Life After Convent Archives - Page 2 of 6

The Cloistered Heart, Part 2

By maryrosekreger August 3, 2023Life After ConventBride of Christ, Discernment, Life After Convent, Nancy Shuman, Parish Life, The Cloistered Hearts, The Convent of the HeartNo Comments

"Heart cloister can be lived by single or married persons, religious or clergy or lay, male or female. Because we carry our enclosure with us, we can be united in heart with God wherever we may be." - The Cloistered Heart Way of Life, by Nancy Shuman

The Cloistered Heart

By maryrosekreger July 25, 2023Life After ConventCall to Holiness, Cloistered Hearts, Community, Contemplatives, Discernment, Life After Convent, The Convent of the HeartNo Comments

Cora had assured me that twelve women were presently following this cloistered way of life. She’d also written that the Cloistered Heart was a “call” – something given to a person by God. Jesus, are you calling me to this way of life? I wondered.

Welcome Valerie Inez!

By maryrosekreger April 25, 2023Life After ConventBaby News, Blog Update, Convent of the Heart, Family, Life After Convent, New Baby, Valerie InezNo Comments

Our third child, Valerie Inez Kreger, arrived 8 weeks early this February 2023. We are so grateful to God for our "feisty" little girl!

My Two Valentines

By maryrosekreger February 14, 2023Life After ConventBride of Christ, Convent of the Heart, Divine Intimacy, Faith, Life After ConventNo Comments

I wrote as if I had an audience. As if someone else would someday want to know what had happened to me on November 29, 2013. My heart told me that this little “thing” was the real thing—the first flowering of my betrothal to Christ, and a gift that would never be taken away from me, as long as I lived.

Out of Darkness, New Life

By maryrosekreger January 30, 2023Life After ConventFamily, Fertility, Future, Hope, Life After Convent, New Life, ResurrectionNo Comments

It seemed as if the dark cloud of PMDD hid also a secret gift. The disorder that had caused me so much suffering, was also the very thing that could produce new life.

A Surprisingly Simple Solution

By maryrosekreger January 20, 2023Life After ConventFamily, Healing, Life After Convent, Mental Health, PMDD, Women's HealthNo Comments

The solution had ended up being so simple, it was almost funny. In the end, my latest piece of healing was a physical one.

Digging Deeper

By maryrosekreger January 14, 2023Life After ConventFamily, Life After Convent, PMDD, Relationships, The Search for Peace, Women's HealthNo Comments

I studied the month of June with dread. What would happen in two weeks, when I started having those alarming symptoms again? I felt a bit like a werewolf fearing the full moon.

The Search for Peace

By maryrosekreger December 2, 2022Life After Convent, UncategorizedFamily, Healing, Life After Convent, Parenting, Preschool, Special NeedsNo Comments

“Then you have to find a way to stay calm, even when everything around you is not calm,” I lectured myself. I needed to find a way to remain at peace during a domestic crisis. But how?

You Are Not Alone

By maryrosekreger November 16, 2022Life After ConventFamily, Intercessory Prayer, Life After Convent, Parish Life, Supporting Our Pastor, Switching ParishesNo Comments

I wondered if Jesus was also trying to show Father Philip that he was not alone. A small band of parishioners were still present, keeping vigil with Father and Our Lord until the very end.

A Reason to Keep Going

By maryrosekreger September 14, 2022Life After ConventHealing, Hope, Life After Convent, San Francisco, The Missing Chapter, WritingNo Comments

On the plane ride home from California, I started writing the “missing chapter”. My hope for healing was the reason I kept going.