Questions To Ask A Community

[vee]

Instead of bumping the thread I thought I'd repost it here. I've found it to be very helpful esrpcially trad moms list of questions and just wanted to share it with those who may not have seen it before.

http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/77767-going-on-a-nun-run/

A question that I'm not sure is on that thread or not but I've found important to me especially with cloistered communities is what catholic news papers and publications do they read?

[TheresaThoma]

Thank you for finding and reposting this!

[puellapaschalis]

[i]That[/i] was a blast from the past....

[truthfinder]

Thanks for bumping this Vee! And as a tangent to your question, you might want to ask if you can read those papers or if Mother just selects certain articles to post (this definitely happens in some communities with the regular newspapers).

[marigold]

Yep, agree with the above on asking about news media.

 

Great questions with a lot of food for thought; even if I don't ever ask a community many of them outright, I've spent some time thinking them over for 'indirectly' considering various communities :)

[Hemma]

I do like the question: Which are the essential hardships in your monastery one should be able to cope with? (I got this from a friend.) Answers could be: It's especially cold and humid here, even though we try to improve the situation. - You should definitely like to get up early. - Our prayer is in Latin, if this is a difficulty for you. - Most of our sisters are past their prime, so you should be able to get along without many support of peers. - etc.

Of course it is not only the information itself that is interesting, but also the way how the question is answered. Which is the most difficult thing in the view of your counterpart? How does she want to represent the less advantageous sides of the community?

[marigold]

I do like the question: Which are the essential hardships in your monastery one should be able to cope with? (I got this from a friend.) Answers could be: It's especially cold and humid here, even though we try to improve the situation. - You should definitely like to get up early. - Our prayer is in Latin, if this is a difficulty for you. - Most of our sisters are past their prime, so you should be able to get along without many support of peers. - etc.

Of course it is not only the information itself that is interesting, but also the way how the question is answered. Which is the most difficult thing in the view of your counterpart? How does she want to represent the less advantageous sides of the community?

 

If a community member responded that 'Most of our sisters are past their prime' I would take a big ol' step back and wonder if that was an attitude I wanted to live with! The last years of your life are supposed to be the fruition of everything you have worked towards for years in the monastery, even into the 'second childhood' which can in some ways be an opportunity to become a little child fit for the kingdom... Ageism has no place in Christian life, and especially not in monasteries.

 

However, if what they meant was that the sisters are much older/younger than you, and said it in a way that reflected their concern for you, it would be different. I would really think it over and consider the sisters personally, whether I could live with them. In my former community I was the only one of my generation apart from lay workers, and it did turn out to be a strain.

 

Sorry to hijack - your other questions are really good too Senensis!