Secular or third orders

  • Thread starter Thread starter juhothenero
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

juhothenero

Guest
Hi,

I am a married man and I was wondering are secular or third orders of religious communities meant for married or people who cannot have a vocation as a 100% religious. Such as secular carmelites or dominicans. In my country there is a secular version of a nun order that is meant for married people. Are these usual? And what kind of promises do members make when they join?

One more thing are there any good source for secular communities? Any Jesuits, Fransicans or whatever secular orders there are?

I am not a native English speaker, so please don’t mind and don’t bother correcting me I will never learn.
 
There are Secular Franciscans, Lay Dominicans and Third Order Carmelites. They are orders in their own right, you join because you have 100% commitment to their apostolate, lived in the world in the married state. They aren’t just fan clubs for the monks. The lay orders have their own spiritual directors and office holders, as a religious order would have, and live out the charism of their order. These organisations are global, as the orders are, and should be easy enough to find in most parts of the world.

There are also Benedictine Oblates - these are attached to a particular monastery, and are more directly connected to the life and spirituality of the monks or nuns. They pray for, and provide for the material needs of the religious, and they benefit from the monks’ prayers and spiritual direction. They also live out a form of the Rule of St Benedict for lay people, but again, they live that because they are 100% committed to Benedictine spirituality in their own lives.

I’m not sure about lay forms of the other religious orders. I’m pretty sure other groups like the Jesuits, Salesians, Redemptorists, also have forms of lay organisations.

There are also groups that exist specifically for lay people, such as the Legion of Mary, Regnum Christi or Opus Dei, which exist for people who are called to that form of spirituality in their own lives. You might want to look into those.

The one thing I’m trying to get across is that membership of a lay order is not for people who are ‘less committed’ than the monks. It is for those who feel called to live out their spirituality by walking the path of a particular order in their married, lay vocation. God bless.
 
as a member of the sfo-secular franciscan order, i agree that comittment is necessary. after quite a long period of study, a person is professed and makes promises during a special mass to follow the particular charism of the order.

tony d.
 
Thanks for the replies!

I understand the commitment and I am not going to act on it lightly. I am a new convert and not so familiar with these issues. I know Opus Dei well, they instructed me while I converted, but practically I don’t know much about more traditional catholic orders. And as I am already married and committed to married life I wanted to know more about secular orders and what kind of rules they have in them. At the moment I am following Opus Dei prayer schedule and feel quite comfortable with it. But I wanted to look what is out there.

I do also know that it will take me a few years to discern where I will go inside the church (unless God decides earlier) or will I go anywhere. I am drawn to more comtemplative orders. I like the idea of praying a lot. Thanks for the information.
 
Can I put in a word for the Legion of Mary - they are an amazing lay organisation, which helps Catholics to live out the calling of the lay vocation through evangelism and service. Ask your priest if he knows of a praesidium in your area.
 
DL82 said:
Can I put in a word for the Legion of Mary - they are an amazing lay organisation, which helps Catholics to live out the calling of the lay vocation through evangelism and service. Ask your priest if he knows of a praesidium in your area.
Click to expand...
The Legion of Mary is a wonderful organization and anyone should consider joining it. However, let’s not confuse the Legion of Mary with an order.

An order has a founder, a rule, a constitution, a local, regional and general superior, it has vows or solemn promises, it has a way of life that is designed by the founder, all members must belong to a community that prays, works, and has gatherings on a regular basis. An order also has a formation period that usually lasts about five years before you can make your perpetual profession.

The Legion of Mary is what is known as a Pious Association of the Fathful. An order is a Public Association of the Faithful or An Institute of Consecrated Life or a Society of Apostolic Life, depending on the order.

A member of an order can belong to the Legion of Mary at the same time that he or she is a member of the order. But you cannot belong to two orders at the same time, because that produces a conflict in obedience.

I hope this helps.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
juhothenero said:
Hi,

I am a married man and I was wondering are secular or third orders of religious communities meant for married or people who cannot have a vocation as a 100% religious. Such as secular carmelites or dominicans. In my country there is a secular version of a nun order that is meant for married people. Are these usual? And what kind of promises do members make when they join?

One more thing are there any good source for secular communities? Any Jesuits, Fransicans or whatever secular orders there are?

I am not a native English speaker, so please don’t mind and don’t bother correcting me I will never learn.
Click to expand...
juho, this link will take you to information about the various Secular/Third Orders of the Church:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=179983

If you are still residing in Finland, the Discalced Carmelite monastery (nuns) in Espoo has a Secular Discalced Carmelite Order that meets there.

karmelfinland.org/
 
Joannm said:
That site is not in English.
Click to expand...
Well the person who asked is a Finn. This site is Finnish Catholic church official website (in Finnish). And being Finn myself, I think I just might have got it right 😉
 
Rafaela said:
Well the person who asked is a Finn. This site is Finnish Catholic church official website (in Finnish). And being Finn myself, I think I just might have got it right 😉
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot but I’ve checked it out. Now just gotta find ways to get to know them. I am residing 600km from capital so it’s a bit hard. Thanks for all who gave answers.
 
For instance lay Dominicans have a webpage link there, and they have a nice long text about what it means to be called to follow Dominican rule as a lay member… 😃
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top