Is there any kind of Carthusian vocation for secular laity?

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I feel really drawn to the Carthusians’ spirituality and way of life, but am also in the process of discerning whether I might be called to married life.

Is there any kind of lay association that draws on the life and rule of St Bruno for spiritual nourishment? I know the Benedictines have Oblates and the Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and most other orders, have 3rd orders, but I’ve never heard of anything similar related to the Carthusians.

I have introduced a few Carthusian touches to my own spiritual life, such as spending time in silence, praying the office in front of a private oratory in my room (with space to sit and kneel, as the Carthusians have in their cells) and kneeling to pray an Ave Maria in my front porch before coming in or going out. None of that makes me ready to become a Carthusian brother, in fact, I think I’d go crazy with that much solitude. All the same, it would be good to have a group in which to discuss how to implement the spirit of St Bruno’s rule in the secular world.

Does such a group exist?
 
DL82 said:
I feel really drawn to the Carthusians’ spirituality and way of life, but am also in the process of discerning whether I might be called to married life.

Is there any kind of lay association that draws on the life and rule of St Bruno for spiritual nourishment? I know the Benedictines have Oblates and the Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and most other orders, have 3rd orders, but I’ve never heard of anything similar related to the Carthusians.

I have introduced a few Carthusian touches to my own spiritual life, such as spending time in silence, praying the office in front of a private oratory in my room (with space to sit and kneel, as the Carthusians have in their cells) and kneeling to pray an Ave Maria in my front porch before coming in or going out. None of that makes me ready to become a Carthusian brother, in fact, I think I’d go crazy with that much solitude. All the same, it would be good to have a group in which to discuss how to implement the spirit of St Bruno’s rule in the secular world.

Does such a group exist?
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Before I give you the links I found, I want to note one thing:

If you decide to become a religious, but have already taken vows with a secular order, you have to be dispensed from the laity vows before entering the religious order that you choose. It can be very hard to be dispensed from the vows especially since they request that you discern very hard that the secular or religious order is what God is calling you to and this is not just a stepping stone.

That said, I found only one link:

laycarthusians.homestead.com/

The Carthusians, as you may or may not know, are found mostly in Europe. You may have to get in touch with one of the Carthusian orders there and find out if there is anything else.

I think that you should really talk to your spiritual director before you take this leap. If I were you, I would consider waiting, especially since you are not sure if you are called to marriage or religious life. But that’s just my humble opinion. God bless! :crossrc:
 
Check out the movie “Into Great Silence” by a German filmmaker who was allowed access into the Carthusian monastery in the French Alps. He took only one camera and uses only the sounds picked up by it- so it is almost like a silent film.

It is interesting to see their way of life.
 
There is a Charter House in Vermont. You may want to look it up and ask them.

Because the Carthusians are a branch of the Benedictines, they may not have an order for secular men and women. But they may have Oblates as do the other Benedictine orders.

There is a difference between a secular religious and an oblate. Members of Secular Orders (Franciscan, Dominicans, Carmelites, Missionaries of Charity, for example) do make a solemn profession for life. They are not associations or societies. They are real orders with a rule and constitutions. They have canonical superiors and canonical status in the Church.

The old language of Third Order was dropped because many people believed that these orders were third in rank within their religious families. Such was not the case. The first secular order was the Franciscans. They became friars 11 years after their foundation. Later, Francis and Clare founded the Poor Sisters of Assisi. Afterward, other penitents asked to join the family of Francis and Clare. Francis rewrote the first rule that he had just for them. They came to be known as the Third Order, because they were third in chronological order. But they were never a society or association. They have always been a real order known as the Brothers and Sisters of Penance. In 1978, Pope Paul VI renamed them the Secular Franciscan Order.

The same is true of the Secular Dominicans, Secular Caremelites and Lay Missionaries of Charity.

One cannot join any order without a dispensation from the one to which you already belong. Dispensations are difficult to get, unless you’re moving within the same religious family. Even there, one Superior has to accept you and the other Superior has to agree to let you go.

I don’t know if this works the same way in the Benedictine family, because every Benedictine abbey is autonomous. Canonically, the Benedictine Order is not one order.

The Carthusians are part of this family. St. Bruno did not actually write a new rule for them. He took the Rule of St. Benedict and added statutes by which the Carthusians live. But every Charter House is autonomous once it becomes an abbey.

In the tradition of the Benedictines, the Oblates are attached to an abbey, not to an international order. You may have to attach yourself to the Carthusian abbey or your choice.

The Carthusian spirit is a beautiful spirit and can be lived outside of a Charter House, but I’m not sure to what extent, since their life is shaped by the Liturgy of the Hours, silence, solitude and physical detachment from the world.

God bless you and good luck to you.

Brother JR 🙂
 
In the interest of setting the record straight, the Carthusians are not (and have never been) part of the Benedictine family. St. Bruno wrote no rule, but the customs of the first Carthusians were written down by Guigo, the fifth Prior of the Grande Chartreuse. This became the Carthusian Statutes (i.e., their rule).
 
basenji said:
Close to the Carthusians, you may wish to consider the Camaldolese Oblates too:
camaldolese.com/

Peace
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That is a wonderful opportunity for oblature I was unaware of. One of the many things I appreciate about the Roman Catholic Church is the variety of religious expression in terms of orders and charisms.

*Not sure if I like one of this orders retreats. Looks a little new ageish (blending Eastern religious practices with wester). I think Merton tried that but you certainly should be careful.

Cyprian Consiglio has built a practice and program that integrates the study of and techniques from the East— notably Hinduism and Buddhism—with the wisdom of Eastern and Western Christianity for an experience aimed at the whole person—spirit, soul and body. As Bede Griffiths taught the need to integrate all three of these aspects of the person at all times— what Ken Wilber would later call “integral spirituality”—the days will include yoga, meditation, music and chanting, sacred reading, teaching, prayer and discussion. camaldolese.com/news.htm
 
RevDrNorth said:
That is a wonderful opportunity for oblature I was unaware of. One of the many things I appreciate about the Roman Catholic Church is the variety of religious expression in terms of orders and charisms.

*Not sure if I like one of this orders retreats. Looks a little new ageish (blending Eastern religious practices with wester). I think Merton tried that but you certainly should be careful.

Cyprian Consiglio has built a practice and program that integrates the study of and techniques from the East— notably Hinduism and Buddhism—with the wisdom of Eastern and Western Christianity for an experience aimed at the whole person—spirit, soul and body. As Bede Griffiths taught the need to integrate all three of these aspects of the person at all times— what Ken Wilber would later call “integral spirituality”—the days will include yoga, meditation, music and chanting, sacred reading, teaching, prayer and discussion. camaldolese.com/news.htm
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Eeep! I didn’t see that. :o
 
Dear Friends,

I believe there is such vocation although it might not be structured/institutionalised. I am 16 years married with 2 kids (14 and 10), public servant and a member of a Secular Franciscan Order together with my wife. I got more explicitly interested in Carthusians in 2002. At that time we didn’t have SFO community and then we went through some difficult time with my wife. Each of us experienced solitude, misunderstanding of others, silence in the sense of not knowing where to go what to do, feelings of allienation, lack of resources. I also hobby paint and if I had to picture it it would be either a pitch black or a blank white painting. As a Secular Franciscan I am called to deeper prayer and I am glad I found Carthusians on this way as it helped me to glimpse something of contemplation. With my wife we joke that we are a hermit/contemplative fraction of SFO (mind you we are a normal family going about our life). I would really like to be part of some formal Carthusian structure but it should only be a means of deepening the faith. I don’t believe God wants people change their religious belonging but certainly wants us to learn from each other in coming closer to him. I don’t think a secular Carthusian order is necessary. It is a wonderful spirituality and should not be diluted in any way. You can live it to some extent and I mostly admire those who live it in full - they are living a life as it should be. That’s our story.

Milos
 
You might visit the web site Quies - quies.org
DL82 said:
I feel really drawn to the Carthusians’ spirituality and way of life, but am also in the process of discerning whether I might be called to married life.

Is there any kind of lay association that draws on the life and rule of St Bruno for spiritual nourishment? I know the Benedictines have Oblates and the Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and most other orders, have 3rd orders, but I’ve never heard of anything similar related to the Carthusians.

I have introduced a few Carthusian touches to my own spiritual life, such as spending time in silence, praying the office in front of a private oratory in my room (with space to sit and kneel, as the Carthusians have in their cells) and kneeling to pray an Ave Maria in my front porch before coming in or going out. None of that makes me ready to become a Carthusian brother, in fact, I think I’d go crazy with that much solitude. All the same, it would be good to have a group in which to discuss how to implement the spirit of St Bruno’s rule in the secular world.

Does such a group exist?
Click to expand...
 
Can. 603 §1 Besides institutes of consecrated life, the Church recognises the life of hermits or anchorites, in which Christ’s faithful withdraw further from the world and devote their lives to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through the silence of solitude and through constant prayer and penance.

§2 Hermits are recognised by law as dedicated to God in consecrated life if, in the hands of the diocesan Bishop, they publicly profess, by a vow or some other sacred bond, the three evangelical counsels, and then lead their particular form of life under the guidance of the diocesan Bishop .

Source: intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1X.HTM

For example a consecrated diocesan hermit follows/ and others could follow / a rule of life inspired by Saint Bruno’s spirituality, in accord with their Bishop; and in sympathy with the PCLC quies.org/quies_index.php.

But the vocation of a diocesan consecrated hermit is not for many, so the PCLC quies.org and other (aspiring or canonical) lay contemplative associations of faithful might offer support and inspiration to experience-live desert fathers and mothers spirituality in a personally balanced way within our duty of state - while living in the open world.
 
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