Founding A New Monastic Community?

[littlePaula]

I'm an ex-nun. I left after three years, but I still dream of living a monastic life.

In fact I started dreaming of founding a new community within an old order. I would love to live within the benedictine-cistercian tradition, but sadly the choices around here (middle-europe) are very limited. I don't know any international, english-speaking, but latin-praying community living in Europe. So I began dreaming about a new foundation. Not a new order or congregation. Just some women willing to live together in a monastery. Willing to dedicate their hearts and lifes entirely to God. Finding together a way of life and a vision for our community.

Are there any women out here sharing this dream?

 

I don't know, if this idea has any chance of becoming reality, but I keep on thinking:

 

why not give it a try?

 

[EmilyAnn]

I don't know anything about new foundations, but I do know of an English-speaking community that have Mass and the Divine Office in Latin, sisters from many different countries and are Benedictines: http://www.stceciliasabbey.org.uk/

 

[AnneLine]

Welcome, LittlePaula :welcome: - Vocation Station can be a resource for a lot of good ideas for possible vocations.  

 

Emily, St. Cecilia's does sound a lot like what LittlePaula is describing!  I seem to remember you talking about them quite a bit at one point -- can you share any more about what they are like?

 

LittlePaula, you might want to know that as a general rule, the Phatmass mods want us to stick to discussing communities that are already in place/have approval from their bishops in Vocation Station.   You can explore more about the why of this by reviewing the pinned threads at the top of VS, just so you get the rules of the road, so to speak.  (I'm not a mod, but I know you are new here, and I for one don't see all those postings unless I remember to look for them!).

 

 

[littlePaula]

Thank you Emilyann for the link. This monastery definitely looks like 'must visit' to me and I sure will.

Of course England would be the most logical place to look for an english-speaking community, nevertheless I'm wondering if this couldn't be possible in another european country e.g. a scandinavian one.

 

Thank you Anneline for the hint with the rule. I tried to work through the rules, but I might have to admit that I wasn't thouroughly enough. And yet I'm not quite sure if I broke the rule. There is a monastery, built in the 90's that is belonging to one of the ancient orders. The bishop of the diocese hopes very much that monastic life there will continue but the order doesn't have the capacities to send sisters there. So my hope is to find others to re-inhabit that monastery by building a new convent and being part of that order. So we would have the approval of the bishop as well as of the hole church.

 

But still - if this is against the forum rules I'm really sorry and asking the mods to delete the thread.

 

May God bless you!

[AnneLine]

LittlePaula, I don't think you did anything wrong.... just wanted to be sure you knew it was there!

 

Just your offering to have this deleted if it was out of line says a lot about your intentions!  :heart:

 

I know that the Trappistines from Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey in USA have made a fairly new foundation in Scandinavia, but I don't think it is the traditional/Latin observance that you seek.  It is in Norway....

 

http://www.tautra.no/

 

Perhaps they would know if there is a monastery that fits your desires if their observance isn't a match.

 

I also know the Carmelites have a house in Espoo, Finland.

 

http://www.karmelfinland.org/

 

(I know the nun that has the most predominant voice on the Carmelite site, by the way.... she lived in the San Francisco Bay Area at one point.)

 

Again, they may have some ideas for you even if they are not a fit for what you want.

 

YOu might want to do a 'welcome' thread in VS or Open Mic so we can greet you & get to know you a bit!  :welcome:

We'll certainly pray that God's will may be accomplished, and perhaps you and the Bishop can nudge some Sisters to 'come on down'!

 

Edited December 5, 2013 by AnneLine

[EmilyAnn]

Thank you Emilyann for the link. This monastery definitely looks like 'must visit' to me and I sure will.

Of course England would be the most logical place to look for an english-speaking community, nevertheless I'm wondering if this couldn't be possible in another european country e.g. a scandinavian one.

 

I have visited that community several times so if you want to know anything more then feel free to ask me (you can send me a message if you'd prefer to do so privately. 

 

I'd have to think a bit more to see if I know of any other English speaking communities that might fit your requirements. Most communities speak the language of their country, so English-speaking in Europe limits the field a bit!

[littlePaula]

Anneline, I heard about the monastery of Tautra and have seen Fotos. I would love to visit it. Has anybody here been there?

As for the Carmelites - I just never felt attracted to the Carmel. I don't think that it would be the right place for me.

 

Thanks for all hints so far. I certainly will follow some tracks. And if anybody else has any idea - I would be glad to hear it.  :)

[Ancilla Domini]

Interesting post, LittlePaula. :) By "Latin-praying," do you mean that it would have the Traditional Latin Mass?

 

@AnneLine: Does this post really break rules? The topic is not an unapproved monastery, but an hypothetical one, in an already approved order.

Edited December 5, 2013 by Ancilla Domini

[Mary+Immaculate<3]

Okay, so I know it's an order of monks, but you may be able to learn from this order:

http://osbnorcia.org/blog

They speak English and Italian, have brother from many continents, and have the Latin Mass. I don't know if by international you mean branches exist in many countries, but it's a start.

[AnneLine]

Interesting post, LittlePaula. :) By "Latin-praying," do you mean that it would have the Traditional Latin Mass?

 

@AnneLine: Does this post really break rules? The topic is not an unapproved monastery, but an hypothetical one, in an already approved order.

 

 

Ancilla Domini, thanks for asking.... No it does not break the rules.. at least I don't think it does.... but I wanted to be sure that LittlePaula didn't accidently go in a direction that might.  If it were me, and I was just feeling my way onto Phatmass, I wouldn't want someone to close down my first thread or something! 

 

I know I didn't notice the pinned 'rules' when I first came, and I would have appreciated a friendly suggestion to be sure I knew not to say TOO much about my personal journey and/or promote something that didn't have the approval of a bishop. 

 

You may remember some problems we've had on the  board in the past with both of those concerns..  My post was intended (and I hope seen as!) a very friendly welcome and a hope that Paula would feel loved and cared for as she starts our journey with us. 

 

(I may have said it crudely, Paula, and if so, please accept my apologies and forgive me!)

 

 

[cmaD2006]

In my opinion it does not break the rules, as long as it is a general discussion and it doesn't turn into "I'm recruiting people."

 

LittlePaula -- the issue has been a number of problems that have happened on the board in the past.  So -- to be safe, and also in a way to protect those who may not necesarily understand what it means to discern with a community that is starting out (and that may not have any official standing whatsoever) a rule was defined so that a community has to have some level of recognition with the Bishop.  More specifically -- there needs to be public support by the Bishop for the community.

 

We don't mean to be "mean" about it -- just careful. :)

 

Welcome to the board!

[littlePaula]

Don't you worry. The rule is a really good one. And as Anneline intended I didn't feel anything but cared about. And that is a good feeling ;)

I really appreciate being so heartly welcomed here!

 

As for the question: I don't mean the Traditional Latin Mass. What I mean is the Divine Office. Singing the Hymns, Antiphons and Psalms in latin.

I only attended the Traditional Latin Mass twice and in both occasions I wasn't fond of it.

I don't say anything if someone likes to celebrate that way - it's just not my way.

Edited December 6, 2013 by littlePaula

[krissylou]

Anneline, I heard about the monastery of Tautra and have seen Fotos. I would love to visit it. Has anybody here been there?

As for the Carmelites - I just never felt attracted to the Carmel. I don't think that it would be the right place for me.

 

Thanks for all hints so far. I certainly will follow some tracks. And if anybody else has any idea - I would be glad to hear it.  :)

 

I was thinking of Tautra too.  I'm not sure how many of those nuns came over from Iowa as opposed to new Norwegian vocations, but certainly many of the Sisters would know English.  Though they may well attempt to conduct themselves in Norwegian as much as possible as the goal would be eventually to have local vocations.

 

I've never been to Tautra, but Tautra was founded by Our Lady of the Mississippi in Iowa, and Our Lady of the Mississippi was founded by Mount St. Mary's Abbey and I've been to Mount St. Mary's ... but that's so far removed it's useless.  So I got nothing.

 

I am getting hung up on the idea of an English-speaking community in central Europe.  Don't communities tend to speak their local languages?  Why would some place in Belgium (just picking a country at random) speak English instead?

[AnneLine]

Krissy....

 

 

Ah now there you chose random place that actually COULD have a good reason to have an English Speaking Community!

 

Belgium was one of the 'lifeboat' locations for monasteries and seminaries during the Penal years!!!!   Almost all of the British cloistered communities at one point lived there or in France!!!!

 

During the persecutions of the Catholic Church (and other non-Church of England Churches--think Pilgrims!) during the reign of King Henry VII, Queen Elizabeth I, and James I, MANY English and Irish individuals resettled (or went to school, or lived out vocations) in the 'Low Countries' - Nederlands (Holland), Belgium, etc.. 

 

That is why the Douai Bible was the approved English translation for so long.  

 

That is where most of the martyr priests who served and died in England were trained! 

 

AND it is where the 'Carmel for English Speaking Women' in Hoogstratten was founded... which accepted many English-speaking women from what would later be the American colonies... and that is why Bishop John Carroll reached out to them to come and found the first American Carmel in Port Tobacco, MD.

 

And it is where many of the British Benedictine Nuns had their monasteries take refuge.

 

So... yup, there might still be an English Speaking cloister on the continent....

 

Isn't history fascinating???!!!!

[littlePaula]

Well, the point of an english-speaking community isn't avoiding to learn the local language. I'm convinced that it is absolutely necessary to know the language of the country you're living in, even if you're in an strictly cloistered monastery. The point is, that a community which is speaking english is more likely to be open to people from all over the world. I would love to live in a community of 10 sisters coming from 10 different countries, although I know that it can get really hard with cultural differences.

And there is another thing: I'm dreaming of a monastic community with special offers in spiritual guidance for international students. The age between 18 and 30 is a very sensitive time. (sorry if my english sounds weird, as a non-native-speaker I'm not always sure how to express what I'm thinking).

There are so important decision to make. I think that spending some time (maybe 1-6 months) in a group with other students in an house attached to a cloistered monastery could help to get know oneself better and to deepen the relationship with God. Not to 'recruit' them for religious life, but to give them a profound fundament for their lifes - however it may look like afterwards.