St. Norbert's Conversion

There are many Catholic holy men and women who don't have as many devotees as more well-known Saints, but have equally intruiging testimonies. St. Norbert, whose feast day is today, falls into that category of lesser-known Saints. Perhaps St. Francis and his followers had a devotion to St. Norbert, since both saints experienced a conversion on the road towards God.

Click this link to read a short biography of St. Norbert.

St. Norbert's story shows us that conversion takes many different forms. Norbert and Francis didn't necessarily live egregiously sinful lives prior to their conversions, but biographies of both men recall that they led worldly lifestyles- e.g., God's voice was drowned out while they were trying to seek the other good things that this life has to offer. This goes to show that we don't necessarily have to be criminals in order to experience a conversion in our lives.

The Norbertine Canonesses are the female contemplatives who chose to style their lives after St. Norbert's spirituality. There is currently only one Norbertine monastery in the United States, located in California; unfortunately, they don't have a website, but you can view a slideshow on their community here. If you ask me, they have one of the loveliest habits around! Here is a link to a wonderful blog dedicated to the Norbertine Order, including information on the history of the Norbertine nuns.

Have a nice weekend, and try to stay cool- it's certainly going to be a hot week for us East-Coasters!