Media-watching Religious---why?

[Rising_Suns]

[quote name='Saint Therese' post='1616189' date='Aug 2 2008, 10:36 PM']I think orders that rigorously observe enclosure are more prayerful than ones that have a more relaxed idea of what that is. But thats just my opinion![/quote]

This is not just your opinion. This is the truth. While superiors may have an obligation to stay somewhat informed, professed cloistered nuns do not.

It is interesting to note that when people asked Padre Pio if they could purchase a TV set, he would always discourage them from doing so. He once told someone jokingly; [i]"The man who invented refrigeration went to heaven, but the man who invented the television...."[/i] concluding his remarks by pointing downward.

While he did at times join the brothers to watch Catholic events, such as the funeral of Pope Pius XII (such as one might watch on EWTN today), overall he always felt it was a pernicious invention that corrupted morals and destroyed the family (let alone cloistered nuns in a convent).

If only Padre Pio were alive today; to see what TV has become.

Edited August 3, 2008 by Rising_Suns

[Saint Therese]

I've seen it myself, especially in a certain cloistered order which has both a relaxed and a rigorous observation of enclosure. I couldn't imagine a cloistered order just freely watching t.v, movies, or surfing the internet. But then again a community is not a static event, but a growing living organism. Mother Angelica's community watched t.v and read news papers before the 1993 change when they re-adopted the traditional habit and traditional monastic customs.

[DameAgnes]

I think it's impossible to judge these things in such a general way, and much depends upon the health of the community. One might have a perfectly enclosed order that is healthy, but one could just as easily have a "perfectly enclosed" order that is neurotic as all get-out. Likewise, you can have a more "relaxed" (some would say "practical") use of media - particularly as a means of serving the quests and seekings of those who wonder if they have a vocation (as the success of this very forum attests to the need) - that can be exceedingly healthy, or a more "relaxed" enclosure that has other problems.

The internet - used well - is a mere tool, and an abbess or abbot is free to use any tool that better serves the community or assists in the community's relations to the uncloistered world that needs them so greatly. There is a true service there, as communities extend glimpses into their lives and offer prayers, and the world both gets inspired by those glimpses and also helps to support those houses. I think St. Teresa of Avila - who was a very PRACTICAL woman, would have used the internet in a very practical way. In fact, it would not surprise me if she would have a blog - she was all about outreach and building and teaching. Particularly in an age where young Catholics are poorly catechized and when so many have never even seen a habited nun, and are unfamiliar with the whole concept of cloister and enclosure, I think these sites can be extremely instructive, and believe we owe the Lord a bit of a "thank you" for finding a way to pierce through popular culture and reveal his spousal call to so many who may sense a call, and a yearning, but cannot properly identify it.

While it is certainly true that the internet can be both a helpful tool and a cause for temptation - we all know that - I tend to reject the notion that the measure of a community is how perfectly they resemble cloisters from 100 years ago, and think it's best to look to the Lord, and not ourselves, when it comes to such a question. He said, "by their fruits you shall know them."

I see contemplative orders with practical use of media who seem to be thriving and attracting strong vocations that persevere, and others where the novices quickly flame-out. The spiritual and mental health of the community would have a lot to do with the success or failure rate. That plus, of course, sometimes the Lord wants his servant elsewhere. And of course, the movement of the Holy Spirit.

I have great admiration for the contemplative houses who keep a guard over their strict enclosure, but I note that even the Poor Clares of Roswell, New Mexico (who are pretty darned strict about their papal enclosure) have a site, and I think they're smart to do it. It's one thing to keep a "guard," and another to not at least put the equivalent of a brochure on the 'net, and establish a means of people being able to find you.

For that matter, the Carmelite Monks in Wyoming are strictly enclosed, but they have a site and also support their growing house by selling coffee (and it's delicious coffee) on the internet!

I likewise appreciate a house like the Summit Dominicans, who show both the solemnity of a contemplative vocation (as when they posted a video of the community at Compline in Advent) and the joy of the same vocation, in the day-to-day living out of their vows. It is important witness to the value and sanity of contemplative life, in a world that too often blows it off as "insane" or "weird". Seeing these young women move through their religious life reminds me to PRAY for their intentions, and for MORE vocations. When my family needed prayer, recently, I felt very comfortable asking the Summit Dominicans to remember our need in their prayer, because I felt a "connection."

So...just my (rather long) opinion - I think it's not really fair to dismiss out of hand those communities who make use of the 'net. By their fruits, you'll know them.

Edited August 3, 2008 by DameAgnes

[DameAgnes]

[quote name='Rising_Suns' post='1616203' date='Aug 2 2008, 08:53 PM']If only Padre Pio were alive today; to see what TV has become.[/quote]

He'd be on EWTN with Mother Angelica via satellite! :-)

And look what TV has become - yes, it's a sewer, but properly used, it's a powerful evangelical tool!

Same with the internet. I know a priest who gave his computer away, because he said - quite rightly - that "they lied to us! They promised it would make our lives better and easier, and instead it took up all our time and made opportunities for sin limitless!"

But, by the same token, there are blogs by Deacons and Priests and even some nuns, that teach wonderful things. See how this blog teaches a 9 year old girl, and who knows if the Lord will speak to her heart about a vocation thanks to this input? [url="http://www.passionistnuns.org/Blog/?p=50"]http://www.passionistnuns.org/Blog/?p=50[/url]

The tool is just a tool. It's all in how you use it. A hammer can build a house or break a skull.

Edited August 3, 2008 by DameAgnes

[Chiquitunga]

a related article (which features a former phatmasser, Lauren )

[quote][font="Book Antiqua"][size=3]Using the Internet to scale cloistered walls

By Sarah N. Lynch

The day Lauren Franko was inspired to become a nun, she did what many people her age would do: She logged on to the Internet in search of answers.

But first, the now 21-year-old had to break the news to her boyfriend, whom she had met in an online chat room a few years earlier and planned to marry.

"I didn't have the grace for marriage," Franko said. "I just couldn't do it. I needed to give myself entirely to God. That was the only way I would be happy."

She began her online search in the fall of 2006, and it eventually led her to a Web site and blog for the Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary, a cloistered community of nuns in Summit, N.J.

Intrigued, she fired off an e-mail inquiry.

A little over a year later, she left Drew University and entered the monastery.

In doing so, she is also joining an unfamiliar world -- one without cell phones and, ironically, the Internet.

The cloistered lifestyle may seem incompatible with the Internet. Unlike "active" communities of nuns and friars, who devote themselves to community service and are often seen in public, cloistered nuns and monks rarely leave the monastery. Typically, they also limit their usage of mass media so that the outside world does not distract them from a life of silence and perpetual prayer.

But now, more cloistered communities are launching Web sites as a way to increase their visibility and assist young men and women who are exploring religious life. And while there are no statistics to suggest that the Internet is bolstering interest in the life, many cloistered monasteries that have embraced the technology say they are starting to receive more inquiries about their lifestyle through the Internet and, in some cases, experiencing newfound growth.

The Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary got its introduction to the online world about eight years ago, when the sisters invited two aspiring priests to give a talk about the pros and cons of the Internet. Despite some initial concerns, the women took a vote and decided it could be used in a positive way to educate interested women about their life, recalled Sister Judith Miryam and Sister Mary Catharine, two of the more Internet-savvy nuns.

In 2004, the two women decided to launch a blog to engage people and take them inside the monastery walls. The blog is written from the cloistered community's perspective and it talks about everything from the handmade soap they sell to the problem with rabbits eating their garden.

"This is how these young women communicate, and this is how they want to be communicated to," said Sister Judith Miryam, who maintains the Web site and believes the blog has helped spur the interest of six new women there, all of whom found the monastery on the Internet.

Many people who find their monastery of choice on the Internet say they are happy to leave the technology behind. While some cloistered monasteries like the one in Summit allow minimal Internet usage to e-mail family or buy groceries, others prohibit it.

That is the case for the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming, a new monastery founded in Clark, Wyo., in 2003 whose Web site has caught the interest of some aspiring monks.

Soft chants begin to play as its site pops up, and visitors are greeted by a photo of three monks bathed in the glow of candlelight. The monastery has eight members and another six candidates on the way.

The site was created shortly after the monastery's founding and improved several months ago. But if interested men want to contact the monastery, they have to pick up the phone or write a letter. The community does not have Internet access; the site is maintained by people outside the monastery.

"Why have the walls around the monastery when the Internet is literally the world at your fingertips?" asked Brother Simon Mary, 24, who found the monastery online but does not miss the technology. "For us, those things kind of break down the integrity of the enclosure. We believe it's important to use these modern resources ... but at the same time in a way that will not be detrimental to the world we're striving after."

It's hard to say if the Internet is helping to bolster growth in cloistered communities. But the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a nonprofit organization affiliated with Georgetown University, is planning to launch a survey that will look at recent membership patterns in active and cloistered communities. The survey also will include questions about the Internet's role in vocations, said Sister Mary Bendyna, the center's executive director.

Even without statistics, some monasteries that used to be reluctant about having a Web site are starting to change their position as they grow to understand the importance of the Internet in the lives of young people.

Several cloistered Carmelite communities, including the Monastery of Cristo Rey in San Francisco, said a Web site could be in their future.

"I accept the fact that times have changed," said Mother Elizabeth, the prioress at the San Francisco monastery, who added that the monastery is still trying to figure out the logistics of setting up a site. "This is where young people are going."

Despite the rise in Internet usage, however, some monasteries are still sticking to the traditional way.

In Alexandria, S.D., the Discalced Carmelite Nuns at the Monastery of Our Mother of Mercy and St. Joseph have worked to preserve their more conservative lifestyle. They do not show their faces to the public and they do not have television.

The community did get permission from its prioress about a year ago to test the waters of the World Wide Web when one of its sisters enrolled in an online course. But ultimately, the nuns decided it was simply too distracting from their life of silence and prayer, and they got rid of it.

"If you've been eating organic food and you have been eating fresh things, and then go out and have something that's processed, after years of that it does something to your system," said Sister Mary, who is not allowed to reveal her full name to preserve the integrity of the enclosure. "That is the same thing we have found with the Internet. It's too invasive."

(Sarah N. Lynch wrote this article for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.)[/size] [/font][/quote]
Personally I would agree with what Br. Simon Mary said. It's great if a cloistered community has a page (like on the [url="http://www.religiouslife.com"]IRL[/url] site) or a website online, but to not have access to the internet within the enclosure.

Edited August 3, 2008 by Margaret Clare

[RosaMystica]

[quote name='Saint Therese' post='1616215' date='Aug 2 2008, 11:00 PM']Mother Angelica's community watched t.v and read news papers before the 1993 change when they re-adopted the traditional habit and traditional monastic customs.[/quote]

I've always wondered about the history in all that. Does anyone know why Mother Angelica's community re-adopted the traditional habit and traditional monastic customs? Do you know what influenced her to do that? I've always wondered about it. Maybe if someone knows they can tell the story on a new thread?

[Saint Therese]

I think, for a cloistered religious, one of the biggest dangers might be gaining an attachment to worldy things through the media, or an attachement to the media itself.. or of being distracted from prayer by it.

Edited August 3, 2008 by Saint Therese

[Saint Therese]

[quote name='MandyKhatoon' post='1616268' date='Aug 2 2008, 11:09 PM']I've always wondered about the history in all that. Does anyone know why Mother Angelica's community re-adopted the traditional habit and traditional monastic customs? Do you know what influenced her to do that? I've always wondered about it. Maybe if someone knows they can tell the story on a new thread?[/quote]

I don't know if its worth a new thread, but the reason that Mother Angelica chose to re-adopt the traditional habit and monastic customs is what happend at WYD Denver 1993, which was televised by EWTN. During the stations of the cross, a woman portrayed Jesus.. Mother was incensed and made her famous " I'm tired of you, liberal Church in America" speech.
The Spirit moves where He wills...

Edited August 3, 2008 by Saint Therese

[RosaMystica]

Thank you for letting me know about that! Did Mother Angelica write about this in her book?

[alicemary]

Good heavens, why shouldn't cloistered nuns/sisters have access to the media? These are not children, but mature woman. They have a right to know about political candidates and certainly many do vote in elections. It is their right as American citizens.
Its funny, the people who object, ARE NOT in a convent or monastery. I think it is THEIR problem.
I know many many cloistred nuns, and they read the paper. And geez, it has not jeopordized their vocation.
The Summit Dominicans have access to the internet, and surely their blog has bolstered their community numbers.....they have taken down the walls and let us see a small glimpse of their beautiful lives.
Most cloistered communities always have had phones, and calls were allowed on occasion. If your Mother and FAther were ill or dying, think how much they would treasure a few moments of speaking with their child who happens to be a nun. Many enclosed communities allow nuns to go home when ones parents are gravely ill, and rightly so.
AS I have said, I know many cloistered nuns, some are very traditional, some more liberal. Most watch the news a couple times a week on tv....who wouldn't want to know what is happening in the world? How can that hurt anything? Again, I believe it is people who do not have contact with nuns who feel they need to be protected, oh heavens...protected from what. I find that laughable sorry

[Saint Therese]

[quote name='MandyKhatoon' post='1616281' date='Aug 2 2008, 11:42 PM']Thank you for letting me know about that! Did Mother Angelica write about this in her book?[/quote]


No, but Raymond Arroyo wrote about it in his book- MOther Angelica, the story of a nun, her nerve, and a network of miracles.

[Rising_Suns]

[quote name='alicemary' post='1616288' date='Aug 3 2008, 01:01 AM']Its funny, the people who object, ARE NOT in a convent or monastery.[/quote]

Indeed, owing to the fact that cloistered nuns and monks who actually live a cloistered life, cannot come here to defend themselves and the centuries old tradition (which only in recent times has been redefined).

If a community is not cloistered, it should not claim to be.

Blessings.

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='alicemary' post='1616288' date='Aug 2 2008, 10:01 PM']Its funny, the people who object, ARE NOT in a convent or monastery. I think it is THEIR problem.[/quote]
There are many monks and nuns in monasteries that object to having access to the internet within the enclosure.

[quote]"Why have the walls around the monastery when the Internet is literally the world at your fingertips?" asked Brother Simon Mary, 24, who found the monastery online but does not miss the technology. "For us, those things kind of break down the integrity of the enclosure. We believe it's important to use these modern resources ... but at the same time in a way that will not be detrimental to the world we're striving after."[/quote]

Edited August 3, 2008 by Margaret Clare

[Luigi]

Mother was incensed and made her famous " I'm tired of you, liberal Church in America" speech.
The Spirit moves where He wills...

And, apparently, so does Mother Angelica.

[Luigi]

[quote name='Carmelitess' post='1297697' date='Jun 18 2007, 12:03 PM']Hi, all!

I've been wondering about something for a while. Why do some religious communities (cloistered and active) engage in the media? Some religious houses watch the nightly news or surf the internet, still others even watch the latest movies! Now, if there is a religious on this forum whose community does allow them to do the things I mentioned, please don't take offense at what I'm writing because I just don't understand and need clarification.

I'm particularly disturbed by cloistered nuns who go online, watch movies, and view television. I found a link on Phatmass to an NBC segment on the PCPAs in Arizona, and it said that they watch the latest movies and sports (which are inundated with suggestive commercials). I also know of another Poor Clare monastic community in Washington that watches Oprah occasionally and even looks at YouTube!! How can these sisters keep their minds clean and pure when they're sullying them with the media?

Would anyone be able to explain the reasons behind all of this? Thanks!

God bless,

Margaret[/quote]