Dominican Third Order?

[JReducation]

Brothers and Sisters,

I am writing here to ask for your prayers in my vocational discernment.

Here is the situation. Those who know my past on here know that I have been in formation with the Dominican Laity since last fall and that I had been looking into the Order for longer than that.

It is my belief that I am in a situation where the person that I am and the person which I would like to be are not exactly lining up. With regards to my personality, inclinations, etc. I am a pretty good for the Dominicans. However, for whatever reason, I find myself interested in Benedictine spirituality lately. It comes and goes, but each time it hits me a bit harder. The more I study the Church, the more I am drawn toward a more ancient spiritual approach (I have been reading the Church father and am interested in the Desert Fathers for some reason as well) and to be honest, I find myself not particularly thrilled with reading Aquinas, etc.

In my career, I am a university professor and spend my day analyzing things, asking questions, and debating issues. Not to mention teaching, writing, etc. When it comes to my faith, I admit that a simpler approach seems attractive at times. The bottom line is that I feel that I have the makings to be a pretty good Dominican but I am not 100% sure that it is the route that God is calling me to follow.

I have been praying over this issue for the past month or so and will continue to do so. I hope that some of you might consider me in your prayers from time to time as well. I also plan to speak to our chapter moderator and a friar I am friendly with. Depending on how that goes, I might consider speaking with someone at a local Benedictine abbey regarding their Oblate program, to get their thoughts on the matter.

Anyway, that pretty much sums it up.

Thanks for letting me vent and God Bless,

Jason

Jason:

There are a few points here that merit attention.

First:

There is nothing in the Dominican school that is in conflict with the Benedictine tradition. In fact, of all the mendicants, the most monastic are the Dominicans. Contemplation, silence and study is very much a part of their spirituality, which Dominic did not pull out of his sleeve. It was handed down to religious life through the Benedictines.

Second:

So you’re not looking forward to reading Aquinas. Who said that you have to read Aquinas? First, as Pope Benedict said, Aquinas is a genius, but he can be very boring. That’s why Pope Benedict put him down and picked up Augustine and Bonaventure. He said they were much warmer.

There is nothing that you can read in Catholicism that’s not going to have a sprinkling of Aquinas, without having to sit through the entire Summa. There are books that are compendiums of the Summa, which are very good. In our formation program we use one called The Concise Summa. It only has those parts of Aquinas that the Church actually incorporated into her theology and leaves out everything else. It’s a very easy read and quick interesting, because it does not use the question and answer format. I reads like a narrative. In other words, it has everything any Catholic needs to know from Aquinas. The rest of Aquinas is fine, but it’s more for scholars. The Church herself doesn’t use it.

Third:

The Dominican Third Order came out of the Franciscan Third Order. Originally, it was an order of penance, following the Rule of Penance that Francis had written for his third order. It eventually became known as the Dominican Order of Penance. Somewhere along the line, that name was lost. The point is that the essence to the vocation to the Dominican third order is not to scholarship, but to love by doing penance. We see this very clearly in the life of St.Catherine of Siena and Bl. Pierre Giorgio. These were people of great penance and charity. They did not spend their time on scholarship as much as they did in prayer and work.

Finally:

There is nothing wrong with being open to the Holy Spirit. By all means, visit a Benedictine house and inquire about the Oblate vocation.

I will be praying for you.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, FFV

 

[Kithrus]

Hold on a tick the Dominicans didn’t come out of the Franciscans at all… They were formed at the same time and the founders knew each other personally but it ends there.

 

[jwinch2]

Jason:

There are a few points here that merit attention.

First:

There is nothing in the Dominican school that is in conflict with the Benedictine tradition. In fact, of all the mendicants, the most monastic are the Dominicans. Contemplation, silence and study is very much a part of their spirituality, which Dominic did not pull out of his sleeve. It was handed down to religious life through the Benedictines.

Second:

So you’re not looking forward to reading Aquinas. Who said that you have to read Aquinas? First, as Pope Benedict said, Aquinas is a genius, but he can be very boring. That’s why Pope Benedict put him down and picked up Augustine and Bonaventure. He said they were much warmer.

There is nothing that you can read in Catholicism that’s not going to have a sprinkling of Aquinas, without having to sit through the entire Summa. There are books that are compendiums of the Summa, which are very good. In our formation program we use one called The Concise Summa. It only has those parts of Aquinas that the Church actually incorporated into her theology and leaves out everything else. It’s a very easy read and quick interesting, because it does not use the question and answer format. I reads like a narrative. In other words, it has everything any Catholic needs to know from Aquinas. The rest of Aquinas is fine, but it’s more for scholars. The Church herself doesn’t use it.

Third:

The Dominican Third Order came out of the Franciscan Third Order. Originally, it was an order of penance, following the Rule of Penance that Francis had written for his third order. It eventually became known as the Dominican Order of Penance. Somewhere along the line, that name was lost. The point is that the essence to the vocation to the Dominican third order is not to scholarship, but to love by doing penance. We see this very clearly in the life of St.Catherine of Siena and Bl. Pierre Giorgio. These were people of great penance and charity. They did not spend their time on scholarship as much as they did in prayer and work.

Finally:

There is nothing wrong with being open to the Holy Spirit. By all means, visit a Benedictine house and inquire about the Oblate vocation.

I will be praying for you.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, FFV

Thank you Brother, both for your words, and your prayers.

Peace,

 

[JReducation]

Hold on a tick the Dominicans didn’t come out of the Franciscans at all… They were formed at the same time and the founders knew each other personally but it ends there.

The Dominican nuns were founded first. The friars came second. The Dominican Third Order came out of the Franciscan Order of Penance.

It was a whole movement that Francis set into motion. There was no such thing as a secular order until Francis came along. Many of these people who wanted to follow the penitential movement joined Francis’ movement and within a few years they were erected as Dominican Penitents. They had contact with the Friar Preachers; but the Friar Preachers did not have a secular order, nor permission to found one. As these numbers grew, it became evident that there was room in the Church for a secular Dominican Order.

Actually, as history has it, the Dominicans improved on what Francis founded. What Francis founded was very simple by comparison.

curia.op.org/en/index.php/eng/about-us/history-a-more/history-of-the-laity

What Dominic founded was the Militia of Jesus, which popular piety called the Dominican Third Order, but it was not so. It was a different body.

The Order of Penance had been founded by St. Francis. There were two groups within them, those who felt affinity with the Franciscans and those who felt affinity with the Dominicans. Since they were not part of the Friars Minor, it made no difference to the Friars whether the individuals leaned more toward Dominic than Francis. They didn’t actually become part of the Dominican Order until 1285, long after the death of our Holy Father Dominic.

I should add that the Dominican nuns and the Dominican Friars flowed out of the Augustinian tradition. Dominic was an Augustinian. To this day, the Dominicans follow the Rule of St. Augustine. Dominic never thought of a third order, because there was no such thing in the Church until St. Francis. That’s the connection between the Lay Dominicans and Secular Franciscans. They were all one Order of Penance.

Hope this helps.

Fraternally,

Br.JR, FFV

 

[TrueLight]

Brothers and Sisters,

I am writing here to ask for your prayers in my vocational discernment.

Here is the situation. Those who know my past on here know that I have been in formation with the Dominican Laity since last fall and that I had been looking into the Order for longer than that.

It is my belief that I am in a situation where the person that I am and the person which I would like to be are not exactly lining up. With regards to my personality, inclinations, etc. I am a pretty good for the Dominicans. However, for whatever reason, I find myself interested in Benedictine spirituality lately. It comes and goes, but each time it hits me a bit harder. The more I study the Church, the more I am drawn toward a more ancient spiritual approach (I have been reading the Church father and am interested in the Desert Fathers for some reason as well) and to be honest, I find myself not particularly thrilled with reading Aquinas, etc.

In my career, I am a university professor and spend my day analyzing things, asking questions, and debating issues. Not to mention teaching, writing, etc. When it comes to my faith, I admit that a simpler approach seems attractive at times. The bottom line is that I feel that I have the makings to be a pretty good Dominican but I am not 100% sure that it is the route that God is calling me to follow.

I have been praying over this issue for the past month or so and will continue to do so. I hope that some of you might consider me in your prayers from time to time as well. I also plan to speak to our chapter moderator and a friar I am friendly with. Depending on how that goes, I might consider speaking with someone at a local Benedictine abbey regarding their Oblate program, to get their thoughts on the matter.

Anyway, that pretty much sums it up.

Thanks for letting me vent and God Bless,

Jason

Jason, you are most assuredly in my prayers.

Remember this time is indeed a time to discern and to be open to what God has in store for you.

You might also want to reach out to some of the Oblates on CAF, which you probably already have.

You have a great network of people praying for you, so be at peace.

 

[jwinch2]

You have a great network of people praying for you, so be at peace.

Thank you.

 

[soylatte3]

Brothers and Sisters,

I am writing here to ask for your prayers in my vocational discernment.

Here is the situation. Those who know my past on here know that I have been in formation with the Dominican Laity since last fall and that I had been looking into the Order for longer than that.

It is my belief that I am in a situation where the person that I am and the person which I would like to be are not exactly lining up. With regards to my personality, inclinations, etc. I am a pretty good for the Dominicans. However, for whatever reason, I find myself interested in Benedictine spirituality lately. It comes and goes, but each time it hits me a bit harder. The more I study the Church, the more I am drawn toward a more ancient spiritual approach (I have been reading the Church father and am interested in the Desert Fathers for some reason as well) and to be honest, I find myself not particularly thrilled with reading Aquinas, etc.

In my career, I am a university professor and spend my day analyzing things, asking questions, and debating issues. Not to mention teaching, writing, etc. When it comes to my faith, I admit that a simpler approach seems attractive at times. The bottom line is that I feel that I have the makings to be a pretty good Dominican but I am not 100% sure that it is the route that God is calling me to follow.

I have been praying over this issue for the past month or so and will continue to do so. I hope that some of you might consider me in your prayers from time to time as well. I also plan to speak to our chapter moderator and a friar I am friendly with. Depending on how that goes, I might consider speaking with someone at a local Benedictine abbey regarding their Oblate program, to get their thoughts on the matter.

Anyway, that pretty much sums it up.

Thanks for letting me vent and God Bless,

Jason

Hello Jason - prayers for you. I think not only should you consider speaking with someone from the local Benedictine Abbey but should speak to them and if you haven’t done so, go on a retreat with them etc, spend time with them.

I went on a Cistercian retreat (although not Benedictine per se, I’ve been told they came from Benedictines? ) to see if the Contemplative religious life is for me. While I am so grateful to have met a number of wonderful Cistericians and are good friends with a few, with prayer, I learned that I am interested in a prayer life with an active ministry. Which is why my journey will bring me to an active Dominican convent at the end of this month - to seek if I am called to be a relgious and if so - is it an active-contemplative calling.

I’ve been told by a wise Dominican Sister that the Israelites did not know that the Red Sea will part until they took their step towards it - she said it’s the same thing with this - it will be beneficial for you if you get in touch with a Benedictine and to spend time with them to find out what draws you to them or if you are a Benedictine at heart.

Regarding Third Order Dominicans if I may ask:

I inquired about the Third Order Dominican and I feel slighly discouraged because the person responded to me by saying " I don’t want you to join just because you want a sense of belonging…read this and that first and get back to me to see if this is what you want." I apologize if I may have taken this the wrong way. I explained to them I was schooled by the Dominicans from grammar school through the early years of college and I want to know more about it and that know about the lives of St. Catherine, Albert, Dominic , Aquinas etc, social teachings etc… but I guess I said the wrong thing… Is it really this challenging or did I just ask the wrong questions?

Thank you for your time.

 

[jwinch2]

Hello Jason - prayers for you. I think not only should you consider speaking with someone from the local Benedictine Abbey but should speak to them and if you haven’t done so, go on a retreat with them etc, spend time with them.

I went on a Cistercian retreat (although not Benedictine per se, I’ve been told they came from Benedictines? ) to see if the Contemplative religious life is for me. While I am so grateful to have met a number of wonderful Cistericians and are good friends with a few, with prayer, I learned that I am interested in a prayer life with an active ministry. Which is why my journey will bring me to an active Dominican convent at the end of this month - to seek if I am called to be a relgious and if so - is it an active-contemplative calling.

I’ve been told by a wise Dominican Sister that the Israelites did not know that the Red Sea will part until they took their step towards it - she said it’s the same thing with this - it will be beneficial for you if you get in touch with a Benedictine and to spend time with them to find out what draws you to them or if you are a Benedictine at heart.

Regarding Third Order Dominicans if I may ask:

I inquired about the Third Order Dominican and I feel slighly discouraged because the person responded to me by saying " I don’t want you to join just because you want a sense of belonging…read this and that first and get back to me to see if this is what you want." I apologize if I may have taken this the wrong way. I explained to them I was schooled by the Dominicans from grammar school through the early years of college and I want to know more about it and that know about the lives of St. Catherine, Albert, Dominic , Aquinas etc, social teachings etc… but I guess I said the wrong thing… Is it really this challenging or did I just ask the wrong questions?

Thank you for your time.

First, thank you for your prayers and words. Secondly, I don’t think you were out of line in your statements at all. Dominicans tend to be pretty straight forward, sometimes to the point of bluntness, which might explain the initial response you received and the manner in which you replied.

Peace,

 

[jwinch2]

Well, 24 hours later and I am still praying hard about this. I have decided to contact the Abbot who is the contact for persons interested in being an Oblate at a monastery which is a 2-3 hours away from where I live. We’ll what sort of response I get.

Also, as a follow-up to my first post on this subject yesterday I thought some clarification might be in order.

It is not just Aquinas that I am concerned about, though I do find him tedious, it is the concern that I am following a normal pattern in my life and over-intellectualizing things. As a professor and researcher, that is what I do on a daily basis in my career and I find myself doing it more and more in my spiritual life. I understand why friars, sisters, etc. need to be that way so that they can be of service to others, but I fear that I am focusing on that to the detriment of my own spiritual development. Along with my tendency to over analyze comes a tendency towards pride in my education and knowledge. This has been a problem for me throughout my whole life.

This leads me into my next concern. I have read at least 10 books and dozens of articles now about Dominican spirituality written by saints, masters of the order, etc. and I honestly cannot tell you what Dominican spirituality is. Thankfully, I am not alone in this. Several Dominican writers, including many of those same saints, masters of the order, etc. have remarked that Dominican spirituality has not really been defined or pinned down. The best I can discern is that through study, prayer, and contemplation you will come to find your own spiritual path. However, since this is my own conclusion I could easily be misinterpreting things. Unfortunately, our chapter does not have an assigned promoter so there isn’t a designated friar or sister I can ask about it in our regular meetings. I could of course ask a friar that I am friendly with but I hate to bug him every time I have a question about something like this.

For some time, I have been interested in more ancient forms of spirituality which cross over between east and west, and reading about the Church fathers has kindled that interest. I first started looking into Benedictine spirituality a bit last Christmas. While I was home for the holidays, my wife and I attended mass at a parish staffed by a Benedictine monk. The simplicity, beauty, and reverence of his spiritual approach hit me like a brick upside the head. Knowing full well my own problems with humility, obedience, simplicity, etc. it was almost like I was being shown everything that I am not as a Christian. Since then, I have been interested but then been drawn back to the O.P., then become interested again, then back to the O.P.,… rinse and repeat. Looking back to my initial interest in the Dominican Laity, it is hard for me to tell if I was guided here by the Holy Spirit or if, when I found out I might be moving to my current location, I gravitated that way because I was looking for something more, and it was here. That is actually pretty difficult for me to say, but it is also honest.

In addition to sending the info request to the Abbot I mentioned above, I am planning to have a sit down with our chapter moderator and also to speak to a friar I know who teaches a class my wife and I are attending in our diocese. Hopefully, following those discussions and with continued prayer things will become a bit more clear.

I would assume that I am hardly alone in this and that many people go through times where they are unsure about what direction they are being called. Frankly, the situation I find myself in now follows a pattern of experience that I have been through many times. I tend to dive into something and then a bit down the road I start to question the situation. With that in mind, it is hard to discern whether what I am sensing is the prompting of the Holy Spirit or just my normal pattern of wishy-washy behavior.

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I appreciate it greatly.

Peace of Christ,

 

[JReducation]

Well, 24 hours later and I am still praying hard about this. I have decided to contact the Abbot who is the contact for persons interested in being an Oblate at a monastery which is a 2-3 hours away from where I live. We’ll what sort of response I get.

Also, as a follow-up to my first post on this subject yesterday I thought some clarification might be in order.

It is not just Aquinas that I am concerned about, though I do find him tedious, it is the concern that I am following a normal pattern in my life and over-intellectualizing things. As a professor and researcher, that is what I do on a daily basis in my career and I find myself doing it more and more in my spiritual life. I understand why friars, sisters, etc. need to be that way so that they can be of service to others, but I fear that I am focusing on that to the detriment of my own spiritual development. Along with my tendency to over analyze comes a tendency towards pride in my education and knowledge. This has been a problem for me throughout my whole life.

This leads me into my next concern. I have read at least 10 books and dozens of articles now about Dominican spirituality written by saints, masters of the order, etc. and I honestly cannot tell you what Dominican spirituality is. Thankfully, I am not alone in this. Several Dominican writers, including many of those same saints, masters of the order, etc. have remarked that Dominican spirituality has not really been defined or pinned down. The best I can discern is that through study, prayer, and contemplation you will come to find your own spiritual path. However, since this is my own conclusion I could easily be misinterpreting things. Unfortunately, our chapter does not have an assigned promoter so there isn’t a designated friar or sister I can ask about it in our regular meetings. I could of course ask a friar that I am friendly with but I hate to bug him every time I have a question about something like this.

For some time, I have been interested in more ancient forms of spirituality which cross over between east and west, and reading about the Church fathers has kindled that interest. I first started looking into Benedictine spirituality a bit last Christmas. While I was home for the holidays, my wife and I attended mass at a parish staffed by a Benedictine monk. The simplicity, beauty, and reverence of his spiritual approach hit me like a brick upside the head. Knowing full well my own problems with humility, obedience, simplicity, etc. it was almost like I was being shown everything that I am not as a Christian. Since then, I have been interested but then been drawn back to the O.P., then become interested again, then back to the O.P.,… rinse and repeat. Looking back to my initial interest in the Dominican Laity, it is hard for me to tell if I was guided here by the Holy Spirit or if, when I found out I might be moving to my current location, I gravitated that way because I was looking for something more, and it was here. That is actually pretty difficult for me to say, but it is also honest.

In addition to sending the info request to the Abbot I mentioned above, I am planning to have a sit down with our chapter moderator and also to speak to a friar I know who teaches a class my wife and I are attending in our diocese. Hopefully, following those discussions and with continued prayer things will become a bit more clear.

I would assume that I am hardly alone in this and that many people go through times where they are unsure about what direction they are being called. Frankly, the situation I find myself in now follows a pattern of experience that I have been through many times. I tend to dive into something and then a bit down the road I start to question the situation. With that in mind, it is hard to discern whether what I am sensing is the prompting of the Holy Spirit or just my normal pattern of wishy-washy behavior.

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I appreciate it greatly.

Peace of Christ,

Let me give you some Jesuit advice. I know, a Franciscan giving Jesuit advice is like an Evangelical praying the rosary, but it happens.

St. Ignatius said that the journey to holiness is one of constant discernment. However, that discernment is often affected by spirits, good and evil ones. The good ones make you feel uncomfortable when you’re heading down the wrong path. The evil ones make you uncomfortable when you’re going down the right path.

The secret to discerning which spirit is acting in your life right not is not to keep what is happening a secret. Ignatius tells us that the enemy loves it when we do not talk to people about our discernment process, because he can work undetected.

By all means find a friar and a monk and discern what spirit is guiding you. Once you know that, the rest is up to you.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, FFV

 

[jwinch2]

JReducation:

Let me give you some Jesuit advice. I know, a Franciscan giving Jesuit advice is like an Evangelical praying the rosary, but it happens.

Hilarious!

JReducation:

St. Ignatius said that the journey to holiness is one of constant discernment. However, that discernment is often affected by spirits, good and evil ones. The good ones make you feel uncomfortable when you’re heading down the wrong path. The evil ones make you uncomfortable when you’re going down the right path.

Thanks. I’m not sure I can determine which is which at this stage of my spiritual development and faith.

JReducation:

The secret to discerning which spirit is acting in your life right not is not to keep what is happening a secret. Ignatius tells us that the enemy loves it when we do not talk to people about our discernment process, because he can work undetected.

Thanks for that. I had been a bit afraid of speaking on it for a few months now in the fear that I would be letting others down, hurting their feelings, etc. I know that is not the right approach and frankly, that is the whole point of having an inquiry phase of formation. Regardless, I am glad I decided to mention it and solicit advice.

JReducation:

By all means find a friar and a monk and discern what spirit is guiding you. Once you know that, the rest is up to you.

So a monk and a friar walk into a bar…

Just kidding. I will definitely do that. Thanks again.

 

[Captain_America]

I think you’re doing fine. Either one is a good thing to do, and it’s possible that you need to track some time in one to really know whether it’s the deal for you, or if Option B’s the way to go. Take the temporary profession and see.

Jeez, Jason: I LIKE Aquinas! ((I can appreciate the over-think concern, though)).

 

[jwinch2]

I think you’re doing fine. Either one is a good thing to do, and it’s possible that you need to track some time in one to really know whether it’s the deal for you, or if Option B’s the way to go. Take the temporary profession and see.

Jeez, Jason: I LIKE Aquinas! ((I can appreciate the over-think concern, though)).

Thanks. Luckily, I am about 6 months away from even a temporary profession which would move me from the inquiry phase to the novitiate so I have time.

Peace of Christ,

 

[iloveangels]

Thanks. Luckily, I am about 6 months away from even a temporary profession which would move me from the inquiry phase to the novitiate so I have time.

Peace of Christ,

Jason, I think you’re being very wise about making sure you have the correct order before you take promises. This is very important.

In the SFO, we sometimes see candidates who feel very much at home because the popular image of the order seems to fit their lives as already lived and imagined–political activism, ecology, animals and all that. Sometimes we even see people who think they have to quit their jobs and be social workers and so on. But no. All of that is missing the point entirely. The Franciscan order is really about living the Gospel in a very direct manner and it’s about emptying oneself in the presence of God through Francis’ example of living the Gospel. Period. Yes, it produces a witness which is what the outsider sees, and it’s even a certain sort of witness, but that’s merely the consequences of what the order is really about.

I say this because it sounds like, in a way, you’re saying something like this about your experience with the Dominicans, the learning and all that matching your natural interests and so on. It may be a fit and it may not, but the real fit is undoubtedly deeper than the consequences or the work at hand.

A person’s career doesn’t always seem to line up with their vocation in the way many people expect. It’s very important to pray and seek some guidance from someone willing to listen to you, able to guide you on your vocational path, but not tell you what you should do. You need to hear yourself say it when it comes to you what God is telling you.

Also remember that the trip there is as important as the destination, okay? God is leading you.

God bless. I’ll be praying for you too.

 

[iloveangels]

PS. Jason, are there time limits on the formation stages for the Lay Dominicans? I know some third orders have them and some are more diligent about them than we generally are in the SFO.

Giving it time may also help, if it turns out that you hear what God is telling you, and it’s still the Lay Dominicans.

I know with my own vocation, I’m denser than you are, and it took a long time for me to understand what it was about adequately, even though I had already arrived physically some time earlier. I’m still working on it.

You can probably, as Br. JR says, be talking to both orders in depth at the same time, with both of them knowing what’s going on. That should help a lot.

 

[TrueLight]

I learned that I am interested in a prayer life with an active ministry.

Me too! I was also discerning the Carmelites which I love but I realized I needed a more active lay order.

I inquired about the Third Order Dominican and I feel slighly discouraged because the person responded to me by saying " I don’t want you to join just because you want a sense of belonging…

I had a similar situation. When I first a parishioner about the lay Dominicans I was first put off as well, as if I wasn’t serious. That was very upsetting to me. There may have been many reasons for that including the fact t hat I was a new convert. The parishioner repented a few minutes later after seeing how my face crumbled and gave me the information.

 

[TrueLight]

A person’s career doesn’t always seem to line up with their vocation in the way many people expect. It’s very important to pray

 

[jwinch2]

PS. Jason, are there time limits on the formation stages for the Lay Dominicans?

I believe one can ask to extend the inquiry phase and once you have gone through temporary profession, one can ask to extend a bit before making final professions. At this point, it isn’t too much of a concern as I have quite a bit of time before even moving from inquiry to the novitiate.

Peace,

 

[Luigi_Daniele]

I can only speak for my monastery, but they are such very holy men.
Things I love about “my” Benedictines:

1. Completely orthodox and in full communion with the Church
2. A stress on the Divine Office. We pray a Liturgy of the Hours PLUS, if you will. It has an extra Psalm (“stolen” from one of the day hours, usually) and a much longer Scripture reading. Took me a bit to get used to (I have been praying the “regular” LotH for almost 15 years), but I am now in love with this version.
3. Lectio Divina: getting my feet wet, but I can (at least some time) hear the Lord “speaking” to me (I don’t mean that I actually hear Him, or even that I am aware of words–I’d call it a gentle push in a certain direction upon reading scripture).
4. Our monk (in his early 80’s) travels 4 hours both ways to be with us a couple of times a year.
5. We visit the monastery 1-2 times yearly. Their Mass is** so** holy. I absolutely love it.
6. I correspond with the our Director fairly regularly. I honestly consider him my friend.

A note: I find that the Devil (I am pretty sure it’s him) really pours on the attacks of doubt as you near Profession. Pray and ask someone who’s advice you value (or even more than one person) to help you. Sometimes they know you better than you do.
Definitely bring your doubts to Our Lord Jesus in Adoration. He helped me.

 

[Captain_America]

iloveangels:

Interesting what you say about people being drawn to Franciscans because they like animals!

I had never imagined that possibility, but it makes some kind of sense!

. . . and by the way, how MANY different kinds of Franciscans are there?

THIS time of year, I’m looking at the yard and thinking it would be nice to put in a Dominic garden statue, but Francis totally OWNS that deal! So it goes.