Discover five treasures of religious life
Knowing and working with men and women in religious communities, I have found that they enrich our world with five qualities that clearly demonstrate why we need them.
Religious Life
What our vows mean
Popular culture sees the vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience as negatives. However, the vows can be incredibly freeing—a radical way to live the faith in community.
Charism: The gift that shapes lives
Charism is the gift at the heart of all religious communities. It’s why they were founded and what keeps them going.
Meet the parents
When a son or daughter considers joining a religious community, even the most devout parents have questions and concerns. Two parents share their experiences.
Vocation Basics: Essentials for the vocation journey
Questions | Other vocations | Prayers | Basic terms | Types | Way of life | Process | Timeline of religious life through the ages
Vocation Basics: You are already called—Message to youth from Pope Francis
God isn’t waiting for you to be a more worthy person. God loves you as you are and has already called you by name.
How my parents responded when I became a brother
My mom and dad had questions and concerns about religious life, but they said they would never stand between God and God’s work in my life.
Religious life: The call continues
Two members of religious communities look at the vibrant future. While communities experience dramatic changes as a large generation lives its final years, creative new energies are afoot.
Mercy meets at the border
Migrants and refugees who travel through Mexico to the U.S. border face many perils. Numerous men and women in religious life are there to provide humanitarian relief, spiritual care, assistance, and advocacy. Meet some of the sisters, brothers, and priests who “run toward the suffering.”
Religious seekers in legal limbo
You sense God might be calling you to religious life. But you lack legal status in the United States or otherwise fall into an immigration loophole. Learn the basics from two legal experts.
Religious making a difference
People in consecrated life are building community, praying to God, and doing good in the world. VISION presents some of them here.
A charism encourages a caring ministry
A community’s spiritual personality—or charism—shapes the way members spend their days and conduct their ministries.
Community life: A place to call home
My community has become a place where I feel loved, accepted, and supported. It is also a place where I can experience healing.
Find your spirituality type quiz
Take a short quiz to find out your spirituality type.
FAQs about midlife callings
Not all religious communities accept candidates over the age of 40, but some do. Here are answers to questions that mature candidates often have.
17 questions about church vocations
VISION provides answers to your questions about priests, sisters, brothers, vows, sexuality, community life, and more.
Explore the different types of vocations
Catholics have many ways to live out a deep faith commitment. In addition to the many forms of religious life are other lifestyles that support a life of service and prayer.
Define your terms
Here’s a guide to understanding the vocabulary of religious life.
Benedictines believe in balance
Benedictines emphasize a balance of work and prayer. And they are firm believers in rolling out the welcome mat to one and all.
Our newest religious possess an age-old Christian virtue: hope
What lies ahead for Catholic sisters, brothers, and priests in the United States? New members to religious life exhibit abundant hope during challenging times.
Consecrated life through the ages (Religious Life Timeline)
From ancient desert monasticism to contemporary forms of religious life, a small band of Christian men and women in every generation choose to consecrate their lives to God with unique vows of love and service that give radical witness to the gospel.
Celibacy steeped in a whole lot of love
The vow of celibacy lets this sister live her best life.
Who you gonna love?
I don’t know why I’m fulfilled in this life of vowed chastity, and that alone is Mystery to me.
Living the good life in community
Communal life is an essential part of the Christian witness of religious communities, and it takes constant effort.
Major traditions in religious life: Franciscan spirituality made simple
The beauty of Franciscan spirituality is that it remains open to experiencing God today in every situation.
Major traditions in religious life: What does it mean to be a Carmelite?
Carmelite spirituality enables God-seekers to discover new heights and depths in their own hearts and in the God who calls and loves them.
Infographic: Who is answering the call to religious life?
Wondering if you should become a Catholic sister, nun, brother, or priest. Look who is considering a vocation to consecrated life? Find out how old they are; where they live; what kind of community interests them.
Does chastity matter?
Our values assist us in making responsible choices, including how to use and not misuse the sexual energy that makes us the vital people we are.
Relaciones y vida religiosa: Respuestas a tus preguntas
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Vows set you free
The promises of poverty, celibacy, and obedience are less about giving things up than about living a full life.
11 myths about religious life
Don’t let common misunderstandings about sisters, brothers, and priests trip you up on your discernment journey. Here is the hard data on what’s really happening
in religious life today.
What are religious vows?
A young sister reveals how the age-old vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience give shape and meaning to her life.
Grants remove obstacle of student debt for religious life candidates
National Fund for Catholic Religious Vocations helps orders of priests, brothers, and sisters accept new members.
La familia es importante
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The passion of youth meets the wisdom of age
Young and even middle-aged people who enter a religious community often have fewer peers these days. The age gap can have challenges but not as many as most think.
What is charism?
Charism is the inspirational purpose that starts communities and keeps them going. It is community mission and spirit. It gives communities distinctive personalities and imbues their daily practice with meaning.
Religious life captured on film
Few people outside of religious communities see what life is like inside, compelling documentary filmmakers to explore this rich subject. Here are some must-sees.
NFCRV helps women become sisters
A new fund—aimed at tackling the problem of educational debt—is helping 10 young women to pursue their dream of becoming Catholic sisters.
9 things religious life has to offer
Sometimes people think religious life is mostly about giving things up. But there is much to be gained when your true vocation is to be a sister, brother, or priest.
Celibacy leads me to limitless love
Being boy-crazy as a teenager actually helped this Franciscan sister experience the call to Catholic sisterhood.
The creative spirit finds expression in religious ministries
Sometimes when religious see a need that fits their charism and speaks to their passions, it can lead to meaningful—albeit unconventional—work.
Five things that surprised me about religious life
One young Catholic learns that it takes more than a few viewings of Sister Act and The Trouble with Angels to gain a healthy understanding of what it means to be a religious sister, brother, or priest.
Instruments of God for the sake of the poor
The Daughters of Charity and De La Salle Christian Brothers bring hope and opportunity to a new generation through their commitment to education for all.
8 secrets to healthy celibacy
How good are you at setting limits and sticking to them or balancing quiet time with an active social life? These are just some of the questions you’ll need to ask yourself if you are seriously considering religious life.
¡Viva la diferencia! The colorful future of religious life
As religious communities become more culturally diverse, newer members share their thoughts on what individuals and communities can do to guide the process.
A Dominican’s day—timeless and timely
What is daily life like inside the church, office, and home of a religious order priest?
A long-time religious looks forward
A religious sister witnesses first-hand that the "call of the gospel remains large" in her community and throughout the country.
Stay tuned for the young and the religious
Religious life is a lot different today than it used to be, and there’s much more transformation in store. But change isn’t the only constant—so is commitment to community and charism.
Obstacles and options for older discerners
While some communities are willing and able to welcome candidates beyond the age of 40, others can’t. What are the reasons for age-limits and what choices for vowed life do older discerners have?
Breathing life into sacred stones
A community of Trappist monks in California have a unique relationship with a monastery that is an ocean of water—and time—away.
Meeting God in the city
A young man discovered his vocation by immersing himself in the pillars of Franciscan spirituality—starting with a sense of place in a beloved city.
Family matters
It’s good to get the support of your family when you choose a church vocation, but it doesn’t always happen—at least not at first.
Silent preachers amid nature’s song
A small group of Dominican nuns hope that the monastery they built in mountains of Western Canada will become the voice of Jesus to anyone who stops to listen.
Chastity in real life
Those vowed to celibacy can be true to their call, even when it gets, well, complicated.
There's no gap when it comes to these generations
Older and younger members of religious communities living together has its challenges, but the benefits are much greater.
How I satisfied my hunger to make a difference
Questions, decisions, and dreams fill young adulthood. Many of us have developed a social conscience and are looking for ways to live it out in the fullness of our lives.
Taking on new habits
In a long-established ritual, three men from different walks of life enter a monastery to live for a year among the monks and see if it is right for them and for the community.
An insider view of community
Someone once said that community is like shaking a jar of rough stones until they become smooth and beautiful. It’s easy to say “I love everyone” when you live alone. In community, you have a chance to prove it.
Love calls me to celibacy
A conversion experience led me to God. My promise of chastity as a religious sister, in turn, leads me to foster life and love in others
Stay on the right path
Practicing the vows of poverty and obedience—not perfectly but faithfully over time—keeps this brother from losing his way.
Sacred places: Where beauty and grace meet
A look at the spaces religious communities have renovated and adapted for modern worship and prayer.
More sacred places: Where beauty and grace meet
VISION 2010 featured a photo story on the spaces religious communities have renovated or built for worship and prayer (click to view the original story in either the online or digital edition version). Due to space constraints we could not feature in print all of the submissions we received. Here are some additional photos of the truly spectacular worship spaces religious communities enjoy.
Community is the key
In her first years as a Franciscan, Sister Gayle discovered that community is not only a lively and joyful way to live but also the means to many spiritual ends
But what if you fall in love?
I learned very early in my discernment process that just because you are a nun doesn’t mean that you are never going to fall in love.
Six myths (and some truth) about the gift of celibate chastity
Celibate chastity is not well understood in most societies. Everyone who has ever chosen life within a Catholic religious community has taken a vow of celibate chastity. So what exactly is it?
How is your family taking it?
“For my parents, being happy meant getting married, having good jobs, and a nice house,” she says. “I think my mother thought that the longer I waited, the more chance Mr. Right might come along!”
Trust God and hit the road
A 300-mile journey in the spirit of Saint Francis became a pilgrimage of trust—in God, one another, and the people encountered along the way.
Five reasons we need religious communities
Knowing and working with a number of men and women in religious communities, I have found that they enrich our world with five qualities that clearly demonstrate why we need them.
Thriving among the generations
Younger members of religious communities talk about living out their call in multigenerational settings.
Community: We're on your side and at your side
Saying your solemn "Yes!" in monastic vows means being welcomed into a community of believers who commit themselves to rooting for you and encouraging you all along your way.
Chastity is for everyone
Chastity is more than a list of don'ts. It's a way of harnessing our sexual energy for good, whatever our state of life: single, married, ordained, or vowed.
Follow your passion
At the time I wrote this poem, I had been a social worker in Newark, New Jersey for many years, working with families whose stories could keep you up at night. Then in the 1980s, in addition to poverty and addiction, these same families confronted a new struggle: HIV and AIDS.
Celibate chastity: One way to be a sexual person
Why did I choose a life and continue to choose a life that includes celibate chastity? Because of the deep sense of happiness I’ve found in this way of living.