Cloistered Monks?

[justemailme]

Based on my personal experience there are lot of misunderstanding
of what the purpose of Cloistered Orders in the Church even among
the faithful Catholics.

Even some priest I know does not understand the meaning of
contemplative life. How sad?

What is your experience of this?

I created this site to present both the active and contemplative life:
catholicreligiousvocation.blogspot.com

Your brother in Christ,

Noel
P.S. please include me in your prayers as I enter the cloistered life…

 

[ThomasEugene]

I would like to first tell how I understand the contemplative life. I was reading a book about the Mater Ecclesia Monatsery in Vatican and I am so amazed with their words. “I** offer my life.”** I felt so inspired with those words! I understand that it is the life that is consecrated, not the lifestyle. It’s the life that is offered, not the lifestyle. The lifestyle is the very good “tool” in “exercising” consecration (sorry I cannot find right words for tool and exercising!)

Have I met some misunderstanding? Yes. People just cannot understand why do they have to stay inside only. I try to explain that it is their calling and in fact, a very beautiful calling. They still cannot understand.

A nun told me that they have vocation discerners who misunderstood contemplative vocation. She told me that once a discerner was expecting them to stay at the chapel all the time! The discerner was expecting them to pray all day (what she means is the prayer with the kneeling). Yes, the nun told us, that they pray all day but at different ways.Thus they pray unceasingly (1 Thes 5:17)!

Another story told by the nun is one of the discerners told them that she’s entering the monastery because she promised Him that she’ll be cloistered after accomplishing something (i think an exam). It was very hard for the discerner to live the contemplative life, and the nun told her, “You do not come because you promised, you come because God called you.” And the discerner left the monastery very happy. Yes, John 15:16 is very applicable here.