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St Edith Stein Carmel


Gemma

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Cloister Outreach is collaborating with an actual Carmelite monastery to develop a Carmel aimed specifically at the 35+ age group of women. Members of this new yahoo group will be working on statutes which take into consideration the needs of older women.

[url="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stedithsteincarmel/"]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stedithsteincarmel/[/url]

Blessings,
Gemma

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This is neat how today's communication allows for positive things like this. It's not just for geeks and really really lonely people anymore. :)

On question:
[i]"...to develop a Carmel"[/i]

What is "a Carmel"?

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[quote name='Lounge Daddy' post='1792952' date='Feb 27 2009, 10:52 PM']This is neat how today's communication allows for positive things like this. It's not just for geeks and really really lonely people anymore. :)

On question:
[i]"...to develop a Carmel"[/i]

What is "a Carmel"?[/quote]

A Carmelite monastery.

Blessings,
Gemma

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And since this group will eventually lead to establishing a monastery, those who apply for membership should be serious discerners to Carmel--know what the difference between spiritualities are, and know what Rules and constitutions are.

The St. Edith Stein Carmel will follow the 1990 Constitutions, since there are no stipulations (unlike the 1991 Constitutions) on what a new foundation requires. We are in the process of finding exclaustrated Carmelite nuns who left their monasteries feeling a call to found their own. Perhaps this is where they are supposed to be.

Individuals--including nuns--have been contacting Cloister Outreach for years, all of them feeling called to a delayed vocations Carmel. Now, perhaps during the month of St. Joseph, it will come to pass.

Blessings,
Gemma

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[quote name='Ale' post='1795243' date='Mar 2 2009, 03:23 PM']How many people is interested in forming this new monastery?[/quote]

Five or six. They're only in the discernment phase right now, so others may join.

I'm simply the group owner & moderator. I play hostess and secretary. We had a number of older vocations come to Cloister Outreach stating they had an attraction to Carmel, so a Carmelite prioress with internet access consented to discern with the group to see if an actual Carmel for older vocations would be possible.

Blessings,
Gemma

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[quote name='Gemma' post='1794980' date='Mar 2 2009, 08:32 AM']And since this group will eventually lead to establishing a monastery, those who apply for membership should be serious discerners to Carmel--know what the difference between spiritualities are, and know what Rules and constitutions are.

The St. Edith Stein Carmel will follow the 1990 Constitutions, since there are no stipulations (unlike the 1991 Constitutions) on what a new foundation requires. We are in the process of finding exclaustrated Carmelite nuns who left their monasteries feeling a call to found their own. Perhaps this is where they are supposed to be.

Individuals--including nuns--have been contacting Cloister Outreach for years, all of them feeling called to a delayed vocations Carmel. Now, perhaps during the month of St. Joseph, it will come to pass.

Blessings,
Gemma[/quote]

The statement about the 1990 constitutions was incorrect. Once our prioress had copies of both on her desk, we were better able to start discernment.

Please pray for this effort, as the conflict between the 1990 supporters and the 1991 supporters has already reared its head.

All of this requires tremendous patience and discernment. We have to figure out if the ladies are called to Carmel in the first place.

Blessings,
Gemma

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  • 2 months later...

We are up to 19 discerners now.

One woman has offered her home (which is Spanish Mission in architecture) in Texas. I have outlined a live-in week schedule for them, and now they are discussing who will be able to attend.

One subject that has not been discussed is the possibility of extern sisters. Those feeling an attraction to Carmel, but feel they cannot deal with being cloistered, could possibly be externs.

Blessings,
Gemma

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Marie-Therese

I applied for membership in the group Gemma. :) I'm so excited!! This is truly a gift for those of us who don't meet the traditional criteria for entrance but who desperately long for a vocation. It would be a great gift to be able to have a like-minded group of women to discern with!!

btw my name is Peyton for when you evaluate my coming into the yahoo group. :)

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Saint Therese

I don't think the traditional concept of extern sisters includes those who "cannot deal with" being cloistered. I think if someone wasn't suited to the cloistered vocation they wouldn't be called to the community.

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[quote name='Saint Therese' post='1869177' date='May 17 2009, 01:42 AM']I don't think the traditional concept of extern sisters includes those who "cannot deal with" being cloistered. I think if someone wasn't suited to the cloistered vocation they wouldn't be called to the community.[/quote]

There have been plenty of cases where someone thought they had a cloistered vocation, but either they were told that they were externs, or discerned that they were to be externs. I'm almost quoting a Carmelite prioress when I said, "FEEL that they cannot deal with" being cloistered.

Blessings,
Gemma

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