Did I mention...?

... that I'm discerning a call to religious life?

Which is why a chum of mine forwarded a NY Times article on nuns in the U.S. to me. We've been having a fascinating email conversation about what's wrong with Catholic religious orders in the U.S., and then it occurred to me: isn't that why I have a blog? So that I can state my own half-crazed views on what's wrong with the world and how it should be fixed?

But of course! So, from my lofty perch upon my soapbox, I herewith begin my rant. (Warning: Churchspeak ahead!)

First off, as to why this scrutiny is directed at women religious rather than men: there are a number of reasons, some of which are historical and fairly arbitrary, and others of which are historical and theologically significant. But I think the main reason is historical and bluntly practical: most men's religious orders, whether they started this way or not, have become in the past couple centuries essentially communities of ordained priests. So, being in Holy Orders as well as in religious vows, they are under an additional structure of authority. They have to answer, not only to their religious superior and to the head of the congregation for religious, but also to their local bishop and to the head of the congregation for clergy. And let me tell you, the congregation for clergy gets involved at the local level a lot more than the congregation for religious. Anyway, this means that men religious, for the most part, have more checks to keep them in the straight and narrow, and also undergo this kind of scrutiny on a far more regular basis than the women religious. In short, it's just not news when it happens with the guys.

What makes this of personal interest to me is that, so far as I can tell, I'm not called to the priesthood. So I'm looking at religious life, but not at being ordained. And this is where my chum comes into the picture. He notes that the core of many religious communities was service to some part of the Church, such as serving priests or serving Church institutions. After the Second Vatican Council, the emphasis shifted to serving the world rather than serving the Church. But, as my friend notes, this came across as saying that serving the Church was somehow bad.

Along with the notion that service was somehow bad came the concomitant notion that those serving others had been oppressed [by those they served], and must rise up and throw off their oppressors.

So the Church herself began to be viewed as oppressive, and serving the Church appeared to be undignified, at best.

And yet, service is what we're all about as Catholics. Serving the world is the way we grow closer to God, whose Son came to serve us. So the question for any Catholic, lay or ordained or consecrated, ought not to be, "How can I avoid the indignity of serving?" but, "Whom am I called to serve, and how can I best serve them?"

My friend made five suggestions. I'll repeat them here, with my comments in red.

We need to re-establish a few things with modern religious communities [And, I would add, bishops and really all Catholics]:
1. It's OK to have a mission that doesn't involve service to the clergy. But every mission involves service to Christ and to his people.
2. It's also OK to have a mission of service -- yes, even to clergy. [After all, clergy are people too, and they need help as much as anyone else!]
3. Catholic religious orders [and all Catholics] need a Catholic identity. [Otherwise, why be Catholic? Why not just be a social service organization?]
4. Mission statements need to be simplified or thrown out on their ear. [And any mission statement must reflect the mission of Christ, else see #3.]
5. Religious orders offer a way of life that cannot be found in "the world." It's not to say they are better, but to point out that theirs is a different way of life. Put simply, quit throwing out the habits and pretending you're like everyone else, because you are not. If you are like everyone else, what's the point?

I have more to say about my own thoughts on the future of religious life, and on my own discernment, but they'll have to wait for another post. This one has grown too long already.