Introvert in a Convent

[gloriana35]

I'm no psychologist, and I've never been in a cloistered Order, but I did have a thought (to add to the excellent comments others made on this thread.) I've known many priests, for whom I have high regard, but who might jump to conclusions based on their own ways and experiences. If this priest is a long-time spiritual director of yours, there may be some weight to what he says. However, feeling uncomfortable when first being with a community (regardless of one's personality) is quite normal. Your initial unease would not necessarily mean you weren't suitable. If you feel a calling to this community, you might want to spend more time with them, before deciding that being there is impossible. If you have questions, ask.

Many communities no longer have scheduled recreation time together, and, in many cases, I think that is a relief! However, communities that did have recreation (especially in the cloister, where there was much observance of silence) required everyone participate as a group. Even in the active community that I entered (where we did not observe silence to the extent that the cloistered did), no one could choose to read, draw, go for a walk alone, play Scrabble with another Sister who liked word games - everyone had to be together, doing the same thing. (In my convent, it could be ridiculous - adults in formation had to play games that a child of ten would have outgrown.) You'd had to ask, but I'm inclined to doubt that, if community recreation is scheduled, you could use that as time for yourself