Nuns can have nose rings? (and other frequently asked questions)
One of my favorite things about being a young sister-in-formation is allowing people to ask me their burning (and sometimes silly) questions about religious life. Questions like: Do nuns have jobs? Can you still go dancing and swimming? You mean you get to keep that nose ring? Becoming a sister right now is an interesting thing: religious life has changed drastically in the past fifty years, but many people’s stereotypes about it haven’t. Many of these stereotypes seem superficial (ie- all nuns wear habits; nuns don’t dance) but they may reflect deeper misconceptions about religious life… like the idea that sisters are somehow more holy or less human than “normal” people. For a long time, my own misconceptions kept me from really considering religious life. And so I enjoy the questions. I love making people feel free to ask them, and I love surprising them with the answers. After all, they aren’t really asking about my nose ring;...