emmaberry Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Hello, I have just contacted the Benedictines of Mary, and I am hoping to visit them soon. One thing I asked them was whether my inexperience with the Latin mass (and Latin in general) makes me an unlikely candidate for their order. I didn't know if anyone here had experience with communities who celebrated Latin Mass and/or Divine Office, but if you have, please give me some advice! Should I start studying basic Latin? There is no Latin Mass offered in my area, so I can't do that..again, any advice is appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AccountDeleted Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Don't worry about it. The Latin Mass is different than the Office in Latin, so attending the Mass won’t do much more than familiarize you with the sound of the Latin. The nuns will probably let you use a Latin/English monastic diurnal to start off and this really helps. The pronunciation is the tricky part, but once you learn it, things will flow smoothly. It isn’t necessary that you understand perfect Latin to enjoy the Office in Latin. So relax and enjoy the experience of learning with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maximillion Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I knew no Latin when I entered, only the Ecclesiastical Latin from the Mass, and all our offices were in Latin. Chanting every day makes you familiar with the pronunciation really quickly (its simple) and you have a lifetime to familiarise yourself with the actual meaning.... To be honest I think I preferred it for the couple of years when I was not always too certain just what I was saying/chanting. It gave me freedom to enter into the mystery of the office, but that was just my personal reaction. In addition all communities where Latin is chanted give lessons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I visited this community years ago and had never been to a Latin Mass either since it wasn't in my city or or nearby city. No prior study of Latin was necessary. The Latin/English monastic diural that Nunsense mentioned is used to help you follow along in the Mass and Divine Office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen'sDaughter Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Don't worry about your lack of Latin making you an unlikely candidate. I asked the novic mistress if all of the sisters came from Latin Mass communities, and she said that several of them had not, and some had never even been to a Latin Mass before they entered! You can go to youtube and look up Latin Masses there. There are many online, including the ordination mass of my brother! Here are some links that might be helpful: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUCa0pkPBhs"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUCa0pkPBhs[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRORqBf1lIg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRORqBf1lIg[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InPersonaChriste Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Latin Mass is pretty straightforward, and they will give you all the help you need! Just ask! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaberry Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 thanks you guys! Queen'sDaughter: you're brother is a priest?? How neat! My brother is only 12, but I am hoping... Maximilion: Where did you enter that celebrated Latin Mass? I hope I am not being too nosy! and tinytherese and queen'sdaughter: Could you give me your thoughts on the community? They seem great, but it is hard to really understand a community from a website. Any helpful hints you could give me if they do allow me to visit? If you are okay with it, I would love to know your reasons for not entering there, even if it's just that you discerned it wasn't God's will. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaberry Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 thanks you guys! Queen'sDaughter: you're brother is a priest?? How neat! My brother is only 12, but I am hoping... Maximilion: Where did you enter that celebrated Latin Mass? I hope I am not being too nosy! and tinytherese and queen'sdaughter: Could you give me your thoughts on the community? They seem great, but it is hard to really understand a community from a website. Any helpful hints you could give me if they do allow me to visit? If you are okay with it, I would love to know your reasons for not entering there, even if it's just that you discerned it wasn't God's will. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 The community has undergone plenty of changes since I visited them 5 years ago such as who the prioress is and that discerners communicate with the novice mistress now. When I discerned, you spoke with the prioress. They've also moved their location, which was had been Kansas City. I remeber on the first day playing kickball across fromt the convent with the nuns and the other discerner. I don't know if people were staring at the nuns or that there were two ladies playing with them. I stayed at the convent during my week of spring break during my senior year of high school. I was somewhat on the radical traditional side at the time and the prioress set me straight. I also got good advice from her in regards to discerning. When making the decision, it must be a balance of heart and head. There are ladies who have a very romantic notion of religious life, forgetting that it isn't always rosey and don't take into consideration other practical issues. On the other hand, there are ladies who focus so much on the logical details that they forget that they must also focus on if their heart finds a home there. In short, I didn't have peace about living there for the rest of my life. Also, I've discerned that my vocation is to marriage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaberry Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 Thanks for the info tinytherese! I think some of my favorite people are those who are genuinely open to religious life but discern theyve been called to marriage--just like Our Lady! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen'sDaughter Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 I know you asked for reasons for not entering, but as I am entering, I will have to give you reasons why I am entering! How does one explain that one is entering [i]this [/i]community, over all of the other beautiful communities? The only reason I can give is that this is the place that God created for [i]me[/i] so that I may become the person I am meant to be. Or, rather, I am created for this community. From all eternity, God knew the best path for me to attain heaven, so He ordained that this community should be founded. For me. For my sisters. I cannot describe the sense of peace, of belonging, that I experienced while I was there. The intense conviction that God wanted me there, not with the Franciscans, not with the Carmelites. I [i]fit[/i], like they where a wheel, and I a spoke. On a different, more practical level, it is a community of sisters who are like me. Each community has its own personality, and you must blend with that personality. They are like me, and I am like them. We instantly got along with and understood eachother, and that is very important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaberry Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Wow-there I thought you were going to give me your reasons why they weren't for you only to find you are entering there! Did you know that this was the place God made you for on your first visit, or did it take you a couple to begin to feel that? I ask because I am visiting a community in a couple weeks and I am not sure if I should know whether or not it's 'the one' right away. They don't allow live ins inside the cloister before postulancy, so when you become a candidate of this community you are really taking a leap of faith! Thanks for sharing--that might be some of the best vocation advice I have heard, even if you were just sharing your own story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen'sDaughter Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I did know on my first visit, but certainly not right away! In fact, my first few days there were rather rough, and it wasn't until I got into the swing of things that I began to realize that I belonged. It wasn't until I had my last chapel visit before I left that I knew I was meant to live there, and that I would apply to enter. Despite this, I always remember that everything is in God's hands. If He wishes me to enter and stay, I will do so. If He shows me, either through my superiors or my own conviction, that I should not stay, then I will leave and not look back. Throughout my discernment, especially the rough parts, I give everything to God. When I was struggling with disappointment during the beginning of my visit, I placed it in His hands, because for all I knew, He was testing just how serious I really was! Do not expect that what happened with me will happen with you; each person is different, and God works for the individual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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