Share your favorite religious communities

[Quasar]

I thought this might be helpful for discerners and fun for enthusiasts of religious life.  What communities do you love best?  So that we have a proper context for your enthusiasm, please keep it to communities you've visited or where you personally know a nun or brother (or where you're a member :-).

I'll start, with the Franciscan Poor Clares in Minneapolis.  I've written before about visiting them and the profound impact they had on me.

 

[Guest]

Carmelites in Adelaide South Australia for me.  All through my serious episodes of bipolar they never abandoned me in any way and sometimes they went well above any call of duty, even in socially distasteful matters as content of a bipolar episode.  They stuck to me like super glue come what may.  At times they were my sole support and encouragement to not chuck in the towel and give up on mental stability and humanity -  and even my Faith.  I sure hit the bottom of my barrel plenty of times..........but knew where I could find safe refuge, compassion, understanding and downright human warmth and love with very gentle but very sound advice, advice that proved over and over again to be spot on.

Deo Gratius for my Carmelite nuns Adelaide (notably the prioress), channels of many Graces of God and for over 40 years now. 

[Kayte Postle]

Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church. I've been in contact with them for about two years now and they are so sweet and honest. They've been so generous as I've asked them a barrage of questions, and they've been nothing but open and honest with their answers when my SD expressed some minor concerns. They are also very willing to work with me and my medical concerns. Every time I talk to the VD over the phone she has been so joyful, and is already a dear friend. I particularly love their connection with the Missionaries of Charity mission of quenching Christ's thirst, only they serve the spiritually poor.

(also their habit is very pretty but that such a minor detail....)

[Quasar]

15 hours ago, BarbaraTherese said:

Carmelites in Adelaide South Australia for me.  All through my serious episodes of bipolar they never abandoned me in any way and sometimes they went well above any call of duty, even in socially distasteful matters as content of a bipolar episode.  They stuck to me like super glue come what may.  At times they were my sole support and encouragement to not chuck in the towel and give up on mental stability and humanity -  and even my Faith.  I sure hit the bottom of my barrel plenty of times..........but knew where I could find safe refuge, compassion, understanding and downright human warmth and love with very gentle but very sound advice, advice that proved over and over again to be spot on.

Deo Gratius for my Carmelite nuns Adelaide (notably the prioress), channels of many Graces of God and for over 40 years now. 

BarbaraTherese, how lovely that these sisters have supported you in this way!  I have to tell you, I didn't realize cloistered, contemplative women could offer that kind of assistance.  That's really neat and I'm glad you and the community found each other.

I watched a documentary on some Australian Carmelite nuns... I'm not sure if it was the same group you know.  I enjoy hearing nuns talk about why they became nuns, especially women with some education who could have done many different things.  This one was funny because, while each of the sisters were totally focused on their vocations, the journalist was clearly quite taken with one of the novices. 

37 minutes ago, Kayte Postle said:

Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church. I've been in contact with them for about two years now and they are so sweet and honest. They've been so generous as I've asked them a barrage of questions, and they've been nothing but open and honest with their answers when my SD expressed some minor concerns. They are also very willing to work with me and my medical concerns. Every time I talk to the VD over the phone she has been so joyful, and is already a dear friend. I particularly love their connection with the Missionaries of Charity mission of quenching Christ's thirst, only they serve the spiritually poor.

(also their habit is very pretty but that such a minor detail....)

They do have a very pretty, old-style habit, although I agree it is a minor thing.  It sounds like they are trying to accept you as a whole person, and let you see them as a whole community, which is so nice.  Best wishes to you in your discernment. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Quasar said:

BarbaraTherese, how lovely that these sisters have supported you in this way!  I have to tell you, I didn't realize cloistered, contemplative women could offer that kind of assistance.  That's really neat and I'm glad you and the community found each other.

I watched a documentary on some Australian Carmelite nuns... I'm not sure if it was the same group you know.  I enjoy hearing nuns talk about why they became nuns, especially women with some education who could have done many different things.  This one was funny because, while each of the sisters were totally focused on their vocations, the journalist was clearly quite taken with one of the novices. 

They do have a very pretty, old-style habit, although I agree it is a minor thing.  It sounds like they are trying to accept you as a whole person, and let you see them as a whole community, which is so nice.  Best wishes to you in your discernment. 

Thank you for the compliment, Quasar, but I am not discerning (see my profile).  At 16, I was accepted to enter Carmel at 21 ....... I never did and a very long story indeed in the interim.  Our Carmelite prioress in Adelaide is my best friend, pal and mentor.

Re enclosed nuns offering the type of support I was given by Carmel here - Thomas More wrote in I think it was "Contemplation in a World of Action" that contemplatives should share the fruits of their contemplation in the parlour.  It was through the parlour here in Adelaide that I received all the loving support I did receive - all those qualities I mentioned in my post.  There was also their guest house at times and the extern sisters to chat with.  Also, the prioress told me that I could ring there at any time of the day or night - and as ill and confused as I often was back then, I always tried to avoid the nights and it was really rare that I ever did ring through the night.  In fact I can't recall one time.  The almost eerie thing is that when I did ring it was always to ask for prayer (Sister always replied briefly "I am off to the chapel")and within twenty four hours something positive would happen!  And that meant a great deal to me because usually at the time absolutely everything was crashing to the ground and all negative - my life coming undone all around me, seemingly nothing left.

I once mused to our prioress that I do not know why I will only turn to Our Lady when really desperate.  The prioress replied "Oh Our Lady knows you would never bother her unnecessarily" - what a beautiful perspective............though I must confess I don't think it was spot on why I only turned to Our Lady when desperate.  Things have changed nowadays.  I find all the Carmelite qualities I have mentioned under Our Lady's mantle.

The qualities of the nuns I mentioned in my post cannot be blocked by a grille/physical separation - I know this by very long experience.  It was much more than trying to accept me as ill as I was.  It was absolute loving care and human and spiritual warmth. A leap beyond acceptance.  And much more than that too which is quite positive even outstanding and beyond any call of duty on a very practical level.

At one point we were discussing something and I asked "What about the Archbishop?".  Sister replied to me: "Just leave the Archbishop to me". 

I don't think that Carmel Adelaide has ever had a documentary.  Our prioress however did have quite a long article in the Women's Weekly - quite some years ago.

 

 

_____________________

Apologies, I got some things mixed up as a response to me when they were not.

Edited September 6, 2016 by BarbaraTherese

[DominicanHeart]

This is like asking me to pick my favorite Saint. I'm a Dominican and Carmelite fan

[Quasar]

3 minutes ago, DominicanHeart said:

This is like asking me to pick my favorite Saint. I'm a Dominican and Carmelite fan

That's why I left it plural! I know some of you guys are very.... well-rounded. :-)

In February I'll be visiting a community that I'm corresponding with, so I might have a longer list by then.  

[OnlySunshine]

When I was discerning religious life, I loved the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal.  Their spirituality and joy were the main things that attracted me to them.  Religious life is not for me, but I still love the CFRs - both the Friars and the Sisters. 

If given the option, I would also add the Poor Clare Colettines in Belleville, IL.  I watched their entire documentary on their website and thought about visiting but never did.  Again, it was the Franciscan spirituality that drew me to them.

I think I finally found my spirituality and would love to join a third order Franciscan group.  There is one in my diocese, but I've never been to a meeting.  I know a lady in my parish who is a member, though, and she invited me several times when I was still in school, but it interfered with my schedule then.  I might be able to do it later this year after my surgery. 

[EmilyAnn]

I'm still very fond of the community I discerned with, St. Cecilia's Abbey, on the Isle of Wight. They are a truly wonderful community and I have always recommended them to those interested in Benedictine life.

[beatitude]

Little Sisters of Jesus. I've known them for ten years, and been very close to them for five of those. I've spent time with them in three different countries. A wonderful group of women (and men - there are Little Brothers too, but I know them less well!). They were founded in the Saraha Desert by Magdeleine Hutin, living in tents among a nomadic tribe, sharing the ordinary life of the people as Jesus shared his neighbours' life at Nazareth. They are inspired by the life of Bl. Charles de Foucauld and they live wherever people are most marginalised and hardest to reach - for a while there was even a group of Little Sisters living in a prison with the inmates. They travel with a circus and with the Roma. They're in mud huts on the Amazon, and in a cramped inner-city high rise in London. There is something very simple but profoundly beautiful about how they live - I will never forget walking through that London neighbourhood for the first time, passing used heroin syringes on the floor, and then finding myself kneeling in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on the thirteenth floor of that tower block. It's a multicultural area, and the sisters have a constant stream of people of all ethnicities and religions coming to their door. They work in the same kinds of jobs as the people who surround them, usually low-waged manual work, but their primary vocation is to be contemplatives in the heart of the world and at the heart of this is Adoration. Just as Jesus came to be present among us through the Incarnation, they try to share his love with others simply through their presence. As one sister said to me, "It's not the work we do that matters, but the friendship with the people we're with." Bl. Charles de Foucauld placed a strong emphasis on the Visitation, the way that Mary carried Jesus into Elizabeth's home, doing nothing but bringing him there and then expressing her joy. This is what the sisters do - they carry Jesus in without fanfare or preaching, like Mary; and like Elizabeth, they learn to recognise him in the people around them.

In 2011 we discerned together that I probably wasn't called to their life, partly because of my disabilities but also because I have a greater need for solitude that we both identified as part of my own vocation, and so I contacted a secular institute that shares the spirituality of Bl. Charles. But I love them very much and visit them regularly. I can't recommend them highly enough. Anyone interested in them should read this.

[Spem in alium]

7 hours ago, beatitude said:

Little Sisters of Jesus. I've known them for ten years, and been very close to them for five of those. I've spent time with them in three different countries. A wonderful group of women (and men - there are Little Brothers too, but I know them less well!). They were founded in the Saraha Desert by Magdeleine Hutin, living in tents among a nomadic tribe, sharing the ordinary life of the people as Jesus shared his neighbours' life at Nazareth. They are inspired by the life of Bl. Charles de Foucauld and they live wherever people are most marginalised and hardest to reach - for a while there was even a group of Little Sisters living in a prison with the inmates. They travel with a circus and with the Roma. They're in mud huts on the Amazon, and in a cramped inner-city high rise in London. There is something very simple but profoundly beautiful about how they live - I will never forget walking through that London neighbourhood for the first time, passing used heroin syringes on the floor, and then finding myself kneeling in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on the thirteenth floor of that tower block. It's a multicultural area, and the sisters have a constant stream of people of all ethnicities and religions coming to their door. They work in the same kinds of jobs as the people who surround them, usually low-waged manual work, but their primary vocation is to be contemplatives in the heart of the world and at the heart of this is Adoration. Just as Jesus came to be present among us through the Incarnation, they try to share his love with others simply through their presence. As one sister said to me, "It's not the work we do that matters, but the friendship with the people we're with." Bl. Charles de Foucauld placed a strong emphasis on the Visitation, the way that Mary carried Jesus into Elizabeth's home, doing nothing but bringing him there and then expressing her joy. This is what the sisters do - they carry Jesus in without fanfare or preaching, like Mary; and like Elizabeth, they learn to recognise him in the people around them.

In 2011 we discerned together that I probably wasn't called to their life, partly because of my disabilities but also because I have a greater need for solitude that we both identified as part of my own vocation, and so I contacted a secular institute that shares the spirituality of Bl. Charles. But I love them very much and visit them regularly. I can't recommend them highly enough. Anyone interested in them should read this.

The Green Booklet is so beautiful. I just read a few parts. Very relevant for me.

When I was in America four years ago, the college at which I was studying was closely connected with a Benedictine monastery. I found myself growing closer and closer to the sisters there. I worked with several sisters and became very friendly with them. One of the sisters there became my first spiritual director. Even now I keep in contact with two of them. It was through their kindness and gentle encouragement that I grew in my love of and desire for God. When I mentioned to one sister that I was interested in consecrated life, she suggested I contact another group of Benedictines when I arrived back home. I journeyed with these sisters for over a year, visiting them once a month for prayer and fellowship. It was such a beautiful time, even though I eventually discerned I was not called to them. They have been one of the greatest influences in my life.

But my favourite community? Mine. 

[beatitude]

Ha, speaking of the booklet's relevance, I was reading it earlier and came to this: "In moments of discouragement and weariness you must again exercise patience and perseverance, telling yourself over and over again [in the words of Bl. Charles de Foucauld]: 'When you start out to do something, do not come back until you have done it.'" I am taking this as a pointed directive from HQ to get off the Internet and get on with the PhD.

[Spem in alium]

Just now, beatitude said:

 

Ha, speaking of its relevance, I was reading it earlier and came to this: "In moments of discouragement and weariness you must again exercise patience and perseverance, telling yourself over and over again [in the words of Bl. Charles de Foucauld]: 'When you start out to do something, do not come back until you have done it.'" I am taking this as a pointed directive from HQ to get off the Internet and get on with the PhD.

Haha, I need to follow that advice and get on with my own research!

[McM RSCJ]

Like Spem, my favorite Religious Order is my own, The Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I never planned to be a Religious.  I was actually turned off by the idea, despite all my years of Catholic Schooling.  So my call was to the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in particular, and not to Religious Life in general.  I believe if I had not been accepted by the Society, and entered there, I would not be a Religious today.

I love the charism:  making known the love of God to persons, as revealed in the Heart of Jesus, and I loved the mission, taking that love for others to the ends of the earth and every culture, primarily through the work of education that tried to accept each student with unconditional love (though, since we RSCJs are not God, we do fail in the attempt)--and in that context of unconditional love, try to motive each student to put her (or his) gifts, talents, and skills to the service of others.  What I discovered in initial Formation is that my charism matches the charism of the Society.  What a grace.

Since Vatican II, we have tried to focus on urging our students to put those gifts, talents, and skills toward the service of others who are otherwise excluded and vulnerable.  I have also loved the way RSCJs have been international since the beginning, though I think we are finally in a position to realize that the Gospel Fruit of that connectedness, for whom so many of our early Religious struggled.  To the ends of the earth!  And we are on every continent except Antarctica. 

And I love the commitment to be wholly contemplative and wholly apostolic.  We see these as intrinsic and inseparable.  Yet it is continuing challenge to know how to integrate that.

 

That said, I would mention two other Religious Orders whom I deeply admire, while acknowledging I have the charism and calling for neither.  One is Maryknoll. These women put their bodies and lives where their mouths/vows are; they put their bodies on the line, often serving in very poor regions and/or regions riddled with conflict--doing whatever needs to be done.   The other is the Trappists of Whitethorn, in the California Redwoods.  These contemplative women work hard all day in the fields, pulling an alb like prayer covering over their work clothes, like flannel shirts and jeans, when they go to office.  (In their gorgeous chapel, that has an entire glass wall looking at the Redwoods!) I treasure the memory of a dinner between them and members of my community, when some of us went for a prayer weekend over a three-day weekend in the school calendar.  Looking go glamorous (Town and Country!), they greeted us so warmly in their refectory, wearing their turtle-necked sweaters and long wool skirts (IT WAS COLD! and they dress for the cold rather than heat for it, out of poverty)   For a few seconds, in the dim light of firelight, I wondered if I had stumbled into a cocktail party, before I realized I was in their simple refectory, in which the flames for the fire, with them in their turtlenecks and long wool skirts, looking, at a glance, like a magazine shoot!

They do not usually speak at their own meals, but this meal was an exception, because our Orders have a long history of relationship.  So, whereas other weekend guests are fed in the guest dining room, we were invited into their refectory.   Over delicious and hearty but simple vegetarian fare (most of which they had grown and all of which they had prepared), we shared our religious lives together in twos and threes, by firelight and fire heat.  I was so surprised when my dinner companion, about my age, on learning about my ministry, exclaimed:  "I could NEVER do all that! " And I replied, (actually relieved)  "And I could NEVER be a Trappist!"

There really are different gifts, but the same spirit.  I treasure that long weekend with them. 

[CountrySteve21]

http://transfiguration.chartreux.org/index.htm

Carthusians.. nothing humbles you more than them.