I know I posted about this a long while ago but I was just wanted a fresh point of view on this matter. So my question is would you enter a convent where you would only be allowed to write family members only. Friends could only be sent a post card once a year...You could receive letters from them but could not write them. Also friends would not be allowed to visit, only family. I was thinking about this in response to an earlier post of when is tough...too tough.

What a tough, tough question. And something that needs to be looked at. When I was trying to decide if I had a vocation, I, too thought of this. Frankly, I would not enter a community that did not allow some flexibility of visitors. I have a best friend of over 30 years, and she is a sister to me. If I could not write her/visit her, then I would not enter.
The Lord will give you comfort, and many people who we think we can't live without in our lives, we actually can move on from. It is a matter of how much you are willing to give up. And it does not mean that your vocation is not strong...it means you have ties.
Now, I am not saying that you maintain friendships with armies of people. We all need to move on, make new friends and especially friends in community. I just can't imagine, in this day of the internet and emails, that things have not gotten a little more lenient.
You really have to think on it, decide who you can and can't give up. And you will find a community that agrees with you. Cloistered nuns, are, of course, a little more stricter about such things. But I know in my personal life, I have frequent contact with several cloistered nuns who are my friends, and have been so for years. I treasure their letters, though they may only come 2-3 times a year.

I never really understood why a community wouldn't let friends visit or let you write to them. I guess that's not the question at hand.

No, I don't think I'd join a community where friends were not allowed.

God will NEVER take you somewhere unless it is good for your soul, which He loves so much. If I felt strongly that God was calling me somewhere I could only communicate with people outside of the convent if they were family, I pray I would go. Easier said than done, I know, but I hope I would be uttering along the entire way the prayer presented on the Divine Mercy image, "Jesus, I trust in You."

also the readings today sortof related.

'member in the gospel Jesus asked two people to follow him but they said

"let me bury my father"

and "let me say farewell to my family"


and Jesus said “No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

My best friend and I talk about this all the time. I would have to find a community that is somewhat lenient on these rules. She has been my closest friend for years now; She knows me better than anyone on this earth (except my dear Lord!), and she is as much a sister to me as my actual siblings.

I think communities understand this. Especially newer communities who know that often our friends become our families, especially for those whose families do not support their faith or their vocation discernment.

but it's just mho.