Tonight on Lifetime The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns airs for an all new Tuesday November 25, season 1 episode 1 premiere called “I’m Not Ready!” and we have your recap below. On tonight’s episode, the lives of five young women who are considering becoming Catholic nuns are chronicled over a six-week period.
“The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns” (#TheSisterhood) follows five young women who are considering the life-changing decision of taking religious vows to become Catholic nuns. For the first time ever, cameras were granted access to three convents* where the women live and work together alongside nuns during the discernment phase, the process wherein they decide if they want to formally continue on their holy path.
On tonight’s episode as per the Lifetime synopsis, “five 20-something women discern to become nuns as they embark on a six week journey that will forever change their lives.”
Tonight’s episode is going to be great so be sure to tune in for The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns on Lifetime at 10PM EST. We’ll be blogging all the drama, be sure to hit up the comments and tell us what you think of this new show.
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page for Updates
On #TheSisterhood, five young women embark on their journey to become nuns. It takes year to become a nun. Step one is discernment. For six weeks, they will live and work in different convents and then they are offered a choice to continue on or go home. This will show their journey of self-discovery. Week one, 23 year old Eseni’s boyfriend takes her to the convent. She’s nervous and sad about leaving her family. Eseni grew up going to Catholic school and grew up around nuns. She says their lives seemed simple and happy while her life was chaos.
Eseni was nine when she found out her dad cheated and got someone else pregnant. She says her mom was hysterical and then she saw her dad as a bad guy and this caused Eseni trust issues with men. She says she thought about being a nun when she was growing up but then she met Darnell. She says she loves him and knows going to do this will really hurt them. Three weeks ago, she tells him she’s going to go consider this for six weeks. He says he’s not cool with this.
He asks if they would be done if she decided to be a nun and she says yes. Darnell loves her and says they haven’t been apart since they met. He tells her it’s crazy. She says this is something she wanted to do before they met and he says she should have mentioned that on the first date. He’s very upset. She says she can’t go through what her mom went through with her dad. Darnell tells her he loves her and is there for her no matter what she needs. He hugs her.
At St. Teresa’s Motherhouse in New York, Sister Cyril says girls come from different backgrounds and aren’t perfect but says it’s hard if they are running from something. Christie is from California and is 27. Claire is 26 and another candidate who says she thinks of being a bride of Christ in a literal sense like a real husband-wife relationship. They ride together to the convent.
Christie is a church musician and a teacher who loves to sing. We see Claire back with her family. She says discerning to be a nun means you’re asking God what you should do with your life. Sarah, Claire’s sister, talks about how impressed she is with how committed Claire is. Barbara and John, her parents, say they are thrilled that she got the call to be a bride of Christ.
Eseni is getting scared on the way to the convent. She has him stop at the gate so they can hug and kiss goodbye there and not in front of the nuns. He tells her he can’t believe she’s leaving and tells her that he loves her. The nuns come out to greet them. Eseni says she’s scared the nuns are going to be mean and has knots in her stomach. The nuns greet her with hugs and introductions and Darnell says he was scared at first, but they seemed nice.
He wants Eseni to remember she has a lot at home and doesn’t want her to throw all that away. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do and says it’s hard. Sister Maria Therese says Eseni is so beautiful she thought she was a model. Mother Mark says they were surprised to see she had a boyfriend drop her off. Maria Therese says she was in a relationship herself when she became a nun so she understands the emotions Eseni is feeling.
Christie says she’s curious to meet the other girls. Claire says everyone’s journey is different and says she is living a season of dedicated singleness and has for five years. Christie says she can’t imagine being single that long – she’s dated a lot. Christie says she is very flirtatious and physical but always explains to her dates that she won’t have sex before marriage. Jessica, her roommate, thinks Christie would struggle to not date. Christie says it’s as important to be open to being a sister or be married.
She says it would be a struggle to give up family. Her mom, Daria, asks if it’s God calling her to be a nun or her calling herself. Daria says she would love to see her marry and have kids but she has to be willing to give her to God if that’s what God wants for her. Christie says she has to figure out what God wants for her even if it’s giving up marriage and babies. Daria says she’ll pray for her and be there for her and wants her to do what God wants.
Christie tells Claire she’s had some intense spiritual experiences and has visions of Jesus during prayer. She says he appears to her and she sees him in a white robe, takes her hand and is swaying. She says it was romantic like he was flirting with her. Claire says she doesn’t think these are visions. Christie goes on and says she sees Jesus introducing her to his mother like you would a girlfriend. Claire says she thinks Christie is religious on an emotional but not intellectual level. In other words, cray cray (a little).
The nuns are waiting as their car pulls up. They get out to greet the nuns. Claire says it’s a blessing to be around all these brides of Christ. Sister Peter says Carmelite nuns look good for their age because they know how to take care of themselves. Mother Mark says they focus on caring for the elderly and that’s the focus of their ministry and they try to ease the new girls into it.
Marie Therese says Claire is beautiful and Mother Mark says Christie is very friendly while Claire is more formal. Marie Therese says she wonders if they have the capacity to be with people of other beliefs. Mother Mark offers them a drink and Christie says she grew up around nuns and had them as teachers, but has no clue what to expect living at a convent.
The nuns introduce Eseni to Claire and Christie. A taxi brings Stacey, a 26 year old New Yorker. She says she wanted to be an actress and moved to New York at 16 but she wasn’t satisfied and only spending time with God satisfies her. She says she read about Mother Dolores Hart who was Elvis’ fist on-screen kiss who left Hollywood at 24 to become a nun. She loves art also and makes dolls.
We see one bloody Jesus doll she’s made of him dying while a Mary doll holds him. It’s pretty gruesome. She says the only difficult part of this is giving up her artistic life, getting married and having kids. That seems like a lot of difficult parts. The nuns all come out to greet her with hugs. She says the nuns are all really nice. They bring her inside and she gets applause.
Sister Cyril says Stacey seems warm, outgoing and comfortable in her skin. She then meets Eseni, Christie and Claire. She says she was struck by Eseni’s beauty. Christie says she likes Stacey and thinks they will be friends. Mother Mark welcomes them and says a prayer for all of them. Stacey says that gave her the I’m not in Kansas feeling. Eseni says she likes Mother Mark and thinks she can do this.
Christie is anxious to get started and find out what they will be doing but they are waiting on one more girl. Francesca, 21, is being driven to the Carmelites by her dad. She says it seems far away but he says he can come when she needs him. She says she doesn’t think he’s allowed to come. Two weeks ago, Francesca says she’s been thinking about being a nun for about a year and is excited to help others but worries about leaving her family.
Her mom asks if she’s willing to give up things to become a nun. Her mom Joanne says Francesca is very passionate about things but thinks she’s too young to make a decision like this. Joanne says she hopes if she does decide to do it, she picks some place close to her family. Francesca says the church could send her literally anywhere.
Francesca says she hasn’t liked a lot of the nuns that were authority figures in her life. She tells her dad she’s scared. Sister Peter says leaving her family was a big challenge when she first became a nun. She says she was fine until Thanksgiving and then she cried and wondered how she would get through it but says it all worked out. Francesca’s dad tells her nuns are beautiful people.
The nuns come out to greet Francesca and she says they are all super sweet. She asks if she can call home and they joke with her then tell her she can. Mother Mark says she seems fragile and more vulnerable than the others. Her dad tells the nuns to take care of her and she’s scared and crying over letting him go.
She’s introduced to the other girls and they all hug. Christie says Francesca seems wide eyed and fun. Mother Mark says the girls need to focus on getting to know the Lord and developing a relationship with him. Mother Mark takes the girls to their rooms and notices the girls have a lot of luggage. Sister Peter wonders where they think they are going and need all these clothes.
Sister Peter says she liked fashion even though it was the 70s and a horrible time for fashion. Eseni gets her room first. The room is small with a bed, desk, recliner and a sink. She then noticed the uniform she’s expected to wear. Stacey says it looks like her high school uniform. Francesca says the crosses are dope, big and nice. She can’t wait to put the outfit on. She closes the door to get dressed.
Eseni changes also. Mother Mark says their congregation chose to retain the habit as a sign to always be in the presence of the Lord. Christie says seeing the nun outfit made her feel not ready. She doesn’t like having to change into it. Eseni is in flats and says she’s not used to them. Mother Mark inspects them and says they look lovely.
Mother Mark says they have to let the girls know what their life is really like. She says the outfit reminds them where their head and heart should be. She tells Eseni she has to get her nails taken off and Mother Mark says they’re pretty but have to go. She asks for their cell phones and the girls aren’t happy. Mother Mark says it helps them to concentrate.
Sister Cyril says the trappings of society don’t really help you grow. Eseni says handing over her phone really pisses her off and she really misses Darnell. Claire says she’s been on silent retreats before and hands hers over readily. Mother Mark tells Francesca she needs to give up her make up and says it’s a distraction thinking about how you look.
She’s bummed. Claire says she can tell some of this is really hard on the other girls. Francesca says makeup gives her confidence to not worry about how she looks. Mother Mark says it’s about who she is on the inside and not about how she looks on the outside. Francesca says she doesn’t have good skin but Mother Mark digs in her heels and says she has to take it off before they get started.
She goes into her room and cries and says Jesus wouldn’t want her to have to take off her makeup. The other girls try to comfort her. She cries and says she has acne and then goes outside to mope. She says people only see the flaws in you. She’s also upset because the cameras are there and she doesn’t want to be on camera without her makeup.
She says she thought she was there to make a decision, not make the decision today. Eseni says Francesca is freaking out and the girls agree to take off their makeup together. Sister Lois Ann says the sisters are important to support you and be your community. Eseni wonders if the nuns shave or not and Francesca says she wouldn’t mind giving that up.
Francesca says she likes feeling the support of the other girls. They all clean up. Christie goes to her room and says she just wants to cry because she feels overwhelmed. Sister Cyril says what makes it hard on girls these days is spending quiet time reflecting. Eseni says she cried herself to sleep last night and getting up for Mass was hard. Stacey says she feels like a fish out of water.
Mother Mark says there are some things people think about nuns that aren’t important. She says they are thought of as ethereal when they are really a community. Mass starts and the priest says discerning is hard work and it’s hard to know what you want to do with your life. He tells them they need a dream for life and that everyone needs a vision for what they will want to do with their life.
He says your vision needs to be something you can live with. Eseni gets really emotional as he speaks. The priest says without a vision your life is like a bird with a broken wing trying to fly. He says the most you can do for a broken winged bird is put them in a cage and feed them until they die. Eseni says she doesn’t feel good. She sits back down and is dizzy.
Stacey wonders why she was sitting during Mass and checks on her. Eseni asks for water. She’s having overwhelming emotions and was praying for God to take it from her. She says she asked if this was a sign and tries to figure out what’s going on. Claire says maybe Eseni hasn’t felt the presence of God like this before and says it can be overwhelming.
Sister Marie Therese says she thinks Eseni’s anxiety is about being moved out of her comfort zone. Mother Mark says many women feel torn when they first come. Sister Peter says it can be hard if you are running away from something. Eseni says she doesn’t think she can do this.
THE END!