Millennial Nuns

The Daughters of Saint Paul are collectively known as the #MediaNuns, a consecrated religious order of Catholic Sisters who simultaneously observe their committed vows while embracing social media with active utilization of platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to evangelize.

Let's be honest. What do you think of when you hear the word Sister?

You are likely a lot like me. You think of older women. You might think of rulers. You may even think of those wonderfully retro black and white habits. If you're the right age (or the wrong age depending on your views), you might even think of Gidget. Or Whoopi.

You're not likely to think about younger women. You're not likely to think about friends, artists, writers, businesswomen, advocates, and scholars.

Yet, this is exactly what you find in "Millennial Nuns: Reflections on Living a Spiritual Life in a World of Social Media," a light yet fulfilling memoir entering the lives of eight of The Daughters of Saint Paul's younger Sisters as they share their own discernment journeys, struggles and crises of faith to be overcome, and glimpses into their daily lives.

The Sisters in "Millennial Nuns" seem surprisingly approachable, reverent yet honest in their testimonies and willing to share with transparency and vulnerability. They offer practical takeaways from their own journeys along with tips for living a more spiritually fulfilled life no matter your religious affiliation.

Balancing faith and the often frenzied nature of everyday life in this modern age can be difficult, but "Millennial Nuns" gives us an inside view of how this is accomplished by The Daughters of Saint Paul and I'd dare say it also offers a glimpse into how religious communities can and are adapting for changing times and inviting those with a sense of deep spiritual call into the consecrated life when the consecrated life seems so at odds with the world these days.

Even as an older, non-Catholic male myself (though I have attended quite a few Masses), I took much away "Millennial Nuns" and thoroughly enjoyed my reading of it. I easily imagined myself having these very conversations with these Sisters as they discuss discernment, spiritual discipline, the differences between religious orders, and the joy they find in devoting their lives in marriage to Jesus Christ.

As is likely always true with a collective memoir, there will be some testimonies that resonate more than others depending upon one's own life and experiences. However, collectively "Millennial Nuns" is a refreshing and engaging journey into the lives of eight women who made their vows earlier in life and whose lives feel all the richer and more meaningful for it.

"Millennial Nuns" is a unique yet wonderful read for the spiritually inclined of any path who wish to more deeply explore and understand how to better live a spiritual life while remaining engaged with the modern world.

Generally, any book that chronicles the intersection of women and spirituality is rather interesting for me. Not only was the title catchy, but it piqued my interest. How can one not want to discover the ambitions, motivations and philosophies of modern day sisters (not nuns as the title suggests).

The end result was a mixed bag, like any book with several voices, there is either an opportunity to connect or not. All writers were competent, yet I feel some missed the prime reason I picked up the book. I want to know how this social media age effects you.. in what ways do you still remain consecrated even while engaging in our global communication system?

The audience of this book feels like it is written for those who might be considering a religious life, not to the general audience who is genuinely curious. Overall great writing, but I feel it could have tackled tougher topics as well as laying out their biographies.