choosing a charism

[TheresaThoma]

One of the biggest things that has helped me is to really find my own deep desires or "thirsts" (for me they come more as sorrows). From there you can start looking at different charisms and see if they meet that thirst. 

Personally I have this desire to be with Jesus at the Cross and in His Passion. I also have a desire for silence. Which may point towards a contemplative vocation with a community like the Passionists. However there is a third "thirst", service and sharing the faith and truth. That has led me to discern with an active/contemplative community.

[Spem in alium]

6 hours ago, TheresaThoma said:

One of the biggest things that has helped me is to really find my own deep desires or "thirsts" (for me they come more as sorrows). From there you can start looking at different charisms and see if they meet that thirst. 

Personally I have this desire to be with Jesus at the Cross and in His Passion. I also have a desire for silence. Which may point towards a contemplative vocation with a community like the Passionists. However there is a third "thirst", service and sharing the faith and truth. That has led me to discern with an active/contemplative community.

^This. Look for what you desire, or what you thirst for. I only really knew what I was seeking after I found my sisters and got to know them better. I would learn more about their charism or mission and think, "This is really speaking to me", or "This is calling up a desire in my heart". A lot I wasn't really aware of until I actually tested myself and allowed myself to be moved by God.

[Swami Mommy]

I don't remember which thread someone posted a desire to write a book for those leaving religious life, but I see a great need being filled in writing a book which compiles descriptions of the various charisms of different orders.  Does a book like this already exist?

[Charbel]

5 hours ago, Swami Mommy said:

I don't remember which thread someone posted a desire to write a book for those leaving religious life, but I see a great need being filled in writing a book which compiles descriptions of the various charisms of different orders.  Does a book like this already exist?

That was Sponsa's thread: http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/141123-any-literature-on-this/

There used to be books like that (I am sorry Swami Mommy, I cannot tell you the names ) but since the internet I think the demand for those books sort of went out the window... Maybe someone else knows a few and can tell us! I knew a sister who had a book like that while she was discerning, and it even had a bunch of addresses so you could contact communities. It was some discernment book she had got at a vocation fair (granted this was years ago, I'm not sure what they do at vocation fairs now) She folded down pages of the orders that interested her, and she narrowed it down eventually to one order. She randomly chose one of the addresses and contacted them, and now she's the novice mistress there!

[sr.christinaosf]

The CMSWR has a great directory (both in print and online - cmswr.org)

I found it very helpful.

[Swami Mommy]

The CMSWR directory doesn't have any Benedictine orders listed, so I'm assuming not all orders are represented.  Still, a very lovely starting point.  Thank you for posting the link.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Swami Mommy

[Sister Leticia]

The CMSWR directory would only list those congregations which belong to it, so it's a partial list of congregations with a presence in the USA.

Elsewhere, each country will have its own listing of religious orders, either on the conference of religious website or in the directory of the national church. Here we have a listing at http://www.ukreligiouslife.org/ which provides links to each congregation's website. Ideally, each community's website should clearly explain their spirituality, charism, mission etc - though it's a lot to get through!