Two nuns have revealed what it’s really like to be ‘brides of Jesus Christ’, covering everything from what it’s like to leave their families behind and why they get new names to how they get by despite not earning any money.
Sister Mary Grace and Sister Marie Veritas, who are members of a Catholic religious community known as Sisters of Life in Denver, Colorado, recently sat down to answer the Internet’s most burning questions about being a nun in a series of videos shared on YouTube.
They explained some of the “sacrifices” they had to make for this lifestyle, such as not being able to see their loved ones as much as they would like and having to live off of people’s donations, but they explained why it is still worth it. despite the things they have had to give up.
They also talked about why they never feel alone even though they are not allowed to have a partner, since they have a relationship with Jesus, and gave an insight into what a normal day is like for the nuns.
Two nuns have revealed what it really means to be ‘brides of Jesus’, telling everything from what it’s like to leave their families to how they get by despite not earning any money.
Sister Mary Grace and Sister Marie Veritas (seen), who are members of a Catholic religious community in Denver, recently answered the Internet’s hottest questions on YouTube.
When a person asked them: ‘Do sisters really marry Jesus?’ Marie explained: ‘Yes, we do. It’s true. It is beautiful and surprising.”
Mary added: “I remember I was in an airport once and a lady said to me, ‘I feel so bad for you, I wish you could get married.’
And I was like, “You know what? I’m actually (married).” We are here because we have fallen in love with Jesus.
‘Jesus has called each of us in a particular way to belong totally to Him and satisfies every element of the female heart and soul.
‘It’s a promise he makes and we experience it. My desire to get married is truly fulfilled in Jesus and he fulfills it more than he could have ever imagined, so he is legitimate.’
Mary explained that they put on habits (the modest ensembles that nuns are famous for) so that the world will know that they have married Jesus. She also revealed that most nuns also wear wedding rings.
‘I am a bride of Christ. I’m married to Jesus,’ Marie said. ‘This is my wedding dress. “I get to wear my wedding dress every day, it’s a great privilege.”
Marie explained that these habits are also “a sign of poverty,” because the nuns do not have money to “go shopping” like others.
They discussed some of the “sacrifices” they had to make because of their lifestyle, such as not being able to see their loved ones as much as they would like and having to live off of people’s donations.
They also talked about why they never feel alone even though they are not allowed to have a partner, since they said they have a relationship with Jesus.
“There are my clothes. I don’t go shopping, I don’t go to Fifth Avenue (in New York City),” she continued.
“In fact, we make our habits in our community, so it is a sign of real poverty and total belonging to the Lord in each day.”
When asked how the nuns make money, the women explained that they earn no income and “depend on the goodness of God and donations from people” for food and anything else “they need.”
“This is how we, as Sisters of Life, live and have our funding,” she shared. ‘It’s really beautiful.’
Mary called it “surreal” to be “totally dependent” on others to get by, adding: “It’s vulnerable and risky.”
‘But you see God more clearly in people when you have space for them to give to you and you really need them. He is really beautiful.’
When someone asked when the sisters retire, they revealed that they never stop working because being a nun is not a “career” but “who they are.”
“When you enter religious life you don’t earn more money, you have no other career to build than your call to love,” Mary added.
‘You give your whole life to him, that’s why we somehow retreated when we entered the convent.
‘Being a sister is not about what we do, but about who we are. As individual sisters we are called to belong entirely to Jesus and begin to live the identity for which we were created. That has no expiration date.’
Regarding the ‘sacrifices’ they have had to make, Marie stated that seeing much ‘less’ of their families is difficult, but insisted that despite the ‘separation’, being nuns has ‘deepened relationships’ with their loved ones. .
“We see our families less, we don’t text them or call them all the time, so there’s definitely a separation and that’s a sacrifice,” she said.
‘But there is a deepening of the relationship. It’s like when a woman gets married and goes to live with her husband, she no longer lives with her family.
‘It’s similar to us. We are married to Jesus, so we live in his house, we live with him.’
Mary intervened: “We move away from our families to enter a larger family because with God, there is always more, there is a greater good for which He does it; even in the mystery of sacrifice, he always invites us to do things for bless us”. .’
The sisters explained that they all live together in a community and that each home has its own ‘chapel’.
‘A lady once said to me: “I feel so bad for you, I wish you could get married.” And I said, “Actually, I’m (married).” We are here because we have fallen in love with Jesus,” said Mary.
Maria explained that they dress in habits (the modest outfits that nuns are famous for) so that the world will know that they have married Jesus.
“It’s like Jesus lives with us,” Marie gushed, while Mary added, “It’s a great honor.”
‘The chapel is like the heartbeat of our house, everything flows from there. Our whole life is stabilized around the chapel: it is the first place we go in the morning and the last place we go at night.
“We usually go there in the middle of the day to pray, kind of tapping and communicating with Jesus all day long because he’s really the framework and the stability of our lives.”
According to the nuns, each day is different because although ‘they have a schedule they follow’, many times Jesus ‘takes charge’ and changes their plans.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a dull day. It’s amazing how rich our lives are,” Mary revealed.
‘Every day is very different even though we have a schedule that we follow. We get up at 5am every day and head straight to the chapel and do morning prayer together.
‘Then there is usually a mass in our Chapel and then we have a couple of hours to fulfill the mission that has been entrusted to us.’
Their missions involve ‘evangelization’ and ‘serving pregnant women in crisis pregnancy’.
They also ‘walk with women who have suffered the experience of abortion’ in an attempt to teach them ‘the true, tender and infinite mercy of God.’
“It is a great privilege for us sisters to not only live our lives with Jesus, but also to see Jesus bring life to the people we serve,” Mary added.
‘We spent our day doing that, divided into moments of prayer. Is rich.
‘Every night, for an hour after dinner, we have a protected time to literally be together: we can play cards, sometimes we just sit and enjoy each other’s company, share joys and sorrows, play music and go out walk.
‘Yesterday we climbed a mountain. The biggest surprise about religious life is how much fun it has been. Receiving the gift of friendship and community life are also unexpected gifts.’
Marie and Mary said they do not have “personal” cell phones, but are allowed to have landlines and can use “mission-shared” cell phones if necessary.
They also revealed that they receive new names when they become nuns.
When a viewer asked how they were chosen, Mary explained, “God literally put a new name on my heart very simply and clearly.”
‘As simple as that, he put this name in my heart and I knew that he was calling me to imitate the blessed mother in a certain way. It’s a mystery but God literally gives it.’
‘It’s really special. It really comes through prayer. “It’s pretty impressive,” Marie shared.