At a time when the Catholic Church in America is struggling to fill the ranks of its clergy, one Dominican order is attracting large numbers of young women into religious service.
I've met a few of these Nashville Dominican nuns. They are absolutely the best women you could ever hope to meet. Truly connected to the spiritual roots that made the Church shine in earlier times. May God continue bless them and guide them.
Brave girls. Unafraid to go counter-cultural and contribute to the world and it's peoples. In times where most young people are focused on materialism, consumerism and celebrity worship, these girls have found their true identity; in selfless service to others. Courage. I applaud them and wish them every success.
Who to idealize then, plastic-laden movie "stars?" Druggies? Famous people who are famous for nothing more than shucking off their clothes? God bless these religious ladies for the blessings their lives will bring to others!
Christopher Martin - I agree, I think I understand what you're saying. Good point. However I think what is here done and said it's prasing rather than idealizing.
beadbird - you can put it that way I think. It's just prasing the positive and good in World. I think. That's how I see it. They are Nuns not Saints yet. However very worthy and busy. Studying learning working and so on.
These sisters, the Nashville Dominicans, have "Come and See" visits for young women who are considering becoming nuns... I was on one such visit for four days with thirty other women. We lived in their convent and experienced their life. It was amazing! The most obvious characteristic of most nuns I know is happiness.
God bless them. I have three daughters, and I would be overjoyed if they wanted to join this order. I would gladly support any one of my daughters if they decided this was their calling.
Very beautiful and loving young nuns , God bless them , protect them , be with them and give them strength to overcome the trials and evils of this fallen world
This is wonderful to see the growth in these people choosing to become nuns. I went to a Catholic school in the 1970-80s with Dominican nuns as teachers, and years later there weren't as many. Till this day, I'm still touched by their devotion and love they had for all students shaping us as best they could.
Thanks for posting this video. It is very impressive to see young men and young women heeding the call to religious life. I wish them all well and I will include them all in my prayers!
Thank you very much for sharing this on the internet, it gives me much joy to see so many young women who are so full of joy and even though I can imagine that you will encounter difficulties and doubts, yet you opt to open up to the others and be of service to the younger students you meet in your schools
beautiful religious order, i had the oportunity to meet them ones in california. They do a very nice work. St Dominick a great saint gave them a very wonderfull example... I can see an angelical face in all of them.. a very humble heart reflects from them.. GOD BLESS THE DOMINICANS SISTERS...
My son had one of the young postulants as a science/math/music teacher for one year. She is a beautiful spirit and extremely intelligent. It was fun to see her in this video a couple of times. Thanks mikeosborne57 for the upload. :)
The nuns and sisters are the most beautiful expression of love, purity, and devotion to the Lord. I don't know why you'd consider them ignorant victims.
Great to see so many people joining religious orders. My second name is cecilia and I love music sometimes. I'm getting over the last bit of a cold connected to pharyngitis nonstop for twenty six months. I am fifty six years old with a son age thirty one years old.
Amazing women. i am not Christian but i admire these women. They leave their families for God. it's tragic that their number has declined alot. There use to be a time in my childhood when there were plenty of veiled nuns. They lived with each other for long times. They had very strong bond with each other. Today's materialistic society has ruined everything.
@Observer You are making two very distinct observations, neither of which has anything to do with the other. If you'd watched the video, the numbers of young women committing themselves to a religious order has INCREASED, not declined. Nuns living together and forming close bonds is the nature of their sisterhood. And of all of the related videos that I've watched lately (approx 23 vids...) NONE, absolutely NONE of the postulants referred to "a materialistic society" as being their reason for joining. All of them described a "calling from God" as their reason for becoming nuns.
Here in prague, we have sisters at sv joesph and they are so joyful, we have the dominicans walking in their habits and it is a joy to see, at this time of the stain of being a priest. My priest is 76 and he is holy. There is much joy in the church, I was a protestant and the answers you seek are not easy, we have had 2k years to think of what to say of the story of God and Christ. Atheists tell us we are weak in reason, but our reason is strong and survived communism and will survive the world
I attended some retreats in the early 2000’s. The liberal orders I visited had 3 or 4 retreatants, and I was the youngest at 34. Then I visited the more traditional Dominicans in Ann Arbor. I was the 2nd to oldest and there were 30 of us packed like sardines in sleeping bags. It is the traditional communities only that are growing. Same with the men.
I've been looking through the comments and have noticed that the negative ones all seem to be posted by men. Hmm? Are some men threatened by the fact that women can find peace and joy in celibate relationships, serving others and helping those in need?
I know both these sisters! Sr. Victoria Marie is my math teacher. Sr. Kelly (now Sr. Susanna) also currently serves at my school. It's weird seeing Sr. Susanna w/o a veil.
This kind of order, teaching in a full habit ,appeals to a certain type of young woman, not to say girl, interested in religious life. They actively recruit, as do the Dominican Sisters of Mary in the Eucharist, an off-shoot, who is in competition with them for the same demographic. Orders working mainly with the poor because they were told by Rome to return to their roots, have much more demanding work, and therefore attract fewer, older, better-educated women.
I wish more people would be as positive as these young ladies, there is so much negative in the World, and thats a sickness. Back in the 60's my mother was a nurse, I remember seeing Catholic nuns throughout the Hospital, going to patients rooms, cheering them up, I drive an Ambulance, go to alot of Hospitals, I havent seen a nun yet, I dont understand what happened to them, they could do so much good in the Hospitals with Patients.
What is there to feel bad about? Do you have any idea how happy they are? You clearly don't know many men and women who belong to religious orders, but they tend to be the happiest men and women on earth.
As I understand it these orders need some donations. I recommend a one time donation to these beautiful orders that the Lord is raising up in these troubled times. They symbolize our continuing faith.
This is so lovely. If you don't know Him in the Blessed Sacrament,it probably seems strange. But just try going to any Catholic church, and ask about taking a class on our holy & ancient Faith. They are free to all, & you may find the Real Jesus the world has no idea of. You see,these nuns are happy b/c they know Him & He is everything the world is seeking & more.
270 Sisters living in one convent?? They must have a pretty good structure for communal living in place. Spiritually, I can dig their trips, but pragmatically speaking, it seems that they face some pretty serious challenges. It leaves me wondering how the Sisters handle things like meal preparation and clean up, laundry, matters of personal and feminine hygiene, and other activities of daily living. It must take a lot of lavatories, washers, dryers, and water heaters to keep a place like this functioning. What about things like office space or work areas?? What happens when a Sister is feeling a bit out of sorts and she just needs some space?? What happens when flu season hits?? How do they keep viruses from spreading?? Colds, flu strains, strep throat strains, etc.?? Seems like those things could spread in a hurry!! Then, there are things like trips to the grocery store. How do they transport that much food, sundries, and household goods?? What about food allergies?? How long does it take to get through the check-out lines at the stores?? After all, we're talking about feeding 270 women. Or, do they buy everything at wholesale and have it delivered?? Good thing that (at least) two of their members are civil engineers!! Seriously, it's almost like they need a good civil engineer, a good nurse practitioner or PA, a purchasing agent, accountant, treasurer, an operations manager, and other professionals in their community. I'm not mentioning these points in jest, nor am I meaning to be sarcastic. I'm truly in awe of these ladies, but I'm a bit mesmerized where it comes to creating and maintaining functional living arrangements.
William Boynton They do house that many at a time! and more some times haha! I was there on retreat once and they'r facilities are perfect for them. They have had four additions since the original 1862 structure (which is also still in use) and although most of the things they have are donated, God has foreseen all growth and needs and all necessary home utilities have been provided one way or another. They have offices and work areas as well as class rooms for the novices, most sisters will use their own cell (bedroom) for personal study room, space, etc. Some how (through the grace of God I'm sure) in all the convents I have seen and visited none have ever had a huge problem with sickness and stuff like that even in close quarters. Meals are dealt with mostly by Novices (second years) who cook and serve the rest of the sisters. Just from my experience with other orders I have found some groceries will be donated in bulk and delivered by a company or something, some they probably do shop for, but hey, with 270 sisters around, I'm sure they can get it done pretty quick! And, just as you suggested many sisters do come from varied backgrounds from civil engineers to nurses, to teachers and technology geeks. Actually the valedictorian of a Harvard graduating class a few years back joined another group of Dominican sisters in Michigan! they have tons of help from benefactors and family and friends as well!
I don't disrespectfully mean this, but I think it would be more like working at a large high-tech company, with services within walking distance; e.g., your clothes would be washed in a "commercial" laundry. And remember, the one or two sisters who dealt with laundry would get very good at it. A homemaker has to be a "jack of all trades."
at 1.57 speaks of witness. I hope during this first year she got a change to rethink what witness is about. The Catholic Church is in crisis; I have to wonder what these women are being taught about that phenom.
Our Pope suggests that the Holy Spirit is inspiring the manifold changes in the practice and doctrine of the church. This video confirms what I know from my students: that in fact the Holy Spirit is leading them to truly serious Catholicism as handed down. The signs are everywhere.
Although an Athiest, I think women need better options than more careerism and consumerism. Our society so lacks values other than money and success. I wish them well.
thsnk god that more and more young girls are committing themselves to religion and work in the pastures of god almighty. may god bless them all . j c moral
There are readings from the Bible every single day. Daily Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours include scripture readings. The Liturgy of the Hours is very much centered around the Psalms. The classes you see the sisters attending are often regarding Scripture, as well. On top of all of that, the Dominican tradition especially is steeped in deep study of the faith, including the Scripture and writings of the early Church.
@thecolaratlady i'm more into the more conservative orders.theres a Buddhist monastery in South Korea, they have little to no contact with the outside world, and this monastery is soo respected that wars have been fought around them
Sonrise Roofing: Consecrated virginity (or celibacy) for the sake of the Kingdom of God is by no means foreign to the Bible, even our Lord himself spoke of it. In fact, it is recommended strongly by St. Pau, who also layed down rules for religious communities of 'consecrated widows' in the earliest times of the Church. God bless all consecrated religious for their radical and wholehearted witness!
getting rid of nuns altogether won't ammend the problem though - greater scrutiny of nuns and sisters is what's needed - bare in mind the Dominicans are a separate order altogether from the sisters of mercy
and to go back to your first comment, what exactly was this personal experience which lead you to believe there is a "spiritual realm"? What and where is this realm and how can others verify its existence?
