osapientia Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 [quote name='krissylou' date='17 June 2010 - 05:14 PM' timestamp='1276805667' post='2130593'] Okay, I so need to figure out a time to go there! [/quote] It's different. <big big wink and a smile> Sorry, I couldn't resist.
dakurgie Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 [quote name='TradMom' date='17 June 2010 - 01:52 PM' timestamp='1276800739' post='2130558'] +Praised be Jesus Christ! May God bless and reward you as continue to search to serve Him more fully. Pax, TradMom http://www.vocation-network.org/ http://www.religiousministries.com/ http://www.catholiclinks.org/women.htm [/quote] Dear TradMom, Thank you for your wisdom and guidance! Although, I do not post to the phorum very often, I do read it daily and throughly enjoy your insights in your comments. May God bless you. I think, I too, need to visit Reginia Lauds after reading. Blessings, Donna
DevotedtoHim Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 Osap and TradMom, I love you both! I've been to Regina Laudis (with TradMom!!!) and I love it. I have one thing to add. One of the nuns at Regina Laudis who does a lot of work with the guests told me that she is actually an Extern Nun. She is the one that picked up another guest at the airport, and I am pretty sure she is one of the few that actually drives when necessary (on a regular basis). I don't know enough about Canon Law especially in regards to monastic life, but I am just telling you what she told me personally. I spent a whole day working with her, and she is pretty much one of the main nuns that the guests get to know. I have my own category list and as I find out more information about an order, I check off a box (or type in the results). You can borrow it if you want to! I keep it in an excel doc. Name Active Contemplative Both A/C Monastic Cloistered Papally Cloistered Constitutional Cloistered Papally/Constitutional Convents Regular housing Apartments Motherhouse Location International Leadership or Motherhouse (like for the Dominicans they have their "Generalate" in Rome) Self Contained (i.e., some Carmels only answer to their immediate Bishop) Vocation Mistress Vocation Retreat Number of Members New Name (I really want to join an order that lets me get a new name) Liturgy of the Office Eucharistic Adoration Spirituality (This I have to type in) Dowry Psych Testing (Some make you take a lot of tests) Leadership Membership (either of the two TradMom mentioned - the LCRW or the CMSWR or maybe they are too new) Length of time in existence (I have to type in) Saints (some have too many to count 100+, some have one or two or like Mother Teresa's order, one in the works!) Special Practices (type in) Special Devotions (type in) Special Education (type in - let's say a nursing order) Ministry (if contemplative, put prayer) Finances (I have a whole sub set of questions but I won't list everything. But if you get serious, make sure they have good finances and for a cloistered community, make sure they either have good benefactors or good work, and make sure you like it. I know RL isn't for me because I am a little lazy in the manual labor department and I don't really like that stuff so probably a smaller cloistered situation is better where I won't be farming or helping. I like to study and read, so right now, I'm back to the Dominicans.) Vocation Packet Website Then I keep files on the different orders if I have actually been moved to meet them or go on retreat with them. Also, TradMom made the coolest list of things to look for in a community like things to ask questions about that I use. That has saved me a lot of time and work. I think you are new, so you should absolutely check all the old threads about discernment and stuff because I think that will help you. Also, welcome and we are all God's children, so I hope you remain open to wherever the Spirit calls you! I wrote to the Baltimore Carmel once. I would really like to go visit them. I think they might be a little too progressive for me, but I think they are very very holy women. God bless you! Katherine
cmaD2006 Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 Regina Laudis seems like a wonderful group of women to visit ... at least for a Retreat! I'll keep them in mind for next year (I have my yearly retreat already booked ... counting the days).
osapientia Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 [quote name='DevotedtoHim' date='17 June 2010 - 06:37 PM' timestamp='1276810626' post='2130636'] Osap and TradMom, I love you both! I've been to Regina Laudis (with TradMom!!!) and I love it. I have one thing to add. One of the nuns at Regina Laudis who does a lot of work with the guests told me that she is actually an Extern Nun. She is the one that picked up another guest at the airport, and I am pretty sure she is one of the few that actually drives when necessary (on a regular basis). I don't know enough about Canon Law especially in regards to monastic life, but I am just telling you what she told me personally. I spent a whole day working with her, and she is pretty much one of the main nuns that the guests get to know. I have my own category list and as I find out more information about an order, I check off a box (or type in the results). You can borrow it if you want to! I keep it in an excel doc. Name Active Contemplative Both A/C Monastic Cloistered Papally Cloistered Constitutional Cloistered Papally/Constitutional Convents Regular housing Apartments Motherhouse Location International Leadership or Motherhouse (like for the Dominicans they have their "Generalate" in Rome) Self Contained (i.e., some Carmels only answer to their immediate Bishop) Vocation Mistress Vocation Retreat Number of Members New Name (I really want to join an order that lets me get a new name) Liturgy of the Office Eucharistic Adoration Spirituality (This I have to type in) Dowry Psych Testing (Some make you take a lot of tests) Leadership Membership (either of the two TradMom mentioned - the LCRW or the CMSWR or maybe they are too new) Length of time in existence (I have to type in) Saints (some have too many to count 100+, some have one or two or like Mother Teresa's order, one in the works!) Special Practices (type in) Special Devotions (type in) Special Education (type in - let's say a nursing order) Ministry (if contemplative, put prayer) Finances (I have a whole sub set of questions but I won't list everything. But if you get serious, make sure they have good finances and for a cloistered community, make sure they either have good benefactors or good work, and make sure you like it. I know RL isn't for me because I am a little lazy in the manual labor department and I don't really like that stuff so probably a smaller cloistered situation is better where I won't be farming or helping. I like to study and read, so right now, I'm back to the Dominicans.) Vocation Packet Website Then I keep files on the different orders if I have actually been moved to meet them or go on retreat with them. Also, TradMom made the coolest list of things to look for in a community like things to ask questions about that I use. That has saved me a lot of time and work. I think you are new, so you should absolutely check all the old threads about discernment and stuff because I think that will help you. Also, welcome and we are all God's children, so I hope you remain open to wherever the Spirit calls you! I wrote to the Baltimore Carmel once. I would really like to go visit them. I think they might be a little too progressive for me, but I think they are very very holy women. God bless you! Katherine [/quote] Katherine, I think the sister may have used the word "extern" rather than have to explain constitutional vs papal enclosure because extern (as a way to describe a particular nun's activities) is readily understood among those who visit enclosed communities of every type. It may be the same type of thing regarding their titles - they have maintained the custom from their founding abbey at Jouarre (sp?) France, of giving the title of "Mother" to all the finally professed sisters....if you noticed when an individual nun introduces herself to someone she uses "Sister" rather than "Mother" even though she may officially be "Mother"....although I have also been told that this is a practice in humility, though I think the "less confusing" aspect also applies. I suppose it's possible I have misunderstood what I've been told about their observance and am therefore wrong about it (it certainly has happened every now and again ) but I am rather certain that they observe constitutional enclosure and have no need of "official" externs...though it is possible that they use that term to designate the sister that goes out on a regular basis such as the sister you describe. Pax, Osap PS Thanks for the "love you"...love you back. That's quite a list you've got there.
laetitia crucis Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='DevotedtoHim' date='17 June 2010 - 05:37 PM' timestamp='1276810626' post='2130636'] ... I have my own category list and as I find out more information about an order, I check off a box (or type in the results). You can borrow it if you want to! I keep it in an excel doc. Name Active Contemplative Both A/C Monastic Cloistered Papally Cloistered Constitutional Cloistered Papally/Constitutional Convents Regular housing Apartments Motherhouse Location International Leadership or Motherhouse (like for the Dominicans they have their "Generalate" in Rome) Self Contained (i.e., some Carmels only answer to their immediate Bishop) Vocation Mistress Vocation Retreat Number of Members New Name (I really want to join an order that lets me get a new name) Liturgy of the Office Eucharistic Adoration Spirituality (This I have to type in) Dowry Psych Testing (Some make you take a lot of tests) Leadership Membership (either of the two TradMom mentioned - the LCRW or the CMSWR or maybe they are too new) Length of time in existence (I have to type in) Saints (some have too many to count 100+, some have one or two or like Mother Teresa's order, one in the works!) Special Practices (type in) Special Devotions (type in) Special Education (type in - let's say a nursing order) Ministry (if contemplative, put prayer) Finances (I have a whole sub set of questions but I won't list everything. But if you get serious, make sure they have good finances and for a cloistered community, make sure they either have good benefactors or good work, and make sure you like it. I know RL isn't for me because I am a little lazy in the manual labor department and I don't really like that stuff so probably a smaller cloistered situation is better where I won't be farming or helping. I like to study and read, so right now, I'm back to the Dominicans.) Vocation Packet Website Then I keep files on the different orders if I have actually been moved to meet them or go on retreat with them. ... [/quote] The fact that you have this list AND keep excel files on this makes me very happy! Really, I think if you had told me this in person, I probably would have hugged you out of sheer joy for your awesome organizational skills! During my first round of discernment, I kept a similar list, but in my "discernment book"... which was kind of like a scrapbook and journal in one about each community I made contact with. So... have you ever considered the [url="http://www.dominicansrs.co.uk"]Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph[/url].
OnlySunshine Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='laetitia crucis' date='17 June 2010 - 09:21 PM' timestamp='1276824111' post='2130699'] The fact that you have this list AND keep excel files on this makes me very happy! Really, I think if you had told me this in person, I probably would have hugged you out of sheer joy for your awesome organizational skills! During my first round of discernment, I kept a similar list, but in my "discernment book"... which was kind of like a scrapbook and journal in one about each community I made contact with. So... have you ever considered the [url="http://www.dominicansrs.co.uk"]Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph[/url]. [/quote] The way you talk about them makes me want to visit them. Perhaps you should do a vocation plug for them.
TeresaBenedicta Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='MaterMisericordiae' date='17 June 2010 - 10:50 PM' timestamp='1276825805' post='2130711'] The way you talk about them makes me want to visit them. Perhaps you should do a vocation plug for them. [/quote] Seriously, I would totally go and visit them... if they were in the US. LC, I'm telling you, you need to convince them to open a convent in the US!!
vee Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='TeresaBenedicta' date='17 June 2010 - 09:36 PM' timestamp='1276828575' post='2130737'] Seriously, I would totally go and visit them... if they were in the US. LC, I'm telling you, you need to convince them to open a convent in the US!! [/quote] Or Canada
laetitia crucis Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='MaterMisericordiae' date='17 June 2010 - 09:50 PM' timestamp='1276825805' post='2130711'] The way you talk about them makes me want to visit them. Perhaps you should do a vocation plug for them. [/quote] ....how should I go about this plug? *ponders* [quote name='TeresaBenedicta' date='17 June 2010 - 10:36 PM' timestamp='1276828575' post='2130737'] Seriously, I would totally go and visit them... if they were in the US. LC, I'm telling you, you need to convince them to open a convent in the US!! [/quote] The [url="http://www.op-stjoseph.org/"]Eastern Province of Dominican Friars[/url] (aka the Dominican Province of Who? -- [i]St. Joseph[/i] ) really wants the Sisters to open up a convent in the U.S. I think it could be a real possibility in the future, especially once (God willing) vocations start rolling in... *winkwinknudgenudge* *COUGH* Personally, I would [i]love[/i] a mission the U.S.! [quote name='vee8' date='17 June 2010 - 10:50 PM' timestamp='1276829403' post='2130743'] Or Canada [/quote] I'd be up for that, too!
Sister Marie Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 I think that this is a great topic to bring up although I don't agree with some of the suggested ways to group communities. I find my community not fitting in with any of the categories. It is hard to say "traditional, conservative (Nashville Dominicans), and liberal (Sisters of Saint Joseph)" because I think that there is definitely a continuum or a spectrum on which communities fall and there really is no name for each. My community is nothing like either of the communities listed above! Conservative is the label I find the most difficult. I would never put my community in the same label as the Nashville Dominicans... just because we are not the same, but neither are we liberal. I have studied with some of them and they are lovely sisters but they have a much more monastic rhythm in their life than my community does. Sometimes I think we can mistake more monastic with more conservative and the two are not synonymous. For instance, in my community we wear a habit, we receive a religious name at our Reception, and receive a ring at our profession. We also always live in community in a convent with the Blessed Sacrament, and attend Mass daily. We minister within the Church and are faithful to her teachings. Our habits are modified, we pray morning and evening prayer together, but some other prayers privately because of our very apostolic ministry (Rosary, Stations of the Cross...), but just because of these things I don't think we would fit into the category of liberal. While I understand the desire to label with the LCWR/CMSWR groups, I think it fails also in describing everyone. I don't know if anyone has noticed this but many, not all, of the CMSWR communities are smaller and/or newer than the LCWR communities. Most of this split between the two happened before anyone knew what the LCWR would become. However, the LCWR had a lot of great practical resources for religious that they wouldn't have access to otherwise because they were larger. For example, for a community with over 2,000 sisters, it was important at some point to get everyone on Social Security... well, it is really difficult to do and you need people who know what they are doing to help you. Those kinds of financial (not money but guidance) and legal resources are the kind that the LCWR was able to help a lot with. My community belongs to the LCWR because they had these resources, not because we agree with everything they say. You may disagree with that, however, if you read above I doubt that the description I gave of my community would ever fit into what is commonly referred to as an "LCWR community". I propose that instead of categories you look at communities on a continuum. We all fall somewhere else and the only real name for a category is our community's name. This doesn't mean that I don't think it is important to discuss... because I do! I just think that unfortunately it isn't as black and white as we wish it could be. (Everything would just be so much easier! ) Thanks for bringing this up! Many prayers, Sister Marie
Sister Marie Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 (edited) wow... really double post, sorry! Edited June 18, 2010 by Sister Marie
Sister Marie Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 (edited) Sorry, double post! Edited June 18, 2010 by Sister Marie
TeresaBenedicta Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Here is something from Fr. Philip Neri OP,'s blog [url="http://hancaquam.blogspot.com/2010/06/crdl-george-sisters-and-pseudo-rant.html"]Domine, da mihi hanc aquam![/url], that I think is somewhat relevant to this thread. Here he is making the point that, when looking at the so-called "liberal" communities, it's often the loud voice of the few (who happen to be leaders) that give a bad name for the whole. That's something to keep in mind as well. [quote]Bear with me as I rant. . .there is a point in here, somewhere: (CNN) -- The head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said this week that a group of nuns who broke ranks with the powerful conference on health care reform in March is responsible for the controversial legislation's passage. "Sister Carol and her colleagues are to blame," Cardinal Francis George is quoted as saying in a Catholic News Agency report Wednesday. [. . .] Wow. This is not the usual sort of carefully crafted bureaucrat-speak we've come to expect from the USCCB. The Good Cardinal is speaking Truth to Power here. Make no mistake: the sisters who supported B.O.Care are not the cheery, put-upon drudges that the MSM is making them out to be. Sr. Keehan rakes in about $900,000 a year as head of the Catholic Hospital Association. The women's congregations represented by the LCWR and its overtly political arm, NETWORK, certainly have sisters who fit the MSM description, but the problem with 90% of American women congregations is not the vast majority of sisters who make up the bulk of the workforce, but their leadership. I've been told many times by many sisters that their congregational leaders do not represent the views of most sisters on hot button issues. Layers of congregational bureaucracy, multiple national and international associations, "consensus decision-making," ideological formation, and pressure to conform to the community's unitary voice have all made it difficult for any sort of internal opposition to organize. IOW, sisters who disagree with their leaders are effectively silenced. I''m not suggesting here that congregational leaders are consciously suppressing internal dissent. I know of no program or scheme to ostracize sisters who oppose their elected leaders. There's no nefarious conspiracy here. What I am suggesting is that the culture of American women religious strongly discourages internal opposition through a variety of mechanisms designed to establish and present One View to the Church and the world. This shouldn't surprise us given that most groups do this sort thing, including men's religious congregations. The most effective mechanism in creating the illusion of seamless assent is the so-called "consensus decision-making" process that disallows rational discourse in favor of emotional expression, thus side-stepping potentially discomforting practices like debate and voting on issues. How one feels about an issue is deemed vastly more important than what one thinks about the issue. Voting might expose real divisions and hold up action. So, what's my point? It's this: when the LCWR and similar groups express dissident opinions on issues that our bishops have pronounced on, do not assume that all or even a majority of the sisters the group claims to represent hold the dissident view. The best we can assume is that leadership "heard the sisters saying X" during discussions about the issue. I've been in many meetings of religious where complex responses to even more complex issues have been reduced to meaningless three or four word bullet points. The Robert's Rules approach to decision-making is cumbersome, often confusing, and time-consuming. But the alternative is equally frustrating. There's nothing more aggravating than to spend three hours discussing a complex problem only to see the wide variety of views congealed into a list of innocuous half-sentences that no reasonable person would dispute. [b]I just hate to see all our sisters blamed for the dissident opinions of their leaders.[/b] ([i]Emphasis added[/i])[/quote]
laetitia crucis Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='TeresaBenedicta' date='18 June 2010 - 01:21 PM' timestamp='1276881693' post='2130947'] Here is something from Fr. Philip Neri OP,'s blog [url="http://hancaquam.blogspot.com/2010/06/crdl-george-sisters-and-pseudo-rant.html"]Domine, da mihi hanc aquam![/url], that I think is somewhat relevant to this thread. Here he is making the point that, when looking at the so-called "liberal" communities, it's often the loud voice of the few (who happen to be leaders) that give a bad name for the whole. That's something to keep in mind as well. [/quote] I just read that blogpost this morning! Amen, Fr. Philip Neri!
sistersintigo Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='laetitia crucis' date='18 June 2010 - 01:09 AM' timestamp='1276834182' post='2130762'] ....how should I go about this plug? The [url="http://www.op-stjoseph.org/"]Eastern Province of Dominican Friars[/url] (aka the Dominican Province of Who? -- [i]St. Joseph[/i] ) really wants the Sisters to open up a convent in the U.S. I think it could be a real possibility in the future, especially once (God willing) vocations start rolling in... Personally, I would [i]love[/i] a mission the U.S.! I'd be up for that, too! [/quote] This is the first I had heard that the Saint Joseph Province wants the Dominican Sisters of Saint Joseph to come across the "pond." Did I read that right??
laetitia crucis Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='sistersintigo' date='18 June 2010 - 01:28 PM' timestamp='1276882101' post='2130950'] This is the first I had heard that the Saint Joseph Province wants the Dominican Sisters of Saint Joseph to come across the "pond." Did I read that right?? [/quote] The Eastern Province works closely with the Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph. Usually the Frairs of the Eastern Province come "across the pond" to give retreats and teach classes. (I thought that was very cool. ) While visiting last year, I had asked the vocation director (now Prioress) about the future of the community, and she had told me about the Friars expressing interest in having them come to the U.S., especially since there's not really any Dominican community like them here in the U.S. doing what they do specifically. The closest could [i]possibly[/i] be the [url="http://www.sistersop.com/about.html"]Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception[/url]. Granted, it's not like this is happening tomorrow or anything. Sister had said that we'd have to have the numbers to be able to send out to mission houses.... anyone interested?
OnlySunshine Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='laetitia crucis' date='18 June 2010 - 01:57 PM' timestamp='1276883878' post='2130971'] Sister had said that we'd have to have the numbers to be able to send out to mission houses.... anyone interested? [/quote] Get them to have nursing as their apostolate and I'm there!
laetitia crucis Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='MaterMisericordiae' date='18 June 2010 - 04:20 PM' timestamp='1276892409' post='2131021'] Get them to have nursing as their apostolate and I'm there! [/quote] Two of the Sisters were nurses before they entered. Two others were schoolteachers. I can't remember what the others did.... though I'm sure some were university students as well. However, if God is indeed calling you to the Hawthorne Dominicans then I'm sure we'll see each one day! "My" Sisters (I'm still so not used to say that! ) are also close with them, too! Their black cappas are from the Hawthorne Dominicans' pattern.
vee Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 [quote name='laetitia crucis' date='18 June 2010 - 12:57 PM' timestamp='1276883878' post='2130971'] Granted, it's not like this is happening tomorrow or anything. Sister had said that we'd have to have the numbers to be able to send out to mission houses.... anyone interested? [/quote] Weeeell how much quiet cloistered contemplation and crying time would I have?
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