Question

[MargaretTeresa]

Can someone please explain to me the differences between the Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans and Paulines? Just trying to learn. Thanks.

Pax and God Bless [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/like.gif[/img]

[OnlySunshine]

Here is a very good website about the differences between all the available religious orders like Carmelites, Dominicans, Benedictines, etc:

http://www.religious-vocation.com/differences_religious_orders.html

However, the Paulines are a bit different. I don't know very much about them except to say that they follow St. Paul. Maybe someone here can explain a bit better than I can about the Paulines, but the website is a really good reference.

[MargaretTeresa]

Thank you!!!! [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/clap2.gif[/img]

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='MargaretTeresa' timestamp='1299992587' post='2220419']
Thank you!!!! [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/clap2.gif[/img]
[/quote]

You're welcome. I bookmarked the link myself to go back to it later for a read.

[NunMother]

Below is an excellent site with links to many vocations for women

[url="http://www.catholicity.com/links/128/"]Vocations[/url]


There is also a site where you can search by location

[url="http://www.religiousministries.com/"]Vocation Directory[/url]

[krissylou]

[quote name='MargaretTeresa' timestamp='1299991582' post='2220415']
Can someone please explain to me the differences between the Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans and Paulines? Just trying to learn. Thanks.

Pax and God Bless [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/like.gif[/img]
[/quote]

Well, there are the biggies -- Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, Ignatians (there are no "female Jesuits" but there are a bunch of women's communities that have an Ignatian spirituality).

Benedictines are the first. They were monastics. "Work and pray." Liturgy is key. "Prefer nothing to the Work of God." Shared community life and shared prayer are huge. They don't understand cloister as strictly as the Poor Clares or Carmelites, but they were set apart from the world as houses of prayer. Through some quirks of history, in the U.S. and Canada you'll see a bunch of "active Benedictine" communities. (Note: NOT because they were being radical and disobedient and breaking out of the cloister in rebellion but because they were specifically brought over to the US to teach because that's what the needs were. There were Sisters who thought they were coming over to establish a new cloister and then all of a sudden were told to be teaching third grade! So they did.) Since Vatican II there has been a lot of thinking about what it means to be authentically Benedictine as an active sister, as after all this is a creature the world has not seen before. If you're interested in an active Benedictine community, as how they're wrestling with that. Cistercians and Trappists (i.e. Thomas Merton) are Benedictine reforms and use the Rule of St Benedict. Hospitality is also huge for Benedictines. They are told to "receive a guest as Christ."

Dominicans and Franciscans came about contemporaneously when the Church was quite a mess (about 1200) and very much see themselves as two halves of the same reform movement. Dominicans are the Order of Preachers. They are all about study and truth and teaching right doctrine. MOST (not all) active Dominican congregations have historically been teaching orders -- you can see how those are connected. Dominicans who have other ministries will still talk about them in terms of "preaching."

While Dominic emphasized the mind, Francis went after the heart. Poverty is a big deal for Franciscans. Lots of orders understand poverty instrumentally -- being tied to things will keep you from being free for ministry. For Franciscans, poverty is more of a good in itself. Francis was "in love with Lady Poverty." Some branches of the Franciscans will be very ascetic -- others have moved away from that. Which can be for good or for ill, depending on your point of view.

Carmelites are all all all about deep deep contemplative prayer. Carmelites' cloister is about as strict as you'll ever see (although individual Carmels will vary as to how strict they are). There are some active communities with a Carmelite spirituality, but cloistered Carmelite nuns are all about being "alone with the great Alone."

Ignatian is another biggie that you should know about. We typically think of Ignatians as Jesuits, but there are lots of women's communities that have an Ignatian spirituality. (Instead of creating "Jesuit Sisters" some Jesuit priests were instrumental in founding women's communities -- and since they're their own thing, that means the leadership is women all the way up. But that's another conversation.) Ignatian spirituality is about being "contemplatives in action" and "finding God in all things." Instead of hiding ourselves off from the world and so finding God, this is about finding God PRECISELY IN the busy-ness of the world. A significant element of prayer is learning to pay attention to how you find God through engagement with the world. And while they certainly have extended times of prayer and retreat, they're always structured towards going back and re-engaging with the world. (Full disclosure: this is my favorite!)

Those are probably the biggies. Others that come to mind are Salesian (Francis de Sales) and Liguorian, which I really don't know anything about. Maybe Sister Marie can chime in with a summary of Liguorian spirituality?

With the huge proliferation of active communities, it gets more complicated. I can tell from the name that the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration will have a Franciscan spirituality with a significant emphasis on Eucharistic Adoration. (Oooh how clever I am!) "Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church" tells me nothing about about their spiritual emphases. Often communities will describe themselves as some combination of the above. The Congregation of St. Joseph will talk about having a Salesian/Ignatian blend, for instance. Community of St. John describe themselves as combining Dominican and Carmelite.

Hope this helps!