How to live like you've just left the convent

Yes, even nuns can bike

Now, this is no exhaustive list, and I’m not even doing all these things all the time, but hey: it’s a pretty darn good life, and I am very happy about it.

• Go to Mass and pray a holy hour every day.

• Pray the rosary every day.

• Continue to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Even just once or twice a day if that’s all you can manage. (My personal favorites are Morning Prayer and Night Prayer.)

• Go to confession regularly. Every two weeks, if not more.

• Avoid social media and the news like the plague. (Or the pandemic.)

• Build your (small and simple) wardrobe slowly and thoughtfully, shopping at thrift stores and investing in a few new ethically made, good quality pieces.

• Flip phone. All the way. Better yet, get a leather case for it and look like a dad from the 90s.

• And speaking of which, don’t look at screens from 8 pm to 8 am. Or 7 pm to 9 am. Or any other wildly countercultural time frame of your choosing.

• Journal, journal, journal.

• Texts < emails < phone calls < video calls < in-person visits, complete with warm hugs and loud laughs and shared tears.

• Welcome any and all prayer requests, and follow through.

• Make lists of gratitude as often as you possibly can. You have so much to be grateful for.