Myth #4 — Cloistered life is a waste of God-given gifts and talents

“Are you sure you want to enter a monastery? You have so much to offer the Church and the world!”

“How could someone as beautiful and intelligent as yourself want to lock yourself away for life?”

“What a waste!”

Any young woman discerning the contemplative life has likely heard these or similar comments, which touch on one of the most fundamental difficulties people — even good people! — often have with the cloistered calling. In every age there have been those who criticize the strictly contemplative vocation, arguing that those who embrace this way of life are “throwing away their lives,” that their gifts and talents could be so much better used in the world. Even those who recognize the value of consecrated religious life may be hesitant to encourage a girl who feels drawn to a hidden life of prayer rather than an active apostolate, such as teaching, nursing, or missionary work. Surely God would not want her gifts to lie unused, would He?

Contemplative life is, at its heart, a mystery. Therefore, simply listing reasons will never be an adequate explanation of why a talented, beautiful, smart young woman would feel drawn to the cloistered vocation. It’s a matter of falling in love, and as any married couple can tell you, there is a reality much deeper than mere “reasons” that drew them together for life. “The heart hath its reasons, whereof reason knows nothing,” Blaise Pascal famously wrote.

With that said, however, there is no talent that cannot find its place in a contemplative monastery — practical, artistic, or administrative skills are considered a great asset to a community! However, even if a nun is never asked to exercise a given gift, it most assuredly does not go to waste. It is, rather, used in the most perfect way: as a sacrifice to God. He is never outdone in generosity, and those who willingly surrender a part of themselves in this way will find themselves amply repaid in this present age and in eternity!