Discerning Communities

[Lucia]

Hello Phatmassers! I am new to the phorums and I am so happy I found phatmass.  I've been discerning religious life for about a year now.  I am particularly close to the Missionaries of Charity but I think that's more because that was the first community I encountered and I live close to one of their convents.  I love them very much and spend a lot of time with them  but I have doubts.  

 

Someone recently suggested that I look into the Benedictines.  I frankly, know very little about benedictine spirituality.  I was wondering if there are any benedictine communities that anyone here knows, has had contact with, discerned with, that they would recommend.  

 

As an aside, if anyone has discerned or previously been with the missionaries of charity, I would appreciate any information on them as well.  

 

Thanks in advance! 

[TheresaThoma]

I haven't personally discerned with Benedictines but I do know that the Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles are an excellent community. 

I would suggest reading the Rule of St Benedict. It is relatively short and you can find it pretty easily.

[MithLuin]

The Rule of St. Benedict may be read here:  http://www.osb.org/rb/text/toc.html

 

Benedictines are monastic.  So, you'd have to consider the cloister, and what that means for a particular community.  Meaning, Benedictines are contemplatives.... while the Missionaries of Charity have been described as 'contemplatives in action.'  

 

I find that meeting people who are living a particular charism is much more informative than just reading about a way of life, but some basic understanding of the different charisms and the different ways of living religious life can be helpful in discernment.  

 

Welcome to Phatmass, and the Vocation Station in particular :)

[salveregina10]

I am fortunate to be a Benedictine, actually a Missionary Benedictine.  I would be happy to answer any questions you have about our Rule or way of life.  
The main hallmarks are:
Prayer: Our community prays the Liturgy of the Hours together four times a day, we have Holy Mass each day, we do one hour of lectio divina, and half an hour of spiritual reading
Community: We live in international, multigenerational communities around the world under a Prioress (superior).
Vows: We take the vows of conversatio morum (conversion or life), stability, and obedience.
Our particular Congregation does missionary service for the Church wherever there is a need.  We mainly do mission work in the areas of medicine, education, pastoral care, and social work.  
I also was attracted to the Missionaries of Charity but am grateful the Lord called me to our Missionary Benedictine life.  For me, it is exactly the right balance of missionary service and monastic, community life.  I love the creative tension we live in each day and discern together as Sisters.  We also have a branch of Missionary Benedictine priests and brothers, who are nearby wherever we serve on mission.  It is a great family.
Though each Benedictine congregation and monastery has their own character and gift for the Church, you will find the common threads of prayer and community.  If you'd like to know more, let me know.  Yes, as the other response said, read the Rule of St. Benedict, it has a great deal of practical wisdom.  
Some other awesome books are:
Seeking God, the Way of St. Benedict by Esther DeWaal
A Life Giving Way by Esther DeWaal
Strangers to the City by Fr. Michael Casey, OCSO

[salveregina10]

The Rule of St. Benedict may be read here:  http://www.osb.org/rb/text/toc.html

 

Benedictines are monastic.  So, you'd have to consider the cloister, and what that means for a particular community.  Meaning, Benedictines are contemplatives.... while the Missionaries of Charity have been described as 'contemplatives in action.'  

 

I find that meeting people who are living a particular charism is much more informative than just reading about a way of life, but some basic understanding of the different charisms and the different ways of living religious life can be helpful in discernment.  

 

Welcome to Phatmass, and the Vocation Station in particular :)

 

Great comments.  I would add that although prayer is important to all Benedictines, we are not all contemplatives in the classical sense.  There are some who are cloistered, but many who are active.  There are some Benedictines who wear the habit, and others who do not.  It depends on the congregation and monastery.  

[Benedictus]

And if you think the Benedictines are too soft you could check out theTrappists. They follow the same rule, but generally more strictly. But this will vary depending on your country and the congregation of religious concerned  Active Benedictine sisters are more of a US thing, although they are elsewhere also.

[SilentJoy]

The Cistercians are Benedictine as well (a "reformed" branch if I understand correctly).

[Lucia]

Thank you so much for your responses.  Also thanks for the link to the rule of st. Benedict, I will read it to learn more.  

[Lucia]

I am fortunate to be a Benedictine, actually a Missionary Benedictine.  I would be happy to answer any questions you have about our Rule or way of life.  
The main hallmarks are:
Prayer: Our community prays the Liturgy of the Hours together four times a day, we have Holy Mass each day, we do one hour of lectio divina, and half an hour of spiritual reading
Community: We live in international, multigenerational communities around the world under a Prioress (superior).
Vows: We take the vows of conversatio morum (conversion or life), stability, and obedience.
Our particular Congregation does missionary service for the Church wherever there is a need.  We mainly do mission work in the areas of medicine, education, pastoral care, and social work.  
I also was attracted to the Missionaries of Charity but am grateful the Lord called me to our Missionary Benedictine life.  For me, it is exactly the right balance of missionary service and monastic, community life.  I love the creative tension we live in each day and discern together as Sisters.  We also have a branch of Missionary Benedictine priests and brothers, who are nearby wherever we serve on mission.  It is a great family.
Though each Benedictine congregation and monastery has their own character and gift for the Church, you will find the common threads of prayer and community.  If you'd like to know more, let me know.  Yes, as the other response said, read the Rule of St. Benedict, it has a great deal of practical wisdom.  
Some other amesome books are:
Seeking God, the Way of St. Benedict by Esther DeWaal
A Life Giving Way by Esther DeWaal
Strangers to the City by Fr. Michael Casey, OCSO

Thanks for all the info and the book suggestions!!  Is yours an active/comtemplative community?

[salveregina10]

Hi Lucia, this is the link to our community in the US: http://www.mbsmissionaries.org/

We are missionaries who do active ministry, but prayer is at the heart of our life.  We structure our missionary work to fit our prayer schedule and benefit from many classes during formation that equip us to pray together and with scripture.  Hope that helps :)  Blessings on your discernment.

[EmilyAnn]

I spent a few weeks staying in a Benedictine community here in the UK and it was a very beautiful way of life. They are contemplative (as is the norm in most countries) and quite traditional. The Benedictine life is centred very much in the Divine Office and in balancing prayer and work (ora et labora). It is inspired very much by the Desert Fathers and they do not take the Evangelical Counsels as vows (since they pre-date such a practice) and instead make a solemn profession of stability, obedience and conversion of life. Benedictines are also known for hospitality - the Rule is very specific on the reception of guests: "Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ". The Rule is well worth a read even if you're not drawn to that way of life.

 

Might I ask what country you live in? 

[Lucia]

I spent a few weeks staying in a Benedictine community here in the UK and it was a very beautiful way of life. They are contemplative (as is the norm in most countries) and quite traditional. The Benedictine life is centred very much in the Divine Office and in balancing prayer and work (ora et labora). It is inspired very much by the Desert Fathers and they do not take the Evangelical Counsels as vows (since they pre-date such a practice) and instead make a solemn profession of stability, obedience and conversion of life. Benedictines are also known for hospitality - the Rule is very specific on the reception of guests: "Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ". The Rule is well worth a read even if you're not drawn to that way of life.

 

Might I ask what country you live in? 

Thanks EmilyAnn.  I live in the U.S.  It's interesting to learn that outside of the US they are usually contemplative.  

[EmilyAnn]

Thanks EmilyAnn.  I live in the U.S.  It's interesting to learn that outside of the US they are usually contemplative.  

 

The Rule is inherently monastic, as I understand it in the US the tendency towards an active expression is out of historical necessity.

 

There are two communities from the Congregation I visited with in the US - Clear Creek, in Oklahoma and Westfield in Vermont. There are other communities of course, but those are the ones I'd know most about.

[Egeria]

The relationship between "monastic" and "contemplative" can be quite confusing, mainly because monastic life predates the distinction between active and contemplative communities. For Benedictines, monastic is a more fundamental identity than contemplative, even, at least in my experience, among those who fit into the "contemplative" classification. Although that identity is difficult to put into a few words, it is the life of seeking God that is fundamental, rather than any ministries that flow out of that life. The works that a monastic may do, or that a monastery may have, vary greatly, but they are very secondary to the primary aim of seeking God. 

 

I think that it's important to note that it's not just in the USA that one finds Benedictines doing "active" work, although, as far as I understand it, the history of US Benedictine women did mean that many communities of Benedictine women lost some of their monastic heritage - I think that I have read that they actually stopped praying the Divine Office - something that they have been trying to retrieve in recent years. But, if I understand correctly, SalveRegina's community are the Benedictines of Tutzing who are an international congregation with German roots. There are also the Grace and Compassion Sisters in the UK, a congregation whose name escapes me in Australia, and, I am sure many more. It is also worth noting that Benedictine men have never been forced to make the - rather false - choice between being nuns and being sisters. Monks could have schools or work in parishes, while nevertheless retaining a fundamentally monastic identity. However, there was certainly variety, and certain congregations (or Orders, in the case of the Cistercians) tended to me more enclosed than others. But, whether they were teaching in schools or brewing beer, they all had - and have - the same monastic identity.

[maximillion]

I always ever knew the Benedictines as monastics, men and women. 'Active' communities were a new phenomena to me.

 

 

I love the Benedictine tradition and spirituality. It is a true seeking of God for His own sake. (Monastic).