Leaderboard

If I could please have your prayers as I continue discern a vocation to the permanent diaconate, it would be wonderful. This evening our class will be instituted as Lectors. Please pray for all the men (and their families) in our class. Thank you! - Jason

Thank you all for all of your thoughtful replies! All of your different perspectives have shown me one thing at least—that I may not be quite ready to make this decision. I’m going to continue prayer, rest back, and trust Him. I’m sure I will know the answer in due time. Thanks again!

People leave behind, um, people when they enter religious life. Human beings. Family members. I'm sorry, but if you find the thought of leaving behind animals, no matter how important they are to you, a virtually insurmountable barrier, then it probably is a sign that you care more about them than about religious life. Nothing wrong with that. But part of religious life is detachment. As has been said, make sure they are well cared for. If your call is real, it will override this.

I finally had time to watch and highly recommend it. Again one of the things I like about Fr. Ripperger is that he will elaborate on the "how and why" -- for example, I knew what absolution was, but up until watching that video, was not familiar with what direct vs. indirect absolution was, or what it means and why one would confess a forgotten mortal sin in submission to the power of the keys. I find this kind of information very helpful because I have a tendency to want to know the "how and why" -- likely because I'm a classic melancholic, detail oriented, prone to anxiety and scruples and o

Shocking.

The term is a modern one, and. may well be cultural. I remember seeing it in the Lexau book, Convent Life (published in the 1960s), and I think also in the various McCarthy guides to women's religious communities. As Nada's post suggests, the term has no canonical or "official" standing. It was used to describe communities that tried to bridge the distinction between the purely contemplative and the apostolic by observing elements of each. A couple of examples are the Religious of the Sacred Heart, and the Daughters of St. Paul. "Monastic" is a different matter. It is often used incorrect

I want to second this, in both aspects. I once knew a religious community with two dogs, and I have to say, while the sisters all loved caring for them and taking them for walks, I got the impression the dogs were less happy with the arrangement. I believe dogs only cope well with so many "pack leaders", not with 20 sisters or so taking the role in turns. So, even if the convent would accept you as well as your dogs, it might be not in their best interest to expect them to become "convent dogs", shared with everyone. But I find the other point Nunsuch makes even more important, and I

I hope you return and I welcome it.

I stop in on occasion.

I am not familiar with this monastery - but cloistered Carmelites are expected to be detached to a huge extent. (Not that all religious life does not involve detachment, but, in a house of active Franciscans, one might just find a pet - not that everyone can bring one along.) I wonder (and cannot know) if this is more a reason you are thinking of not to pursue such a life - very strict and austere - than what would prevent you for doing so. Converts, or those who come to devotion in mature years, often have a period of having a sense of needing to do the extraordinary. Focus on your Confi

I would appreciate your prayers for this weekend. I am serving on the team for a high school/college age retreat and have to give a talk. I'm not big on public speaking. Also, prayers for the situation at my workplace would be much appreciated. God bless.

I came across this video and thought I'd post it here, as these nuns don't have recordings of themselves. It's beautiful! Someday, I shall visit... https://m.facebook.com/groups/457943714264450?view=permalink&id=2165420530183418

I think you mean me (@Nunsuch). Anyway, while most of my research focuses on the period prior to the 1917 Code in the US, I have published a bit on the last century. Prior to 1900, there really was only one form of canonical religious life for women--the enclosed, cloistered kind--with everything else (by then by far encompassing most sisters) seen as "exceptional. In 1900, the papal document Conditae a Christo finally recognized active, uncloistered religious life for women as an official thing. The Normae to codify this were issued in 1901, and were incorporated into the 1917 Code of Canon L

I think this may be a shift from the older "semi-cloistered" which again would be close to 'monastic' in that the sisters' apostolate was on their own grounds but in which they interacted with the public.

I don't know--it seems to me that a community might be leery of one who expresses a preference to being a dog or dogs.

I get it. I just didn't want her to be discouraged from writing to them to tell her story and ask.

Very interesting timing... This talk popped up in my YouTube feed. It's a topic I haven't heard this holy priest say much about, before. It's set to be released this evening:

In addition to the policies of individual monasteries, the idea of their accepting a visitor who has been to a bunch of other places is also potentially endangering to the community. I don't know if you have been fully vaccinated but, even if you have been, you can still transmit Covid to others and will have been potentially exposed in a lot of places. Would you be able to be frequently and reliably tested? There are SO many considerations here.

I have had dogs all my life, sometimes two or three at a time. I now do dog sitting and have quite an extensive clientele. So, I know dogs! One thing that impressed me that I had not known before, is that dogs respond to love no matter who gives love. One of my clients tells me that in the parking lot, she opens the car door, and her dog runs straight to my front door. While under my care, the dogs seem quite happy with the love and attention I give them, as well as the walks and treats! While they are with me, I notice no sadness or depression. I always make sure it is a fun experience

JHFamily is correct - most monasteries have at least a few guest rooms; they all "receive guests as Christ." But making arrangements in advance is always preferred. When you contact a monastery to make arrangements, you might ask about: - the daily schedule - meals, Mass, hours of the divine office, - eating arrangements (with the nuns/monks, separate, self-catering), - whether/when you can pray with the sisters or monks, - whether they have a set stipend - any 'stay limit' such as three days - spiritual direction (confession, if it's a monastery of monks, or just discussion, Q

From a short essay on Scrupulosity, which can be found on the website of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, established by the FSSP. http://www.olmcfssp.org/cms/images/uploads/Scrupulosity_7.15_.12_.pdf Rules for the Scrupulous Person to Follow 1. Do not repeat a sin in confession when it has been told in a previous confession even if you doubt it was told, or doubt it was told in a sufficiently adequate and complete way. 2. Do not tell doubtful sins in confession, only clear and certain ones. 3. Do not repeat your penance after confession, or any of the words of your p

I think, I probably did at the time. This was approaching ten years ago. I actually confessed the sin twice, upon which the priest told me if I already confessed it before I need to trust God etc etc. I found Fr. Ripperger's video really helpful, the phorum responses er . . . they kind of lead me down this bad path. "were they invalid? Does that mean these past ten years I've been in mortal sin? Does that render my marriage illicit? Do I have to confess all my sins of the past ten years . . " So I'm going to do my best to take his advice. So I just prayed a rosary. I'm very thankful

I will pray to God for your father. God will take good care of him.

Let's have some fun! The rules: 1. Standard Chess 2. The colors of the pieces alternate for each comment on this thread ex) Commenter 1: White Pawn to C3 Commenter 2: Black knight to H6 Commenter 3: White Pawn to A3 Commenter 4: Black [Piece] to [Square] and so on 3. A picture of the board will be posted by me every 10 comments; I'd recommend keeping track of it yourselves as well for each move Aaaand begin! Good luck everyone White Pawn (A2) to A4

d5

Mysticism is simply the quest for union with God, and union with God is simply the gift of God's own life to us. And for as long as the Church has had saints - of which there many in all centuries - it has kept this flame alive. The rosary itself is ultimately mystical, as well as, par excellence, the Mass which is the source of this union. Mysticism is not about techniques, it is not about repeating one word till one forgets all else to reach the divine. God is not reached by seeking out altered mental states. God gives himself to us and we give ourselves to him, person to Person, throug

We should definitely be in conversation outside this list! If you send me a direct message....

@Nunsense, you've got a better grasp of this than I. I just went through much of the 1917 code of canon law, and there is no "semi-cloistered". There is a growing sense in there, though, of papal and constitutional cloister being different. In a work done on the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, the sisters definitely talk about being "semi-cloistered" which they seem to apply to the decades immediately before VII. They link this with being more contemplative, but not because they were not able to follow their constitutions, but because that was what always was intended by their founder.

Praying.

Lil' update for y'all... In 2012, I was confirmed into the Eastern Orthodox Church. Things eventually soured to the point where I was not okay with being a part of it, as I was one of the victims of a local scandal within it. And it was dealt with inappropriately, which disgusted me. There were other things that happened, too, which I don't need to get into. Anyhow, in addition to that, God had initially told me to convert to Catholicism around the time I started posting here, not Eastern Orthodoxy. And I agree with Catholic theology. But not so much with Eastern Orthodoxy. I knew

This is the most american sentence I have ever read here ! In France, a community founded in the 70's/80's is called a "new community" and treated as suche. 90's/2000's are basically newborn.

I have stayed at several religious guest facilities and made arrangements through email, although I imagine many are not accepting guests at the moment. Not all Benedictine's do this, despite their history, and some do it on more of an emergency bases. I am guessing you are open to non-Benedictine. Many orders that have retreat space will also let you stay for a private retreat, even if just a night. The usual donation is around $50, unless stated otherwise. Typically there is an envelope so that donation is confidential. Here are a few monasteries that are lovely and that I've enjoyed

*bring

It would seem a reasonable approach to contact the community to see if they would be interested in discerning with you. If so you could get to know them while they get to know you. You may even experience what they think about dogs. Some communities have dogs, others do not. One of great comfort was the Great Dane, Br Jude, at The Abbey of St Walburga. There may be no need to worry about the older dog or either dog. If you were ever asked to join the community you could then express your preference to being a dog or dogs. The community would then give a determination and you would be

The disciples had gathered in fear and sadness, and Jesus appeared among them, risen, and still scarred. However Thomas misses out on Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples. It is Sunday night, and they have been locked in the Upper Room, afraid for their lives since Friday night. But not Thomas. Where is he? Was he terrified and trying to hide by himself, or was he, full of courage, the only one brave enough to venture out and bring back food to his friends? Whatever it was, he was not there when Jesus appeared in the locked Upper Room. They so desperately want their dead frien

I might argue that this would put her in a position that they would make an exception. Being a recent convert or revert puts her in a different position than a young lady who has been a practicing Catholic but is just now responding. It's true that the tend to accept only younger women, but I do know the JMJ's have made the very occasional exception for one they truly believe has a calling.

Of course there are dangerous ideologies on the right but Catholicism isn't one of them. It's also not on the same level as the other ones, and yet thats the opposite of what we display when we give other (regardless of right/left) ideologies tolerance.

There are dangerous ideologies on the right, too. That's what I think people fail to recognize. And I think that folks on the right are also largely driven by fear, and that's not healthy.

First of all, let me say my input will not be helpful..except to validate your feelings! That is a really difficult situation to be in!! Nothing like dealing with the feeling, of abandoning our faithful fur companions; add to the guilt, that most likely would arise from the separation. It's not like one can "explain" the reason to our fur companions for a major change they are about to experiance and why. Possibly going into a monastery that have their own canine "look outs" or joining a community that has a convent cat..just isn't the same thing. There is alot to c

You might find a religious order prepared to take your dogs. I expect if they had a good amount of Land it might not be such a huge problem. But leaving pets is one of the detatchments which is expected in most cases.

Not Catholic, but I’m a psych in training, so maybe this perspective will help. Depression can definitely be a biological illness that requires medication to help restore balance in the brain. However, often it isn’t. Depression most often results from trauma and stress that have gone undealt with. For instance, in the clinic I’m doing my practical internships with, we see a lot of people that are homeless or food insecure and often they are depressed. Who could blame them? They’ve fallen through the cracks of society and it’s very hard to come back up from that, so it’s normal to fe

Definitely contact them ahead of time. The Benedictine monasteries in my area are closed to visitors because of the pandemic and the risk to elderly and infirm nuns.

They're not Benedictines, but the Dominican nuns in Ortonville, MI have a retreat house: https://www.mtthabornunsop.com/retreat-house

I don't know where you're planning on staying, but I do know that Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, OK and the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in Gower, MO are both receiving guests. Never been to Gower, but Clear Creek has excellent accommodation for women, including meals served daily.

Mazal tov on your recent inheritance/windfall/lottery win, or whatever has given you enough $$$ to think about traveling a bit. Use it, as the Jewish saying goes, in good health, Nikita.

Many religious houses--maybe most--are currently not even opening their chapels to outsiders, much less their guest houses. So you may need to wait until life returns to normal, or at least closer to normal. Most of the communities I know of don't even allow their sisters who live outside the motherhouse to attend Mass there.

Welcome back!

He is risen indeed, Alleluia! And Alleluia for coming home. Welcome!

My only real frame of reference is the kibbutz, where meals are all prepared in a communal kitchen and eaten in a common dining room. Technically, if enough members wanted caviar, and there was a vote to go and buy it, the kibbutz would have to buy enough for all the members, but of course, in practice it doesn't work like that. An awful lot depends on the revenues of the kibbutz as to the extent of nutrition on the kibbutz. What happens is that the kibbutz will send a member or two to study dietetics, as a first step so that dietary [and catering] needs will be addressed by an expert.

I think the reason why private vows aren't related to hermits very often here is because a vocation to be a canonical hermit involves a lot more than just "making vows outside a community" (just as a call to consecrated virginity does, actually). A call to be a hermit is a very distinctive call to a life entirely devoted to contemplative prayer in solitude--it's not specifically a call to simply "not be a part of a community." The big difference between public vows and private vows are that public vows are formally received in the name of the Church by a legitimate authority. For reli