Are there any orders that you guys have seen that you would suggest people be careful of if they come across. I mean, besides the Jesuits. (no offense to anyone who wants to be one)

I ask because today I came acrossSister Disciples of the Divine Master. In the Guide to Religious Ministries it says Apostolic work is contemplative/active life style, Perpetual Adoration, collaboration with the priesthood, liturgical apostolate. I liked their name, and that they were contemplative/active and are in italy and the U.S. but some pics made them seem like they collaborated with the priesthood a bit TOO much.

Yeah it looks like the Sister is about to consecrate the Host???? What's that about?!??!

Watch out for the Community of Jesus.

i don't know of any off hand though there are likely some that are not good news.

whichever order "AnchoressNun" was in...

yeah, that was dodgy

yeah she listed herself as non-catholic?? what was that about

I think dUSt put her in the non-catholic group after she was insisting "RC isn't the only true Church" and ignored any attempts to differentiate between "Roman" (i.e., Latin rite) Catholic and the Catholic Church as a whole.

..it was just weird.

it was wierd before the end. I don't know that she was in an official order. THe way she talked (especially about receiving the Eucharist) makes me wonder if it was schismatic anyway.

She was rejecting the magisterium of the Church for sure.

Watch out for the Congregation of Mary Queen Immaculate (CWMR)...their sedecavantists. Their habit is sooo pretty too!

CMRI??? Yeah they have a convent here in Omaha....they tried so hard to get me to come to their church. A nun wanted to meet me at their church and give me a tour and walk me through the Latin Mass. They seem so nice...I just don't agree with sedevacatism...

I looked into Anchoress' order, they are pre-Vatican II. They are traditional Catholics, but I think they are schismatic

oops, yes, CMRI! I used the wrong initials

Watch out for those wacky Carthusians!

Ya'll are giving some great advice and asking some good questions. I think I can help.

Whatever community you are interested in don't be afraid to ask questions. Any "legitmate" order will not have problems answering them. The communities that you want to be on guard with are the ones that are asking you why are you asking them.

Any community the does not recognize Vatican II (my opinion)

One order I came across had a "women's center" as part of their ministry. They incorporate songs to the earth as part of the mass. And referred to the earth as mother.

Any community that doesn't have the Liturgy of the Hours. Again my opinion.

Talking about the Sister Disciples don't know too much about them. The Daughters of St. Paul were founded by the same priest Father Alberione who started them. From his history I knwo he was a straight arrow. I would hate to think they are losing his spirit. I have my own concerns with the Daughters of St. Paul based on past history.


I think the "telling" part of us searching is these communities need to be open. If they aren't might I make a suggestion? RUN.

i think Carthusians are fine.

I looked at their website...I don't know what you mean by collaborate "too much". One of their works is that they take care of ill and aging priests. They are "contemplative" but not monastic or enclosed.

Really? I was really liking the Daughters of St. Paul. I don't know what to do. I feel called to serve God through writing... journalism-like... but apologetics, news about the Church, theology, and etc. I just can't seem to find a good order that has an apostolate like that.

I looked at their website... what's wrong with them? They looked pretty orthodox to me...



Taking care of aging priests is a good thing. Being up on the altar during the consecration is not. It looks like she's pretending to consecrate the host.

As for anchoress... she was pre-Vatican II and yet doesn't believe the Catholic Church is true. That seems. well, ironic.

I would contact the order. You can't really judge orthodoxy just based on a picture. It might have been outside of Mass. The fact that they are habited and have Eucharistic adoration looks pretty good.

Well anchoress told me it wasnt a "Catholic" order anyways. i didnt know other places had nuns besides Catholics...

Yeah, the orthodox have nuns... and Anglicans do. Actually, on an episode of EWTNs Coming Home, they interviewed a nun that had converted from a non-denominational religious community. She was lutheran I think. I'm not sure if they called themselves nuns though.,

Oh yeah near where I live just 10 minutes away is a retreat house. It is run by Episcopalian nuns. I find this curious though and I don't know if it is all their nuns. They ones here take their vows year by year, very few of them ever profess for life.

And two of their Sisters are also Fathers I don't understand it I just get headaches thinking about it.

What do you call them Father Sister whomever. Sister Father whomever. I guess it depends if they became a priest before becoming a sister....OH HELP. I give up.

they cant be fathers whether or not they are priest because they arent boys...

my first job was in a Christian bookstore before I reconciled to the Catholic Churhc... I saw an episcopalian female "priest" come in wearing a roman collar and clerics... ... those few moments quickly decided my stance on women's ordination. She was a very nice lady... but, the way she talked about being a pastor and bring in "motherly qualities" to the congregation was... scary.

Did you look at the pictures? The sisters dress like Benedictine monks/priests instead of a nun's habit. I find that a bit odd...

Yeah, that's where it got a little strange for me............

oh... lol... I had noticed that their habits were different, but they didn't strike me as necessarily masculine at first. I actually kind of liked them. But now that I look at them again... I guess you're right.

But I mean, the way mass was being celebrated looked quite beautiul, and very reverent. That's what I meant when I said they looked orthodox. But I guess their dress could be questionable.

I AGREE WITH YOU. I think it is wrong. But the Episcopal Church is doing it that way.

What I was told was that some of the sisters there don't like it, and have objected. They have been told shut up or leave.

I did just find this from the Community of Jesus though:

Yeah I know the feeling there is a female priest whom works at one of the campus ministery places on my campus.....I was rather shocked when I saw her, aparently her and her husband are priest.....Which is weird

That doesn't sound too bad... it depends on how far they take it. Celebrating common things is a good thing... as long as you don't throw out/ forget about the things that set you apart.

I know, but the "ordained" clergy represent five different denominations???

Maybe it means they come from backrounds including five different denomonations? I don't know, I guess I just don't feel comfortable bad- talking someone when all I've seen is a quick web-page.

I would totally support this suggestion. There was a picture in which I am almost positive the men and women of the community were performing Liturgical Dance, which is NOT allowed in the U.S.

I was getting strange vibes from that Anchoress Nun person, too (not from her, but from her Order's website). It just didn't give enough information to make a decision on whether or not the Order was good. I'm not ruling it out, but it seems that you'd really need to talk to someone in person.

The community of Jesus is similar in it's thinking, I believe. They believe in like no differences between all deonominations and the True Church, and they believe that the whole Church should just come together and mesh into one. It's like a very dimented version of Ecumenism or something.

I spent four discernment summers with the Daughters of St. Paul for high school, so I can agree with you here. They are an incredible Order, but they have some weak spots (habit, books they are selling in their store, semi-weak theology, etc.). They could be such a WONDERFUL Order, and I think for the most part they are great, but I would not join their Order because they have made too many compromises.

Oh and just one more thing I want add about different denominations ordaining women: Apprarently the Catholic Church will be getting a LOT of new members (as it may at the same time lose many of its unfaithful ones) from the Anglican Church! They (people on EWTN) are saying that if the Anglican Church starts ordaining women bishops that will be too much for many Anglicans.

I hope they are converting because they want to be in the True Church, not because they don't like what their church is doing...

I took a second look at the Comunity of Jesus' website. The history section says it was founded by two episcopalian women. Is it even really Catholic? It seems like a wierd quasi non-denominational thing.

I was under the impression they were Catholic, because I bought the little book of hours from a Catholic bookstore.

Yeah I have that book, but come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised at all of the Anglicans use the LotH as well, because there is nothing explicitly Catholic in it except that it is a Catholic Tradition, and there are commemorations of Saints (Which I don't think are in that little book they publish). I'd feel a whole lot better if I knew they weren't Catholic...

Watch out for the Sisters for Christian Community, they recently started allowing female ordinations putting themselves in schism with the Magisterium. Also I know that they allowed someone to take perpetual vows after only one year
I also looked at the site for the Community of Jesus, perhaps the similar habit is meant to bring an air of equality?
(Birdee playing Devil's Advocate)

Men and women are equal but different. Acting the same is an insult to their God-given characteristics, if you ask me.

True, and to be fair the habits of each were not the SAME just similar. Thereby promoting community identification but also individuality to some degree

The clothing they were wearing at Mass looked the same to me... I might not remember clearly. But it also looked like they were doing liturgical dance, which is strictly forbidden. I was talking to someone about it, and we think the organization might actually be non-Catholic, because there was no indication that they were indeed Catholic, we just assumed that from the book they published.

Show me where Liturgical dance is forbidden! If it was then how come it was allowed as part of the WYD Papal Mass in 2002? Please get your facts straight! And I Quote from the Catholic Catechism:
Part 2, Section 2, Chapter 4, Article 1, Heading 3
1674 Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church's sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals, 180 etc.

Here's the definitive document from the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship, headed by that great mensch, Francis Cardinal Arinze.

This document forbids liturgical dancing in the Latin Rite. While noting deviations in non-western cultures, it defines dancing as generally linked with "diversion, with profaneness, with unbridling of the senses," and thus unfit for the Holy Sacrafice.

It regulates "religious dancing" to times clearly outside the liturgy, and explicitly forbids priests from participating in "religious dancing" whatsoever.

Additionally, I believe that in America, the USCCB has explicitly condemned liturgical dance during the Mass.

That's exactly what I was looking for, but couldn't find. Thanks so much.

OK, OK I concede. I am from Canada where I guess we have a few different "local" rules. All I know is that in Canada Liturgical dance is not forbidden!
However.... using your Document By Caridnal Arinze...

"Actually, in favor of dance in the liturgy, an argument could be drawn from the passage of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, in which are given the norms for adaptation of the liturgy to the character and the traditions of the various peoples:

"In matters which do not affect the faith or the well-being of an entire community, the Church does not wish, even in the Liturgy, to impose a rigid uniformity; on the contrary, she respects and fosters the genius and talents of various races and people. Whatever in their way of life is not indissolubly bound up with superstition and error, she looks upon with benevolence and if possible keeps it intact, and sometimes even admits it into the Liturgy provided it accords with the genuine and authentic liturgical spirit."[1]

Theoretically, it could be deduced from that passage that certain forms of dancing and certain dance patterns could be introduced into Catholic worship. "