Reverend Sister Gina King Says Religious Life Is a Calling, Not a Prize for the Overlooked

Reverend Sister Gina King has taken to Facebook to respond to people who claim that attractive women in religious life ought to marry, and that only women deemed unattractive should become sisters. In her post, she argued that the Lord merits the finest offerings and that choosing consecrated life is a calling rather than a reward for those who have been disappointed. She questioned the assumptions behind such comments, asking when marriage had come to be seen as life's greatest accomplishment and when religious life had become a path for women described as unattractive, grieving a broken relationship, or unable to secure a husband. She stated that religious life is not a recovery facility for women who did not marry. Sister King also rejected the idea that women who become sisters are expected to be unattractive, saying that no one is ugly. She compared the choice of one woman to devote her life to a spouse and family with the choice of another to dedicate her entire life to God. Both marriage and religious life, she said, are vocations, and religious life should not be treated as a lesser option or a consolation prize. According to her, some women are called to marriage, some to religious life, and others to different kinds of service. She encouraged young women not to accept claims that only those who cannot find a husband or who are considered unattractive enter religious life. If God is calling them, she said, they should answer, noting that the door to consecrated life remains open. She invited them to bring their beauty, intelligence, dreams, gifts, and above all their hearts, asking why anyone would offer God less than their best if they are giving Him a gift.