Welcome!
17 December 2006 by Sandy, csj
Welcome to nunsuch!
Why nunsuch? I’d like to tell you there’s some profound meaning behind my choice of a name for this blog, but I just thought it was a cute play on the word “nonesuch”. And since a lot of what I will be reflecting on is my experiences as a contemporary Roman Catholic woman religious, it seemed appropriate.
Just for fun, I looked up “nonesuch” in the Merriam Webster online dictionary, and it said, “a person or thing without an equal.” I almost changed the name of this blog after seeing that because it sounds pretentious, and that is certainly not what I’m going for here. On the other hand, I haven’t come across too many nuns who are engineers either. So while this combination is probably not unique, it’s certainly unusual. Give me a shout if you know of other nuns who are engineers.
My hope for this blog is for us to have meaningful conversations about issues that matter. I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s so easy to get caught up in the hectic pace of life as a global citizen in the 21st century that I can lose touch with that deepest, truest place inside of me where I experience my most profound encounters with God and the people in my life.
So how do we do that? I think that perhaps one way is to share a bit of my journey with you as a context for these meaningful conversations, and go from there. There will be times I will share resources from others as food for thought, and I hope that you will offer your insights as well.
I should probably say here that the views expressed on this blog are mine alone, except when otherwise noted, and do not represent those of the Sisters of St. Joseph or the University of Detroit Mercy.
Greetings!
I just found your blog…it is WONDERFUL! I am an older sibling to a sister of a well known order…which she has been in now over 20 years…(name of order will remain nameless)
it is hard for me to hear and watch as she struggles with the newest problems of her particular order…alot the same of what ALL the sisters on your blog state…low vocation numbers, sisters stretched to thin and doing way too many tedious chores instead of their prayers and devotion to their intended call of vocation…
how can I possibly help really? just prayers and an ear to listen now and then~ the comments and photos of what other women and sisters are doing to HELP themselves morph into new orders, and what they are doing and trying to help one another COPE is JUST what I think she needs to see and share…
I sent her the link to your site and hope it helps her to know she is NOT alone in her feeling alienated and even though in a large “community” still feeling spiritually isolated…and doubting her orders leadership abilities and it’s inability to focus on what the sisters need spiritually etc.and still pay the bills, and INCREASE their actions of good and productivity…many are leaving her order and no one in authority here seems to really address WHY??
I think this site is JUST what sisters need to have some sort of connection to community… EACH OTHER!
thank you for having it…!!!!!!!!!!!!
God bless and keep it going PLEASE!
Dr. Deirdre Anthony DDS
Welcome aboard, and thanks for your kind words.
I suspect that a lot of the burden that we women religious experience simply comes with the territory of being citizens living in the Information Age. I don’t know of too many, lay or religious, who don’t feel overwhelmed and alienated much of the time.
Computers were supposed to be our ticket to a more leisurely way of life. Instead, we are expected to produce more and more as we embrace newer technologies. I think that’s true in traditional ministries as well as in the secular workplace.
I hope your sister can find whatever she needs to not only COPE, but THRIVE as she continues to struggle with what it means to be a faithful member of her congregation.
I think part of the key is MAKING time to pray, even if that means I get the papers graded two days after class instead of one. Or that I sometimes go into class with a brief outline instead of detailed lecture notes. Or that I say no to serving on an extra committee if I’m already doing more than my colleagues in this area.
I learned a long time ago that I have have to live my life NOW! I couldn’t wait until I found the right congregation, the right job, the right living situation, got my Ph.D., earned tenure, etc. If that were the case, I’d STILL be postponing life…after all, I haven’t been promoted to Full Professor yet, and there would surely be something else after that.
I was a nun who is now studying to be an engineer who hopes to become a nun again one day.
Does that count?
Counting for what? The title of techie nun? Sure, why not?! Good luck with your studies and with your discernment about religious life!