cathoholic_anonymous Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I've been reflecting on my spirituality, strengths, weaknesses, and attractions in order to see what kind of community I am intended for. Last night I came up with this list: * My prayer life and spirituality have been enriched so much by the Carmelites. Their tradition is an inspiration for me. It makes me feel properly alive. * My second-favourite charism is Franciscan. * My best-loved devotions are the Divine Mercy Chaplet and so-called 'biblical theology' - reading myself into a particular passage of the Bible and approaching Jesus' words as a listener and His actions as an eyewitness. * Compline is my favourite Office. * I value silence. * I feel an extremely strong call to help mentally ill people, especially adolescents. I know that I will never find a community that 'suits' me (they're not like skirts or T-shirts) and that I must be ready to compromise and make sacrifices if I truly want to be a religious. But does anybody know of a community that at least comes close to this description? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totus Tuus Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 (edited) [quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1166608' date='Jan 16 2007, 05:49 AM'] I've been reflecting on my spirituality, strengths, weaknesses, and attractions in order to see what kind of community I am intended for. Last night I came up with this list: * My prayer life and spirituality have been enriched so much by the Carmelites. Their tradition is an inspiration for me. It makes me feel properly alive. * My second-favourite charism is Franciscan. * My best-loved devotions are the Divine Mercy Chaplet and so-called 'biblical theology' - reading myself into a particular passage of the Bible and approaching Jesus' words as a listener and His actions as an eyewitness. * Compline is my favourite Office. * I value silence. * I feel an extremely strong call to help mentally ill people, especially adolescents. I know that I will never find a community that 'suits' me (they're not like skirts or T-shirts) and that I must be ready to compromise and make sacrifices if I truly want to be a religious. But does anybody know of a community that at least comes close to this description? [/quote] * The Carmelites are #1 when it comes to spiritual writings it seems Reading Carmelite materials will probably benefit you in any Order you join, but certainly don't shy away from visiting a Carmel (everyone knows that I really dig the Alexandria, SD Carmel, which is an offshoot of the Buffalo, NY Carmel. Both are very good. I have a friend at Alexandria * If you like Carmel and Franciscan spirituality, you might like Poor Clare Collettines. There are good Collettine monasteries in Rockford, IL; Roswell, NM; Aptos, CA (and more.) * You practice of "biblical theology" is called "Lectio Divina" by religious communities. Loving this practice will be a great benefit to your spiritual life and growth no matter where you enter. * It's good to value silence, very good. Especially if you have a monastic/cloistered vocation. * I don't know how to help you with this one. There are Phatmassers who've talked about this type of thing so hopefully one of them will happen upon this post Don't feel like you won't find a community that suits you. Almost all of your descriptions are encompassed by almost every solid community I know of (especially cloistered or contemplative communities). Something you probably want to think about (if you haven't already) is whether you feel drawn to active life, active/contemplative life, or cloistered monastic life. For me, I didn't know how much I loved contemplative life until I visited a contemplative community. I finally felt at ease! Something was missing with the active communities I visited, even though I loved them for their charism and spirituality. I would suggest visiting a few communities that appeal to you. Often we know where we are called by the feeling of "aaah, now I'm home" that we get when we visit a particular community -- even if it was not a community we thought would spark our interest at all. Visiting really does help. You yourself have a firm starting point as you know you love Carmelite and Franciscan spirituality. You could correspond with and visit a community of each Order and see which one, if either, really intrigues you! Discerning a vocation should be an adventure to some extent. You are going on a journey with the Beloved to discover if He is calling you to the religious life. Don't get too stressed out about it or discernment will be more difficult. Be assured of our prayerful good wishes Lauren P.S.- Here are some addresses that may be of use to you: Carmelite Monastery P. O. Box 67 Alexandria SD 57311-0067 U. S. A. And here's a bit of info on Collettines [url="http://www.wtu.edu/Franciscan/pages/groups/clares/colettines.html"]http://www.wtu.edu/Franciscan/pages/groups...colettines.html[/url] Edited January 16, 2007 by Totus Tuus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicemary Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 It is not a matter of finding a cookie cutter community that you match exactly. Why not have some FUN going out there and exploring different communities, different charism. You might find a community that you never heard of and find they fit. You like Carmelite spirituality, but possibly are called to discern with the Benedictines. Be open minded to the calling of the Lord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortnun Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 CA... these are some tremendous insights (no doubt the work of the Holy Spirit, showing your wisdom). Do you have a spiritual director you feel confident in sharing them with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathoholic_anonymous Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 Yes. My spiritual director is a very sweet elderly Dominican sister. She's patient and quiet - it's easy to share things with her. I haven't been able to meet her since before Christmas, as she went back to her motherhouse to celebrate there, but I will see her sometime this week. [quote]Something you probably want to think about (if you haven't already) is whether you feel drawn to active life, active/contemplative life, or cloistered monastic life.[/quote] I don't know. I can see the beauty in all those vocations, but I know that only one of them is for me. I will be visiting a cloistered Carmelite monastery at Easter and staying there for a while, so that should help me to see things more clearly. I've only ever visited two communities before - this Carmelite monastery and an apostolic Carmel in York. Once my exams are over and I have time to go skipping about the country I will broaden my search, as Alice Mary has suggested. Lauren, I've looked at the website for a PCC community in Wales. (I live in neighbouring England.) Sadly, they write that reading and study is not particularly important to them, and I love my books. I don't know if that sums up the PCC attitude in general or whether it is just the practice of this particular community. One of the things that I like so much about the Carmelites that I am visiting is that reading is positively encouraged. Thank you so much for all your advice, everyone. I will keep praying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totus Tuus Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 CA- Just a side note. Although study is not a trademark of the Franciscan tradition, it is not discouraged. It is more of a personal choice. At the Poor Clare monastery where I used to live, we had a large, well-stocked library and those who liked to study spent their free time reading and studying to their hearts' content. Lessons are also scheduled regularly, and I would consider this a type of study, although it's not academic. However, I don't want to push the Francsicans too much on someone who may not be called to that lifestyle. Dominicans are well-known for their daily study. I believe contemplative Dominicans are required to study at least two solid hours daily, aside from classes. So that may be something to take into consideration. Also, Lectio Divina is a practice which I believe is particularly well-loved by the Benedictines God bless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathoholic_anonymous Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 Thank you for your help, Lauren. You have my prayers for your own continued journey. And guess what? This evening I had an e-mail from a girl who goes to the student chaplaincy with me. She wrote, "I just wanted to let you know that Father A has heard back from a convent that you were interested in." That was all she said. I have no idea which convent this is. I can't remember ever mentioning a specific group of sisters to Father and I'm racking my brains to think of which ones they are. It will be a nice surprise for me to discover when I go to Mass tomorrow, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeniteAdoremus Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 If you don't mind crossing the pond, maybe you really should check out the Carmelites DCJ... Their spirituality is very strong, they value silence, and the house in Berlin (I believe - somewhere in Germany, at least) has an apostolate with the mentally ill... There's a discernment weekend in Vogelenzang around March 17... we will be walking the Stille Omgang as part of it, which is THE big Catholic event of the year in the Netherlands! And a nice way to see Amsterdam (The red light district is even beter if you're walking through it while praying the Rosary Anyway, think about it? (Of course, this is just a cheap ploy to get you to join them instead of me, because I love the sisters, but I'm afraid I'm not called to join them ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AccountDeleted Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 [quote name='VeniteAdoremus' post='1167373' date='Jan 16 2007, 05:43 PM'] If you don't mind crossing the pond, maybe you really should check out the Carmelites DCJ... Their spirituality is very strong, they value silence, and the house in Berlin (I believe - somewhere in Germany, at least) has an apostolate with the mentally ill... There's a discernment weekend in Vogelenzang around March 17... we will be walking the Stille Omgang as part of it, which is THE big Catholic event of the year in the Netherlands! And a nice way to see Amsterdam (The red light district is even beter if you're walking through it while praying the Rosary Anyway, think about it? (Of course, this is just a cheap ploy to get you to join them instead of me, because I love the sisters, but I'm afraid I'm not called to join them ). [/quote] I visited these nuns in California once and they were very welcoming and kind to me. They are not for me but their combination of contemplation and action (also with young people) might work for you? [url=http://www.cmswr.org/member_communities/PCMS.htm] Poor Clare Missionary Sisters[/url] [quote name='nunsense' post='1167407' date='Jan 16 2007, 06:12 PM'] I visited these nuns in California once and they were very welcoming and kind to me. They are not for me but their combination of contemplation and action (also with young people) might work for you? [url=http://www.cmswr.org/member_communities/PCMS.htm] Poor Clare Missionary Sisters[/url] [/quote] Oops - didn't get that link in just right - lol [url="http://www.cmswr.org/member_communities/PCMS.htm"]Poor Clare Missionary Sisters[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philosophette Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Well, the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence work with Special Needs/Mentally handicapped people. I do not know if that is what you mean by "mentally ill" but you could always become a nursing sister with a degree in psychiatric nursing, if you mean the other kind of "ill". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathoholic_anonymous Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) Hi Philosobrat, Yes, I mean mental illness rather than mental disability. (Mental illness is psychological in nature and is often curable, given patience and prayer and good treatment, while mental disability is lifelong.) I've found a group of English Augustinian sisters who do this kind of work, but only in a very small sort of way - caring for the elderly seems to be their main apostolate. I would like care for (or prayer for) mentally ill people to take up a large part of my day. I owe the discovery of my vocation to a mentally ill girl, as I think I've already mentioned, so now it's pay-back time. VA, I will seriously think about coming to the Netherlands for that weekend, but it will take a small miracle for it to happen. If I can complete a lot of revision this term (my main exams are coming up - gulp) and can save money for the flight, I will go. I've done quite a lot of travelling this year so I'm short on cash. If it's God will that I come, I will be there... Edited January 19, 2007 by Cathoholic Anonymous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lterrebrood Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeniteAdoremus Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 It'd be great if you could come - Phatmassers overrunning the weekend! : But if you can't, don't worry. I'm sure you can stay at the Motherhouse some other time, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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