Cloistered life

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Hello.

I am wondering what peoples opinions are on entering cloistered life. Do you think theres a good age too? Do you think “the younger the better” or "have life experience first’? Two communities I have contacted give me these two conflicting ideas!
Its confusing me because all I want to do is what God wants of me, I just don’t know where. I don’t want to just do what I want.

I am majorly looking at two totally different orders! Dominican nuns and Poor Clares.

Also, how would I tell whether or not a convent or monastery is not faithful to the Magistreium, like the Pope? I am relatively conservative, and I like the habit…I love Adoration and I really like the Rosary…

Thanks though! 👍
 
I have a VERY high opinion of the cloistered life.

In my community we have the Monastery of Poor Clares. They are cloistered and live the most amazing austere life. Once there was an article in the newpaper about their day and it is something so devout, you think of the Catholic Saints. Things like getting up at midnight for prayers and up a few hours later for more prayers and Mass at 7:00 (which is open to the public and I attend as often as I can). They are hidden but when you go up to Communion, you can see them out of the corner of your eye.

They grow flowers in the yard and the Church is the most beautifully decorated I have ever seen. Such love for Christ. They have the most realistic Crucifix of Jesus up behind the altar that I am in awe.

The sweet voices of the nuns are heard as they sing during the Mass. They Chapel is always open and as you pray you can hear the nuns singing in practice in the distance of the Monastery.

You can go to the door and speak with the nun who is assigned to welcome visitors. They all know me because I bring them vegtables or fruits or ask them to pray for certain intentions. They are so kind and gentle and remember you by name.

They pray for our Community. Sometimes, when I’ m depressed with the world and my problems, I think of them and dream of joining them.🙂
 
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poppiedancer:
Hello.

I am wondering what peoples opinions are on entering cloistered life. Do you think theres a good age too? Do you think “the younger the better” or "have life experience first’? Two communities I have contacted give me these two conflicting ideas!
QUOTE]

Hello, Poppiedancer!
It’s great that a young person is thinking of the cloistered life in this day and age!
I hope you won’t entirely dismiss my opinion for the fact that I am someone who lived the cloistered life for a few years but had to leave for health reasons (not dismissed - I knew I had to go). I needn’t go into details, but I did love the life, so I’m not negative about it.
Just about the matter of “younger the better” - this depends very much on the maturity of the person.
I personally think some prior life experience is usually very important today, because a day is sure to come down the track when the “romanticism” of living such a life has vanished and you can start to think of what you might have missed out on. In the days of, say, St Therese, entering Carmel in her teens, there was not a lot of choice for a woman, outside of marriage, but today, women can do anything!.
It can happen (and this is a common experience for a cloistered religious in her thirties, let me tell you!) that your “biological clock” can start to tick very loudly, and even if you have never wanted marriage and children, you can experience quite a struggle. So just think carefully about that, and the fact that the life IS hard, physically and above all psychologically. In my few years in Carmel, I saw several come and almost all go, and usually it was after a good deal of stress and near breakdown.
Anyone who is not psychologically pretty healthy would be well advised not to enter the cloistered life, in my opinion. Of course, God’s grace can do all things, and I’m sure some of the saints can be shown as examples of this.
But the best thing I can advise is to get to know the community as well as possible over a period of time, and of course think and pray about it for some time. A sensible community will test you by making you wait, they will endeavour to get to know you very well, and/or they may allow you to live in for a trial period (I’m not talking about postulancy, but as an “aspirant”) In this way you needn’t “burn your boats” so to speak - you can perhaps get time off from your job without quitting, etc.
Looking in from the outside, whether as someone wishing to join, or as just an observer, is totally different from living the life in reality. Beware romanticising it!🙂
If I can answer any questions you may have, I’m happy to try!

God bless you, and be assured of my prayers!
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poppiedancer:
Hello.

I am wondering what peoples opinions are on entering cloistered life. Do you think theres a good age too? Do you think “the younger the better” or "have life experience first’? Two communities I have contacted give me these two conflicting ideas!
Its confusing me because all I want to do is what God wants of me, I just don’t know where. I don’t want to just do what I want.

I am majorly looking at two totally different orders! Dominican nuns and Poor Clares.

Also, how would I tell whether or not a convent or monastery is not faithful to the Magistreium, like the Pope? I am relatively conservative, and I like the habit…I love Adoration and I really like the Rosary…

Thanks though! 👍
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What does your spiritual advisor counsel?

Although I have no reason for saying this, I lean toward “the younger the better” – depending on the life. Know that you will wake up one day and think to yourself: “Dear God, what have I done?” That’s just part of the vocational battle. Monks/nuns sometimes mourn the life they never had, dreaming of achievements and experiences they “gave up,” when in fact, they never had them, and did not have the talent for them, and never would have had them in the world! But secular people do that too. They mourn at age 55: “Oh! I should have been a Poor Clare!”

If you embark upon a way of life that is seriously different from secular life, I believe it is important to do it while you are still “formable” – before you have become hardened and set in your own way of doing things.

Most communities have a cutoff age that will tell you what you need to know about that community.

My :twocents:
 
Well, you see one order wants me to wait…preferably at least til the end of next year at the earliest! (only year of out high school)
Whereas the other wants me to enter as soon as I leave school! That is…Jan 06! It makes it harder even still because the orders are on the other side of the world…and they are cloistered, so my family may have issues…

Thanks though!
 
I always “knew” I wanted to be a wife and mother, but when I considered becoming a nun, I always imagined a cloistered life. I still do - you know - on those high stress days when the dog is barking and phone is ringing and dinner is burning and bees are stinging the cloistered life sounds h-e-a-v-e-n-l-y!! 😃

Seriously, I always imagined it as being a peaceful, stress-free way of life but I’m also accused of being an idealist. That notwithstanding, it’s the avenue I would be most attracted to if considering a religious vocation.

How old was St. Teresa when she entered the convent?
 
Ok, this is meant as humor and not to denigrate religious life in any way.👍
As a stay at home mom I feel like I lead a cloistered --or mabye an exturn’s life. 😉

I am at home, at church, Eucharistic Adoration, the kid’s school (Queen of Angels) or the grocery store. Life in the fast lane, eh?

This summer, I am living large and taking the kids to the pool almost daily and getting them swimming lessons. I get to meet a friend who is a devout Catholic mom and wife and we deal with the kids and try to support each other. We giggle about being in public and sitting down – not pushing a grocery cart or doing something “productive”.

I do work one week out the year at a wholesale nursery that opens to the public for said week. I like to say, “I don’t really work here, they just let me out once a year for this sale.” I like how it makes me sound like a lunatic --if they only knew what a fool for Christ I am, they might get worried.

I commend all of you for your deep love of Our Lord and litstening for His Call. May our Blesssed Mother lead all of us ever closer to her Blessed Son.
 
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Mamamull:
Ok, this is meant as humor and not to denigrate religious life in any way.👍
As a stay at home mom I feel like I lead a cloistered --or mabye an exturn’s life. 😉

I am at home, at church, Eucharistic Adoration, the kid’s school (Queen of Angels) or the grocery store. Life in the fast lane, eh?

This summer, I am living large and taking the kids to the pool almost daily and getting them swimming lessons. I get to meet a friend who is a devout Catholic mom and wife and we deal with the kids and try to support each other. We giggle about being in public and sitting down – not pushing a grocery cart or doing something “productive”.

I do work one week out the year at a wholesale nursery that opens to the public for said week. I like to say, “I don’t really work here, they just let me out once a year for this sale.” I like how it makes me sound like a lunatic --if they only knew what a fool for Christ I am, they might get worried.

I commend all of you for your deep love of Our Lord and litstening for His Call. May our Blesssed Mother lead all of us ever closer to her Blessed Son.
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Mamamull, we lead virtually identical lives except for the fact that I very recently started a part time job, but, guess what? I work from home!!! 😃 👍
 
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