J
JohnMPhilomena
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I don’t think she intended that remark to be taken literally.Oh, do pray tell, because I resemble that remark! My interest is officially piqued :tiphat:
Sorry for the confusion.
I don’t think she intended that remark to be taken literally.Oh, do pray tell, because I resemble that remark! My interest is officially piqued :tiphat:
I am pasting in previous posts by myself of several orders - some may be in twice but as I am at work, I can’t go thru and edit right now! - and in 2 parts. Also all mine are cloistered, full habit and traditional - other than maybe one or two - including Children of Mary. Some are from old posts so some things have changed for me, probably really sure read and edit but can’t.I have become quite interested in the Benedictine nun communities. I have been using vocationsplacement.org for quite some time now, but I can’t seem to find any other sects beside Dominican and Benedictine sisters. Are there any other types of Caatholic nuns/sisters besides these two? If so, what are they?
See! I knew I should have edited my old posts! Probably other old info besides these two!The Carmel at Kensington CA has closed-the remaining nuns moved to the Carmel in San Francisco.
The Carmel in Mobile AL has closed, but will be or is now filled with Vietnamese Carmelite nuns.
That’s a great story. I love St Therese. I think you are on the right track. Yes, we can all be saints no matter what our vocation is. So keep an open mind and keep praying. I wouldn’t read too much into the fact that your sister didn’t hand you the rose though - you may still have a religious calling.I am 18 years old & am still discerning my vocationit is definitely one of the hardest decisions to make! I was homeschooled but I had a lot of interaction with other people, despite that I always felt called to religious life. I read a lot of saints stories and was rely inspired by their lives. I felt drawn to religious life for the simple fact that I thought it was the only way to become a saint, married life to me was a lesser calling. Growing up I was never really interested in guys either, so that wasn’t hindering me in anyway
After being convinced I was called to religious life I began to start learning more about married life. I have discovered over the past year the beauty of what it means to be a mother and also what it means to live out your married life in the way the Catholic church teaches.
I am beginning to feel more strongly called to married as I can see that it would be for me a life of more sacrifice, I can see myself enjoying religious life more in a way for the reason that everything I struggle with I.e. A routine & organization would be forced upon me, I’m more than happy to follow what an order tells me but when it comes to organizing my own family I find that much harder to do.
Just Quickly I’ll share with you an experience I had during my discernment, I think some of
you may have similar feelingswell one day, a few years back, I decided that it was time that I knew my vocation & that I should “get it over and done with”. Yea, so I definitely did
not have the right intention, or at least in no way the right attitude!!! I began to pray a
novena to St Therese of the Child Jesus. I asked To receive a rose in whatever way so I
could know my vocation. Well halfway through the nine days my little sister walks in with
a rose (our roses only bloom every now & again so it’s a rare thing to get a rose!).
Normally anytime my sister picks flowers she gives them to my mum, but this time round
she didn’t… So my hopes sky rocketed!!! I thought this was it! Yes I would no my vocation,
but no… God had a better ideamy little sister walked straight into the kitchen got a vase
and put the rose in and that was it. In all honesty I was quite annoyed & thought St
Therese didn’t listen to me. A few weeks later I came to a realisation that me seeing the
rose but not receiving it was a sign that my vocation is there but it’s not mine to know
and hold yet…all in Gods time.
I now have a better sense of peace and knowledge that God will reveal it to me when He sees fit. I also know that first & foremost God calls me to eternal life, to sainthood, our
vocation is merely a way which live on earth. So while I am waiting I continue to pray for
the grace and strength that I need to be able to live out my daily life in the best way
possible, the way that will most please God. Just like St Therese does
Anyway! These are just my thoughts. Both vocations I uphold with a real love, I can see myself being called to either really but I just have to keep those doors open
Please keep me in your prayers and I will pray for all of you too! May Mother Mary guide and protect us on our vocation journeys & may her mantle of motherly love be upon us all!
Yours in Their Hearts!
Hey - don’t forget the Domincans in Ann Arbor.Also for the Dominican Nuns list when I first wrote my post a few yrs ago, the Dominican nuns of Buffalo now have a site - since last year?
opnuns.org
Sorry! JohnMPhilomena but I didn’t forget them! I was only listing the cloistered orders as I have a cloistered vocation!Hey - don’t forget the Domincans in Ann Arbor.
www.sistersofmary.com
The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist is a cloistered order. I have been there many times and I can tell you that I am not allowed into the cloistered areas. Most of their days are spent in meditation and prayer and in silence. They do have recreation times and brief periods to write letters.Sorry! JohnMPhilomena but I didn’t forget them! I was only listing the cloistered orders as I have a cloistered vocation!
These Dominicans are great too but as I am not an active vocation, I have too much to do keeping track of the cloistered orders!![]()
The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist is not a cloistered order. They live in a “convent” while cloistered nuns live in a “monastery” and these Dominicans are called “sisters” because they are NOT cloistered while Carmelites and Poor Clare Colettines are called “nuns” because they are and these nuns also pray, chant the full Divine Office while active orders can not because they are away doing their teaching or nursing the majority of the day. These teaching Dominicans are an active or semi-cloistered possibly. As they go out to teach 5-7 hrs a day they are not cloistered. Of course, even active or semi-active orders have a section of their convent that is closed to the public but this does not make them a cloistered order. For an incomplete example, it’s like when you have guests over unless their family - and maybe not even then! - these guests can be in your house and yard except your bedroom and possibly another area/room. They are personally yours, etc. What makes them cloistered or not is not this but their type of order, charism, their apostolate, etc. These Domincians in question, are a teaching order, therefore, an active order. I don’t think they could be called semi-active as they are out for many hours every day, 7 days a week. I know of some semi-active who go out to do public works only a few days a week or get personally involved in the retreats they run on their grounds. Also, a habit doesn’t make they cloistered either.The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist is a cloistered order. I have been there many times and I can tell you that I am not allowed into the cloistered areas. Most of their days are spent in meditation and prayer and in silence. They do have recreation times and brief periods to write letters.
They wear traditional habits, my daughter is only allowed to write twice a month except during lent and advent when she cannot write at all. We are not allowed phone calls, and I can only visit twice a year.
However, these Dominicans are a teaching order, so my daughter is working on her degree and ultimately may be placed in one of the teaching missions around the country. They take a van in the morning to the university and return together at the end of the day.
They have had quite a lot of exposure since they allowed Oprah to come and film in their convent last february. I think they had over 100 young women at their last discernment retreat, although they had been growing quite rapidly prior to that time anyway.
Clips of the Oprah show are available on Oprah’s website and at www.sistersofmary.com
Happy discernment!
John Marie Philomena
The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist is not a cloistered order. They live in a “convent” while cloistered nuns live in a “monastery” and these Dominicans are called “sisters” because they are NOT cloistered while Carmelites and Poor Clare Colettines are called “nuns” because they are and these nuns also pray, chant the full Divine Office while active orders can not because they are away doing their teaching or nursing the majority of the day. These teaching Dominicans are an active or semi-cloistered possibly. As they go out to teach 5-7 hrs a day they are not cloistered. Of course, even active or semi-active orders have a section of their convent that is closed to the public but this does not make them a cloistered order. For an incomplete example, it’s like when you have guests over unless their family - and maybe not even then! - these guests can be in your house and yard except your bedroom and possibly another area/room. They are personally yours, etc. What makes them cloistered or not is not this but their type of order, charism, their apostolate, etc. These Domincians in question, are a teaching order, therefore, an active order. I don’t think they could be called semi-active as they are out for many hours every day, 7 days a week. I know of some semi-active who go out to do public works only a few days a week or get personally involved in the retreats they run on their grounds. Also, a habit doesn’t make they cloistered either.
The first few years of their life in their convent is spent a lot on prayer, meditation and study so they will be READY to eventually leave the convent and be out teaching (or nursing, etc.) 5-7 hrs a day. This intense prayer life readies them, strengthens them spiritually before going back into the world to do their apostolate. They are outside doing teaching or nursing for 5-7 hrs a day while the cloistered nuns do 7 hrs a day, 7 days a wk of constant prayer - Divine Office, 2 hrs mental prayer, etc. a day - and even while doing their work, all is a constant prayer to God and they do work that doesn’t distract them from their constant converation with God. That is hard to do when you are nursing or teaching.
Cloistered orders stay inside their monastery and the monastery grounds - with high walls or some other way where they are not seen at all. These cloistered nuns - like Carmelites, Poor Clare Colettines and a few others - do not have an active apostolate and do not go out to do any type of public work - nursing, teaching, etc.- their only apostolate is prayer and they do that inside the enclosure - and the Poor Clare Colettines take a 4th vow of enclosure where they take a vow to never leave the enclosure - they, like the Carmelites, only leave the grounds for medical problems or appointments that can’t be dealt with inside the monastery. Some orders are lucky to have a female doctor who will make house calls - for checkups and for sisters who are sick but do not need to be hospitalized or need tests but just prescriptions, etc. I know the Philly Carmel has a female doctor that makes house calls (she came when I was visiting them) and so does the Carmel that I am accepted to, the Carmel of the Holy Spirit in Sheffield, UK.
These cloistered nuns are only allowed so many visits a year and can only write some many times a yr. Most orders only let you visit family and not friends at the parlor behind the grilles, have no phone calls (some allow this if you enter an overseas order). They are usually behind grilles where you can maybe touch fingers but not embrace nor be able to open the grille to do so - like some Dominican nuns and others can do where they unlock a grille - if there is one or where they just have an open area with no grille but just a counter for a “barrier”. The Carmel in Sheffield, like many other good 1990s, have the double grills (which are often hard to see through to see the nuns) and big thick heavy wooden doors that they close when there are no parlor visits.
Cloistered nuns do not go out to a college or university - Benedictines might but they have the mini apostolate in having retreat centers or farms where they work side by side with the public but they are the exception which is what St. Benedict wanted and is in their rule.
These Dominicans and the other teaching and nursing sisters/orders, etc. are a world away from the cloistered monastic nuns and their life of penance, fasting, 7 hrs of prayer (7 Divine offices and 2 hrs of mental prayer, the rosary and other devotions, silence and solitude, and time in their cell - especially in Carmel…
C.M.B.Hi! I’m 19 and I’ve only recently started discerning my vocation. As of now, I know very little about most of the orders, but from what I’ve learned, I’ve found the Dominicans to be really great! I love their dedication to life-long learning. I’ve contacted the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, the group I’ve had the most interaction with, to get started.![]()
I haven’t! Thank you very much!C.M.B.
Welcome! :tiphat:
I love the Dominicans as well. I’m currently trying to discern if I’m more Dominican or Franciscan as I am a little bit of both. Have you checked out the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist? They are a beautiful group of Dominicans as well.
JMJDTF+
~Betsy
Totus tuus Maria! Let’s see what the good God wills.