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Article:

"At a brunch near the University of Colorado last year, I met a film professor, Jim Palmer, who told me his 34-year-old daughter, Sydney, was becoming a nun and about to have her "clothing ceremony," when she would receive a new name and have her long, strawberry-blonde hair cut off to go "under the veil." ..."


~ continues here: http://www.saradavidson.com/articleA2.htm

http://www.abbeyofreginalaudis.com/

Terrific article.

this confirms my impression that this abbey is very unusual.

Thanks for the link to this article on Regina Laudis. If anyone would like to read more about the founding and development of Regina Laudis, there is a new book out called Mother Benedict: Foundress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis by Antoinette Bosco. It is a very interesting read and you really get a feel for the philosophy behind Regina Laudis. It does discuss the Closed Community, the Consecration of Virgins, the investigation in the eighties, etc. A good read!

what a great article

Interesting article....somewhat odd though

Since this monastery is not far from where I live, I was pretty interested in it. Sometime last year I started reading about Mother Dolores Hart. One of the articles was of an interview between the newspaper and her. Mother Dolores said that she, as a member of the film academy (I can't remember the actual name of the association, but their basic "job" is to rate current movies), wanted to be able to vote on the films. She said that they agreed to send her the videocassette copies of the movies they'd be voting on, and she'd watch them in the cloister and then vote on them. The interviewer asked if she realized how raunchy the majority of American films are today, and she said that she was aware of this. Mother Dolores said that, as Benedictines, they are called to be strong enough to be exposed to ungodly influences and still remain close to Him. Somehow, that doesn't sound right....

I have a very solid, emotionally sound, and very orthodox friend who visited and got a very bad impression from this monastery. She said as far as appearances they seem very normal and faithful, but it's not really so. One sister told her that during the first years after Vatican II, when all the sisters of different Orders were trading in their habits for lay clothes, they kept their habit just to be "different", otherwise they would have also done away with them. She also noticed that the vocation directress wanted candidates who had been someone in the world, such as a doctor or lawyer. My friend had some impressive degrees, hence their interest in her.



We've had much discussion on Verbi Sponsa here at Phatmass, and this is obviously not in line with its guidelines for the Enclosure of Nuns.

I visited Regina Laudis long ago, in the 1950's, and have followed it with interest. I don't know much about the events of the 1980's. But RL has had a lot of applicants and interest from its founding. I believe that it founded OL of the Rock in Wash state, which is independent now. It was the interest of the foundress Mother Benedicta Duss in expertise among the nuns, especially in running a farm, making cheese, which underlay sending the nuns to graduate school. The interest in expertise and education is a Benedictine trait and fostered especially in its abbeys, where, because of the vow of stability the monks and nuns would be expected to spend their lives, and were often involved in scholarly work and teaching. Thus the emphasis on singing the office in Greg chant in Latin, which RL does. Also the night office.

If I were to find a criticism, it sounds from the article, as if the nuns are very busy, and don't have a lot of time to sit down, reflect, and pray; but this is only an impression from the article.

But RL has always thrived, even during the dry periods, and will probably continue to do so.

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Agreed! I keep in mind that it was very obviously written by a non-Catholic, so I take it with a grain of salt.

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That did strike me as odd also. Doesn't seem very Catholic. I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt that there is more than meets the eye from this article, but obviously, one would need to look into things very carefully before supporting them.

I very much appreciate jkaands' post emphasizing the Benedictine appreciation and encouragement for scholarship and intellectual life, so people with gifts in that area who might well have been successful in secular life would be legitimately of interest for their potential to contribute to the monastic community. These nuns are pioneering in preserving traditional farming, animal husbandry and cheese-making activities, which is not an esoteric pursuit for them but part of the Benedictine commitment to being self-sustaining communities. OL of the Rock raises rare breeds of animals and maintains a raw milk dairy in addition to their farming.

I loved this article about RL- found it very touching and inspiring. It does sound like they have a busy work day, but I love that they preserve the night office and the Latin Gregorian chant.

Mother Hart is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences so she would be voting for the Academy Awards (Oscars). I am not sure about this, but I don't think RL is bound by papal enclosure- rather they may have monastic enclosure and if so I'm not sure the strictures of Verbi Sonsa would be binding to them.

Re the expertise issue, wasn't there a book a few years about the contribution of western monasticism to preserving western civilization and keeping the non-specific all-purpose marauders at bay? All those (OSB) monks painstakingly
copying all those precious manuscripts!

Ah, yes, Thomas Cahill's "How the Irish Saved Civilization"!

And...well...Mother Benedicta Duss may have been something of a snob...the preference for higher degrees may not continue in the future but appears to have come in handy...Anyone read "This House of Brede" by Rumor Godden--very esoteric group of nuns in that novel, also OSBs.

Not to exclude the others, plenty of scholars among the OP's (with all those colleges!) and the OSF's, ditto...

Re the enclosure issue, I don't think that the OSB nuns are 'as enclosed' as the PC's, DC's, or PC's. Remember that the Benedictine rule was formulated in the 5th c. long before the others. It is not my impression that the OSB nuns are notnearly as enclosed, certainly RL isn't, with its interns and pix of nuns alongside visitors, and nuns going off to grad school. I am not certain about the other OSB nuns in the US or the UK, but I have the same impression..

If anyone here saw Sr. Gertrude Gillette, OSB, on EWTN Live last Wednesday, they might recall when she mentioned that historically the Benedictines did not observe what we know as papal enclosure. While St. Benedict expected his monastics to be self sufficient within the monastery, it was anticipated that they would have occasional need to venture out from time to time, and St. Benedict even refers to this in his Rule. Most Benedictine nuns here observe constitutional enclosure for these purposes---only going out as necessary.

With as much intellectual talent as they seem to expect, (and yes, it kind of puts me off, too,) good thing St. Benedict devoted as much space as he did to humility in his Rule--his chapter on humility is the longest of any in his Rule, and has been described as the heart of the Rule by a number of Benedictine writers.

I believe RL and other OSB cloisters have constitutional enclosure--the extent of which is set by their constitutions.

Papal enclosure is observed by Carmelites, Dominicans, Poor Clares, Passionists, just to name a few.

Our proposed Cloisterites will be living as if papally enclosed, but will have constitutional enclosure.

Blessings,
Gemma

actually its very usual though perhaps less so in N.America, as such Ceremony(ies) in Roman Catholic Religious Life, has been going on ( and still universally does in the majority of Monastic Convents) as such in general formally,for 1400 years.....roughly ..only changing,the last 35 years... (though usually unofficially and contrary to the will of The Church in Her writings, and Community founders and cultural traditions ).
its very Catholic , because of The Incarnation,to use to the max, symbols that reflect our inner state, and actions showing forth Grace, we are not Protestants with no distinction from the world, living as disembodied spirits.... The Incarnation even affects our clothes and hair!
Pax et Bonum!

Yes. The source I was quoting was a sister I lived with at OLAM, not the article though

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Fascinating. Thank you.