Joining the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land...pray for me!

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AlwaysCurious

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First of all, the good news: the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land (based in Washington, DC) has accepted me as a candidate for next year! I’ll be living with them, working with them, etc. for a year to decide whether the novitiate is for me or not.

Here’s the minor quandary, if you would like to give your :twocents: : My family are all non-Catholic Christians. While they unenthusiastically tolerated my conversion to the Church, I have a feeling their reaction to this will be even more unenthusiastic. It won’t come as a shock since they know I’ve visited a couple of monasteries and made several retreats, but it’s been a while since I made such a retreat.

I have a couple of months before leaving for DC. We have our annual family vacation in a couple of weeks. I am trying to figure out whether to tell them before or after the vacation. “Before” might cast a cloud over the vacation; “after” might make it seem like I’m rushing out the door and giving as little warning as possible.

What do you think? And thanks in advance for your prayers!
 
I think that they might actually be thrilled that you are in the land of Jesus, even if a little worried for your safety there.

Good for you, though. What an enormous blessing.

You lucky dawg! 😃

Prayers offered :signofcross:
 
AlwaysCurious said:
I have a couple of months before leaving for DC. We have our annual family vacation in a couple of weeks. I am trying to figure out whether to tell them before or after the vacation. “Before” might cast a cloud over the vacation; “after” might make it seem like I’m rushing out the door and giving as little warning as possible.
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Now. Do it right away. Then all the raw emotion will have some time to play out and, maybe, then, on the vacation you can all take the opportunity to have as much positive family time as possible before you go and you can have more discussion if necessary while people have time to get in-depth about it.

It won’t be easy for anyone. I think waiting is the worst option.

I’m not necessarily right, just my opinion.
 
Luigi_Daniele said:
I think that they might actually be thrilled that you are in the land of Jesus, even if a little worried for your safety there.

Good for you, though. What an enormous blessing.

You lucky dawg! 😃

Prayers offered :signofcross:
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It’s actually less dangerous there than in a ton of places where Catholic religious go on “mission.”

Since at least Mark Twain in the mid 1800s, thousands of Westerners have gone to the region, on pilgrimage and otherwise; very few if any have been interfered with. And the Franciscans have an even longer pedigree; they celebrated their octocentennial in Jerusalem back in 2009.

ICXC NIKA
 
Will you be in Israel, or in Washington during your novitiate?

ICXC NIKA
 
GEddie said:
Will you be in Israel, or in Washington during your novitiate?

ICXC NIKA
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The year of candidacy is in Washington, with a trip or two to Israel. Because this group of Franciscans is technically attached to one of the Italian provinces, most of the postulancy/novitiate is done in various places in Italy (Montefalco, La Verna), with occasional stints in the Holy Land.
 
AlwaysCurious said:
The year of candidacy is in Washington, with a trip or two to Israel. Because this group of Franciscans is technically attached to one of the Italian provinces, most of the postulancy/novitiate is done in various places in Italy (Montefalco, La Verna), with occasional stints in the Holy Land.
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I have never been to La Verna. It looks gorgeous. You will fall in love with Assisi, guaranteed.
 
Joining the Franciscans means placing your trust totally in God. The vow of poverty is not limited to the material, but is also a statement of spiritual poverty–of total dependence on God. This is especially true when choosing mission work, or the privilege of Custody of the Holy Land.
As you begin each day with prayer, before and during your vacation, ask the Lord to direct your words. Instead of deciding beforehand whether to tell of your future plans at the beginning of the vacation, “placing a pall over the vacation,” or waiting until the end, which may appear as rushing out, ask the Lord to give you the opening. He could well direct the conversation toward talking about the Holy Land.
While this is not a case in which you are being hauled into court, there is no reason not to apply the same concept. Do not worry about what you will for the Lord your God will give you the words you are to speak.
 
From experience, do it now, before your trip. At one time I was in almost the same position as you. I made a visit to a Norbertine abbey in June and entered in August that same summer. I made my decision almost immediately and told my family almost immediately, they didn’t like it, and it took a while for them to accept/support my decision to enter religious life. But in mid July we took a road trip from So. Cal to Oregon, however awkward it was at the beginning, it was one one the best road trips of my life. You won’t regret sharing this with those you love, the sooner the better!
 
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