“The pettinesses of the cloister are inevitable,” Our Lord said to Sr. Mary of the Holy Trinity, OSC, the Poor Clare mystic of Jerusalem. If you read her book, there are detailed other problems that can arise.
Novices get scolded by their formators. This is done to make them run to Jesus instead of clinging to the Novice Mistress. Lots of varied emotions in the novitiate.
Acedia – lack of enthusiasm for religious practice – can also be rampant.
Sexual temptations of varying sorts. Read the Conferences of St. John Cassian for more information.
Whatever you’re called upon to do, there is always the temptation not to do it.
Our Lord told St. Faustina that religious land in Hell because they won’t practice interior silence. Another reason for religious landing in Hell is not living their vows. That says a lot.
Have you read “Dark Night of the Soul?” I always point discerners in that direction so they can start GENTLY working on their faults – one at a time – before entering.
What do you mean by novices get scolded by their mistresses? Is it to test they are living their lives solely to please Christ? They are seeking the approval of God alone.
This is not a critique of anyone…but my span of life is now long enough that when I was young and in formation, those who were at the other end of the spectrum were denizens of the 19th century.
I have seen a lot across my years. The changes I have seen – and been part of – have been improvements. I’m glad that young candidates today don’t go through some of the things I went through. I am also grateful that whole categories of Religious, like the lay monks and the auxiliatrices, have been abolished. They really should never have existed but they were products of their era, with its class distinctions.
We have to be very careful about referencing a Sister Mary of the Holy Trinity or a Sister Josefa Menendez – or for that matter a Saint Thérèse or a Saint Bernadette. Mistresses of Novices of the sort like Mother Marie de Gonzague [Thérèse] or Mother Marie-Thérèse Vauzou [Bernadette] would no more be what one would – or should – encounter today than were those Religious who participated in Joan of Arc’s burning at the stake…and thanks be to God for the change
The renewal of Religious Life that began under Pope Pius XII and continued with the Council and with Blessed Paul VI has brought us to a much better and healthier place than where we were decades ago…also thanks be to God.
Formation work today is not based in 19th century spirituality or 19th century mindsets regarding the human person, for many very good reasons.
One of the greatest tragedies of a contemporary formation program that went horribly wrong was a group trying to assert a military-like formation that was of the mindset of a bygone era. Many of us warned about it – and sadly, we were proved right.
I’ve done formation work for years…I never scolded anyone. I’ve had to make demands of young men in formation just as I’ve had to make demands of those beyond formation, when it came to a difficult assignment that demanded sacrifice…but I’ve never scolded.
There are all sorts of practices that were frankly unhealthy and they’ve been done away with…and they shouldn’t be missed
Both Sts. Jane Frances de Chantal and Therese mention such.
The Rule of St. Benedict says that community members have to be corrected in various ways. Harshness works for some, gentle persuasion for others.
In her advice to superiors, St. Jane mentions seeking out sisters whose feelings were hurt by their words (correction).
St Therese mentions “severely scolded a novice” and seeking her out to become friends again. She mentioned elsewhere that she scolded novices so they would seek out Jesus instead of her. I am drawing the conclusion that she didn’t want the novices developing an attachment to her, which would violate the rule against particular friendships
Religious life is also full of correction – or being judgemental, as the world would say
I would suggest seeking out a Visitation monastery and making a silent retreat there.
cloisters.tripod.com/us_vhm_first_fed/
I’m not understanding how we got from an interest in Religious Life to a silent retreat in a Visitation Monastery or all the models discussed being from monastic life. One can be a Religious without being a Monastic. One can “leave the world” without being in cloistered enclosure
Whether one can adapt to living – or even liking – monastic enclosure is only an indication relative to that specific life…it wouldn’t touch upon the many apostolic congregations that exist today that have a very different lifestyle
Religious Life has many forms. Many congregations of Sisters wouldn’t even use the term “Mistress of Novices” or “Mother Superior” today. There’s a novice director and various terms are used for leadership today
And again…the Rule of Saint Benedict was written in the sixth century. Yes, he spoke of corporal punishment for a certain type of recalcitrant monk; an abbot who did that today would be arrested – and rightly so. He should be
