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ChristianSurfer
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Does anyone have any opinions on the Paulist Fathers or have any recommendations on any missionary/evangilization orders for priests
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HCC
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I do know they are considered pretty modern and more progressive.
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scott122
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Check out the Paulist Press in New York, and the Paulist Center in Boston. We go to Mass there when we’re in Boston.
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ChristianSurfer
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1234
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Check out:
bustedhalo.com/
…especially the marvelous posts of seminarian Tom Gibbons, continuing thru all of them to those he wrote just after he entered, when he was trying to figure out how to serve the Mass. He thinks that his teachers, who were quite exasperated at his ignorance (what’s a paten?)–were speaking Klingon. Tom is very bright, funny, and a very good writer, now in his fourth year. I think that he’s going to make a good Paulist.
All of the Paulists are priests, I believe. They are missionaries to the United States.
If this is what you’re interested, as you say in your post, I think they’re worth a look. Also the Jesuits.
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scott122
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They seem to be missionaries to the urban area of the US. Mass was full for First Communions. It was well-organized, even with all those youngsters and their families (who might not go to Church every Sunday, but were present for the First Communion.) The congregation actively participated, and the Celebrant was a good speaker and good presider. The Center is just off Boston Common and must get a lot of walk-in tourists. It is a very friendly, welcoming church, perhaps because of its small size.
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krissylou
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I love them. But you don’t know me, so that doesn’t tell you much.
They were founded by a Protestant convert to Catholicism (I think his current status is “Servant of God”) and were established as “Missionaries to North America.”
They specialize in working with people who consider themselves on the outskirts of the church in one way or another. A Paulist-run parish is often going to be the “progressive” alternative church in the city and attract a lot of people from outside its geographic region.
I have been to a few different Paulist-sponsored churches and have consistently found the liturgies to be lively and thoughtfully and well done.
They do a lot of campus ministry.
Ecumenism is a big part of their ministry, as is interfaith dialogue.
They do a lot in various forms of media as well. Paulist Press, television, films. They did the Romero film in about 1990, starring Raul Julia. It is excellent. Also “Entertaining Angels” starring Moira Kelly about Dorothy Day. IMHO it is pretty bad. (Moira Kelly is very good as Dorothy Day. Martin Sheen as Peter Maurin didn’t do anything for me.)
The Humanitas Prize, which celebrates life-affirming (but not necessarily explicitly Christian) films and television, was founded by a Paulist priest.
The PaulINES, which have both men’s and women’s branches, have a similar apostolate but are not related. Pauline men are part of the Society of St Paul. Paulists (only men) are part of the Congregation of St Paul. Who says such things are confusing?
I agree that Jesuits and Paulists may be attractive to many of the same discerners. If you like their apostolate but find them a bit too progressive for your taste, you may want to look at the Paulines which seems to be a step to the right.
They were founded by a Protestant convert to Catholicism (I think his current status is “Servant of God”) and were established as “Missionaries to North America.”
They specialize in working with people who consider themselves on the outskirts of the church in one way or another. A Paulist-run parish is often going to be the “progressive” alternative church in the city and attract a lot of people from outside its geographic region.
I have been to a few different Paulist-sponsored churches and have consistently found the liturgies to be lively and thoughtfully and well done.
They do a lot of campus ministry.
Ecumenism is a big part of their ministry, as is interfaith dialogue.
They do a lot in various forms of media as well. Paulist Press, television, films. They did the Romero film in about 1990, starring Raul Julia. It is excellent. Also “Entertaining Angels” starring Moira Kelly about Dorothy Day. IMHO it is pretty bad. (Moira Kelly is very good as Dorothy Day. Martin Sheen as Peter Maurin didn’t do anything for me.)
The Humanitas Prize, which celebrates life-affirming (but not necessarily explicitly Christian) films and television, was founded by a Paulist priest.
The PaulINES, which have both men’s and women’s branches, have a similar apostolate but are not related. Pauline men are part of the Society of St Paul. Paulists (only men) are part of the Congregation of St Paul. Who says such things are confusing?
I agree that Jesuits and Paulists may be attractive to many of the same discerners. If you like their apostolate but find them a bit too progressive for your taste, you may want to look at the Paulines which seems to be a step to the right.
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CDNowak
Guest
Not a fan, have yet to have a positive encounter with them out here…
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Charlie_David
Guest
I did a come-and-see weekend with them in New York and I will say they are very friendly and welcoming; highly respect what they do with media and evangelization. That being said, they are a very liberal order especially when dealing with homosexual persons.
As for the Paulist Center in Boston, I don’t know your political leanings, this is where John Kerry attends mass and going to their website will give a feel for what goes on around there.
They truly believe in the mantra “meet people where they are” but my concern was that once they meet them there is no movement to help people better understand Church teachings and become stronger in the faith.
Lastly, they are an aging order with very few young guys. I am personally looking for an order that is having some recent growth or increase.
Just my opinion, take it for what its worth.
As for the Paulist Center in Boston, I don’t know your political leanings, this is where John Kerry attends mass and going to their website will give a feel for what goes on around there.
They truly believe in the mantra “meet people where they are” but my concern was that once they meet them there is no movement to help people better understand Church teachings and become stronger in the faith.
Lastly, they are an aging order with very few young guys. I am personally looking for an order that is having some recent growth or increase.
Just my opinion, take it for what its worth.
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challam2010
Guest
Absolutely the best retreat I’ve ever attended was given by a Paulist – dynamic speaker who reached every attendee in a profound way (based on shared comments).
I admire their work and the information they make available.
I admire their work and the information they make available.
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strgzr99
Guest
I would venture to say that only small men’s orders, like women’s orders, are actually increasing in size. They may have a number of young people, but not nearly so many as older men. This would be true of all the older, more established orders, Jesuits, Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans. It would take a lot of final professions to achieve a net increase in size.
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ToJesuswithMary
Guest
check out the CICM’s… they are usually missionaries to africa , japan and other places.
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SalesianSDB
Guest
I haven’t looked into them much, but I would like to because I love making films. But for that, I’d probably join the Society of St. Paul (if I join them, I plan on making their first feature length film).
Well, I already stated the Society of St. Paul. They are a media evangelization order.
However, my favorite order still remains the Salesian order. The Salesians of Don Bosco are priests who dedicate their lives to evangelization to the young and poor. You can also do a lot of missionary work with them. They’re a great order!
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toknowservelove
Guest
Well, I’m pretty biased, but have you ever considered the Dominicans? They were founded as a missionary order to quell a heresy (Albagensianism) spreading in France and Spain. Dominicans are all over the world and are about spreading the Gospel of Jesus. Here’s a link for the Central (midwest province) which I’m partial to, being part of it.
domcentral.org/
May you listen attentively for the voice of the Lord, and when you hear Him call you, may you respond with great joy and confidence, wherever that may lead.
God bless,
Sr. Eve-Marie O.P.
domcentral.org/
May you listen attentively for the voice of the Lord, and when you hear Him call you, may you respond with great joy and confidence, wherever that may lead.
God bless,
Sr. Eve-Marie O.P.
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ChristianSurfer
Guest
Sorry for such a long delay ive been on vacation in Yellowstone but anyways,
Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut I’ve been growing more and more interested in the Dominicans. I called 2 different providences and they require a 4 year college degree and I graduated college with an associates degree. Easy to say this is a stumbling block i dont know what Im going to do but thanks for your post!
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ChristianSurfer
Guest
Thanks for your help this helped me get more of a feel for who they are,
Thanks!
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Friar_David_O.Carm
Guest
For the Carmelites you are required to have a bachelors degree upon entry to the novitiate. Those with out such get it while in the pre-novitiate. I entered with only an associates degree.Sorry for such a long delay ive been on vacation in Yellowstone but anyways,
Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut I’ve been growing more and more interested in the Dominicans. I called 2 different providences and they require a 4 year college degree and I graduated college with an associates degree. Easy to say this is a stumbling block i dont know what Im going to do but thanks for your post!
Here is our vocations website.
Order of Carmelites
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JReducation
Guest
I think that a warning is in order here (no pun intended). Asking for opinions about a religious community on a forum such as CAF is very risky for many reasons.
To be honest, I’m a religious. However, I cannot tell you anything about the Paulist Fathers other than give you canonical information, which probably won’t help you at all. I have never met a Paulist. I can’t tell you what it feels like to live as a Paulist. I know nothing about them, their constitution or their daily life. I only know what Canon Law says about Clerks Regular, which the Paulist Fathers are, but so are over 500 other religious communities.
Go to the source, the Paulist themselves and ask them why they joined and why they stay.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
- Most people are going to give you an opinion based on their likes and dislikes. These do not reflect anything about the vision and mission of the founder. If you’re looking at a community, you look at its roots, its fidelity to its roots. With newer communities, the roots are not that long, but they may be very solid.
- My experience with posters on CAF has been that many (often too many) are anti-religious, because they have a preconceived notion of what religious life should be. The religious that they know do not meet those criteria. I don’t think it’s malicious. I think it’s really involuntary ignorance. We can often believe things about religious life that are no where near the truth and we can idealize it. When we do that, we are often disappointed when we find that the people in religious life are very human and struggle each day to reach an ideal, without being there yet.
- Finally, it is dangerous to ask someone for an opinion on something that they have not experienced personally, unless they have carefully studied it. You can ask an OB/GYN to explain labor and he can do so. But he cannot do so from experience, because he’s male. He’s giving you information that his patients have given him. After many years of experience he has heard it all and his answers can be very informative. However, since there are hundreds, maybe thousands of religious insitutes, it is unlikely that the average poster on the internet will know as much about religious life as an OB/GYN knows about labor. Labor is labor. There are not that many variations on the theme. Religiosu charisms are as diverse as fingerprints.
To be honest, I’m a religious. However, I cannot tell you anything about the Paulist Fathers other than give you canonical information, which probably won’t help you at all. I have never met a Paulist. I can’t tell you what it feels like to live as a Paulist. I know nothing about them, their constitution or their daily life. I only know what Canon Law says about Clerks Regular, which the Paulist Fathers are, but so are over 500 other religious communities.
Go to the source, the Paulist themselves and ask them why they joined and why they stay.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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strgzr99
Guest
Yay for Yellowstone!Sorry for such a long delay ive been on vacation in Yellowstone but anyways,
Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut I’ve been growing more and more interested in the Dominicans. I called 2 different providences and they require a 4 year college degree and I graduated college with an associates degree. Easy to say this is a stumbling block i dont know what Im going to do but thanks for your post!
–dId you talk to the OPs re your associate’s degree? What would they recommend? Could you go to school during your novitiate? Could you pay them back with sweat equity during your formation? Could your family help?
I know the Dominicans are doing well-I didn’t think they were doing that well–to refuse someone for insufficient college!
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JReducation
Guest
This is not meant to sound cheaky or rude. It’s just a fact. Those of us who are mandated to be superiors have a moral duty to filter out those who may not have a call to our way of life. There are many criteria that we follow. One of them is that the person must have the professional and academic background necessary to live our way of life and work in our ministry. In many communities, the ministry requires a certain level of education or education in a certain field.
Since the Dominicans are an order of preachers, it makes sense that they require that men have what it takes to be preachers and teachers. If you don’t have that, then you don’t have a vocation to be Friar Preacher.
In my community, our ministry is the proclamation of the Gospel of Life in the manner of St. Francis. No one may be admitted to the novitiate who is not well trained in Evangelium Vitae and the ministries that flow from it. There is a lot of education in theology, philsophy, medical ethics, legal issues and Franciscan theology that is required. For the Christian Brothers you have to be read to teach or do something in the field of education and so forth.
Regarding your other question, about going to school during novitiate. The Dominicans are a religious order, not a religious congregation. Religious orders must make a canonical novitiate. This means that we do not leave the novitiate house for studies. The novitiate lasts from 12 to 24 months. It is a time that must be spent away from the world. The novice’s time is spent in prayer, manual labor, the study of the Rule of St. Augustine (for the Dominicans), the study of the constitutions, Dominican history, liturgy, statutes and customs, scripture, and there is usually an opportunity to do some ministry a few hours a week, under the watchful eye of the foramtion team. Even mail and visitors are limited.
You can’t pay, because you have no money to pay with. Before you are invested as a novice, you must assign your posessions to someone who will administer them for you. You may not have access to your posessons and assets. Those remain in the hands of an administrator that you appoint until you make final vows, at which time ,you sign them away and you no longer have legal ownership. The idea is that when you enter the novitiate, you are already making plans to give away everything. Therefore, you cannot use it or give it to the order either.
I realize that everyone here wants to be helpful. But please, those of you who are secular lay men, remember that we live in two different worlds. What seems logical to you guys, may not be logical to us. The best piece of advice to give people is to redirect them back to the vocation director or their spiritual director. Don’t try to second-guess what an order, congregation or diocesan seminary will do or can do. It can confuse younger people. I’m saying this because it happened to a young man who wanted to join us.
When I interviewed him, he said, “I can no longer live in the world.” When I asked him why he said that, he informed me that some well meaning lay person had told him that religious men rejected the world in order to follow Christ. He thought he was saying a good thing. It was a good thing for him that I asked. I was able to set him straight and explain that religious men love the world and only those men who can live in the world make good religious, because if you can live the Gospel in the world, you can live it anywhere. We leave the world not because we can’t live in it, but because we found something beyond it.
Please be careful in the advice that you give to the inquierers who come here. Remember, God never calls you to where you cannot go. In this case, if you can get that degree, you’re on your way.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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