Often when I introduce myself, people seem surprised. “I thought Carmelites were cloistered?” Occasionally there is a slight tone of suspicion in their voice, as if maybe we were escapees or something. I am always prompt to clarify things for them. While most...
On the day I received the religious habit, I was 19 years old and only a little more than 10 months in the Community. The experience was a life-changing one as in our early formation we knew that the Reception of the Habit was the beginning of our “spousal...
When a young woman is considering the possibility of entering Religious Life, one of the greatest fears that her parents confront is that their daughter will lose her most unique and beautiful and precious traits. They may wonder, “Will the Nuns brainwash my daughter?...
Sister Faustina, OCD What was it about Jesus that drew the apostles to leave everything and follow Him? Yes, He called them, “Come, follow me,” but what was it that made them so eager to remain with Him to the end? Was it His fascinating miracles? (Walking on water...
Several years ago a voice was heard bellowing out in an airport waiting area, “Chaste for 45 years!”The surrounding space was electrified as heads turned toward us as I stood facing a non-Christian gentleman who had asked me if we practiced chastity and then posed to...
