COMMONLY ASKED VOCATION
QUESTIONS
Everything that you ever wanted to know
about sisters, but were afraid to ask!
We will be adding our frequently asked
questions section in the near future. If your question is not
answered here please email them to
vocations@torsisters.org
or send them to:
Franciscan Sisters,
T.O.R.
of penance of the Sorrowful Mother
PO Box 1042
Steubenville, Ohio 43952
- What is a sister or nun?
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What is the difference between a sister and a nun?
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What do sisters do?
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Why do some sisters wear a uniform?
Q. What is a sister or nun?
A. A sister or nun is a woman who is called by God to enter into the religious consecrated life. She is a bride of Christ, because He has chosen her for this purpose. Her main identity is as a spouse of Christ. The Lord asks her to sacrifice marriage and family life and to belong to Him alone. And yet, while her spousal love is for God alone, her energies of mind, heart, body and spirit are directed to all of His people in an inclusive manner. She loves the whole of the Church. This call to live an exclusive spousal life with the Lord along with an inclusive love for all of His people draws her to profess a vow of celibate chastity for the sake of the Kingdom. She wants to be free to serve God fully, and thus she professes the vow of poverty. In a spirit of simplicity, she sacrifices the ownership and disposal of personal goods in order to free to live a simple communal life and serve the Lord fully. She wants to be free from distractions so that she can hear the Spirit speaking to her heart and speak His word of service into the world. She desires above all that the will of God be accomplished in the world (Thy Kingdom
come...) and therefore, she submits her will to Him. She chooses loving obedience to God's representatives, those who are given to her community to serve as leaders. She knows that they reveal God's will for her and for the community. A consecrated religious woman chooses to embrace these three evangelical counsels (chastity, poverty and obedience) because she wants to more closely imitate her Spouse, Jesus Christ. Jesus is chaste, poor and obedient. Although all Christians are called to live these counsels in various ways, the consecrated religious woman is called to live them in a more radical and direct way, as life-time vows.
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Q. What is the difference between a sister and a nun?
A. These terms are often used interchangeably, even by religious themselves. Generally speaking, a sister is a consecrated religious woman whose life is founded upon daily prayer and whose apostolate (work and/or ministry) may be outside of the convent she lives in. The term "nun" is typically used to refer to a consecrated religious woman who chooses to live with others in a cloistered convent. Her activities would not take her out of the convent, in general. A woman chooses to accept the call of the Lord into the cloistered life because she believes that He is calling her primarily to a life of contemplative prayer. She would engage in work within the convent, serving the needs of her sisters in community and may be involved in work that would help to support the community financially (ex. making altar breads or religious articles). Her apostolate or ministry is one of intercession. Her life of sacrifice and silence is understood as an expression of love for the Lord, and of reparation and intercession for the world.
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Q. What do sisters do?
A. This may be the question on everybody's lips, which is why it is not addressed sooner here. It is important to remember that a sister's life is rooted in prayer, with God. All of her activities flow from the love that she receives in
prayer. Sisters engage in a variety of activities. They must provide for the daily needs of the community. Some of these work areas would include the following: cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, maintenance of property (land, houses, cars), work that may support the community financially, taking care of finances, formation of new sisters, leadership of the community and of local houses, vocation work (like attending to the website!), and other tasks necessary for the community to function and grow. There is not necessarily a sharp division between work and ministry, as is the case with formators. Sisters may have outside
ministries that are extremely varied. Some of these may include the following: teaching, nursing, social work, direct ministry to the materially poor, visiting hospitals, prisons, and those who are unable to leave their homes. Sisters may facilitate Bible studies, prayer groups of all kinds, assisting people who want to grow spiritually. They may also run retreat houses and offer spiritual direction. They may do parish missions or give talks on various subjects. Sisters may engage in highly professional fields or may strive to become Christ present in the simplest ways. The possibilities are nearly endless. Besides prayer, work and ministry, a sister who lives in
community has the joy of sharing her life with others who support and encourage her daily life with God. Sisters may spend time together in larger groups (we call this recreation), but may also have opportunities to share more personally with others in community (taking a walk, share groups). Sisters who live in community often enjoy common prayer, meals, work projects, ministries, and recreation. To know more about our specific community, take a look at our daily schedule.
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Q. Why do some sisters wear a uniform?
A. A sister's "uniform" is called a habit. It is sort of like a school uniform because it identifies which community a sister belongs to, although it is much more than a uniform. A religious habit identifies a sister as a bride of Christ. People know that she belongs to God and His Church in a particular and special way. It allows people to know that she is not available for marriage, because she is already married to Christ. The wearing of a religious habit can tell people that there is something (actually SOMEONE) worth living for beyond the world that we see. It often speaks to people of the life to come in eternity. Let's begin at the top. Some sisters wear a veil over their heads. They do this primarily to signify that they are eternally married to God; they are forever brides. Traditionally, religious women wore a white veil during novitiate (to know about
novitiate look at the New Members page) and took a black veil when they professed their vows. In our community, we wear white veils for the whole of our lives, signifying the purity of bridal love, and our desire to remain always as beginners or novices in the Lord's school of love. The scriptures tell us that a "woman's glory is her hair" and therefore reserved for her husband's view. This is part of the reason why religious women wear a veil. It also spares us from having "bad hair days" but one can still have a "bad veil day" when the wind is unusually strong! Besides the veil, religious women often wear a simple type of dress (or skirt and top) and simple shoes or sandals. The primary reason for wearing a habit is to be a sign of Christ's presence in the world. The sister may not always feel like she is being very Christ-like, but her habit reminds her and others that she belongs to Him and that she is called to serve Him out of love. The habit is often also an outward expression of the vow of poverty. Some would tell you that it is such a relief in the morning to not need to think about what one will wear that day. Seriously, the wearing of a simple habit can allow for fewer distractions, so that the Lord can be loved and served more fully.
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