The Carthusians

[Nathan]

Is anyone here familiar with the Carthusian Order? Might anyone here, like me, even be considering joining the Carthusians, as a monk (priest/brother) or nun?

For those not in the know, the Carthusian Order is bar none the most secluded and closed-off religious order within the Catholic Church -- it is also one of the very oldest, and has never been reformed ("It has never been reformed because it has never been deformed" is one of their favorite sayings). You think the Benedictines or the Trappists are hardcore? The Carthusians are ten times harder.

The life of the Carthusian is primarily one of deep prayer, communication with God, praying for the outside world; the monks and nuns spend up to eight hours each day in intense prayer, in their individual cells within in the Charterhouse, alone. It is also one of strict silence; a period of just three hours once a week is set aside for the Carthusians to walk together outside and speak with one another. Aside from prayer, the Carthusians attend daily Mass, Vespers, and do manual labour of some kind to sustain themselves. Of course, this is just a mere technical recitation of what the Carthusian life is all about... the lives of these blessed men and women are truly so much more.

A Carthusian vocation is extremely rare -- indeed, there are only about 300 living Carthusians in the world. Aside from the Jesuits, there is no other Order I want so much to be a part of.

Here's their official website: [url="http://www.chartreux.org"]http://www.chartreux.org[/url]

Cheers!

[Susan]

[quote name='Nathan' date='Nov 14 2005, 09:01 AM']Is anyone here familiar with the Carthusian Order? Might anyone here, like me, even be considering joining the Carthusians, as a monk (priest/brother) or nun?

For those not in the know, the Carthusian Order is bar none the most secluded and closed-off religious order within the Catholic Church -- it is also one of the very oldest, and has never been reformed ("It has never been reformed because it has never been deformed" is one of their favorite sayings). You think the Benedictines or the Trappists are hardcore? The Carthusians are ten times harder.

The life of the Carthusian is primarily one of deep prayer, communication with God, praying for the outside world; the monks and nuns spend up to eight hours each day in intense prayer, in their individual cells within in the Charterhouse, alone. It is also one of strict silence; a period of just three hours once a week is set aside for the Carthusians to walk together outside and speak with one another. Aside from prayer, the Carthusians attend daily Mass, Vespers, and do manual labour of some kind to sustain themselves. Of course, this is just a mere technical recitation of what the Carthusian life is all about... the lives of these blessed men and women are truly so much more.

A Carthusian vocation is extremely rare -- indeed, there are only about 300 living Carthusians in the world. Aside from the Jesuits, there is no other Order I want so much to be a part of.

Here's their official website: [url="http://www.chartreux.org"]http://www.chartreux.org[/url]

Cheers!
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The Monastic Family of Bethlehem and the Assumption and St. Bruno is sort of a "take off" from the Carthusians although not strictly part of the order. They follow their spirituality and habit.
The Nuns have a beautifuly place up in Livingston Manor, NY. They don't have any monks in the US yet but want to.
They don't have a website but there is something here: [url="http://eremos.brinkster.net/stbruno/MBAB/index.htm"]Livingston Manor[/url]

[Nathan]

Hey, thanks for the info! Very interesting.

[Guest Rick777]

They sound real cool. Good luck.

[benedictaj]

Woah....I was just gonna post something on them, lol!
[url="http://www.chartreux.org/textes/eng/monia-en.htm"]Carthusian site - English[/url]

I stumbled upon them very early on in my discernment, and they scared me, SOOOOO little company with other humans! They are almost hermits - but not quite. I think they look beautiful, it would be awesome to retreat with them (if they allowed it.) They are no charterhouses for nuns outside Europe yet (they are a couple in France, Italy, and Spain.) They have their own chant, and they have never been reformed (they've stayed remarkably similar to how they started.) The only changes they made recently were for the Second Vatican council, since then, nothing! They do rise to pray for 3-4 hours in the middle of night as well, so they go to bed around 7:30pm!!!

I think they look amazing, and what a vocation for those who are called to this life! Pratically an eremitical life (apart from a recreation of sorts once a week.) They have a really strong devotion to our Lady as well - they recite her Office every day, as well as the Office for the day.

[benedictaj]

Oh, and also, the nuns make three vows of stablity, conversion and obedience, but they also have the rite of being consecrated as a virgin.....I think thats again quite rare. I just read that there are only 140 Carthusian nuns in the world...

[Guest Rick777]

wow, not many but still goin strong.

[Nathan]

I love how they're more or less anonymous, too. There have been some great Carthusian spiritual writers, and their work is always simply credited "by A Carthusian." A common saying in the Order is, "We make saints, we don't advertise them." I just think that's cool.

Regarding making a retreat at a Carthusian Charterhouse, yeah, it is not easy. They don't allow people to simply make a retreat with them like other contemplative orders do -- only those men and women who are dead serious about becoming a Carthusian are permitted. And it's a solid one-month long retreat, not a weekend thing. The reason for all of this is because of the Carthusians' extremely closed-off lifestyle... the frequent comings and goings of visitors would be disruptive to it.

[ThyHolyLove]

The Carthusians are a very good, but hard order to be a part of. I would suggest doing your homework about them and how they live their life. I honesly can't think of an order with a more challenging life.

Hereis a website that I came across that is very comprehensive about Carthusian life.: [url="http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/monastic2/Carthusian/home.html"]Carthusians[/url]

It talks about the different charterhouses alll over the world, the Carthusian statues and articles on Carthusian life. Also, the webmaster is a former Cistercian monk, so he might have insights into the contemplative life. Have a good read Nathan!