20 replies to this topic

[EmilyAnn]

So, as the title already tells you I am back from St. Cecilia's. I'm not even sure where to start telling you about my visit!

St. C's is wonderful. I love the community, I love the Office, I love the Latin, I love the work, I love everything about it. Their whole life just fit me like a glove. It was different to how I expected, in the most wonderful way because it was just so amazing. But then again I'm not really sure how I expected it to be. The sisters are all wonderful, though I didn't get to really meet all of them. The novitiate are just fabulous - Mother Mistress and Mother Zelatrix and amazing. They have two juniors, one made her first vows not long before my arrival, and a brand-new postulant who has only been there six weeks. The postulant had actually read my blog and send me an email but we expected to just miss meeting each other since she wasn't supposed to enter for another few months but ended up coming early so it was fantastic to meet her. Anyone who thinks nuns are unhappy should be sent straight to St. C's - their joy just shines out of them. At recreation we're always laughing right up to the bell for the next Office! There were times when I was walking down the cloister to Compline still giggling to myself. And the silence! Oh the silence. I never thought of it as silence but more as quiet, a beautiful calm stillness. The Great Silence lasts until Mass so you get a wonderful few hours in the morning of just quiet, punctuated only by the Office. And the lessons were always so interesting, even in just the short while I learnt so much. I loved the host-making, but I was surprised I actually liked gardening a lot and I'm well known for claiming an allergy to nature of all kinds. And of course I wasn't exempt from having to clean! But even that could be enjoyable if you took the right attitude to it.

Mother Mistress and Mother Abbess want me to go back for a second visit, hopefully in January. At first I was a bit cautious about it, I was worried this was a round-about way of saying "no". But MM assured me it's good and that most people make several visits, especially since I've got a year of university left it would be good to make another visit just to be sure I still feel it's the right place. But I could be looking at an entrance in about September 2013!

I'm going to stop there because I don't want to bore you all with things you don't want to hear about but so if you have any questions or anything then ask away!

Oh and y'all were in my prayers.

[maximillion]

I am SO pleased for you, it sounds wonderful, and happy it went well.
Thanks for posting the details. I'll leave it to others to ask questions.

[Mary's Margaret]

Welcome back, EmilyAnn. How wonderful to 'hear' you sounding so happy and excited! It certainly does sound like it felt like home and that you fit in beautifully. No questions at the moment (very early here), but I certainly would never be bored with anything you'd like to share. Continued prayers for you.

[EmilyAnn]

Oh and this was one of the funniest things. We were at recreation one afternoon, just sitting upstairs since it was raining. One of the black veils' father had been to visit and had given us lots of cherries so we had them with dinner. One of the Juniors was telling us how you can play "tinker tailor" with cherry stones.

[Regarding the question "who will I marry?"]
Junior 1: At dinner I got 'rich man' and at supper I got "poor man".
Junior 2: That's very fitting.
Junior 1: You can also do "how many children will I have?"
Junior 2: That depends how hard you pray!

I thought it was just such a fabulous response and she said it so matter-of-fact-ly. I will have to use that response in the future!

[Annie12]

I'm so happy for you!

[Jennirom]

I'm so pleased that you had a wonderful visit........continued prayers as you continue to discern.

[Queen'sDaughter]

So glad that your visit went well. And I would love to hear every detail. Starting with how many nuns there are at St. Cecilia's!

[InPersonaChriste]

I am so happy to hear it! Benedictines are wonderful! I would love to hear everything!

[maximillion]

Have to admit to a very great attraction to the Benedictines. I did think at one point of becoming an Oblate, so I know quite a bit about their charism, in general.
I love the simplicity, and adore the chant.
How did you get on with the chant? Do the noviciate have lessons? How about the Lectio - I stumbled a bit with that when I went on a couple of live-ins, or what passed for them in the last century!

[EmilyAnn]

I'm using an iPod touch so I apologies if this is riddled with errors.

QD: There are about 28 sisters at St C's, with another postulant entering next month.

Maximillion: I adore the chant. Since St C's is part of Solesmes they have a big focus on their chant. I didn't sing at all, I just followed along. Which is harder than it sounds considering its in Latin and I don't know any Latin. But I learnt a surprising amount in just the few weeks because you are so totally immersed in it.

The novitiate do have lessons, twice a day on most days. Holy Rule is everyday and then there are Scripture, Chant, Latin, Monastic History, etc.

I think Lectio was quite difficult for me because I'm by nature a very fast reader so Lectio isn't instinctive to me. When it was sunny I found taking my book outside and walking the grounds as I read made it much easier - I would often pass the juniors doing this as well.

[emmaberry]

Mother Mistress and Mother Abbess want me to go back for a second visit, hopefully in January. At first I was a bit cautious about it, I was worried this was a round-about way of saying "no". But MM assured me it's good and that most people make several visits, especially since I've got a year of university left it would be good to make another visit just to be sure I still feel it's the right place. But I could be looking at an entrance in about September 2013!

You sound just thrilled! I have to admit, I understand your hesitancy (I would call what I felt leaning more towards hurt) when Mother said to come back for a second visit too. It is almost like, "But don't you like me as much as I love this community?" Like you said, they wouldn't plan on a second visit unless they saw promise in you as a candidate for them. How exciting to have a possible entrance month! It would be so wonderful if you were there next September.

Do you mind if I asked how you felt about the number of nuns? The community I am applying to has about that many, and it seems like a lot. Sometimes I wonder whether I would fit better in a community with less nuns. Did you feel like they had close familial bonds with each other? I know mid-twenties is not too many nuns, but it is a higher number than you see in a lot of cloisters today. How many did you get to know in the time you were there?

Oh and this was one of the funniest things. We were at recreation one afternoon, just sitting upstairs since it was raining. One of the black veils' father had been to visit and had given us lots of cherries so we had them with dinner. One of the Juniors was telling us how you can play "tinker tailor" with cherry stones.

[Regarding the question "who will I marry?"]
Junior 1: At dinner I got 'rich man' and at supper I got "poor man".
Junior 2: That's very fitting.
Junior 1: You can also do "how many children will I have?"
Junior 2: That depends how hard you pray!

I thought it was just such a fabulous response and she said it so matter-of-fact-ly. I will have to use that response in the future!

This is just amesome. Is tinker tailor a British game?

Oh and y'all were in my prayers.

So encouraging to hear. Thank you!

Edited by emmaberry, 28 July 2012 - 05:51 PM.

[maximillion]

'Tinker, Tailor'
You play with stones of fruit ( pits) pointing to each you have on your plate as you eat.....

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, beggar man, poor man, thief. Doctor, lawyer, Indian Chief.
Keep going back to the beginning. The last one you name is your predicted husband to be.

[FuturePriest387]

So, as the title already tells you I am back from St. Cecilia's. I'm not even sure where to start telling you about my visit!

St. C's is wonderful. I love the community, I love the Office, I love the Latin, I love the work, I love everything about it. Their whole life just fit me like a glove. It was different to how I expected, in the most wonderful way because it was just so amazing. But then again I'm not really sure how I expected it to be. The sisters are all wonderful, though I didn't get to really meet all of them. The novitiate are just fabulous - Mother Mistress and Mother Zelatrix and amazing. They have two juniors, one made her first vows not long before my arrival, and a brand-new postulant who has only been there six weeks. The postulant had actually read my blog and send me an email but we expected to just miss meeting each other since she wasn't supposed to enter for another few months but ended up coming early so it was fantastic to meet her. Anyone who thinks nuns are unhappy should be sent straight to St. C's - their joy just shines out of them. At recreation we're always laughing right up to the bell for the next Office! There were times when I was walking down the cloister to Compline still giggling to myself. And the silence! Oh the silence. I never thought of it as silence but more as quiet, a beautiful calm stillness. The Great Silence lasts until Mass so you get a wonderful few hours in the morning of just quiet, punctuated only by the Office. And the lessons were always so interesting, even in just the short while I learnt so much. I loved the host-making, but I was surprised I actually liked gardening a lot and I'm well known for claiming an allergy to nature of all kinds. And of course I wasn't exempt from having to clean! But even that could be enjoyable if you took the right attitude to it.

Mother Mistress and Mother Abbess want me to go back for a second visit, hopefully in January. At first I was a bit cautious about it, I was worried this was a round-about way of saying "no". But MM assured me it's good and that most people make several visits, especially since I've got a year of university left it would be good to make another visit just to be sure I still feel it's the right place. But I could be looking at an entrance in about September 2013!

I'm going to stop there because I don't want to bore you all with things you don't want to hear about but so if you have any questions or anything then ask away!

Oh and y'all were in my prayers.

It's wonderful that you had such a great time! I didn't see this until just now. I'm actually planning on leaving Phatmass for a while so I am glad I saw this first. If you have the opportunity I would love to speak with you about your live-in. If you want to privately message me about it I would love to hear about it. After you tell me about your exciting visit perhaps I can get the chance to bore you with my story about the phone call with the Franciscan Brothers Minor I had recently before I leave for a while.

[EmilyAnn]

It's wonderful that you had such a great time! I didn't see this until just now. I'm actually planning on leaving Phatmass for a while so I am glad I saw this first. If you have the opportunity I would love to speak with you about your live-in. If you want to privately message me about it I would love to hear about it. After you tell me about your exciting visit perhaps I can get the chance to bore you with my story about the phone call with the Franciscan Brothers Minor I had recently before I leave for a while.

I'm glad you saw this before you leave! I sent you a PM, I hope you haven't left yet.

[EmilyAnn]

And I gotta say the world is incredibly LOUD when you leave a monastery! I had to go into London the day I left and it felt like my senses were going into overload. Everything was too loud, I could smell everyone's perfume and there were just too many people. I was longing for the quiet and the peace of the monastery!

And another thing, I think a live-in is the best thing a discerner can possibly do. The life is completely different to the way you can imagine it (in a good way for me!) and a live-in can help you discern if you really are attracted to the life and are able to lead the life.

[EmilyAnn]

You sound just thrilled! I have to admit, I understand your hesitancy (I would call what I felt leaning more towards hurt) when Mother said to come back for a second visit too. It is almost like, "But don't you like me as much as I love this community?" Like you said, they wouldn't plan on a second visit unless they saw promise in you as a candidate for them. How exciting to have a possible entrance month! It would be so wonderful if you were there next September.

Do you mind if I asked how you felt about the number of nuns? The community I am applying to has about that many, and it seems like a lot. Sometimes I wonder whether I would fit better in a community with less nuns. Did you feel like they had close familial bonds with each other? I know mid-twenties is not too many nuns, but it is a higher number than you see in a lot of cloisters today. How many did you get to know in the time you were there?

Yes, hurt is the perfect way to describe it! It felt like a rejection. But I asked MM about it and was thoroughly reassured!

It does seem like a high number but it didn't really feel that way. In choir you kind of think "are there really like 25 people here" (not everyone was always there, obviously some were sick or cooking or whatever). I got to know the two juniors, the postulant and, MM and MZ very well since I was with the novitiate the most. I got to know the one in charge of the gardening quite well, and a few from the altar-bread department just from working. And I sat next to one of the older sisters one recreation who has had her diamond jubilee! She was so sweet, I like her a lot But I met most of them at least in passing.

[Strictlyinkblot]

I'm so glad everything went well for you.

[MarysLittleFlower]

That sounds so wonderful! :D thanks for sharing

do they have the Latin Mass?

they sound like such a great community!

edit: I just realized that when I asked about the Latin Mass, I got this community confused with another similar one: http://benedictinesofmary.org/ oops! but anyways I'm just wondering cause you mentioned Latin! )

Edited by MarysLittleFlower, 05 August 2012 - 03:25 PM.

[EmilyAnn]

That sounds so wonderful! :D thanks for sharing

do they have the Latin Mass?

they sound like such a great community!

edit: I just realized that when I asked about the Latin Mass, I got this community confused with another similar one: http://benedictinesofmary.org/ oops! but anyways I'm just wondering cause you mentioned Latin! )

They do have Mass in Latin, but in the Ordinary Form. The Office is in Latin too. It's absolutely wonderful. I don't know Latin but even after 2 weeks, just being so immersed in it I learnt a lot.

[maximillion]

Just a little bit envious...............