was St Joseph, a married man
I am left after 31 years. Now I am a Joseph. But without a Mary.
Compare the 'starry eyed' young Thomas Merton when he first entered Gethsemane with the older Thomas Merton in the hermitage who said that the only good thing about the monastery was the electric lighting.
Maybe become an oblate?
@hendrikeinde6856 praying for you. May St Joseph help you.
I know of someone who was asked to leave her convent because she had a stomach ailment. Another friend who had to leave hers for her OCD and scrupulosity. My husband, a former seminarian, knows more men who left the seminary than the very few who became priests. A former seminarian who was one step away from the diaconate is living with my husband and I. Everyone I know who has left active discernment was left to figure out this feeling of rejection from God by themselves, all spiritual direction is ceased. No one checks in on them after they’ve given years of their young life to the church. I understand God is in control in every situation and has a calling somewhere for all rejected from religious life, but I think there is some sort of influence from the superiors which is not of God. Obviously, I know we want those who should not be priests or religious weeded out early as possible. But this is coming from someone who benefited from a seminarian leaving and not becoming a priest because she eventually met and married him due to God’s beautiful plan and perfect timing. However, people need to talk about this phenomenon more, thank you for talking about it Matt.
To be fair, there's no spiritual direction for anyone else , either. I'm a mother of a large family left to figure out the pain of God calling my son home to eternity this year, how to help my children and husband through it, how to navigate the difficult parts of the marital relationship, and many more much more difficult things. There are no spiritual directors available for me. Consecrated religious are lucky to have them at all during the time they're in the convent. They're also fortunate to have the ability to have a longer and more formal and systematized discernment period than married life can reasonably have.
That's not to say it wouldn't be wonderful if religious superiors offered a short transition time away.
@@jhssuthrnmama that’s understandable. I hope the best for you that maybe you’ll find a grief support group or someone to talk to. Praying for you!
It is supposed to be discernment. I see many orders I follow get a new postulant and then a year or so later, they are gone. It's fine, not like before where you stayed and were unhappy or it wasn't a fit. Many learn a lot of things about themselves during that time. Some orders are stricter because they say it upset the others when a lot leave although it's still better for them. Many wonderful marriages had people discern religious life first.
@@jhssuthrnmama Praying for you. I know with less priests and religious and they are so busy, it's hard to find someone. They will have them for people discerning because they need religious but I remember not wanting to bother our overworked priest with more. You can find a good counselor who isn't religious and sometimes they have more experience. Many books also but a human being is better for connection. I hope you find it.
@@deb9806 I am blessed enough to be in one of those marriages! I just wish my husband’s and others’ discernment out of religious life could have gone smoother. I wish Breanne, the woman in this video, wasn’t told she couldn’t continue in the order because she was on antidepressants as a child. I think God’s will can be accomplished by us humans in a better way
I felt that God was calling me to be a nun and I went through some of this, eventually becoming a postulant in a religious order. Its easy to idealize the religious life. The truth is that religious orders can be dysfunctional just like families can be. A lot of older sisters entered their orders right out of high school and have never dated or lived alone. They dont really understand modern women, and their rules and expectations can seem out of date and unfair. At a party I was not allowed to sign a birthday card for one of the sisters, because i had not taken my final vows. They had a lot of strange rules I didnt get the point of, and thats when I knew it wasnt for me. They also required me to have one or two MA degrees, but without any debt or loans. And I couldnt figure out how to do that.
That's true. Many arent like that. Cloistered seems to be more so. I think Sisters for Life or many other active orders seems better, they are very involved in things, they believe in exercise and taking care of all parts of your mind/body.
If they regularly catered to modern life, they wouldn't have lasted this long.
However, I don't get requiring any kind of degree unless you're going into a teaching order. It is quite possible to get those degrees without debt, however. My husband did it and my children are doing it.
You weren't called
@@jhssuthrnmama I think they want them to be more mature and know the world. If you go from high school, you might be pushed by "I don't want to deal with jobs, school, the world" or a parent pushing it. Even a Dominican order that has a lot of young women had a vocation story where a young woman wanted to join and they made her wait. She was glad because she had an ideal of convent life but it's so much harder. They don't have the freedom of priests and many are cut off (I don't agree with this) for 2 years with visits etc home or in. I'm sure wisdom over the years with issues we don't hear about make many change the rules even though they know they have to be debt free.
@@deb9806 🤣
Many holy women were unable to enter a convent.
St Gemma Galgani found her vocation as a lay Passionist.
St Zélie Martin found her vocation in marriage and family life .
Her daughter, Servant of God Léonie Martin, was rejected three times before she could enter a convent for good.
Servant of God Edel Mary Quinn found her vocation as a lay apostle for the Legion of Mary in Africa, despite her delicate health.
I also wasn't allowed to be a nun, due to the fact that I had an eating disorder, despite being healthy for 7 years. I still don't think it's fair but am trying to accept my vocation and hoping to get a husband, at least.
There are many orders and many different callings in religious life sister; thus, one ‘no’ for whatever reason can be because our Lord was saying no here. Yet, so many other orders may say yes after such a long time being healthy. Also, your remark about “at least” finding a husband may indicate you are called to religious life. I would recommend reading the books “Virginity” by Cantalamessa and “And You Are Christ’s” by Dubay to aid in looking into a consecrated vocation. Also try to find a Director, you can reach out to Divine Mercy institute for grads of their program for direction certification and specify what you are looking for.
Eating disorder shouldn’t stop you I knew someone with an eating disorder ( really OCD ) in Community and she was angry nasty piece of work to other vowed sisters, literally out for blood, when they promoted her, she hated the one that gave her the Obedience to g gain weight and wanted so many vowed sisters gone, out of her perfect doll template she *knew* (demonic red flag). It was just that type that is Jekyll and Hyde, run away don’t walk
This happened to me too. It is only that God wants us to be saints in the world, among the world: and what better than a person who has lived and fallen in the world to evangelize it? Be a holy person, praying and offering, remaining in the world and you will bear much fruit. Be blessed 😇
5:25 Imitation of Christ. The garden, being from Nazareth, rejection.... This is a blessing.
No, that was wrong. Totally wrong for this order to have her uproot her life, spend six months with them, only to be told something from ten years ago was the issue. No. They should have told her that UPFRONT. I'd say she dodged a bullet if that's how they treat people.
They should have warned her, yes, but it's not wrong for them to have her make all those sacrifices. They need people to let go of those worldly things totally.
@@lalaithan My point is they should have told her up front: she was disqualified for something that was an issue from years ago, not something that emerged during the 6 months stay. If something from ten years ago was an issue, they should have disqualified her before she quit her job and spent so much time with them.
@@lalaithan You uproot your job, your material security, your house, your family, and then have to start from scratch. You'll find that those worldly things are very necessary, even religious orders need them.
Love how God used this too teach her how to love life again. So beautiful. Legit a character development moment
I wanted to be a nun, I had relatives who were nuns.Howevet ,.my mother had a heart condition and later a stroke took care of her and my late father had COPD.I sometimes think about it and I,m 68.I am too old , however I will find my own,path, and serve God in my way. This lady could join a secular institute , she could be a secular Franciscan tertiary like St.Elizabeth of Hungary and other people have done with the Benedictine Oblates,etc.
I am going to pray for this young lady. I am sorry she was rejected. I did not know that convents rejected women wanting to become nuns. I thought there was a nun shortage.
Standards.
Augustine wouldn't be good enough for many so-called leaders of the Church
👏 very well said. I was so disappointed by hearing this.. disappointed and angry and depressed and crushed, actually… 😔😞😰
I don't remember the name of the book I was given to read before scheduling a vocations weekend to look into the priesthood at Saint John Vianny in Miami years ago, but it had this great and terrible story of an uneducated and intelligent man with a tremendous heart for the Lord, and wonderful ability at bringing people to Him and closer to Him, who was denied entry into the priesthood.
That upset me greatly so I asked my spiritual director about it and he got extremely upset and clerical with me by asking who I thought I was to question the decision making process for entrance into seminary. I was in my mid 40s at the time, and coming close to the age limit for entrance, so after politely pushing back on that with him I went to the weekend anyway.
It was very eye opening and extremely frustrating because not only did they constantly use the words theology and "philosophy" (barf), they also hardly ever said the name of Jesus in three days. A lot of arrogance and love of authoritarianism, and all molded into an overly intellectual and highly academic platform that's great for apologetics but not so much for evangelization.
Win the person for Christ, not just the argument or their blind and subordinate obedience. And with the latter many struggle to fully practice what they preach since they put tradition on par with Sacred Scripture and don't follow or profess Scripture in its literal sense when it doesn't suit them.
I left there unbelievably angry and never followed up, nor did they. Can't walk with people who aren't who they say they are and don't even follow the Lord through Scripture, all while wanting you to be obedient to them.
Nope! Jesus is first, last, and always, especially when the clergy make stuff up or directly go against what He has clearly left for us all in the revelations of Scripture.
In Christ,
Andrew
I was rejected after 5 years of living in a convent. It was devastating. They told me I'm not good enough because I'm highly sensitive person. I'm over forty, and have no hope to find my path and my place in the world.
Oh God that’s horrible.. can you name them? Most religious are growing spiritually to be highly sensitive to people, don’t misunderstand, not nitpicky it’s called being closer to God, the more sensitive you are to people. unfortunately, the OCD sick angry prideful nitpicky ones make people miserable, and they usually become superior.
Thank you for such content. I have always want to be a nun missionary nun. Just because it’s sounds Holy - it is still may not be God’s will. Very deep. Mystery indeed. 😅 Humility humility humility.
I did not become one as I was a Protestant. Lol! Missionary I became. But still I was lost when that was taken away from me. Today I am a Catholic in the heart - RCIA starting soon for me in a couple of months time. 🎉🎉🎉 God is still doing His work in my life my soul. Thank you for your videos.
I was thinking the requirements of that convent were too harsh until the moment she said she starting pounding alcohol during the first month out of the convent. That right there proved the convent was correct in their decision. This beloved daughter of God had serious substance addiction problems she had NOT resolved that needed healing. It just proves we can't assess things by how good we feel. She felt she was thriving but its clear she had deep seated unresolved alcoholism.
Leaving the convent is the spiritual equivalent of dealing with a bad divorce. It can lead you to the brink of your sanity. Just assuming this woman had an addiction problem because she dealt with the trauma with alcohol is very much a stress.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼💯
@@alyciahartley815No. It's called discernment.
@@worthwhilediscussion Yes, just as an annulment can be a call to discernment, or losing a spouse can be a call to discernment.
@@alyciahartley815stop sexualising monasticism. these analogies are not very appropriate. if female nuns are brides of Christ then what are male monks? something that made sense and seemed reasonable was when i read about the meaning of some monastic garments in eastern-orthodox monasticism and it was explained that the hoodie a monastic wears signifies the clothing of a toddler reminding of their innocence and purity which a monastic is trying to preserve and avoid losing
The Lord is ALWAYS in charge. He has a plan that is often not what we want but he leads us to himself in ways we would never imagine. Joining a community is not just about what we want and how well we think we are doing. It isn't about the individual alone but what is best for the community, too. Count your blessings and move on. I did.
I had similar experiences with trying to enter an order. I was told I was too old and rejected by so many. Two were finally willing to give me a chance, but one has significant issues falling into modern day feminism and we're clearly moving against Church teaching and by the time I started discussions with the second, I met my now husband. I didn't realize until I was in a relationship with him and seeing the fruits of the Spirit in our relationship that the obstacles were God's way of guiding me where he wanted me, but there are SERIOUS issues in our American convents and the fact that most only want young girls and are in lock step with feminist bs should concern everyone.
Why on earth would they reject her for being "too old"??? In her twenties!
Because God didn’t mean for her to be with that community.
Although I can form some reasons for why such barriers exist, there should be individual examination to see whether or not people with such pasts are reliable or not. If God Himself forgives us for what we did in the past, so should those in power in such areas. It is highly unfair for those who are willing to change and have proven to others they are reliable to have their soul crushed because of their past which they are trying to move on from.
They have to discern if the applicant is a good fit. There's other religious orders just like there's other fish in the sea@@dynaspinner64
The last thing any religious cult wants to deal with is someone who is old enough to think for themselves.
Like training Anakin in Star Wars maybe? 😅
I was a sister for 13 years in Mother Angelica’s community in AL. I ended up leaving which I know now was a huge mistake. I want to return to Religious life and I don’t know how to do that now that I’m in my 40’s and it’s a bit harder with age limits etc. I feel the same thing you did. If you want to be a nun act like one. I’m thinking if I can’t return to Religious Life then I’m thinking of being a hermit.
non-cenobitic monasticism is possible. monastic communities might help by offering resources and a place to stay for those who struggle to survive by themselves, but if it is more quiet and peaceful and you experience less or no human interaction living in your house that is more solitude than someone residing in a monastery so it is more convenient. monastic vows are vows of chastity, unmarried people could do that also, but a monastic promises to remain single for the rest of his life. if wearing decent clothing then having an uniform is unnecessary (although monasteries tended to require that), designs for monastic garments throughout history have changed and some monastic saints did not wear any specific type of clothing if they were decently dressed generally which is suggested for all christians and not exclusive to monastics. in afterlife virgins and monastics who will be saved and go to heaven will receive special spiritual gifts
Excellent thanks for telling your story.God Bless you.
This really resonated with me. I was in a cloister community, the way they dealt with the formation sisters, and the canonical vowed sister is problematic. I wish I would’ve heard in any of these stories that somebody turned to the formator that would laugh, and say “you’re joking!” because of who I was with, and I had gone in at 18 after high school living Catholic intent on going in to the cloister for the rest of my life. I haven’t been able to receive a yes, from any other community since. And I have asked four or five others. I would encourage others to keep trying. I still feel the pull on my heart of the heart to anywhere He would lead me, if they would just say “Yes” Fiat. My exit from the infamous set was very cruel. I feel like my rejection from other communities has been because of who they were/still are.
I would encourage every other human being, who is called to religious life and rejected by one to keep looking for the true vocation of service and prayer in community.
She is great. Loved her story.
This is such a sad story. I really wonder how the Church will attract enough younger women, then, because in my time, roughly 1/3rd were on depression meds in their teens. I suspect that number has increased over the decades.
That part really bothered me too. It shows a prejudice as if mental health struggles are something that are always in the person's absolute control, but we will give pass for someone who has physical ailments, we will name them and pray about the symptoms and treatments and for healing, because that's out of the person's control. The woman may indeed not have been suited for religious life given her addiction history, but that was the real issue not her history of having taken antidepressants.
Did she only try one convent? They all aren't like that. Was it contemplative? They tend to be stricter because the life is so much harder.
@@deb9806She tried several. The one which rejected her was one of the few that would accept a woman of her age and sexual past.
@@erichardzzCould not agree more. The fact that she relapsed so quickly into alcoholism showed that she really wasn't in the best place in her life to make such a profound commitment and really needed to work on her addiction.
However, it breaks my heart to hear her speak about how much in love with the Lord and convent life she was, only to be rejected for something that she couldn't help. She seems like she would have made a brilliant nun. Thankfully, God brought a wonderful husband into her life instead.
@@Charlotte_Martel oh what was her age, they usually cut off early 30's. I know Dominican Sisters Mother of the Eucharist made an exception but it's rare. I get it, the routine for some is comforting at first but we like to do things when we like to do them and it is much harder. There are orders that do take older women but she might have not felt a "fit" there.
I saw a spanish documentary about cloistered monks and nuns. One of the nuns interviewed told she was married and had 6 children when she got the call and therefore consecrate her life to Christ in a convent. So girl, I wouldn't rule it out yet. No one knows when the Lord can call you.
So how did that happen for the married lady with 6 kids? Like did her husband allow her to go or did she divorce and leave her family, so what happened? Or did the documentary not get into the specifics
@@seanmcelroy9774 Yah, that's a bit weird....🤔
Maybe the kids were grown and the husband consented
St Maximilian Kolbe's parents did a similar thing to this
@@adamwaugh3373awesome. Yea I was just curious cuz that’s not a too common thing. Basically i just assumed once married, that door is closed unless a widow or something. Thanks for the info. I did not know that about St Kolbe.
Matt, I would love for you to interview a Consecrated Virgin and hear there story 😇
Oh no ☹️. I’m discerning religious life right now. I’m 24 and have had depression in the past, took medication for it and I am no longer a virgin. I’ve spoken to the communities about my depression and no one has told me anything about it. I hope it doesn’t become a problem because i really do feel like it’s the vocation in which my life would be fulfilled.
Wow I needed to see this
The likely reason for the orders being so exclusionary is the very large number of nuns and
priests who initially passed muster and later jumped ship. Suspect they want to weed out anyone
they think might be even a mild risk ahead of time.
It's not just "jumping ship", a mental illness can rear its ugly head in a monastery or community in a way that it will hurt everyone.
As the story is told to us it is simply an injustice. Unjust things happen to good people. Try being a novice when a predator in the community starts propositioning novices.
Not just novices.
We often hear horror stories of priests who prey on vulnerable children but nearly just as disgusting are the petty, vindictive, resentful post-menopausal Mother Superiors (Mothers Superior?) who take the bitterness springing from their mid-life crises out on young, idealistic novices, crushing their zeal and enthusiasm before they have a chance to blossom. They also tend to foster a strict social hierarchy and the toxic environment of bullying that goes with it, which has caused no shortage of nuns to leave not only their religious orders but also the faith itself. In that sense, Breanne may have dodged a bullet.
I spent 3 weeks at a monastery with an abbot like that. Dear Lord, he was a legitimately abusive person, mentally and emotionally.
I had spent about a year prior at another monastery, and moved into this other monastery after hitting a brick wall in my discernment there.
@@GuadalupePicasso It's unfortunate. Like I said in my initial comment, you're probably more than qualified to pursue this particular religious vocation but given the environment that exists in some orders, you probably avoided a worse fate. Thankfully, as there are more good priests than bad, so are there more good monasteries and nunneries than those of ill repute.
Perhaps Breanne should consider establishing some sort of lay apostolate. She seems like the kind of person who would be good at it.
@@Primordial_Synapse genuine question; how do you know there's more good than bad?
@@JP2GiannaT Technically, I can't say that I know with absolute certainty but I choose to remain optimistic. In other words, I have no reason to believe otherwise.
Just out of curiosity, why do you ask?
Strange - I don’t remember Jesus saying no to his followers because of their past
And the Church wonders why there's a "lack of vocations".... Clearly there is some instability in this case, but haven't we had a fair number of unstable saints? Plenty of unhealthy, old, young, and formerly profligate ones too. God is glorified in our weakness, not in our perfection. I can understand communities wanting to avoid scandal, discord, and liability, but that is going to happen no matter what. But the one who is forgiven much will love much.
Yeah... The church is presently made of some serious sinners. Look how often they proclaim low vocations yet act as they did to you. You definitely had a vocation if you made it that far. They will pay for that in purgatory
I got a call to the Permanent Diaconate in 2015. I said "yes" to God for that call. The head of the vocation meetings for our deanery would not even meet with me to discuss this. Later, that priest asked to be laicized after being accused of many sexual scandals.
Had I been ordained a deacon, I would be busy today with parish ministry. I would have also missed my REAL call: a call to pray for the poor souls in Purgatory,
“The stone that the builders rejected is the cornerstone!”
Her rejection from the convent is shocking and painful. As a non-Christian, I don't understand how that kind of behavior is supposed to align with forgiveness and repentance.
I can't but think she some similar parallels occurred with Maria Von Trapp. Yes, Breanne's story is different, yet even the Mother Superior had to let Maria go. Maria wanted final vows, yet she received them in her marriage.
Breanne is married, serving and loving her Lord through her husband. Maria Von Trapp did the same; the rest was musical history and cinema.
Monastic communities are communities. Aspirants need to fit in, and assist the community in its mission or ministry. Nor must they be a burden.
No one has a right to belong to a community.
She is not claiming she has a right to that community but expects basic human respect: if they've admitted her with her story, they must take the responsibility for that decision and not add more suffering to her life by rejecting her after six months.
I must say something about the tattoos on her arm and her thought process, which is self-referential. Being a nun is not about being cool, but being holy. Christians in general no longer understand that the body and the soul are to be one, not divided, and are to be holy and unstained, as James communicated to us in his epistle. Jews nor Catholics stained their bodies with tattoos, because we are to aspire to be like the angels, spotless and aglow with holiness. Tattoos are opaque, make the body ugly, throw up antisocial barriers, and have always been a sign of paganism and evil, going back to the first murderer, Cain. Statistics show a high correlation between tattoos, drug use, and fornication, which is a form of adultery. James: "True religion is to care for widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Unfortunately we are paganizing our religion in the 21st century. The bishops must repent and teach the apostolic ethics again in the seminaries.
I ve been sober 21 years. I can be married to GOD even though I have grown children, abused alcohol and drugs in the past, had an abortion early on in my life, went my own way in life etc. but now Ive abandoned old ways, and live my life for God. I’m celibate, modest in dress, grateful, blessed, provided for by GOD , am in my ninth year of reading entire Bible in a year. I don’t wear makeup, I head cover. I’m 60 years old and GOD is still working on me til I enter into HIS kingdom. I’m not perfect and never will be. I take prescription medication for various reasons, and was diagnosed with MS and a brain tumor in 2000. The brain tumor was benign and I’m not in a wheelchair. there by the grace of GOD I can still do my chores on my own . Thank you my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ for your mercy endureth forever. ❤
That’s awesome that you’ve given yourself to God now. I’m 45, was a nun for 13 years, never married, no kids and I always feel like I should have stayed in my community despite the hardships there. I’m trying to live as a nun but it’s hard when I work full time. I try my best with where I’m at.
@@Maranatha-t9d What happened? I was felt if I was given the opportunity to stay I would’ve stayed.
Whenever any church organization or ministry is unwilling to forgive the past of a person who has obviously repented and put it behind them with the Lord, they are not living and working for Jesus as their Lord and Savior as they claim to be.
God doesn't care who we were before He saved us and restored us to new life with His Son, He cares who we are now with Jesus and our new mind and heart with Him. If there is nothing more to this with the nuns than what was presented they should be ashamed of themselves (and get right with the Lord and Breanne for doing it).
We are people of change/repentance, not ones who play kick the sinner forever once the Lord has set them free!
In Christ,
Andrew
The Orthodox Church accepts women into the monastery even if you’re older or have a past. It’s about repentance.
Her experience is similar to St Faustina. She was denied by so many Orders until she finally found one.
Our lord never said that the road to sainthood would be easy.
No, you’ve misunderstood a little bit here and it’s a big a little bit. St. Faustina was not admitted into formation in those communities, so it is not the same kind of rejection. This is a rejection when you were living with them and you are living the same life and you are moving along the path and you’re talking with Jesus every day and you’re doing daily hours and work schedule and everything in your common life is geared into oneness with this place these ideals, and these people, so no it is not the same kind of rejection. It is like a divorce. It’s horrible.
After hearing this whole story I agree she should not have been allowed to enter a convent. The church has these rules for good reasons. There are too many scandals and so many people are broken from the lives they led. Yes Grace and redemption are freely available but the effects of those sins remain. Just look at Michael Voris.
I would loved to have heard more from her, l can relate to some of it.
I never had a calling but the rejection l can understand, it happened to me in my work life, l kept getting passed by and in my prayer life the same.
She felt the call, find a community that isn’t ridiculous and rejects vocational calls.
God knows ourselves best- we dont understand now but will later. The women was not spiritually there and there would be another problem later. Rejection is protection from God from what would made us unhappy either here but mostly in the other world. God bless this woman and strenghten her faith that God has ALL in His control🙏🕊❤🕊🙏
Why does the Roman Catholic Church have such strict requirements for becoming a Monastic? That seems really odd to me. Isn't the purpose of becoming a Monastic to benefit your Salvation? Just take a look at St. Mary of Egypt.
Sounds like it's even stricter for women then. I know of several priests that become one later in life. They were not virgins, had been in carnal relationships, converted later in life. Didn't seem to be a problem w/ the men. Maybe it was just the area this woman was in and where she applied? It does seem like it might be stricter for women though.
Just to be clear, St Mary of Egypt wasn’t a prostitute.
Same! I'm simply too old to hope to join a community and I don't understand why that is the barrier. These rules don't make sense. Then we find that so many priests have come from unsavory lifestyles but no matter how old, they can go through the process, and we end up with the wrong sort of men as priests.
If you wait until the end you find out what the nuns may have seen something we don’t today.
I mean, I think she said it was dependent on the groups, not specifically the Church itself
Powerful story. God bless
When you're up in age and have a desire for religious life, but have a messy past, it is very risky because the fact a person had a long history of participation in sin and the material world can easily regress. And people of a certain age are very hard to change.
Then don't tell them to drop their whole lives and come into your community.
That is a wild story. I need to hear more
Please let this woman know I think she just helped me with something very profound... I'm desperate for a loved one to come to Christ, through His Church, so much so I've pushed her so hard and she's refusing to budge and it's getting worse.. But I realized she may not be Called yet to Him for some reason, known only to Him and it takes the pressure off me and my burden about it... Interesting... He obviously has a plan for this woman you interviewed outside what she thinks she needs to do for Him... So maybe I have to accept that same type of thinking in my own situation with my loved one...
I think orders are dying because they are not excepting older vocations. They should not judge the past especially if you were not with God at the time when your depressed . I don’t suffer depression anymore like I did when I was young
If you can support yourself financially, and are 35 years or older, you can discern becoming a consecrated hermit.
Sory for the feeling of rejection but if that's what happened, that's God's will.
I went through something similar and God told me they treated me with injustice. I was totally rejected by the Church 7 times.
I even thought of leaving Catholicism and it was the Holy Spirit who intervened into my life and told me I needed the Sacraments.
The Church today still holds me to my sin.
Awesome video
well you never know what God has for you , God s life is not what you want - is what God want you to do
Amen ✝️☦️🕊
If a woman starts dating someone rich who is doing a lot of tithing would any priest who is benefiting form the same be insulting to her while she is seeking counselling from him?
That was very interesting!
Discernment works both ways. The potential aspirant discerns whether they have a vocation to that community and the community discerns whether the aspirant has a vocation there. And, even if the aspirant does have a vocation it doesn't mean that they have the ability to live that vocation. I think we need to stop criticizing religious communities for what is a normal part of the discernment process. Any community would be right to be very wary about someone who is taking any kind of psychoactive medication.
some people are appalled and repulsed of anything sexual and want to remain single, if they choose to be make monastic vows they are totally free to do that at any age. monastic vows are vows of chastity and no age requirements exist for that, they chose to remain unmarried for their whole lives. some people lived in communities in poverty and obedience but were not monastics, because that is not what monasticism is about. some monastics were non-cenobitic and had personal things. a more proper word is more likely modesty rather than poverty. and even in cenobitic communities a monastic can move out in cases of abuse. monasteries could offer access to resources and a place to stay for monastics that struggle to survive by themselves, but if a monastic is subjected to less or no human interaction in his private house and that might be a much better and peaceful option
THIS IS WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE RELIGIOUS LIFE
Does she realize while she was talking, that she turned her time into an idol? Maybe i am wrong, we all go through our trials. It is never about human acceptance, but about our acceptance and our growing love and trust in our Lord. There is more, but well, since i am not articulate, it will let it lie. Thank you for sharing this vulnerable time with us, it is a gift to hear
The Churches judgement of others is a large part its decline. I am an abstinent homosexual who was not allowed to be a priest. I also couldn't afford the education to become one.
We 12-steppers have no shortage of opportunity to serve those in desperate need
I haer what the convent did for you but...what did you do for the convent ?
It’s wrong for them to send you away bc of past medications. What was their problem with past meds if you weee doing well? That’s a problem in religious life these days, they have ancient out of date rules that don’t make sense.
exactly, they caused her to fall in desperation and pushed her in a vicious antourage among laity which were more likely to condone abusing alcohol and other things
@@respectkindness-oj6xz in my former community they were the opposite. They were obsessed about health and there were quite a few sisters taking antidepressants and other meds needed for whatever reason. 11 sisters in just a few months had to have their gall bladders removed, a few died of cancer, 1 or 2 were over weight, several had hysterectomies for medical issues, if they sent anyone home over medical issues or past medical issues there would have been an empty monastery. Mother Angelica had her share of health issues that started after she joined Religious life. I’m guessing they didn’t feel she had a vocation for some reason and used the past meds as a reason to let her go. I think if a religious order is going to accept someone they should find out more about their past before the woman gives up everything she has including a steady job. This happens too often you’d think the superiors didn’t know anything about what it’s like to live life in the world or something. Totally unrealistic views coming from ‘wise’ women.
I cannot stand that they are so selective. A friend of mine loves Jesus and can’t become a nun because she’s disabled. I have mental health issues and ADHD so I guess I would have been rejected too. Im sure it really does feel like getting rejected by God. 🥺
Ms. Demarco, maybe your calling is to take a cue from St. Teresa of Avilla and start your own community.
God love her ❤
Look, it's not about "You're not worthy." It's about "If you were called to be in today's very rough religious life, it's likely that God would make you stupid healthy and strong, in mind and body." Orders can't afford much medical care, or psychological care; and religious life necessarily includes a lot of potential triggers for people to go off the deep end.
It's a lot more problematic that orders want people to have gone to college, in a world where going to college means incurring debt, and yet they don't have facilities for people with debt. They should encourage would-be monks and nuns to learn a trade, which they could then bring to the convent.
On the one hand, I'm sympathetic because I know there are corrupt people within the Church who manage to get into religious orders and Holy Orders that are far more offensive than this woman. And it's harsh when someone wants to serve and is rejected.
On the other hand, this woman has so many red flags. Why is she dating an atheist in the first place? We have a sexual history, medications, mental illness, substance abuse, and impulsiveness present here. It raises a lot of questions on fitness when listening to this. I do wonder if one is rejected from a particular institution does that blacklist them from all other institutions?
Thriving in a convent doesn't necessarily mean that you belong there forever.
Given how many pill pushing doctors there are; I don’t think it’s a good rule in this day & age. Everyone has such pills pushed on them by age 20 whether needed or not.
No one has the authority to discern their own vocation in the Church, apart from the structure of authority that exists. No one has a right to join the community that they like the best. It’s not a fair comparison to juxtapose female religious orders with diocesan priests. Male monastic orders also make sure that postulants are the “right fit.”
Sister Faustina had a lot of obstacles like that, too. The Prodigal Son is supposed to be welcomed, but they clean forgot.
Horrible comparison no offense
@@osar2870 Give us more details. How is that a "horrible" comparison? You mean the Faustina part or the Prodigal Son? "No offense" means 'I know it's a hurtful remark, but I can't be bothered to use tact.'
The Catholic Church always welcomes the prodigal son. Specific convents don’t accept everyone who comes to their door claiming they think/or know they have a vocation. Both the aspirant AND the community discern whether the person is meant to be there
So basically you have to be an angel to get accepted. Got it. Instead of helping out a thriving soul, let’s dump her like she’s trash for having a past. Got it.
The rejection will make sense in time. It hurts in the moment, definitely. I know.
There ARE convents that accept older people just like there are places that accept older men. You just need to find them....or just accept that God says no and perhaps do like st rose. She created her own habit and so on.
Which st rose created her own habit? I can’t find anything on the internet about that?
@@elisabethb.2698 yes St. Rose of Lima
@@ujue1966 thank you
Maybe they rejected her because they get their recruits from certain sources.
non-cenobitic monasticism is possible. no age requirements exist. virginity is a quality everyone has from the beginning of their existence and everyone knows how it is to be single, that is nothing unusual
Didn't knew that.
Jesus calls us to the Great Commission (evangelism ), not to stay in a convent.
mam, 🤔 ú máy stl do charity work even if you're not a nun. The 'rejections' are a blessing in disguise. You have nary an idea of what & how life is inside the convent.
Considering the fact she spent 6 months in a convent, I'm pretty sure she knows what life in a convent is like better than you.
with all this tatoos?
Jail is the only place to be in a world gone mad. Thoreau.
I’m sorry but I don’t believe she was rejected for being too old or taking antidepressants in her past. It’s annoying that they came up with excuses to reject her, but I highly highly doubt those were the actual reasons. She admits that she needed to go to a 12 step program right after being rejected, so she was an alcoholic who had never been through treatment. I can’t think of any alcoholic I’ve met, who isn’t in the program, staying sober. Do the math. If that is the case, and obviously I don’t know for sure, it would have been better if she admitted that was the reason. Who knows, maybe she was an alcoholic who managed to stay sober for 6 months.
It takes 1 month to destroy a habit, as per psychologists, and it also takes 1 month to make a new habit.
They also did a study to find out what the cause of people quitting addictions, and around 90% (cant remember exactly) had a "spiritual experience", which inclinded then to quit. Catholicism is the best spiritual experience. Its about whether you take her word. But in the worst case, she not going to lie that she was sober for 6 months...in the worst case she relapsed here or there in the span of the 6 months.
How remarkably despicable that you think it’s appropriate to accuse a stranger of dishonesty because her story doesn’t fit your limited experience.
@@ludwigvanbeethoven8164Addiction is MUCH stronger than a habit!
@@KyleWhittingtonFWIW, mcmilliron's experience, if necessarily limited, does not sound ill-informed. IDK whether you have known people struggling with alcoholism or drugs, but I certainly have. My parents ran sober homes for years - and the only residents (from among hundreds) I saw thriving were the ones who took the Twelve Steps seriously and completed a mandatory requirement to attend ninety meetings in ninety days. In other words, I've never seen anyone float for long between the extremes of alcoholism or total commitment to a Twelve-Step recovery program. My experience is also limited, of course, and I see why it's unfair to speculate about her past. But I also think your dismissal of mcmilliron is a little curt
Buddy, look into convents. I was curious about one near me and right there on their website it said, "accepting women ages 18-25".
I reckon it was the Tatts 😅
St Philip Neri wasn’t allowed
To join the Jesuits.
Anyways. Carry on
NO religious community asks a woman if she's a virgin, that's nonsense.
I'm sure there are quite a few orders that still demand virginity. Thomas Merton was rejected on his initial quest to join the clergy because he had fathered a child out of wedlock.
Uhhhh...yes, they absolutely DO. I don't know if ALL communities do, but when I was young and discerning, they absolutely did.
Yes they do. I attended a multi-order vocation retreat/camp and during a Q and A session a sister was answering questions. One anonymous question was whether you needed to be a virgin to enter. She said in her order you do.
Yup, there are absolutely orders where you need to be a virgin. Generally exceptions are made for r*pe, abuse, etc., because those people are still virgins in God's eyes. But psychological health becomes very important in those cases.
OTOH, there have been orders and associated sodalities where everybody was an ex-prostitute; but that took a lot of saintly people to make it work, especially since a lot of wounded souls are prone to having other people take advantage of them. And if people solve that kind of social problem most of the way, the order dies out; and the next person with the idea has to start from scratch, without advice from the previous orders.
Hahahaha. All that piety then she decides to go to Al anon. Duh...
The Church has already TOO MANY Nuns, Yeshua Jesus DOESN'T NEED WiVES !
@SirPintswithAquinas Ok🤷🏻
We're ALL technically supposed to be the "bride of Christ" as members of the Church. Nuns and sisters just show that in a different, more particular way here and now, in part to remind the rest of us of that.
@@JP2GiannaTWhere in the new testament does it say that ?🤷🏻
@@LibreVisionNetwork....the love of God to man as demonstrated in the old testament is like how marriage is and this was demonstrated and taught by Christ in the new testament
@@JP2GiannaTNo, the church (collectively) is the bride of Christ, not each individual. That concept got perverted in the early middle ages (around the 1300s), which drove many men away from the faith due to the feminization of the church. There's a great book about that by Leon Poodles called "The Church Impotent". It's out of print though, so it either has to be purchased used or received on interlibrary loan within the country if your library system does that.
In Christ,
Andrew