An Update

[EmilyAnn]

Passionist Nuns are cloistered, but their cloister is much less strict than Carmel. They can even leave for family events such as funerals, I believe, and discerners are allowed to enter the cloister. I believe it's similar with the Visitation Sisters but not sure.

 

Oops. I knew they weren't as strict as Carmelites are. Perhaps they have a constitutional enclosure as opposed to a papal enclosure. 

[Lumiere]

The Little Sisters of Jesus look wonderful!

[OnlySunshine]

I have bad news. The community said no. They feel their way of life might be too demanding for me. I however, do not think so. This is what I get for being honest. They did tell me that they have no doubt, that I do have a vocation or some form of consecration. They said they could recommend some coummunities if I want. They think a rejection might be harder for me after a three month stay.

I still said, I would appreciate a longer stay. The last time we spoke sister said that the best thing would be a community that is stable and does not move around. After my experience at Carmel, I am a bit hesitant to try out another cloistered community. It is hard to find a community that is contemplative, but not cloistered. With Jerusalem, I thought I had found the right match.

I really do not know where to go from here.

 

Oh, dear, savvy!  I really do sympathize with you because that's almost the exact same thing the community I applied to said last month.  It's so difficult to hear these things when we thing everything is going right.  Especially since you did everything they asked you to do and they still turned you to other communities.  However, I firmly believe God uses these events for our benefit.  Had I not learned that I wasn't accepted, I might never have considered LAMP seriously.  I would have missed the opportunity entirely and I'm thinking this is what God wants of me.  Still, there are days where I find questions popping up in my mind about what I could have done differently, but the past is past.  Consider those communities that the Monastics are referring you to.  I also know of a few non-cloistered contemplative communities in the USA and one in England if you are interested:

 

Sister Servants of the Eternal Word

 

Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph (UK)

 

Little Sisters of St. Francis

 

Trinitarians of Mary

 

Children of Mary

 

Georgetown Visitation

 

I hope this helps!  It may take some time for you to not feel the sting anymore (I'm still not there) but it WILL past.  As my therapist discovered from a priest and then told me, resiliency and perseverance are very necessary for discernment.  Keep trying!  Prayers!

[AnneLine]

It is very hard to have something like this happen; I know, because it happened to me long ago.

 

But... God knows you and will lead you to the right place. 

 

As a very holy priest once told me regarding my own desires for a vocation to the cloister, "If God wants you in, nothing on earth will keep you out; if God doesn't want you in, nothing on earth will get you in.  So.... be at peace and trust God.  He will lead you home."

 

 

 

Have you considered the Dominican Sisters of Bethany? They are also non-cloistered contemplatives, and sometimes can be more open than many communities to people with barriers. Their charism is very unique. They are in France and Germany and Italy, I believe.

 

The closest community in their charism that is English speaking is in USA and is an Association of the Faithful in Maine, the Community of the Resurrection. You can find out more about them and the charism from the website below.

 

They are currently Dominican Laity living in community, and hoping to get enough people to establish a Dominican Sisters' community in the USA....

 

http://www.communityoftheresurrection.com/

 

You indicate you speak several languages; if you speak either French, German or Dutch (and I think maybe Italian?) you can check out the two communities of these sisters in Europe:

 

In French

http://dominicainesdebethanie.org/

 

In German, Dutch and a language I can't identify ;)

http://www.dominikanerinnen-von-bethanien.de/

 

My bet is that those communities have someone who speaks English if you don't know any of those languages. 

 

I will pray hard for you. :)

[Luigi]

Benedictines are contemplative without being strictly cloistered. One on the vows they take is stability. The ministry varies from monastery to monastery - there's one in Arkansas(?) that runs a nursing home, a number of them run schools, some run retreat centers. 

 

Second federation Visitation nuns are also stable without being strictly enclosed. Again, there are degrees of enclosure (not from a canonical perspective, but as a matter of practice), but you should be able to find one that suits you. Most Visitation monasteries (at least those in the second federation) run girls' schools.

 

[petitpèlerin]

Remember you can check out the Contemplative Sisters of St John, who are contemplative and semi-cloistered, but do have some contact with the outside world and the apostolic brothers and sisters. They had a priory in Quebec, closed it, but may reopen it again in the future. They're also in Princeville, Illinois. English-speaking North American members begin their formation in the US and then continue it in France, so learning French is part of it, but not required beforehand.

 

I seem to remember you saying that you liked beauty and simplicity in liturgy, etc. Like Jerusalem, St John has that. (Something about originating in France.) Also, the Community of Bethlehem but they're completely cloistered and I recently heard from someone who spent a month with them that their life is very demanding and there's not as much flexibility as there is in the Community of St John for individual needs. I know there are few members of St John who even have moderate disabilities, including one excellent brother who has something similar to Downs Syndrome. They're very adaptive to individual strengths and weaknesses.

 

http://www.communityofstjohn.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65:contemplative-sisters&catid=38:the-community&Itemid=27

 

http://www.childrenofmary.net/home.html

 

Edited February 15, 2013 by petitpèlerin

[EmilyAnn]

Benedictines are contemplative without being strictly cloistered. One on the vows they take is stability. The ministry varies from monastery to monastery - there's one in Arkansas(?) that runs a nursing home, a number of them run schools, some run retreat centers. 

That's not strictly true. While there may be some Benedictines that do not observe strict enclosure, most do and most do not have an outside apostolate. 

[Luigi]

That's not strictly true. While there may be some Benedictines that do not observe strict enclosure, most do and most do not have an outside apostolate. 

 

I think we're saying the same thing - many carry out their apostolate on the grounds of their monastery, whether that's a school, a retirement center, a retreat center, or something else.

 

They're contemplative to the extent that they live at the monastery, spend most of their waking time at the monastery, pray the liturgy of the hours in common, eat in common, etc. But most Benedictine nuns in the US don't keep papal enclosure the way, say, Carmelites do. The home page of the nuns in Elizabeth NJ (listed below) specifically mentions that "we are monastic, but we are not cloistered."

 

Some examples would be:

Jonsboro, Arkansas (Olivetan): http://olivben.org/

Cullman, Alabama: http://www.shmon.org/our-community-life-ministry.html#ministry

Atchison, Kansas: http://mountosb.org/ministries

Covington, Kentucky: http://www.stwalburg.org/ministry/ministry.html

Rock Island, Illinois: http://smmsisters.org/

Cottonwood, Idaho: http://www.stgertrudes.org/#

Elizabeth, New Jersey: http://www.catholic-forum.com/bensisnj/

 

Maybe the difference in our perceptions is due to the words "contemplative" and "monastic." In my interpretation, "monastic" includes some contemplation, such as in the liturgy of the hours, and the observance of silence in the monastery; but to me, "contemplative" would mean no active ministry.

[krissylou]

That's not strictly true. While there may be some Benedictines that do not observe strict enclosure, most do and most do not have an outside apostolate. 

 

EmilyAnn, you're in the UK, right?

 

It's very different in the United States.  A friend of mine from college is an active Benedictine sister and explained it to me.

 

In the United States, when bishops were inviting religious communities especially out to the "frontier" (lots of Benedictines in the Midwest and Upper Midwest) they were looking for workers.  Teachers, nurses, mostly teachers.

 

(Note this is NOT because the sisters were being rebellious.  They were adapting their whole lives in obedience to the needs of the local church, at the request of the local bishop.)

 

A lot of women entered in Germany expecting to be contemplative nuns for the rest of their lives and then got missioned out to America as active teaching sisters.  Surprise!

 

They weren't permitted to say the Daily Office because it took too long (which makes about zero sense for a Benedictine) -- here, use the Little Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary instead.  (They got permission to say the Liturgy of the Hours again I think in the 1930s.)

 

So there were all these Benedictine communities who were founded as teaching orders -- and generations of women entered with the understanding that they were entering a teaching order.

 

After Vatican II, with the call to go "back to the sources" and back to the intent of their founders they have been struggling with the question of "What does it mean to be an active Benedictine?" as this is a creature the world had not seen before. 

 

There are also cloistered contemplative Benedictine communities in the United States but these are of much more recent foundation.  I think Regina Laudis was the first, founded after WWII.

[EmilyAnn]

EmilyAnn, you're in the UK, right?

 

It's very different in the United States.  A friend of mine from college is an active Benedictine sister and explained it to me.

 

In the United States, when bishops were inviting religious communities especially out to the "frontier" (lots of Benedictines in the Midwest and Upper Midwest) they were looking for workers.  Teachers, nurses, mostly teachers.

 

(Note this is NOT because the sisters were being rebellious.  They were adapting their whole lives in obedience to the needs of the local church, at the request of the local bishop.)

 

A lot of women entered in Germany expecting to be contemplative nuns for the rest of their lives and then got missioned out to America as active teaching sisters.  Surprise!

 

They weren't permitted to say the Daily Office because it took too long (which makes about zero sense for a Benedictine) -- here, use the Little Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary instead.  (They got permission to say the Liturgy of the Hours again I think in the 1930s.)

 

So there were all these Benedictine communities who were founded as teaching orders -- and generations of women entered with the understanding that they were entering a teaching order.

 

After Vatican II, with the call to go "back to the sources" and back to the intent of their founders they have been struggling with the question of "What does it mean to be an active Benedictine?" as this is a creature the world had not seen before. 

 

There are also cloistered contemplative Benedictine communities in the United States but these are of much more recent foundation.  I think Regina Laudis was the first, founded after WWII.

Ah I understand. In Europe the idea of an "active Benedictine" is very unusual. 

[savvy]

Thanks for your responses and recommendations. The issue with contemplative communities in the U.S. is that they do not accept, citizens of another country such as the Passionists and Visitation Sisters. I do not know which ones do.

I did take sister up on her offer on other communities, I just have not heard back so far.

I am just tired of going through the same process all over again, so I am just going to take a break and ask God for guidance to lead me to the place he wants me to be.

[EmilyAnn]

Thanks for your responses and recommendations. The issue with contemplative communities in the U.S. is that they do not accept, citizens of another country such as the Passionists and Visitation Sisters. I do not know which ones do.

I did take sister up on her offer on other communities, I just have not heard back so far.

I am just tired of going through the same process all over again, so I am just going to take a break and ask God for guidance to lead me to the place he wants me to be.

Are you only considering communities in the US? Because there may be communities in the UK that would be more open to those from overseas and are non-cloistered contemplatives. 

[savvy]

EmilyAnn,

I would be open to communities in the U.K. too. Which ones would you suggest?

[EmilyAnn]

EmilyAnn,

I would be open to communities in the U.K. too. Which ones would you suggest?

The Visitationists here are the first that come to mind, although I am not personally familiar with the community so am unsure if they accept applicants from overseas.  There is a community of Benedictines that observe a constitutional enclosure rather than a papal enclosure, their website indicates they have a postulant coming from overseas. I also know another Benedictine community that has a stricter enclosure but allows discerners into the enclosure for a live-in and definitely accepts applicants from overseas. Those are the ones that come to mind right away, but I will see if I know any other options. 

[savvy]

Thanks EmilyAnn. The first community I am going to look into is the Community of St. John. They have a spirituality that I like.