Why Would a Millennial Become a Priest or a Nun? [View all]

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http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/why-would-a-millennial-become-a-priest-or-a-nun/278741/



It's the question that haunts everyone starting a career: What's my calling? Some refer to it as a vocation; others might call it a life purpose. If you're a mid-career professional charged with giving advice to terrified twentysomethings, you might resort to that dreaded graduation speech touchstone, "passion."

There are a handful of young people across the country who have interpreted "calling" in perhaps the most literal way possible: By devoting their lives to the Church. The decision seems radical in the context of common stereotypes about millennials, a generation often accused of lack of discipline, skepticism bordering on snark, preference for a hook-up culture, and only the vaguest spiritual impulses. These millennials defy those clichés, taking lifelong vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to God -- and to the Catholic Church, which, especially in their lifetimes, has been regularly plagued by scandal.

Taking these vows in the Roman Catholic Church can mean many things. Women can choose what's called contemplative life, living in a monastery and, often, remaining cloistered from the world. Others pursue an "apostolic" life, doing work outside of the convent in fields like education and health care and returning home to community life. Men can join a religious order like the Benedictines or the Franciscans, or they can become diocesan priests and lead local churches.

Sister Colleen Gibson, a 27-year-old in the second year of her formal training with the Sisters of St. Joseph in Philadelphia, took the quiz on a website during college to determine what the best path might be for her. "It's like Match.com, but for religious communities," she explained. After identifying some of the aspects of religious life that appealed to her, she clicked a box to send her answers to various orders that might be a fit. "The next morning when I woke up and opened up my inbox, there were 40 emails -- it scared me to death. It's like throwing red meat into a lion's den."