Spiritual Practices For Those Awaiting Religious Life

[Cherie]

When I was in discernment, I remember many priests telling me to make sure I had "spiritual norms" - meaning, daily spiritual practices to help me grow in the spiritual life, especially in preparation for entering religious life.

These things included daily rosary, praying at least Morning and Evening prayer of the Divine Office, daily Mass if possible, visits to the Adoration Chapel, wearing the brown scapular, etc. (Of course it wasn't recommended that one start all these things all at once if you weren't in the practice of doing them, but to add certain spiritual practices, bit by bit as you could take them, and making sure there was time set apart each day for prayer.)

It was mentioned in a recent thread how difficult it can be for one awaiting religious life to be in the world - there is so much in the world that tries to pull you away, or at least distract you, from your vocation!

So I just thought I'd start this thread to ask: what are [i]your[/i] daily "spiritual norms"? What spiritual practices have helped you in your vocation? Do you have any spiritual practices that you'd recommend for those waiting to enter religious life?

Even for laypeople like me, it's always encouraging to hear about how other people are taking their spiritual lives seriously. And since we're all striving to be Saints, perhaps we can take suggestions from each other!

[Tridenteen]

JMJ
I started a girl's sodality/oratory for Sundays after High Mass. The older girls in charge are all discerning. The purpose of the group is to bring charity in speech, and make crafts for the local nursing homes. We also wear blue capes ( carmelite style, in blue silk). It is kind of my "apostolate" [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/saint.gif[/img]

[cmaD2006]

When I was preparing to enter, I did (almost) daily visits to the Blessed Sacrament. I was blessed in that for a while I lived about 5 minutes away from a perpetual adoration parish; so after my long ride back and forth to work I would stop in ... be it 10:30pm, 11pm, 8pm, etc. It really did help prepare me.

The other things: spiritual direction at least monthly, confession at least monthly (or more), Mass a few times a week (it was difficult due to my commute).

I did try to incorporate Mass during the week. I did have a copy of the liturgy of the hours so that if I could fit it in I could pray the office. And a prayer life (I've always had a problem with daily prayer ... for years, but the best way for me to pray was to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament).

Currently I can't say that I am actively discerning religious life; but as I deal with everything that's happened and normal everyday life I still have regular spiritual direction, confession, and attend Mass 4 times during the week. And I pray as I can in whatever form it may take. Finally -- I do make a yearly 8 day silent retreat. (I skipped last year, but did two weekendlong silent retreats).

Hope this helps; blessings,

[FaithfulRoseofMary]

Thank you so very, very much for this post. This is exactly what I needed and what I've been grappling with.

There can be creative approaches for incorporating spiritual practices into each day.

-- Anyone... please do share ideas, recommendations, struggles with, etc. Will be encouraging and motivating for all of us.

God bless.
Thank you again CherieMadame

[Tridenteen]

JMJ
I have begun needing more quietness. I don't know why though. It is the kind of quiet at Church though, and I find it addicting :-) I don't feel the motivation to return to saying the moring and evening parts of the Little Office, though. I don't know whether to drop it completely, or to try to keep saying it.

[laetitia crucis]

Great topic, CM!

The first time I was preparing to enter a convent was right after I graduated university. After I graduated, I stayed in the same city and apartment I had lived in during my last year of university and I still had the same core group of Catholic friends -- so needless to say, I was in a really great environment for fostering and maintaining my "spiritual norms".

Some of the things I did were:
- daily Rosary
- Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer
- daily Mass (if possible)
- monthly spiritual direction
- regular confession (my goal was once every two weeks at least)
- Holy Hour(s) during the First Fridays (that's the only time my parish had adoration)

The really fortunate thing for me in regards to maintaining my "spiritual norms" was the communal prayer aspect of being able to pray with my friends. Each morning we would gather together to pray Morning Prayer and the Rosary together before classes. A few of us would also attend daily Mass together when it was available. These are the things I really cherished and now realize just how much I thrive with communal prayer.

This time around, I'm in a totally non-Catholic (non-Christian, really) environment. Everything is truly "on my own" and I've found it to be SO much more difficult that I would have imagined. I am truly weak when it comes to independent praying of the Liturgy of the Hours and even the Rosary.

I've only somewhat recently found out about this website: [url="http://www.comepraytherosary.org"]Come, Pray the Rosary![/url] -- thanks to dominicansoul's status updates! This offers a way to pray "in community" with people all over the world. I've found this to be really helpful for my daily Rosary. Also, on Tuesdays, my local parish has all-day Adoration, and right after morning Mass, we pray the rosary together. (I thank God for that opportunity!)

Now if there was a local group that prayed the Liturgy of the Hours together.... that would be GREAT. I struggle to pray Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer, but I know this is simply from my own weak will. Where's Mad Eye?.... "[B]CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!![/B]" Ah! There he is... just what I needed!

So... I'm trying to get back in the spiritual "groove", so to say. Trying to get Morning/Evening/Night Prayer in... and trying not to beat myself up about it when I miss it. I also try to make it for at least one hour on Tuesdays for Adoration, and to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a month.

Ah, and keeping a "prayer/spiritual journal" has been quite helpful, too. It's good for reflections and for meditation and to keep myself accountable on paper.

Spiritual direction once a month is also a "must" for me. I thank God for my spiritual director.



Hmmmm.... another very simple thing that I've found good for me is silence. Keeping the television and radio off... for some reason, I find it much more restful.

I hope that helps.


P.S. -- Oh, and spiritual reading, too! Always a good thing! Scripture and spiritual books, like various Lives of the Saints or other spiritually formative reading.

[TeresaBenedicta]

When I was at school, I think I took my spiritual practices with much more diligence than I've been able to muster here at home. At school, my daily spiritual life looked something like this:

Morning Prayer
Daily Mass
Daily holy hour
Evening prayer
Rosary a few times a week
Weekly Marian devotion group (Militia Immaculatae)
Monthly spiritual direction
Bi-monthly confession

But now that I'm home, it's much more difficult (on many levels) to keep up with my spiritual life. I think the reasons vary. Obviously I'm not in an atmosphere of people striving for holiness. Much the opposite, I'm afraid. Then there's the practical issues. I don't live on the same grounds as [i]five[/i] chapels. And there are things that come up that keep me from being able to do certain things on a daily basis (for example, traveling to visit family, or like this week, watching my three nephews and niece). Still, I don't do as good of a job sticking to a daily spiritual plan. Here's what it kind of looks like:

Morning Prayer (about 85% of the time)
Daily Mass (about 75% of the time)
Daily holy hour (about 75% of the time-- thanks be to God my parish has perpetual Adoration)
Rosary a few times a week

I don't get to go to confession very often because my parish (and all of the surrounding parishes) only offer it on Saturdays, which are extremely difficult for me. I have to drive about 30 minutes (highway) in order to get somewhere during the week to confess. I also don't have a spiritual director here at home.

[melporcristo]

+JMJT+

Thank you all for this post. It has REALLY helped me where I'm at right now! I enter as a candidate in less than 2 months and I have really felt I need to prepare myself. AM & PM Prayer are super hard for me to do alone. I tend to doze off so I've had to say them out loud but not so loud that my family can hear me. I have also felt SO drawn to making visits to the Blessed Sacrament - so thank you for helping me realize it's important to be with Him!

As what others have said: frequent confession, rosary, adoration, Daily Mass, AM & PM prayer - all vital to allowing the fire to grow within your heart for Him!

Another thing I have begun to do are small "retreats", where I get a spiritual reading of some sort, take out an extra hour and half, pray my rosary, read and journal thoughts in the presence of Christ. I try to do this once a month.

[FSM Sister]

I have to pray the Liturgy of the Hours alone most of the time, too, and I find it helpful to chant it. Thankfully, I can get to Mass every day. Recently, a priest was ordained and assigned to our parish as parochial vicar, and he has confessions almost every day after the early mass. Otherwise, we would only have confessions on Saturday or by appointment. I pray the Mercy chaplet every morning, as I can't usually take off from work at 3 to pray it. Since I prefer to pray it before the Blessed Sacrament, I stay after Mass.

[Sister Marie]

These are some great practices.

I would second all of them and add that the classic spiritual reading books are great to work with at this time, like the Imitation of Christ and the Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and Mary for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and spiritual communions when you aren't able to physically receive or adore Jesus in the Eucharist.

We pray night prayer privately each night and I agree with what someone else said about falling asleep... It is the hardest prayer of my day! haha, good thing God became man and experienced exhaustion too!

I have found two other short practices helpful, both before and after I entered the convent. First, the practice of a virtue a month. There are little reflections for each monthly virtue [url="http://www.redemptorists.com/english/virtues/index.htm"]here[/url]. There are many books you can find too about this.

I found it helpful to recall the virtue in a morning offering. It really helps keep me centered during the day.

I also found that practicing the Examen prayer was really helpful at the end of each day. There is a wonderful book on it [url="http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-books/Examen-Prayer/sku/55606"]here[/url]. Anything by Father Gallagher is great. Sometimes this prayer is difficult at first but the fruit is more than worth the time it takes to "learn" it.

Anyway, I hope these help, prayers for all!

Sister Marie

[Cherie]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='08 June 2010 - 10:37 PM' timestamp='1276051024' post='2126109']I've only somewhat recently found out about this website: [url="http://www.comepraytherosary.org"]Come, Pray the Rosary![/url] -- thanks to dominicansoul's status updates! This offers a way to pray "in community" with people all over the world. I've found this to be really helpful for my daily Rosary.
[/quote]

Thank you SO MUCH for this website!!! I had no idea it existed!!! This would be PERFECT for me while to put on while I'm cleaning up the house, so I can easily pray while I work -- I've gotten into the habit of not watching TV or listening to the radio during the day when I'm doing housework, and it's a bit hard to hold a rosary while I'm ironing or cleaning the bathroom, and I'm really clumsy with finger rosaries! The silence is good sometimes, but this would be so great for those times when I need it!


Spiritual reading is really important to me, as well. I especially love to read the Lives of the Saints, but any good spiritual book I have found to be very important for me in my spiritual life. I try to take at least a 1/2 hour of spiritual reading a day (for example, maybe right before I go to bed), but it's been very hard lately, and I haven't kept up with it as much as I should.

I will admit, it has been hard to be as strong in my spiritual practices as I was when I was in religious life, or preparing for it. Like many of you, I don't have any Catholic friends in the area, and though this is a "Catholic" area with a number of Catholic churches nearby, there really isn't anything like Adoration, or any kind of Church groups in which we could be a part. It was so great in religious life, when those practices were part of your daily horarium, it was so easy since it was your whole life!!! But in the world, where we have so many other responsibilities, often it can be much more difficult -- although we still should have firm daily spiritual norms in place. It would be great if somewhere they prayed the Liturgy of the Hours here! I really want to get back into the habit of at least praying Morning, Evening, and Night prayer daily -- my excuse lately is that I don't have a Franciscan Ordo -- (but I think there's a website that at least has the "regular" Ordo online that I could use)

Although I'm not preparing to enter religious life, I am preparing to enter another vocation: motherhood, and I'd like to make sure I'm spiritually prepared for that, as well. It's important for me to try and get my spiritual practices into a good, firm habit now, because those sleepless nights and unexpected days are coming soon!

[vee]

Spiritual practices huh? How about drinking rum

I'd also like more silence and solitude (so I can work on my crying like Sts Catherine and Teresa ) it's not really possible right now though so I just try to offer everything up and make everything a prayer. I like saying Jesus Mary I love you save souls, the Hail Mary if not the whole rosary, and if not the whole chaplet of Divine Mercy then just " for the sake of His sorrowful passion..."

I do a lot of what others have posted as well and also wanted to mention physical mortiications I fast on Friday if possible, and abstain from meat on that day as well. I try to avoid buying too much junk or snack food, and to share the stuff I do buy. Little things like that I try to do, with the grace of God of course.

[Starets]

The Rosary has never been a big part of my prayer life, and still isn't. For me, it is the Jesus Prayer and my prayer rope. I think the recommendations given are good. Some sort of penitential practice might be good too. For me, my job was very penitential! Another possibility is to follow the horarium of the community you are about to enter as closely as possible.

[Thomist-in-Training]

Spiritual direction every two weeks--that is a recent development (God is the one who moves His priests around where He wants them...) and it has been SO beneficial I can't even express it.

Meditation: a former director mentioned how important this was, but what really helped me to jump-start it were the chapter on it in [i]True Spouse of Christ[/i] and a series of sermons on it by our priest. I started with half an hour a day, which is gradually being increased by my confessor (by 5 minutes every few weeks). Spiritual reading is from time to time during the week.

Confession: a few years ago I realized I ought to go at least monthly, which I then did. Sometime more recently I think I started going twice monthly and recently I have been going every week. I really get nervous about it and always come up with lots of excuses (a favorite is "What if someone behind me is in the state of mortal sin and doesn't get to go?!?") which I think proves that the devil doesn't like it! So I keep it up, it is very good for humility, I hope. (My director told me that perhaps, by God's grace, one doesn't necessarily have any sins since the last time but only imperfections. That is the benefit of the formula one may say at the end of listing one's sins/faults committed: "For these and all the sins of my past life, especially [sins of anger, against x virtue, etc.], I am truly sorry." That ensures that one's Confession is valid and one can receive absolution.)

Rosary... I usually try and start one as early as possible in the morning, when I walk the dog. Otherwise, when driving somewhere. I hope to say more than one in a day, three if possible. It sort of helps that I've made the intention that every time I pray a second rosary in a day, it is for a certain friend of mine. That keeps me on my toes and encourages me to go on to the second one. Also it helps to say to myself when starting "Here's the [b]first [/b]rosary of the day." Lately, what I do is for the first one I begin with the Creed, Pater, 3 Aves, Gloria, and begin the others with God, come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me.

Daily Mass--I now realized what a treasure I had in the local monastery that had 6.30 AM Mass 5 days a week... at home the schedules are all different, nothing on Saturdays, too late in the morning on Tuesdays, and I am still trying to work this out. Ayayay. Another thing to emphatically work on according to my director.

The local day of Adoration is the day I do most of my family chores so it usually doesn't work out for me to go. We are hoping to start Perpetual Adoration though + I've signed up to have an hour. Last month I made the Stations of the Cross once a week for priests, but I missed one week and lost the habit. I should try and do that again though.

That is it for me, I don't make any attempt at the Divine Office. I really don't like the English one, and can't afford the Latin one (I know it's prayable online, but I can't pray online day after day). I think it is OK. I certainly look forward eagerly to praying the Office in choir, and whilst I am occasionally inclined towards jealousy of those who pray it in the world I offer it up to Our Lord.

I have kept in touch with a half-dozen or a dozen of my college friends, with whom I had the same sort of helpful encouraging Catholic camaraderie others have mentioned. Most of them it's just by phone or the occasional sight in person, but it is really a blessing.

For reading "True Spouse of Christ" is invaluable and also the [u][url="http://www.karmel.at/ics/john/couns.html"]Counsels of John of the Cross[/url][/u] which are sort of about the less consoling and more purifying aspects of religious life. A representative sample:

[quote]Thus you should understand that those who are in the monastery are craftsmen placed there by God to mortify you by working and chiseling at you. Some will chisel with words, telling you what you would rather not hear; others by deed, doing against you what you would rather not endure; others by their temperament, being in their person and in their actions a bother and annoyance to you; and others by their thoughts, neither esteeming nor feeling love for you. You ought to suffer these mortifications and annoyances with inner patience, being silent for love of God and understanding that you did not enter the religious life for any other reason than for others to work you in this way, and so you become worthy of heaven. If this was not your reason for entering the religious state, you should not have done so, but [b]should have remained in the world to seek your comfort, honor, reputation, and ease.[/b] [/quote]

[brightsadness]

I am following a prayer rule and doing spiritual reading recommended by my future Superior.