Reality Show About Five Women Discerning Religious Life

[vee]

maybe they did on amazon, http://smile.amazon.com/Navy-Seals-for-Christ/dp/B00PQBEIT2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419221619&sr=8-1&keywords=sisterhood+nuns  they're all there now. I've still only watched the first 3. need to catch up. thanks everyone for being mindful of us who haven't finished it yet :like:

 

ah ha!! Im guessing that youre right. 

[emma8201986]

Well, against my better judgment, I cranked up my "On Demand" and watched the end of the series. It was no surprise to see Eseni race back to her boyfriend the nanosecond the 6 week trip was over. There is no way this girl was ever really contemplating religious life. The others were a mixed bag with 2 seeming
to want to continue discerning with 2 of the communities. This was reality TV and, like the Real Housewives of New Jersey, no episode is complete without manufactured drama. I fast-forwarded through the parts with the girls until I got to the parts with the sisters, who were all awe.some, particularly Sr. Beth
Ann of the Daughters of Mary of Providence in Chicago (I think that's the correct name.) I now understand why the sisters were willing to put up with all the foolishness - they were able to let the tv audience see their charism and community and I think they all came across as wonderful people - devoted to their
apostolates and just bubbling with a love of God. I was impressed with the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker, who only have 12 members (why don't they just assimilate into the Nashville Dominicans or another community) but I would worry that this community is too small to sustain itself. In any event, all the sisters were lovely. For those of you who have asked about communities that would accept you with health issues, these sisters have a member who is blind. So all in all, I would give the series a B - the stuff with girls was contrived and silly but joy of the sisters was terrific and I'm glad people got a chance to see it.

[Feankie]

I was impressed with the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker, who only have 12 members (why don't they just assimilate into the Nashville Dominicans or another community)

 

​If i'm not mistaken, I believe the two communities have different charisms.  Also I think they said the one Sister was legally blind, which is different than being completely blind.  The only reason I know is that one of my preious directees from years ago was legally blind,

[cartermia]

I have yet to watch the rest of the series... But I do know some of the sisters from Sister of St. Joseph the Worker. They are really nice!

[totustuus20]

I think the last 10 minutes of the last episode were my favorite of the whole series. I just loved how the sisters spoke of their own discernment, doubts, and triumphs in religious life.

[vee]

On the facebook page of one of the girls, Stacey, she posted a few things as an update after the final episode aired.  She said that it was filmed 4.5 months ago and since then she is more focused on discerning marriage and that the two girls who wished to further their discernment with the Communities had yet to enter either Community.  One seems to be needing money and the other Im not sure whats going on with her. 

 

As the season ended I wondered what it would be like if they made male version The Brotherhood: Becoming Monks and followed guys during their discernment?  (if the producers see this and use the name I want royalties)  I

 

[Sister Leticia]

As I'm in the UK I haven't been able to watch the series, just a few snippets. But I've read a lot of comments here and on blogs. And it seems the 5 girls were very "new" discerners, and didn't know much about what religious life is about (I know this was a reality show and things are set up and may look different from real-life reality, but that's what all the comments said). So if the 2 girls were only just beginning to discern whether they were called to religious life - which is a step before discerning which community - and the show was only filmed a few months ago, then it's a good thing they haven't entered. The sisters are being very wise not to let them rush things.  

 

I also hope they can put some distance between all the publicity and the spotlight and entering (if that's what God calls them to do). There will always be some attention, and people recognising them, but the less the better, as otherwise it just becomes another pressure.

[Catherine Therese]

I've come a little late to this conversation... we don't have access to this show in Australia as far as I know, but I wanted to share this:

 

When I first notified my employer and friends that I would be leaving my job to enter a convent, I was approached by a colleague of mine who also had a side business in media and did some work with EWTN. She wanted to make a documentary and track my progress. 

 

Part of me sort of wanted to say "yes"... I really trusted this colleague and knew her intentions were good. My better judgement won out, however. For reasons I couldn't explain at the time, I knew I had to protect my vocation, and living it out in a fishbowl put it at risk. If things later went pear-shaped I'd never know if it was because I was following the Lord or if it was because I let the world in to something very intimate and precious and allowed it to be sabotaged. As it turned out, two years later I discovered that I was to be called away from the convent. I left with peace knowing that I made the choice to leave in a sincere effort to follow His will instead of my own plans. If I had cameras on me all the time I think I would have felt the need to "stick it out" to keep up appearances so that the show could "help" people who were discerning. That would have been doing MY work, not His. Not only would it not really have borne fruit, but later on I would have needed to have been dispensed from vows made for the wrong reasons, rather than walking freely back out to the world a few months before vows were to be made, still very much seeking, but trusting that He was guiding me every step.

 

Not to mention it would have worsened my very real ongoing struggle with pride and disordered self-love... I would have enjoyed the celebrity of it a little too much and then my so-called vocation would have been revolving around SELF instead of God...

 

If you've done any research in the social sciences you'll be familiar with something called the Hawthorne Effect... When people know they are being observed, they modify their behaviour. The Hawthorne Effect prevents even the most well-meaning reality show on discernment from reflecting true reality. It's almost like the social science equivalent of quantum physics' Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle... it's a theoretical basis for thinking that rather than reflecting reality, a reality show is changing reality to be ever so slightly fall out of accord with truth... in the context of vocational discernment, I find it hard to see how that could ever be a good thing?

Edited December 31, 2014 by Catherine Therese