The spiritual maturity of occupying uncertain, liminal positions rather than resolving tension into false clarity, as Sor Juana remained both devoted and defiant.
Sor Juana lived in deliberate ambiguity: a nun who questioned the Church, a believer with intellectual doubts, a woman claiming authority in a patriarchal institution. Rather than resolving these tensions into coherence, she inhabited them, creating space for contradiction and growth. Many people navigating religious identity transition assume they must move from one clear position to another: believer to doubter to leaver, or vice versa. This concept suggests that liminal, ambiguous positions—where you hold genuine faith and genuine doubt simultaneously, or commitment and questioning together—are not failures of clarity but potentially richer spiritual spaces. You might be a believer who doubts specific doctrines, a leaver with lingering faith practices, a doubter with moments of genuine connection. The ambiguous vow means committing not to a fixed theology but to integrity, truth-seeking, and growth, whatever form that takes. It means staying present to your actual experience rather than forcing yourself into the nearest institutional category. Sor Juana models this spiritual maturity: the courage to say 'I don't know,' 'I believe and I question,' 'I remain and I resist.' This is not weakness but a sophisticated faith adequate to the complexity of truth.
Peri can explain this concept, give practical examples, help you decide whether it applies to your situation, or recommend a journey if appropriate.
Explore related journeys or tell Peri what you're working through.