During the sexual abuse crisis, the retired archbishop of San Francisco, Most Rev. John R. Quinn, wrote:
“I believe, in fact, that this is the best time in the history of the church to be a priest, because it is a time when there can be only one reason for being a priest or for remaining a priest—that is, to ‘be with’ Christ. It is not for perks or applause or respect or position or money or any other worldly gain or advantage.”
(“The Strengths of Priests Today,” America, July 1, 2002)
One might make a similar point about religious life: this may be the very best time to be a Catholic Sister, in spite of — or perhaps because of — declining numbers, loss of prestige, and
partisan controversy among some Catholics about which kind of religious life (if any at all) is really of value. No longer can entering the convent offer security or an assured future — except the future full of hope promised by God through the patriarchs and the prophets, and revealed and sealed by the Resurrection of Jesus. No longer can a Sister be confident of living a productive life, seeing a new generation pick up the torch of the charism, and dying surrounded by her sisters in the infirmary of her congregation.
And as for the many tasks of the Church formerly accomplished only by religious — they can now be performed just as well by dedicated lay people.
With all this in mind, shouldn’t young women flee in the opposite direction, as many are obviously doing?
On the contrary, now is the moment to listen diligently to God’s call, for at a time such as this, there can be only one reason for becoming a sister, and that is to know Christ and to accept the call to union with God in love.
But aren’t all Christians called to union with God in love?
Yes, of course. However, each Christian call has its own unique value for the Church and the world, and the living-out of that call has its own emphases, highlighting different facets of the same divine love and the same call to transforming union. One Christian vocation is not interchangeable with another. Without Catholic sisters (or brothers or religious priests) there would be something sorely missing, but this missing element would not necessarily be the works we are now doing, no matter how important these works are. Just as the witness of married love is not based on the occupations of the spouses, but rather on living deeply the sacramental relationship of marriage — so the witness of religious life and the reason it is still indispensable to the Church is not based primarily on the jobs we do, but on the life itself, lived in depth.
By its very existence through the centuries, religious life proclaims:
that what matters is God; and as Teresa of Avila wrote, “sólo Dios basta,” God alone suffices;
that prayer is more powerful than bombs;
that it is possible to live together in peace, even with people whom we did not choose — or might never have chosen — as companions;
that communion with God includes communion with each other, expressed through presence, ritual, and the sharing of material goods;
that possessions do not make us happy;
that giving ourselves totally, as Jesus did, does not lead to annihilation, but brings us most surely into who we truly are.
that grace and mercy abound in the struggle to be faithful to God’s call; and that when we inevitably fall short, grace and mercy abound, still and always.
The best reason I’ve seen for being a sister! Why not make a flyer out of this!!