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misscharlene85
Guest
Thank you Sr. Helena, that is very reassuring!
May the good Lord bless you!
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May the good Lord bless you!
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barb_finnegan
Guest
Thank you for the kind words, Sofia.
I DO pray for vocations…every day when I offer my Rosary! I just feel kind of ‘empty’ right now. When I stopped at a church that is near a library I frequent I knelt before Our Lady’s altar to say the Rosary, then I just ‘talked’ to her, heart-to-Heart. I probably would have broken down and cried right then and there *, I was so low.
I know one monastery of Discalced Carmelites; it used to be in another Upstate NY city, but they moved in late 2005 when the neighborhood got bad and merged with another Carmel that was reduced to two or three elderly members. When I was younger, I thought of entering the community when it was in its former location. But they turned me down.
I also get mailings from a few of the ‘newer’ Orders such as the Ann Arbor Dominicans and the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles. Of course, they wouldn’t consider me as a prospective member because I’m ‘too old’. It’s nice to read of the progress they’re making numbers-wise; but it can be rather depressing because I’m ‘on the outside looking in’. They seem to be so happy in living their lives, whereas I’m stuck out here in the world!*
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RPSisters
Guest
We are The Sisters of The Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we are a 2 1/2 year old new emerging community “Project” of women forming a community of Catholic Sisters. We have NO age limit and we will accept women with some health issues as long as they can care for themselves. We already are based at St. Thomas More Parish in Chicago. Call for more info 773-984-8725 or email: SRPOLJC@catholic.org
Sister Kathleen Marie Marshall
Sister Kathleen Marie Marshall
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SisterSnowflake
Guest
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barb_finnegan
Guest
Uh…no. I checked out the website…it’s nice…but being in an ‘active’ community isn’t for me…don’t like being in crowds…
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Sister_Helena
Guest
Has anyone read the Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate (CARA) study? It talks about the survey conducted on Religious Life in the US. Here’s the link:
cara.georgetown.edu/
cara.georgetown.edu/
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anode
Guest
Barb, have you re-contacted the Discalced Carmelites? They may consider you now.
At the website for the Institute for Religious Life, religiouslife.com, there are a number of habited cloistered orders listed which accept ‘late’ vocations. Of course, all of the Visitations do. Toledo and Snellville are two habited Visitations that have accepted women in their 50’s and possibly later. The Visitation was founded for women in less-than-robust health, as was the Benedictines of Jesus Crucified, in Belmont, MA, who are semi-cloistered and wear a habit. Many habited OCD’s are small, under 10 and closer to 5 members, and may well consider delayed vocations. The most comprehensive list of orders I’ve been able to find is in the new 31st ed of the Guide to Religious MInistries, available for $10, which is coming out soon. Their website is religiousministries.com.
At the website for the Institute for Religious Life, religiouslife.com, there are a number of habited cloistered orders listed which accept ‘late’ vocations. Of course, all of the Visitations do. Toledo and Snellville are two habited Visitations that have accepted women in their 50’s and possibly later. The Visitation was founded for women in less-than-robust health, as was the Benedictines of Jesus Crucified, in Belmont, MA, who are semi-cloistered and wear a habit. Many habited OCD’s are small, under 10 and closer to 5 members, and may well consider delayed vocations. The most comprehensive list of orders I’ve been able to find is in the new 31st ed of the Guide to Religious MInistries, available for $10, which is coming out soon. Their website is religiousministries.com.
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Sister_Helena
Guest
There is another side to this coin of shortage in religious life. Aside from the fact that there may be a shortage of new candidates, there also seems to be a problem of retaining members. In the CARA study of new members professed on or before 1993, members rated the example of community members as one of the reasons they chose or stayed with the Order. I’m not sure if it’s a surprise to anyone that personal example of joy, dedication and authentic living is an issue in religious life? Religious must talk the talk and walk the walk, to draw others.
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NPC
Guest
I wonder if this ties in at all with the point made earlier regarding contemplative orders and those whose charism has been rooted in nursing and teaching etc. I mean, is there any evidence that contemplative or enclosed orders such as the Poor Clares or Carmelites are more “successful” at retaining members than orders such as the Mercy or Presentation Sisters? For me, it would - to some extent anyway - stand to reason that those already in such communities are faced with similar questions as those on the outside considering coming in. Surely just as someone on the outside might ask “what separates this community from the outside world; am I merely going to be a teacher who lives with a group of other women &c. &c…”, some of those on the inside are bound to “take stock” and ask what the difference is between living behind the convent walls and living outside them…
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JReducation
Guest
I believe this is what makes certain communities thrive. We just have to look at communities such as: Franciscans of the Renewal, Franciscans of the Immaculate, Franciscans of Life, Dominican Sisters of Mary, Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, Sisters of Life, Missionaries of Charity and I’m sure that there are others that I do not know personally.
But what I have seen in these communities is a joy that comes from the commitment to the vision and mission of the founder. I believe that when religious communities lose site of that vision they are in trouble.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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anode
Guest
Of the women’s communities listed above, only the Dominican orders, who teach, are growing rapidly in the US, or have a lot of US candidates. Teaching orders were always filled with applicants, and represented some of the largest orders, such as the BVM’s, the Adrian Dominicans, the Srs of Notre Dame. Many young women want to teach, and may find some of the other apostolates more difficult, being less defined.I believe this is what makes certain communities thrive. We just have to look at communities such as: Franciscans of the Renewal, Franciscans of the Immaculate, Franciscans of Life, Dominican Sisters of Mary, Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, Sisters of Life, Missionaries of Charity and I’m sure that there are others that I do not know personally.
But what I have seen in these communities is a joy that comes from the commitment to the vision and mission of the founder. I believe that when religious communities lose site of that vision they are in trouble.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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JReducation
Guest
I’m not understanding the part I bolded. Do you mind explaining it for me. Thanks.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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Sister_Helena
Guest
I greatly value your insight! And I agree with what you said.Hi Sister Helena,
It’s not in me to have the true answer to your question, but I would like to offer you some observations and let you consider if any of them might apply.
First I would offer that people in religious orders have a good understanding of things like which order is which, what their missions are, etc. Most people outside those orders do not. A Sister of this flavor equals a Sister of that flavor. Simplistic, I know, but I think it’s true.
As a result of that lack of any distinction, every time any Sister (or former Sister) does something out on the fringe, it impacts all of you. This is no different than when one politician is crooked, it lowers the collective trust in all of them. The more there are like it, the less and less the trust. Sadly, some Sisters have gone astray and in a very public way. If the media can work the word “nun” into the story, all the more sensational and better for them. These Sisters and former Sisters, in their hearts they may be convicted that what they are doing is what Christ wants of them, but they are blind to how it appears in conflict, at least in the eyes of the everyday Catholic, with other teachings and tenets of the faith. I’m sure you’ve seen or read of examples.
What can be done about that? I’m not sure, but I do notice that whenever I visit a website for, say, a retreat run by Sisters, it contains the most beautiful and loving words and lovely descriptions of the facility, the staff, the view… but it never contains anything that indicates one will only get authentic Church teaching there. That might not seem important, and for those who are faithful it might seem redundant or that the name of the order already serves the purpose, but consider that in the world are some who have adopted some odd inclusions of things that on a good day we could call “eastern philosophies,” and on a bad day “downright New Age.”
How does the casual visitor tell them apart? The adrift ones certainly don’t tell people what they’re offering. Maybe the authentic ones should.
The population of Sisters is 1/3 of what it was 50 years ago. So Sisters are not anywhere near as visible as they once were. There is the matter of wearing the habit, and without addressing the merits or demerits of that, I’d simply point out that not wearing it ads to the problem of visibility. If you consider another group who seeks only volunteers, the military, you notice they advertise, a LOT. They show up to public events wearing a uniform because it is through that kind of thing others are curious. They see these men and women in a public setting getting a lot of public respect, and the natural inner thought for a young person yearning to “be someone” is “how can I get that kind of respect?” Answer: join up.
LOL now I’m not suggesting billboards, “The Few, The Proud, The Nuns”or anything like that, but I am saying showing up in public and interacting helps people see who you are. Things beyond or outside what you normally do. Go to a little league game, go watch a high school play, be where people are not expecting to see you there and interact.
Too many people, sadly even some Catholics, have this picture in their mind that being a religious means being locked up in some big stone building where you subsist on a diet that wouldn’t meet the standards of a Turkish prison. In a world that is obsessed with pleasure and entertainment, not many can look at what religious do and see much inherent value in that life. That is so, so sad, because if they only knew a few of you or got a chance to meet and speak with you, it would radically alter their perception of what they imagine you to be.
I don’t know if any of that is helpful or not; I hope it is at least food for thought. I pray every single night for vocations, ALL vocations, and where I can, I encourage others to do likewise. I trust God to know when to fill our needs.
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Sister_Helena
Guest
Unfortunately, this is the reality of Religious life these days and there is no denying it. Our hope will come when more and more women will accept the challenge to do something about it. If we want change, we should be the first one to take the first step to make it happen.
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Cowfold
Guest
Good post Sister together with quote from ‘Jennifer’
The nuns making up the bulk of the Carthusian order ( albeit small by comparison) have a good spread througout the age spectrum and in this respect wee are confident of a steady intake.
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Sister_Helena
Guest
Sister, you are spot on! I like the idea of self-sacrificing love. I almost like to be bold and say many enter religious life because of what it can offer them: spiritual consolations, habits, community, more prayer time, etc. These are all good but not quite enough to make you STAY. The dry period comes, consolations go away, community life and ministry change, the dark night comes , but the inner conviction to give ourselves fully to God in whatever way he would want to use us, is a defining moment. “it is in losing your life for My sake that you find it.”
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anode
Guest
It’s just a thought on my part. Teaching is well-defined, traditional work for sisters. You can train for it and be mentored, etc. It’s more structured. This is also true of working for/with the poor, or with children out of school and evangelization, like the SSVMs or the Salesian Srs., who work with youth, but this sort of work is much harder, and I suspect fewer are suited for it. It requires greater adaptability.I’m not understanding the part I bolded. Do you mind explaining it for me. Thanks.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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JReducation
Guest
You’re absolutely right. I’m not a sister. I’m a brother. I’ll give you an example of what you’re talking about. My superior released me to the local bishop (I’m canonically connected to my community) like Mother Teresa was released. This is not uncommon in the Church.
I was released to live and work outside my community. The work involves the Gospel of Life. I work in five pregnancy centers, the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese, Chastity Days for youth, Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats for men and women who have had pregnancies, and fatherhood education for men who are expectant father.
The work also involves the internet: writing and communicating with people on life issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment. It involves sleeping under bridges with the homeless who don’t want to go to shelters to help them keep their desire to live and return to life. It involves taking care of people’s children so they can go to work and won’t have an excuse to abort them. Walking the streets talking to unchurched men about fatherhood and manhood, especially in the poorest neighborhoods where the level of education is very low. It involves getting up in the middle of the night to sit with someone who is dying and praying them into heaven.
There are less men entering the Franciscan Brothers of Life than there are those entering the diocesan seminary. I believe that Jesus only calls those who can do this work. Not many can do it. I also believe that many men underestimate themselves and believe they cannot do this work. But if they only saw themselves holding a child who has been aborted or a child whose lives they helped save, they may change their minds.
You’re right. This type of religious life is not going to get the large numbers in the USA. It does in other countries where people are more used to living a hard life, but not in our own. The Missionaries of Charity are a great example. They import sisters and brothers into the USA, because they don’t have enough Americans joining them. But they have several thousand from the developing nations and several hundred from Europe. Americans have a real problem with religious life.
I believe that American men have an even greater problem than American women. That why more men choose to be priests than brothers. American men are very status conscious. The priest is more visible and also in the mind of many Catholics who don’t understand the value of religious life, the priest is higher than a religious brother. So many men believe that they should go for the executive position rather than the entry level. They don’t realize that Holy Orders and Religious Life are animals of different speceis. Priests and Brothers do not compete for power in the Church. Nor do we compete for popularity. We live very different lives from each other. The brother’s life usually involves work that no one else wants to do.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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anode
Guest
I think that being a brother or sister doing the sort of work you describe requires special communication skills which not many people have; many of these people used to enter religious life, especially women’s orders, but are doing so now in fewer numbers, I suspect much fewer. These are popular, successful people with many friends, who can more or less do anything they want. I notice that, outside of the Dominican teaching orders (Nashville and Ann Arbor), the other young habited orders that everyone talks about–Srs. of Life, Franciscans of the Renewal --have large novitiates, fewer first professed and a trickle of final professions–at least for now. I suspect that their difficult work has something to do with this.You’re absolutely right. I’m not a sister. I’m a brother. I’ll give you an example of what you’re talking about. My superior released me to the local bishop (I’m canonically connected to my community) like Mother Teresa was released. This is not uncommon in the Church.
I was released to live and work outside my community. The work involves the Gospel of Life. I work in five pregnancy centers, the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese, Chastity Days for youth, Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats for men and women who have had pregnancies, and fatherhood education for men who are expectant father.
The work also involves the internet: writing and communicating with people on life issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment. It involves sleeping under bridges with the homeless who don’t want to go to shelters to help them keep their desire to live and return to life. It involves taking care of people’s children so they can go to work and won’t have an excuse to abort them. Walking the streets talking to unchurched men about fatherhood and manhood, especially in the poorest neighborhoods where the level of education is very low. It involves getting up in the middle of the night to sit with someone who is dying and praying them into heaven.
There are less men entering the Franciscan Brothers of Life than there are those entering the diocesan seminary. I believe that Jesus only calls those who can do this work. Not many can do it. I also believe that many men underestimate themselves and believe they cannot do this work. But if they only saw themselves holding a child who has been aborted or a child whose lives they helped save, they may change their minds.
You’re right. This type of religious life is not going to get the large numbers in the USA. It does in other countries where people are more used to living a hard life, but not in our own. The Missionaries of Charity are a great example. They import sisters and brothers into the USA, because they don’t have enough Americans joining them. But they have several thousand from the developing nations and several hundred from Europe. Americans have a real problem with religious life.
I believe that American men have an even greater problem than American women. That why more men choose to be priests than brothers. American men are very status conscious. The priest is more visible and also in the mind of many Catholics who don’t understand the value of religious life, the priest is higher than a religious brother. So many men believe that they should go for the executive position rather than the entry level. They don’t realize that Holy Orders and Religious Life are animals of different speceis. Priests and Brothers do not compete for power in the Church. Nor do we compete for popularity. We live very different lives from each other. The brother’s life usually involves work that no one else wants to do.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
The Missionaries of Charity state that if you enter, you should be able to accept doing any work anywhere. They are all over the world and do a lot of menial work. American women may not want to do this, and I can’t say I blame them. In most orders in the US, potential entrants can get some idea of at least a range of work they may be doing and where they will be doing it. Usually only volunteers go overseas, for example.
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JReducation
Guest
This is actually the case with the major religious orders: Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Missionaries of Charity, Augustinians, Redemptorists and others.
The congregations such as the Nashville Dominicans and the Dominicans of Mary are local congregations There are very few sisters in the USA who are members of the Franciscan Order, Dominican Order, Augustinian Order or the major religious orders, as they are called. Most sisters are members of congregations. Congregations have a juridic personality in a specifically identifiable region. The orders are international. Even though the Missionaries of Charity are a society, they used the Franciscan Rule as the model upon which they wrote their constitution. They don’t actually have a rule, nor do they follow one. Mother took St. Benedict’s statutes on prayer from his rule and St. Francis’ statutes on poverty, obedience, work, and submission from our rule. She put them together into a constitution that is very powerful and very demanding. It has to be. It combines two of the most demanding rules in religious life. Therefore, the Missionaries of Charity (male and female) follow ther same pattern of submission and work as the major orders.
One reason that the Franciscans of the Renewal and the Sisters of Life don’t retain everyone that they receive is because they follow the the Rules of Francis and Augustine respectively. Those rules do require submission to the voice of the superior, availability to go anywhere on command without asking questions, and a daily dose of manual labor (what others consider menial taks). I know because the friars follow the same rule. We have to clean bathrooms, do dishes, scrub floors, do laundry, sometimes we have to do it for the people whom we serve as well as for ourselves. And yet all of our friars have at least a Master’s Degree.
But this is what being a sign of contradiction means. You have a Master’s or a Doctorate, but you are the lowest of the servants of God. It is the willingness to detach from the honors that we have earned that opens a special place for the grace of God in our lives. My day is spent between internet ministry and pregnancy centers or delivering cribs and baby food. My background is in Theology and Neuropsychology. But that is not why I became a Franciscan. I was a neuropsych before I became a Franciscan. The doctorate in theology was my superior’s idea. But what I do is delivering food, cribs, teaching fatherhood classes, doing online evangelization, laundry, cooking, prayer, community recreation and other activities are the essence of what I am. I am Brother. That’s the most important thing in my life. Serving the unborn, the chronically ill and elderly whose lives are threatened by the Culture of Death is what I do, because it is what Jesus wants.
Whether American men and women feel that their talents and gifts over qualify them to be religious is really a sign of our culture. Our values are off.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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