I'm writing a Catholic novel, and I need information on convent life?

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I feel the Lord is calling me to be a Catholic writer, to spread his message through writing.

I’m writing a novel for teen girls about vocations. I need some information about convent life.

Can someone help me out, by giving me some refrences?

Thank you!
 
jeanne71350 said:
I feel the Lord is calling me to be a Catholic writer, to spread his message through writing.

I’m writing a novel for teen girls about vocations. I need some information about convent life.

Can someone help me out, by giving me some refrences?

Thank you!
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Writer’s Digest Book Club would have books available about how to write for teenagers. First and foremost, read books written for teens to see what kind of language is being used.

Which kind of convent life are you talking about–cloistered or apostolic?

And one big bugaboo–are you writing about established charisms (Benedictines, Carmelites, etc.) or does the convent in your book have a totally unique charism? If so, you’d have to really relax and let the Holy Ghost tell you what the main points are.

Don’t force anything. Are the characters moving on their own? If so, ‘watch the movie and take notes.’ If not, do more praying before sitting down with it. Use yellow paper instead of white. If you’re using the computer, print out your rough drafts on yellow paper.

“Amata Means Beloved” by Sr. Mary Catharine, OP, is about the (modern day) Dominican cloistered life. There are several other books on Amazon which deal with modern day cloistered life.

Apostolic life–humm, that’d take a bit more work to find.

I have a few works-in-progress myself which deal with the same thing. One–a murder mystery–has an active order from which a cloistered order was founded to be their prayer support in their mission. The victim is an archivist for the apostolic convent.

Please feel free to PM me or email me directly at foundress2003@yahoo.com

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
Why not go visit one for a retreat to find out? Then you’ll get a real feel for it.

Try to get an authentic traditional one that practices silence so you get the real feel for it.
 
Shin said:
Why not go visit one for a retreat to find out? Then you’ll get a real feel for it.

Try to get an authentic traditional one that practices silence so you get the real feel for it.
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That was my other suggestion, too, but I ran out of time.

Thanks, Shin.

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
St. Teresa of Avila’s books are available for free online and she describes convent life in her autobiography. 🙂

Monastic life for men is not very different, so a movie like ‘IL GRANDE SILENZIO’ could help a lot. I wonder if Netflix has it?

Hmm… now that I think of it there was a movie or mini series of movies with St. Teresa of Avila too on EWTN once, some oldies. Never did find that one again, would like to.

Oh yes and here’s a book on how to discern if you have a vocation:

archive.org/details/statesofthechris00bertuoft
 
There are tons of online groups that discuss religious life, vocations and the like. You can send me a private message and I will give you some links with comments. Also, there are blogs.

Good luck, God bless!
 
Hi Jeanne,

If you can get hold of it, I’d recommend the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) documentary “The Abbey,” in which five non-Catholic women live with the nuns of Jambaroo Abbey, New South Wales, for three months. Otherwise, there’s some great stuff on YouTube:

For cloistered orders:

au.youtube.com/watch?v=QbWPoDYTfBc
au.youtube.com/watch?v=RXXFSgPj9Bc&feature=related

And for apostolic sisters (the first two are for the Daughters of Saint Paul, the second two for the Nashville Dominicans):

au.youtube.com/watch?v=87hGrdU9bA0&feature=channel_page
au.youtube.com/watch?v=SXxG1RDcOcU
au.youtube.com/watch?v=4BxHskcd7_Q
au.youtube.com/watch?v=SHtTcPSYVhE

From each of these videos, there are dozens more links showing clips from other orders. I hope this helps!

And just a heads-up on what NOT to read: anything with the name Maria Monk, Charlotte Wells/Keckler, Rebecca Reed, Edith O’Gorman or Barbara Urbryk on it. (I didn’t know these kinds of stories existed until a week ago, but now I’m running into them everywhere, surprisingly often by people who believe them: basically, they all tell the “true” story of a young woman manipulated into entering a convent by her sinister confessor, and who is then subjected to torture by her superiors and rape by priests and finally makes a dramatic escape.) So, well, just be aware that not all stories of convent life are equally reliable!
 
I would agree with some of the others that, once you have an idea of what kind of religious community you are going to write about, that you go and visit them. See if you can stay with them for several days and ask if there is a Sister there that you contact with questions later.
 
I very much agree with the others saying to go to retreats. There you will be able to find out so much more than you would by reading a book, something on the internet, etc. You can even let the sisters/nuns know about your idea and i’m sure most would be very willing to help and give you tons of information on their way of life, and by going to visit you’ll be able to experience the life and not just hear about it. I found this great website today about retreat information from all different kinds of communities. Here is the site if you would like to check it out sometime: vocationsplacement.org/FindRetreatLocations.asp

Good luck with everything, i’ll keep you in my prayers. May God bless you always with love and happiness as you live the beautiful Will He has planned for you.

Your sister in Christ,
Moriah
 
Check out the website passionistnuns.org/ , which belongs to one of my favorite women’s religious communities, the Passionist Nuns in Whitesville, Kentucky.

They have vocation stories, a blog, information on religious life, etc.
 
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