Why This Order?

[tnavarro61]

It's always tricky when people ask, "Why this congregation? Why not this one. You know they're just the same." I cannot answer in an instant. I would always be led to some pondering. Yeah, why this particular order.

Most of you are surely familiar with whom I was discerning with. I was telling people that I discerned with the X community, then tried a little with the IVEs then all of a sudden I am re-reconsidering the FIs after two years of pushing them away from my life.

In the first place, I think I have to ask myself, "Why religious life?" Most of the time I would nod and say, "Only God knows. God has placed this desire in my heart and I am just following Hiim."

What is this desire? I desire to imitate Jesus. To imitate Him, said Blessed Charles de Foucauld, is to love Him. Out of this love, I want to give Him my whole being. Sounds so sugary sweet, but this is true.

Now, why the Franciscans of the Immaculate? Reviewing their life, I feel this is where I can fulfill the desire the Good Lord has placed in my heart. It's as simple as that. I know, I am just seeing only "the tip of the iceberg" (it's the best comparison I can give! Whatever the "tip of the iceberg" means!) and I am expecting to see a deeper aspect of their life when I make a search in visit this April. Meanwhile I have to wait and pray, and try to learn the charism and spirituality with all the resources I could find online.

It's funny when I am discerning with the Franciscans when I am really interested in the spirituality of Carmel! But that won't make me a Judas Iscariot to the Franciscans, right?

So, my question for you peeps, what made you choose a specific community?

[Hinter dem Horizont]

Well, first of all, I have narrowed down the congregations to those that celebrate the Latin Rite. I find the Latin Rite so gorgeous and I believe in keeping tradition. A lot of the orders today are not traditional. I know the order you have chosen is. The Franciscans of the Immaculate are an amazing order that only celebrate the Latin Rite, as you know. I really like and adore that in an order. Part of the reason why the church crumbled a bit is because they did not keep the traditions that all the saints have kept. All my favourite saints are those that lived during the time where Latin Rite was the ONLY rite.

So, the three orders that I am most interested in are The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, and Clear Creek Benedictines. All three celebrate the Latin Rite and sing Gregorian Chant.

I love orders that sing Gregorian Chant rather than sing modern music with a guitar. Gregorian Chant leaves me speechless.

[img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/priest.gif[/img]

And first and foremost, God is leading me there

Edited February 11, 2011 by Hinter dem Horizont

[vee]

[quote name='tnavarro61' timestamp='1297432803' post='2211319']

What is this desire? I desire to imitate Jesus. To imitate Him, said Blessed Charles de Foucauld, is to love Him. Out of this love, I want to give Him my whole being. Sounds so sugary sweet, but this is true.

[/quote]
That doesnt sound sugary sweet because to imitate Christ is the way of the cross.
[img]http://www.jesus-passion.com/JesusChristScourged.jpg[/img]


[quote]

So, my question for you peeps, what made you choose a specific community?
[/quote]
I dont seek a specific community only God's will. I just want into heaven and to get as many others there as possible.

[vee]

[quote name='tnavarro61' timestamp='1297432803' post='2211319']


What is this desire? I desire to imitate Jesus. To imitate Him, said Blessed Charles de Foucauld, is to love Him. Out of this love, I want to give Him my whole being. Sounds so sugary sweet, but this is true.

[/quote]

More on this as it reminded me of a line from a poem
and if I bent to kiss you,
My thorns would
pierce your head

Here is the whole poem

The Kiss of Christ

Lo, there He hangs
dying figure pinned
against the wood.
God, grant that I might
love Him
even as I should.

I draw a little closer to
share His love divine,
and softly hear Him
whisper,

"O foolish child of Mine
if now I should embrace
you, My hands would stain
you red,
and if I bent to kiss you,
My thorns would
pierce your head."

'Twas then I learned in
meekness
That love demands a
price;
'Twas then I knew that
sorrow was just
The kiss of Christ.

[Hinter dem Horizont]

[quote name='vee8' timestamp='1297435338' post='2211329']
More on this as it reminded me of a line from a poem
and if I bent to kiss you,
My thorns would
pierce your head

Here is the whole poem

The Kiss of Christ

Lo, there He hangs
dying figure pinned
against the wood.
God, grant that I might
love Him
even as I should.

I draw a little closer to
share His love divine,
and softly hear Him
whisper,

"O foolish child of Mine
if now I should embrace
you, My hands would stain
you red,
and if I bent to kiss you,
My thorns would
pierce your head."

'Twas then I learned in
meekness
That love demands a
price;
'Twas then I knew that
sorrow was just
The kiss of Christ.
[/quote]

Beautiful poem with excellent imagery! Allows one to focus on Jesus and His suffering

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='tnavarro61' timestamp='1297432803' post='2211319']
So, my question for you peeps, what made you choose a specific community?
[/quote]

Honestly... it just kind of happened.

I first met the SSVMs on a diocesan discernment retreat that I only went on because my best friend was going. I made a personal connection with one of the sisters (she and I had played against each other in softball at a national tournament back in high school, before she had entered... and we were from opposite sides of the country!). That sister invited myself and my friend to the upcoming pizza night... and since it was a Friday night during the summer, and we'd otherwise be stuck on an empty campus with nothing to do... we figured hanging out with nuns would be a great alternative. We went.

We became better friends with this sister, and found that one of our mutual friends from college just entered with them, so we were often invited and enjoyed going to more and more events with them. (Pizza nights, helping out with apostolate, etc)

The first time I was there I was strangely attracted to them... but I was convinced I'd never discern with them. I was a Dominican soul through and through, and besides... I [i]wasn't[/i] a missionary.

But God works in mysterious ways. I was slowly falling in love with them-- and fighting it the whole time! My s/d was the one who actually said to me, "TB, you need to call the vocations director. And if you can't do it of your own accord, I'm telling you to do it." That was the impetus I needed to give my will over to God and say... "Okay God, if this is where you want me, I accept. I want it." So I called. I made an official visit. I prayed for a month. Then I called and asked to enter.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

+JMJ

I didn't choose, I was chosen...

And, the charism and the spirituality of a community/order resonates within you. Discernment is trying to find the frequency that is like your own! And your own frequency is the one God gave you when you were made in His image!

[Starets]

I wrote an HTML file on the very topic. it is now on our website:

[url="http://christdesert.org/Seeking_God/Life_at_Christ_in_the_Desert/Why_I_am_Benedictine/index.html"]Why I am Benedictine[/url]

[MissScripture]

[quote name='tnavarro61' timestamp='1297432803' post='2211319']
So, my question for you peeps, what made you choose a specific community?
[/quote]
When my sister was asked this question, her response was that it was where God wanted her. And when pushed further, she said, "I just know!" Not that I have any experience with it, but I would think it would be something different for every person.

[DeoOptimoMaximo]

Just a clarification, if you are a Roman Catholic, you belong to the Latin Rite of the Church, unless you adhere to the Ambrosian Rite, etc... I too, have a great love for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite!

Those are some amesome orders you are considering!

Pax tecum and God love you!

[quote name='Hinter dem Horizont' timestamp='1297434056' post='2211325']
Well, first of all, I have narrowed down the congregations to those that celebrate the Latin Rite. I find the Latin Rite so gorgeous and I believe in keeping tradition. A lot of the orders today are not traditional. I know the order you have chosen is. The Franciscans of the Immaculate are an amazing order that only celebrate the Latin Rite, as you know. I really like and adore that in an order. Part of the reason why the church crumbled a bit is because they did not keep the traditions that all the saints have kept. All my favourite saints are those that lived during the time where Latin Rite was the ONLY rite.

So, the three orders that I am most interested in are The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, and Clear Creek Benedictines. All three celebrate the Latin Rite and sing Gregorian Chant.

I love orders that sing Gregorian Chant rather than sing modern music with a guitar. Gregorian Chant leaves me speechless.

[img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/priest.gif[/img]

And first and foremost, God is leading me there
[/quote]

[MithLuin]

[quote name='tnavarro61' timestamp='1297432803' post='2211319']

It's funny when I am discerning with the Franciscans when I am really interested in the spirituality of Carmel! But that won't make me a Judas Iscariot to the Franciscans, right?

[/quote]

Nah, Carmelite and Franciscan charisms are very compatible with one another. I think you'll find many people who have them overlap. They won't be surprised by that at all, I wouldn't think, and certainly wouldn't view you as a traitor!

[Tally Marx]

I've heard lots of people say that they just knew that's where they belonged, or that they felt this peace there that they never felt anywhere else.
Well, it isn't that way for me and never has been that way for me, in anything. I wish it were, but... it's not.
I like three different orders for two different reasons, and was in limbo for a very long time until I realized that I would be in limbo forever until I simply made a choice. Well, actually, my [i]Spiritual Director[/i] realized I'd be in limbo forever, and [i]he[/i] made me choose. Not which one to choose...he just made me choose. So, I chose. If I love it there, and they love me there, then I made the right choice! If it doesn't work for whatever reason despite my best efforts, then I made the wrong choice and I suppose then I'll go with the next order on my list. A sort of process of elimination, if you will.
Not romantic at all. And I do not like the idea of convent-hopping. But, I know a sister who did, and it worked out splendidly with her, so... maybe it'll work for me, too. God typically shows me the way when I've exhausted all other possible paths, so I won't be surprised if He'll reveal His will to me that way in this case, too.

Edited February 14, 2011 by Tally Marx

[Catherine Therese]

[quote name='FutureNunJMJ' timestamp='1297443243' post='2211364']
I didn't choose, I was chosen
[/quote]


This is SO TRUE - likewise for me. It wasn't MY idea!

I had discerned with other communities before and never really got a sense of "God may really be calling me here!" I had a sense of God calling me to religious life for a long time, which I paid attention sometimes, but often ignored if there was a handsome young gentleman on the scene ;-). But I never found anything that felt like home, that felt like it had been God's plan for me all along. A few different communities came closish, but never close enough, always light years behind the impact that the Nashville Dominicans had on me.

Then I went on retreat with the Nashville Doms. It was like an injection of steroids to my prayer life or something... or as if my prayer life had been strangely dormant until the right religious community came along and activated it. All of a sudden I was very tangibly aware of God's voice and His movement in my life, in a way that I wasn't actually sure was possible. I've always loved God, been attracted to Him, but a change came over me in the space of less than 24 hours - the kind of change that only God can bring about, the kind of change I can't even articulate.

The apostolate associated with the Dominican charism does appeal to me; I'm a Lay Dominican who already seeks to preach the Gospel in all the circumstances of my life, and I yearn to know God more, being drawn further and further in through my theology studies. The further I'm drawn in, the deeper I want to go! But the reality is that the apostolate was actually a secondary thing.

Nevertheless, what mattered was that I became aware that this community could help me know God in a way that no other community had so far been able to do. It was as a member of THIS community that I could be what God created me to be in this life, such that the hope of eternity with Him is ever present.

Edited February 15, 2011 by Catherine Therese

[tnavarro61]

In the book My Beloved, Mother Catherine Thomas said that feelings are good servants but are bad masters.

I was thinking if we are not going to base our discernment on prayers, then where? I have heard people say, "I feel at peace when I am here. I feel convinced that I am called to this community." Then is it basing on feelings?

Any thoughts?

[Catherine Therese]

[quote name='tnavarro61' timestamp='1297860229' post='2212925']
In the book My Beloved, Mother Catherine Thomas said that feelings are good servants but are bad masters.

I was thinking if we are not going to base our discernment on prayers, then where? I have heard people say, "I feel at peace when I am here. I feel convinced that I am called to this community." Then is it basing on feelings?

Any thoughts?
[/quote]

Hmmm. I think the expression "I feel convinced" is not so much a reference to the emotions as it is a figure of speech that expresses a deep, interior certainty.

For example, at this very moment I feel like chewing gum on the bottom of someone's shoe - I had a nasty scare involving a member of my extended family today whose son committed suicide some years ago. So from an emotional standpoint its safe to say I'm not feeling particularly warm and fuzzy right now. At the same time I'm suffering from a sort-of-insomnia due to some troubles at work at the moment - my job is on the line for having done the right thing, which is becoming a bit of a pattern at work lately and I'm kinda over that.

However, I still 'feel convinced' that God loves me very much, that this suffering is NOT the sadist orchestration of some puppet-master conducting a social experiment at my expense. I still FEEL a deep interior peace (meaning that I'm currently experiencing that peace), even though I feel a surface emotive turmoil just at the moment. (Please pray for me, while we're on the topic.)

ALSO, there is a genuine experience of peace that can sometimes happen in the midst of this very suffering. I think there are two sorts of 'feel'. (Maybe even more?) One sort of feel pertains to the emotions, to the affections, to the physical senses. The other sort pertains to the soul and is a spiritual reality. This second sort of 'feel' really means to consciously experience something on an interior level.

I think that often God communicates with us through this interior experience. SOMETIMES our emotions are in tune with the interior, and sometimes they're not.

So what I think Mother Catherine Thomas is saying in the book you have cited is not to trust the emotive sort of feelings - not a reliable barometer at all.

What we need to do is learn how to discern between the interior experience and the emotional response, such that we can freely choose to align ourselves with the former rather the latter in any given circumstances.

(Finally - a disclaimer to the 'why this order' post I wrote a little above - if it sounded fluffy in any way that is because I lack the eloquence to articulate the depth of the interior experience. Its no less real, for all my inadequate expression of it. Unfortunately, because language is insufficient to accurately describe the experience, its probably not real helpful to anyone who's looking for that silver bullet to answer their own personal vocation question.)

[stlmom]

[quote name='Staretz' timestamp='1297447919' post='2211383']
I wrote an HTML file on the very topic. it is now on our website:

[url="http://christdesert.org/Seeking_God/Life_at_Christ_in_the_Desert/Why_I_am_Benedictine/index.html"]Why I am Benedictine[/url]
[/quote]


Well done, Staretz. Benedictine spirituality is so solid and well balanced, both an encouragement to the weaker of us and a challenge to the stronger of us. No wonder it still prevails after 1500 years. God bless!

[Tally Marx]

[quote name='Catherine Therese' timestamp='1297863932' post='2212931']
ALSO, there is a genuine experience of peace that can sometimes happen in the midst of this very suffering. I think there are two sorts of 'feel'. (Maybe even more?) One sort of feel pertains to the emotions, to the affections, to the physical senses. The other sort pertains to the soul and is a spiritual reality. This second sort of 'feel' really means to consciously experience something on an interior level.

[/quote]

I attended an advent mission that was on this. It spoke about the three dimensions of the heart. The first, or outer layer, which is shallow stuff ("I'm warm", "I'm thirsty", "I'm sad"). The second, or middle layer, which has more to do with relationships with relatives and friends, and worldly worries. And the third, which is the soul, basically, and where we experience God and truly deep feelings (like peace...).
I think it was modeled after the thought of Saint Ignatius... but, I could be wrong....
Anyway, it was a great talk. Maybe I'll re-look up the stuff and post it here sometime, if you'd want me to.

Edited February 16, 2011 by Tally Marx

[ExCorde]

[quote name='Catherine Therese' timestamp='1297863932' post='2212931']
Hmmm. I think the expression "I feel convinced" is not so much a reference to the emotions as it is a figure of speech that expresses a deep, interior certainty.
(...)
Unfortunately, because language is insufficient to accurately describe the experience, its probably not real helpful to anyone who's looking for that silver bullet to answer their own personal vocation question.
[/quote]

Without any more words: Thanks.

[FutureSister2009]

My Order really just fell into my lap. I don't know if I shared this story on here before but I have it on my blog. My first year of college, fall 2009, we heard that two new Sisters were coming to our parish. I didn't really care and I never even thought I would see them. About a week later, my choir was rehearsing for Mass and the Sisters came in. They knew the song we were doing so they were kind of singing from the pew. Then one of them came up to our director and asked if they could sing with us. I didn't want them to but I couldn't say that. I thought they were annoying. They kept climbing back and forth and knocking my music on the floor. I kept my mouth shut though because after all, they were still Sisters. Then one of them decided to take a picture of us. I decided to be silly and put rabbit ears on my friend for a second. Sr. Jessica looked at me and said "I don't have photoshop! I can't edit that out!" I found it humorous because I didn't know nuns knew what photoshop was. They were also trying to recruit us to youth group.

Slowly, the more I spoke with them and got to know them, I saw just how nice they were. They said all the Sisters in their community are very friendly. That's how they're taught. I remember one night Sr. Jessica asked me if I ever thought about becoming a Sister. She wasn't forcing me or anything, she was just curious. At the time, I still didn't think so.

When I went on retreat with them, that was when I really started to feel like maybe I was called. I know I posted that story here already. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like I really am called.

[faithcecelia]

I went to visit Carmel to fill the time before I could visit the Poor Clares at Arundel - they had just done a TV documentary series and were getting lots of enquiries. I left Carmel after a 46hr visit in tears as I just [i]knew.[/i] My visit to Arundel a few months later confirmed it.

Parallel to that, I had been in a charismatic parish. I LOVED it and would go to all the prayer groups, praise services, be in the music group etc etc. I spent years praying for the gift of tongues but didn't get it. I went to the New Dawn conference in Walsingham a few times, and while I lobe charismatic worship I was rather sceptical of all the people collapsing all over the place Then I went to the reconcilliation service, it blew my mind! The priest who preached showed me a way to prepare for confession that I would never have imagined myself - and that was to forgive the things that have hurt you but you feel guilty about - such as partners or parents dying, babies being miscarried, etc etc. I realised I needed to forgive my mother for being mentally ill. I howled my way through confession and then felt the most amazing lightness. That night all the preachers and organisers had left the tent but the music, the singing and the dancing carried on for hours, it was amazing. The next evening was very low attendance, maybe some had gone home, I cant remember. At the end there was prayer ministry and I decided to go forward. People were all over the floor but I knew that wouldn't happen to me...errr...okay so it did, and while I was trying to resist I just couldn't I just lay there on the floor foe some time (no idea how long) feeling like I had had a good nights sleep.

The following week I went to my parish prayer group, again I prayed for the gift of tongues and again I didn't get it. I went home that night and was saying my night prayers when it came, and I prayed for well over an hour in a language I didn't know. i was overjoyed and overwhelmed with love for God. I then heard him tell me very clearly that he had given me what I wanted, but it wasnt what he wanted from me.

Since then, yes there have been occasions when I have had brief words, phrases etc in tongues, but 99% of the time if I am in that sort of environment as the volume increases I quieten until I am inside myself in silence with God. This is my call to Carmel. Where other orders say spoken prayers, or the rosary, or litanies etc and that is what God asks of them, he asks silence from me.