Anybody Want To Give Me A Hand?

[TheProdigalCatholic]

Thanks so much for this information. I'm particularly drawn to contemplative communities, especially Carmelites. I bookmarked the document and even sent an email to Carmel of the Sacred Heart in Hudson, WI for more information. I'm gathering information in hopes that there is even a remote chance I can join to a vowed community.

Edited December 22, 2008 by TheProdigalCatholic

[TheProdigalCatholic]

The age limit for the Carmelites of Hudson is 50. Their web site is: [url="http://www.pressenter.com/~carmelit/index.htm"]http://www.pressenter.com/~carmelit/index.htm[/url]. I will be discerning with them.

[Graciela]

[quote name='Sister Rose Therese' post='1731411' date='Dec 18 2008, 03:34 PM']About the wimple thing. I think you should know that not all of the traditional habits had a wimple. I wouldn't get to caught up in that. You should be more concerned with what God wants of you.[/quote]

Thank you so much for saying this Sister Rose Therese. There is a lot of over-concern about nun-fashion (habit appearance, components and preferred color) on VS, rather than on doing God's will. The outfit is not the point!

[DevotedtoHim]

I really didn't mean to offend anybody. I was talking about myself and what I want. My Spiritual Director has told me many times that the Holy Spirit speaks to us in different ways and if I am attracted to the wimple, there must be a reason and I should listen to it. I am now pretty positive that I want to be a contemplative, cloistered nun. For a while, I was confused, going back and forth between active/contemplative, but with his help, it has been narrowed down. I will keep looking and I guess my "heart" will know when I find the right place. I know I want to spend my time on earth praying and doing penance for the world, and I want to wear my bridal dress all my days. I guess in my mind I kind of see it as a small reward/privilege for the sacrifices I want to make. I realize many of you don't agree, or won't agree, but that's fine. I am just sharing part of my journey, and I can assure I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what God wants of me.

I'm sure there are very holy nuns who are cloistered, contemplative who don't wear the full habit or even the habit themselves. I'm not saying they are bad. I am just saying my heart leaps when I see the whole, holy habit. I checked out a copy of McCarthy's Guide to Religious Ministries from 1952 from the library. I could only find about ten orders that didn't wear a wimple and those orders were not cloistered/contemplative/monastic.

Katherine

[Gemma]

[quote name='DevotedtoHim' post='1734478' date='Dec 23 2008, 06:20 PM']I really didn't mean to offend anybody. I was talking about myself and what I want. My Spiritual Director has told me many times that the Holy Spirit speaks to us in different ways and if I am attracted to the wimple, there must be a reason and I should listen to it. I am now pretty positive that I want to be a contemplative, cloistered nun. For a while, I was confused, going back and forth between active/contemplative, but with his help, it has been narrowed down. I will keep looking and I guess my "heart" will know when I find the right place. I know I want to spend my time on earth praying and doing penance for the world, and I want to wear my bridal dress all my days. I guess in my mind I kind of see it as a small reward/privilege for the sacrifices I want to make. I realize many of you don't agree, or won't agree, but that's fine. I am just sharing part of my journey, and I can assure I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what God wants of me.

I'm sure there are very holy nuns who are cloistered, contemplative who don't wear the full habit or even the habit themselves. I'm not saying they are bad. I am just saying my heart leaps when I see the whole, holy habit. I checked out a copy of McCarthy's Guide to Religious Ministries from 1952 from the library. I could only find about ten orders that didn't wear a wimple and those orders were not cloistered/contemplative/monastic.

Katherine[/quote]

Are you used to the cold? If so, perhaps Oulton Abbey in England is a possibility:

[url="http://cloisters.tripod.com/uk_osb_oulton/"]http://cloisters.tripod.com/uk_osb_oulton/[/url]

Blessings,
Gemma

[Saint Therese]

I can't stress enough how important the climate of the community (especially if its monastic) is to your decision. If you have poor tolerances to heat or cold that should be definitely taken into consideration.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

I was going through my google docs today and realized I haven't updated this list and I still have not added any Carmelites! I was planning on adding some Visitation Nuns as well...

Did anyone want to help with updating the information? I'd love help adding the Carmelites to the list (because there is like a MILLION of them!) I would be more than grateful to get this list a little more complete (and maybe longer )

Here's the link to review it: [url="https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AiIgvUnv91fdcEFxLThHN3cwVV9BdUdQdmZGU2hESmc&hl=en&authkey=CNiriuYJ"]Women's Contemplative Communities[/url]

[krissylou]

For Cistercians, I don't know if you want to distinguish the O.Cist. place (the one in Wisconsin) from the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (aka Trappistines) (everywhere else).

For Mount St Mary's Abbey, the website is www.msmabbey.org. The abbess is Mother Maureen McCabe. The vocation director is Sr. Katie McNamara. Phone number [color=#444444][font=Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]508-528-1282. Age limit is 20-40. They just had three sisters make their first professions this summer, one postulant who is toward the end of her postulancy and ready to become a novice soon, and a new postulant entered this fall.[/font][/color]


[quote name='FutureNunJMJ' timestamp='1287687589' post='2181400']
I was going through my google docs today and realized I haven't updated this list and I still have not added any Carmelites! I was planning on adding some Visitation Nuns as well...

Did anyone want to help with updating the information? I'd love help adding the Carmelites to the list (because there is like a MILLION of them!) I would be more than grateful to get this list a little more complete (and maybe longer )

Here's the link to review it: [url="https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AiIgvUnv91fdcEFxLThHN3cwVV9BdUdQdmZGU2hESmc&hl=en&authkey=CNiriuYJ"]Women's Contemplative Communities[/url]
[/quote]

[Visitation Sisters]

This is such a good idea. You haven't included any of the Visitation Monasteriesin the US that are cloistered. Do you have the addresses? If not I would be happy to add them for you. Just must say .... greetings from England! Sr Jane Margaret

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='Visitation Sisters' timestamp='1287690841' post='2181412']
This is such a good idea. You haven't included any of the Visitation Monasteriesin the US that are cloistered. Do you have the addresses? If not I would be happy to add them for you. Just must say .... greetings from England! Sr Jane Margaret
[/quote]

We're so glad you posted! I'm sure you already have too many things to do with your time, but, in Vocation Station we especially welcome posters from countries other than the U.S. and Canada. I think that sometimes we get too "U.S.-centric" when thinking about possible Orders when discerning. Obviously, the distance from the U.S. to Europe is further, but, for example, one of our favorite longtime Vocation Station posters recently entered as a postulant with an active Community of Dominican Sisters in southern England, and it from their Web site, it looks like a lovely Community.

We also especially welcome posts from religious, because we have so many active discerners here that the comments and views of those currently in religious life frequently give us perspectives we wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

Edited October 21, 2010 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[Visitation Sisters]

'We're so glad you posted! I'm sure you already have too many things to do with your time, but, in Vocation Station we especially welcome posters from countries other than the U.S. and Canada. I think that sometimes we get too "U.S.-centric" when thinking about possible Orders when discerning. Obviously, the distance from the U.S. to Europe is further, but, for example, one of our favorite longtime Vocation Station posters recently entered as a postulant with an active Community of Dominican Sisters in southern England, and it from their Web site, it looks like a lovely Community.'

Yes, I wrote to Sadora on her forum and so wanted to send a card to welcome her to England but didn't know her name at that point! We are a cloistered community in Sussex (not that far from the Dominicans) and mentioned that if she or any of her Sisters were 'passing by' (we live deep in English countryside!) we would love to welcome them. We have many woman who come on retreat each year and, of course, visitors who come to the parlour.
This is such an interesting forum and it helps so many to share, discuss, to air 'whats on your mind'! Yes, it is more northern American but community isn't too much about geography but the landscape of the heart. Actually, we have a woman from Boston MA discerning with us just now and who will very probably come and live along side us for a month or so after Christmas and we can mutually discern. She has been on short visits before. Thank you Phatmass family (or should that be 'phamily'!) for sharing so much and touching lives with enthusiasm and fervour: 'To wake each day with a winged heart and to give God thanks for another day of loving' KG Blesssings

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

[quote name='Visitation Sisters' timestamp='1287690841' post='2181412']
This is such a good idea. You haven't included any of the Visitation Monasteries in the US that are cloistered. Do you have the addresses? If not I would be happy to add them for you. Just must say .... greetings from England! Sr Jane Margaret
[/quote]

Sr. Jane Margaret! Thank you. I have found most of them either through the IRL or their own websites. I did have a post a week or two ago where I trying to contact some Visitations Sisters for our parish's feast of St. Margaret Mary. I did notice that many of the monasteries teach at schools or do other work in the community (outside the monastery). Are they still considered cloistered or are they different?

[Visitation Sisters]

[i]'Sr. Jane Margaret! Thank you. I have found most of them either through the IRL or their own websites. I did have a post a week or two ago where I trying to contact some Visitations Sisters for our parish's feast of St. Margaret Mary. I did notice that many of the monasteries teach at schools or do other work in the community (outside the monastery). Are they still considered cloistered or are they different?'[/i]
[b][font="Comic Sans MS"]
<H3>[font="Comic Sans MS"][size="3"][/size][/font][/b]
[i][size="2"]Hi, Just must say we prayed especially for your parish last w/e feast of St Margaret Mary - hope it was a blessed day for you all.
In the USA there are 2 Federations of Visitation nuns: the 1st Federarion is cloistered as we are in England and these are MOBILE, PHILADELPHIA, ROCKVILLE, TYRINGHAM, SNELLVILLE, TOLEDO.
The 2nd Federations is slightly different in that they have schools attached to their monasteries (BROOKLYIN, GEORGETOWN (WASHINGTON DC) ST LOUIS, ST PAUL. In Minneapolis the Sisters work with the poor in their neighbourhood and these 6 Sisters have all come from the 2nd Federation Monasteries. What they do is wonderful: 'A gentle presence in a violent world'.The 1st Fed has Papal Enclosure and the 2nd Constitional Enclosure. Essentially 2nd Fed is not cloistered.

Thank you for doing all of this. Blessings, Sr Jane Margaret[/size][/i][/font]</H3>

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

[quote name='Visitation Sisters' timestamp='1287770745' post='2181605']
[i]'Sr. Jane Margaret! Thank you. I have found most of them either through the IRL or their own websites. I did have a post a week or two ago where I trying to contact some Visitations Sisters for our parish's feast of St. Margaret Mary. I did notice that many of the monasteries teach at schools or do other work in the community (outside the monastery). Are they still considered cloistered or are they different?'[/i]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]
[i][size="2"]Hi, Just must say we prayed especially for your parish last w/e feast of St Margaret Mary - hope it was a blessed day for you all.
In the USA there are 2 Federations of Visitation nuns: the 1st Federarion is cloistered as we are in England and these are MOBILE, PHILADELPHIA, ROCKVILLE, TYRINGHAM, SNELLVILLE, TOLEDO.
The 2nd Federations is slightly different in that they have schools attached to their monasteries (BROOKLYIN, GEORGETOWN (WASHINGTON DC) ST LOUIS, ST PAUL. In Minneapolis the Sisters work with the poor in their neighbourhood and these 6 Sisters have all come from the 2nd Federation Monasteries. What they do is wonderful: 'A gentle presence in a violent world'.The 1st Fed has Papal Enclosure and the 2nd Constitional Enclosure. Essentially 2nd Fed is not cloistered.

Thank you for doing all of this. Blessings, Sr Jane Margaret[/size][/i][/font]
[/quote]
Ah! Thank you very much for your prayers. We remembered you in our prayers at our Masses. We had a very successful evening Also, thank you for your info about the federations! I noticed that there was a second federation (I found a website) and I had no idea there was a first! Well, I knew there was a first, but I didn't know if there were any additional federations... Are both federations considered contemplative, even though the second federation has a more active apostolate? Thanks again! This is extremely informative!

[Visitation Sisters]

[quote name='FutureNunJMJ' timestamp='1287787915' post='2181644']
Ah! Thank you very much for your prayers. We remembered you in our prayers at our Masses. We had a very successful evening Also, thank you for your info about the federations! I noticed that there was a second federation (I found a website) and I had no idea there was a first! Well, I knew there was a first, but I didn't know if there were any additional federations... Are both federations considered contemplative, even though the second federation has a more active apostolate? Thanks again! This is extremely informative!
[/quote]

Yes, both Federations are considered to be contemplative.