"My little sister joined a convent. Why am I so angry?"

[DameAgnes]

Interesting perspective. https://aleteia.org/2017/10/13/my-little-sister-joined-a-convent-so-why-am-i-this-angry/

[Nunsuch]

OK--slightly off topic, but... WHY do people say that some one "joined a convent"? ENTERED a convent, maybe. Or joined an order or community or congregation. But you don't join a BUILDING.... [It's sort of like another pet peeve, when people, including published authors, refer to people in formation as "novitiates," rather than novices.]

[truthfinder]

3 hours ago, Nunsuch said:

OK--slightly off topic, but... WHY do people say that some one "joined a convent"? ENTERED a convent, maybe. Or joined an order or community or congregation. But you don't join a BUILDING.... [It's sort of like another pet peeve, when people, including published authors, refer to people in formation as "novitiates," rather than novices.]

I think it's the same thing as saying to join a gym or a university. The words can connote a physical place, but they also take on a meaning beyond. The convent, especially in the US going back to the earliest convents and monasteries, has had sort of imagined space quality to it. The convent is not just a building but an entire way of being. (But so much pet peeve for novitiates  - but again, this seems to be a secular North American thing).

Edited October 13, 2017 by truthfinder

[Nunsuch]

Well, I study this and have visited about 7 dozen communities in North America, and find it an odd usage. Oh, and as a college professor, I don't know of anyone who "joins" a university, nor is that a usage I've heard, even for faculty.

[Sister Leticia]

[Still off topic: not just the American, but the UK secular press might also refer to someone being a novitiate, maybe after they've been a postulate!]

[TheresaThoma]

A very interesting perspective. 

I am discerning with a cloistered community and I have encountered a bit of this same reaction. I have seen many of my friends and extended family members struggle to wrap their minds around the idea of a contemplative vocation. When I had been discerning with an active communities I think they could "justify" why I might be drawn to that but the contemplative vocation is a bit more challenging.

It is nice to be able to "hear" the other side and what they may be going through.

[sr.christinaosf]

I know - I have to almost chuckle when I hear someone use the word "novitiate" to refer to the unprocessed sister.  

[Wolf]

A friend of mine entered a religious community a while back. Some of her family compared it to a cult, as some of the teachings were a bit extreme.