What nuns do

The other day a young workman came to the house. He initially responded quietly to the discovery that he was talking to a religious sister, but then, after several minutes... I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude... But I've never met a nun before... Can I ask you a question? I assured him I was quite happy for him to seize this once in a lifetime opportunity, and so he asked: What does a nun DO??? 

He went on to explain that his only exposure to religious women had come via Sister Act (so I know nuns sing!), and he'd had no religious upbringing or background, though he knew his family had once been churchgoers. And so I answered his question; first, by telling him what we are, as a means of explaining why we do what we do, and then proceeded to list some ministries: education, healthcare, counselling, outreach... I told him about my work with Caritas, and that there are some nuns who don't do any of this because their principal work is praying for the world's many needs... All punctuated by more questions, and comments indicating a rudimentary, yet dawning understanding of what I was saying, and his own wondering and searching.

Somehow, in a fairly short conversation, I managed to describe my call to God, and to religious life... to talk about the power, and the love and care of community (fortunately, a central theme of Sister Act), and to explain that nuns are called to, and make vows in different orders, mine being the Sacred Heart. He understood hearts signifying love, and thefore what our symbol of the world in God's heart could mean. And then from somewhere, the sudden question: And does all this give you peace? Yes, I said, it does; not because life is calm and stress-free, but because I am fundamentally happy. And I asked him what gave him peace, and he talked softly about visits to his elderly, much-loved grandmother; of leaving his phone aside so that he could focus on being with her. 

And I held my breath, aware I had been invited onto holy ground... 

What does a nun do? Fundamentally, through who and how she is, she embodies and witnesses to the Love that has created and called her, and is her centre and her joy; the Love which, known or unknown by them, created and holds each person we meet. And the other day, in the ordinariness of my home, and this brief, unexpected encounter with a young man who finds peace with his grandmother and confessed to some wondering and questioning, Love's Spirit hovered gently among us, enabling me to receive so much, but also to do exactly what nuns do...