THE WAY WE WERE

Hardcover

By 1990 most of the schools were gone, habits were a thing of the past, and cloister was an anachronism. How such a transformation of a long-established life style could happen within thirty years to an entire group whose culture extends back fifteen centuries is a question of no small import... - From the book

This fascinating account of dramatic change in a monastic community bears implications for contemporary spiritualityHere is a story of resistance, confusion, and fear that sometimes teeters on the verge of collective despair; a narrative of struggle, groping in the dark and grasping at straws; but from the beginning an epic endowed with courage, vision, relentless exploration and significant breakthroughs . . . . All of us can draw hope and inspiration from this remarkable story. - Diarmuid O'Murchu, author, Quantum Theology

Among those affected by the renewal of Vatican II, none experienced the changes more than women religious. Habits were replaced by secular dress; separation behind the cloister gave way to service in the world. But the deepest changes were less visible - a new way of thinking and imagining the meaning of religious life. For communities that had seen little change in a hundred years, the impact was beyond imagining.

It did not feel like - renewal' then," writes Joan Chittister. "It felt like disaster, like loss, like liberation, like life gone wild. And it felt like all of them all at once." This book is both a study of the way change happens and an example of it. It is an inspiring story, addressed to the wider church, about how to redefine the essentials of faith in a time when old ways and formulas no longer serve.

Joan Chittister, a leading voice in contemporary spirituality for over twenty-five years, is past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. She served for twelve years as Prioress of her community, the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania, who this year celebrate their 150th anniversary. Her many books include Illuminated Life, A Passion for Life, and There Is a Season.