“However, now they all stump along (they’re all elderly - there haven’t been any vocations there for decades) in their polyester pants and pastel tops with their hair cropped or curled by the same salon that does the hair of every other old lady in town. Nobody even knows they’re members of a religious order.”
Oh man that puts it perfectly. Who would want to join when the current members obviously don’t treat it like a big deal? They are probably proud that that no one wants to join them, mission accomplished.
Freegards
Actually, one of them did say to me that she was happy that nobody wanted to join because it meant that they had proved there was no longer a need for religious orders...go figure.
In my charitable moments, I think she was just trying to make herself feel better for her part in destroying the order. In my less charitable moments, I think the kool aid had destroyed her rational capacity.