Discerning Religious Life

[Gabriela]

The Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem look very interesting, it looks like they do the old school tonsure haircut, thats wild.

Yeah, about once a month they take a clippers to each other in the carport of their house right next door to the Priory—in full view of passersby. LOL.

secular priests have control,  to a good extent, over the types of mass said in their parish.

This is only variably true. Assistant pastors rarely have much say about which Masses are held in the parish, and most pastors spend many, many years as assistant pastor. Additionally, the bishop of a diocese may be strongly against or at least quietly discourage priests from celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass. And even if he's openly not against it, the priests in the diocese may know that it's not a good idea to "step out" by starting a Traditional Latin Mass. The deanery also has a say in which Masses are celebrated where and when within the various parts of a diocese. Masses need to meet the needs of the people in the diocese, so it's not so simple as just "the priest can celebrate whatever Mass he wants". It can get EXTREMELY complicated, even political.

[Benedictus]

    Yeah, about once a month they take a clippers to each other in the carport of their house right next door to the Priory—in full view of passersby. LOL.

This is only variably true. Assistant pastors rarely have much say about which Masses are held in the parish, and most pastors spend many, many years as assistant pastor. Additionally, the bishop of a diocese may be strongly against or at least quietly discourage priests from celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass. And even if he's openly not against it, the priests in the diocese may know that it's not a good idea to "step out" by starting a Traditional Latin Mass. The deanery also has a say in which Masses are celebrated where and when within the various parts of a diocese. Masses need to meet the needs of the people in the diocese, so it's not so simple as just "the priest can celebrate whatever Mass he wants". It can get EXTREMELY complicated, even political.

Yes, true. I was aware of the issues, so put a caveat of to 'a good extent'. I didn't say the priest can celebrate whatever he wants! It will vary, and there are 'issues' to consider but the secular priesthood (for the purposes of this post) is worth a mention. The same issues, as you outlined, exist within orders too unless they have a clear foundation, or charism, to using both liturgical forms in all places throughout the religious congregation. If a Benedictine Abbey has both forms then it's more likely it will stay that way, especially if they aren't influenced against it through being an affiliate of a hostile congregation.

The number of congregations of men though that devote clearly to both forms is small, most are somewhere in the middle.  A fair few will say the OF in Latin, but not the EF. Some allow the EF, if locally desired (or if the superior is open) and some just won't. In the dioceses I have experience of all the masses said in the EF are said by secular priests.  It's also worth noting that local bishops can also block religious from operating or taking parishes in their dioceses -  so some congregations can find themselves restricted to certain areas until the situation changes.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Benedictus

[Gabriela]

Yes. In general, I'd say a person interested in being able to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass, or both forms of the Mass, ought to do thorough historical research on the bishops of any diocese s/he's considering living/serving in.

[RaeandGhost]

Yea I havnt completely ruled out diocesan priesthood but I like the idea of living in community and also a place that keeps a regular schedule of the liturgy of the hours and that chants would be cool.

[Gabriela]

Yea I havnt completely ruled out diocesan priesthood but I like the idea of living in community and also a place that keeps a regular schedule of the liturgy of the hours and that chants would be cool.

Definitely consider the CRNJ, then, because they celebrate all the hours of the Divine Office publicly, so all are free to join them. And they chant it all in Latin.

They have a guesthouse that discerners can stay in when they come. It's a 5-second walk from their house and the Priory (literally the house next door). If you want to talk to someone who's discerned with them, you can contact @PartesVulpiumErunt. (He's not on Phatmass much, but if you PM him, he should get an email. You can tell him Gabriela sent you!)

Edited July 10, 2015 by Gabriela

[SilverSeminarian]

Hello RaeandGhost!

As you can probably tell by my username, I am a seminarian (as of right now, diocesan seminary) and I too have been searching for a religious order to discern. There is a great website, http://vocationnetwork.com that has info on every religious order there is, and you could send them info. I have quite a few orders that I can send you links to if you pm me. God Bless you brother. I'll pray for your discernment!