A while back I stumbled across the blog of a sister of someone I went to high school with. Today I visited her sister’s facebook page because she popped up in my newsfeed. While looking at my friend’s page I saw her list of siblings and I was reminded of that blog I found. So I was interested in finding it again. The result of that search is the inspiration for my blog today.
This sister, Karen, appears to be four years younger than I am. I never knew her nor was I particularly close to her sister that is my age either. But her sister and I grew up together at J.F.K, through middle school and high school so we because facebook friends. Anyway, now this may be evidence of internet stalking, but I became intrigued by Karen’s career choice, which is why I remembered her blog in the first place.
She had announced on her blog she was becoming a nun. What?! A 24 year old has decided to become a nun? I read about her choice to give her life fully to God and about how people were shocked at her decision. Can you blame them? It doesn’t seem like in today’s world many twenty something’s are jumping at the chance to remain celibate, give up all wordly processions and pray all day.
There wasn’t much more to read after that. I didn’t need to get into the details of her life. I just read the juicy news about being a nun and moved on. Yet today after I remembered that blog I wanted to know about how that new nun was doing. I couldn’t find a link on my friend’s facebook page. The nun girl didn’t have a facebook page. So I did what any self-respecting child of technology does and googled her.
Wow, did I find a lot! She was pretty active in her Catholic University (of America), she was the leader of the Chastity group on campus (again…taking a life of chastity at 20 some years old) and a bunch of other articles about her published in various things around the country. She appears to have taught French at Catholic school somewhere too. All nice things, but I wanted that blog. I couldn’t find it! I found the title of it, That I May Be of Use, but no blog.
Now I am admitting I have gone too far in this search for a stranger’s blog…look at how much I know about this girl now! I just want to know what it’s like being a nun from someone my age, but this is a little ridiculous. Then through Google Profile I found a list of postings and a letter. Dated August 1, 2010 it read:
The Last Post: A Novena for You
Dear friends and family,
You have done so much for me and I am grateful. The generosity and kindness given to me this past year has been given freely and abundantly. It had been my desire from the beginning to close out my blog with a Novena of thanksgiving and that is what I would like to start tonight.
During the nine days leading up to the feast of Saint Dominic, the patron of the order, I will be praying in thanksgiving for everyone who played a role in supporting my vocation. That includes everyone from donors to supporters to fans and even the strangers who did not know me but grew to know me from this blog. I start this prayer tonight and will keep you and all your loved ones in my intentions. This is a novena I will be saying yearly as a sister and you should know that you will remain in my intentions in each year to come.
I would also like you to know that it was my decision to close this blog before I enter so that it will not be a distraction to me during formation. Many have asked if I could keep it up after I enter but the simple answer is that it would not be good for me to do so. I have enjoyed sharing this journey with you but I feel a strong need to let the blog end and to close out the postings so that I can keep looking forward without getting stuck in the past.
In a perfect scenario I would have taken more time to ease out of the blogging world but I have one week until I start traveling to Nashville and so now is really the best time to let the blog be finished.
There is much that could be said, many more words I could share but the words I am left with are these, Lord I believe, help my unbelief, let me never forget that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and that by serving Him who is Love,
I may truly be of use.
Your sister in Christ and Saint Dominic,
Karen
She decided to give up the type of life many of us live and enter into something that would make many people shutter, a convent. The Dominican Sisters Convent in Nashville, Tennessee to be exact. I felt a little disappointed. Why not keep blogging? Now I really want to read about life on in the inside. I am so intrigued and her stopping the blog makes me even more intrigued.
So there, I’ve shared a secret search into the life of a nun that I’ve never met and all the stuff I learned. Somehow though, I think she’d be okay with that because now I’m just going to keep wondering.