Editor’s note: To celebrate the Year for Consecrated Life we are replacing the “Five Minutes with Father” series with “Conversations with the Consecrated,” which will feature interviews with various members living consecrated lives in the archdiocese. She is: Benedictine Sister Belinda Monahan, vocation minister, living in community at St. Scholastica Monastery, 7430 N. Ridge Blvd. Youth: “I grew up in a small town in New Jersey, and attended public school all the way through. I’m the middle of three sisters. My dad worked for the state of New Jersey and mom worked in our local libraries when I was in middle school. As a child of the ’70s, I never thought of being a sister until my late 30s. Before then I had only known three nuns. “I dreamed of being an archeologist. I went on my first dig at 17. I did my B.A. at Boston University, my master’s at the University of Chicago and Ph.D. at Northwestern. I still work part-time as a research associate at U. of C. I’ve also been cataloging books, photos, religious objects, as well as household items from the oldest Benedictine women’s monastery in the U.S., St. Joseph’s Monastery in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania, which is in the process of closing. Since many monasteries descended from it, including our own, we want to preserve its history — our shared history.” Buds of a vocation: “While a student at Northwestern I got interested in the Catholic center there. I was involved in my studies and dated, but no one seriously. After graduation, I was even more involved in the center, and started going to daily Mass. It didn’t make sense to me and I wanted to know why. At the first meeting with a spiritual director she asked if I’d ever thought of being a nun. I laughed and said, no. A year later I went back and said, ‘OK, now I can’t stop thinking about it.’ I was 35.” She started contacting communities including the Benedictines. “I became an affiliate in 2006. I entered in 2007, and took final vows in December 2014.” Community life: “Sister Vivian is the oldest sister here at 101. I’m the youngest at 44, but I’ve met Benedictines my age from around the country. I also have a large cohort of friends, religious women in their 30s and 40s, outside our community, in touch via social media. For others in their 20s to 40s, there’s a group called ‘Giving Voice.’ Many live in Chicago, so we get together for a potluck or bowling.” Leisure: “We try and balance work, leisure and prayer, otherwise we’d have 35 stressed-out cranky nuns.” Her blog: “I’ve had it for just over a year. The name, ‘A Listening Heart,’ comes from the first rule of Benedict, which is ‘Listen … with the ear of your heart.’ I enjoy being able to share what it’s like to be a younger sister. I focus on women in their mid-30s to early 40s. They’re all over the place, but there’s no solid outreach in the church for them. People can find me at my blog, livingmonasticism.wordpress.com, or on our Web page, www.osbchicago.org.”