Sister Aletheia was profiled by the NY Times in “Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” reviving the Memento Mori movement. Memento Mori is the practice of intentionally thinking about our own death as a means of appreciating the present and living a better life now.
Sister Aletheia’s path to the convent was anything but conventional. She was a rebellious atheist who loved punk rock and spent her 20s volunteering, then working in Bay Area tech before finding her way back to the church. Her Catholic order - the Daughters of St Paul - are known as the #medianuns for their use of social media (even TikTok!) and other modern tools to spread the gospel.
Sister and I talked about our society’s avoidance of death, her ongoing wrestling match with God when it comes to the world’s suffering, and why reflecting on death isn’t a morbid affair, but a healthy and healing practice that can help us accept the inevitable with hope.
Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die (NY Times, May 2021)
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