Feankie Posted November 23, 2015 Posted November 23, 2015 It's a bit interesting to me that 1. the new community is also located in North Carolina, not all that far from the former St. Joseph Adoration Monastery in Charlotte which Sister left. 2. The charism is similar to part of the PCPA's in that they are heavy into spiritual motherhood and praying for priests. In fact, the new St. Joseph Monastery, yet to be built, was supposed to be for prayer support for the seminarians who would be studying on the other side of their joint property. I believe the driveway was being built with one main drive coming in and then forking so the nuns were on one side and the seminary on the other . I wonder if Sister's other sister, who was also in formation at OLAM and also left, has or will be joining her. I don't know if she married after leaving or not. I also wonder if they are connected to Belmont Abbey.....it certainly is possible as they are located in the same place.
Pia Jesu Posted November 23, 2015 Posted November 23, 2015 5 hours ago, Francis Clare said: It's a bit interesting to me that 1. the new community is also located in North Carolina, not all that far from the former St. Joseph Adoration Monastery in Charlotte which Sister left. 2. The charism is similar to part of the PCPA's in that they are heavy into spiritual motherhood and praying for priests. In fact, the new St. Joseph Monastery, yet to be built, was supposed to be for prayer support for the seminarians who would be studying on the other side of their joint property. I believe the driveway was being built with one main drive coming in and then forking so the nuns were on one side and the seminary on the other . I wonder if Sister's other sister, who was also in formation at OLAM and also left, has or will be joining her. I don't know if she married after leaving or not. I also wonder if they are connected to Belmont Abbey.....it certainly is possible as they are located in the same place. "Sister's other sister" (Sr. Maria Magdalena, PCPA) joined the US Navy...and according to this news article, is exploring the possibility of forming a new community that ministers to military chaplains--The Sisters of Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Amazing! http://www.therecord.com.au/news/local/ashley-schumacher-nun-catholic-sister
vee Posted November 24, 2015 Posted November 24, 2015 5 hours ago, Pia Jesu said: "Sister's other sister" (Sr. Maria Magdalena, PCPA) joined the US Navy...and according to this news article, is exploring the possibility of forming a new community that ministers to military chaplains--The Sisters of Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Amazing! http://www.therecord.com.au/news/local/ashley-schumacher-nun-catholic-sister Oooh I love the name! Its one of my fav titles of Mary
NadaTeTurbe Posted November 24, 2015 Posted November 24, 2015 How many new communities have been founded by sisters from the PCPA ? I remember hearing about another founded by a PCPA, but can't remember the name...
Feankie Posted November 24, 2015 Posted November 24, 2015 Are you thinking of the Benedictine Daughters of the Divine Will in Italy founded by the former Sr. Mary Catherine PCPA? Other than that, the PCPA's from Hanceville sent out nuns to found 2 monasteries, one in Arizona - Our Lady of Solitude and one in Texas - Monastery of St. Michael the Archangel. The other nuns that were sent out went first to Portsmouth, OH to bring St. Joseph Adoration Monastery back to life, and then those nuns all moved to Charlotte, NC for a few years, and now the Vatican sent the Charlotte nuns back to Hanceville. Other than that, I can't think of any others. Whoa......Ashley says she's been on sabbatical from the PCPA's?! That's one heck of a long sabbatical I think she might be fudging a little bit with that one. I might give her one or two Pinnochio's for that. I went back to see when the article was written 2012. That's still a long sabbatical. I wonder if the Order was ever started? I guess I'll start searching the 'net.
Feankie Posted November 24, 2015 Posted November 24, 2015 I want to withdraw my comment about Pinnochio's. It was uncharitable....I was trying for a little humor, but when I went back to edit, the site wouldn't let me :(
Pia Jesu Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 While other VS threads have addressed the potential challenges facing new communities--and those discerning vocations with them--the actual time involved before being recognized as a religious institute of pontifical rite is considerable. After presenting the proposed charism, rule of life, etc., to a local bishop--the steps (much simplified!) are becoming... 1. a de facto association (again, approved by the local bishop) 2. a private association of the faithful (which includes step 1). After demonstrating stability, new vocations, etc., they are allowed to make public vows and wear a habit (though some bishops still prohibit it at this point) 3. a religious institute of diocesan rite (after approx. 10 years of steady growth) 4. a religious institute of pontifical rite--approved by Rome/answerable to the Pope (after approx. 20-25 years) The MFVA friars (Birmingham, AL) were founded by Mother Angelica in 1987...and after 28 years are still described on their website as "Public [Clerical] Association of the Faithful." Mother Miriam (Rosalind Moss) and her Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel's Hope started out under the authority of the bishop of St. Louis, MO--but moved to Tulsa, OK when a newly-appointed local bishop halted the process. She handled this development in a beautiful, faith-filled way--and describes it on the community's website. So, we will pray for Sr. Mary Raphael and her sister, Ashley. How incredible it would be to have siblings each found a new religious order!
Sr Mary Catharine OP Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 sabbatical is another way of saying exclaustration! There isn't really such a thing as taking a sabbatical from religious life.
Feankie Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 I spoke with Sr. Mary Raphael of the Divine Physician at great length today. We are friends from her days with the PCPA's in Charlotte, N.C. Suffice it to say I'm not going to reveal the purpose or content of our conversation, but I will let you know that she's in vows and has retained her religious name, has worked closely with the Bishop and her S.D., worked with a Canon Lawyer from Rome to compose their Rule, and their location, at least for now, is on the campus of Belmont Abbey College. Oh, and Ashley is not with her.
Sponsa-Christi Posted November 25, 2015 Author Posted November 25, 2015 6 hours ago, Sr Mary Catharine OP said: sabbatical is another way of saying exclaustration! There isn't really such a thing as taking a sabbatical from religious life. That's what I was thinking. Although if a temporarily exclaustrated religious was trying to explain her situation to "normal" Catholics, I would guess that the word "sabbatical" would be more readily understood. It's not unusual for a religious trying to start a new community to be exclaustrated (essentially, exclaustration is simply permission to live apart from the community). For example, Bl. Teresa of Calcutta was exclaustrated from her original in order to start the Missionaries of Charity.
Gabriela Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 Frankly, I'm a bit concerned about the lack of transparency I see in the PCPA. We all know there have been upheavals, but no one really seems to know what happened or what's going on. And on the other hand, I'm concerned that so many people want to know. I sometimes feel like people stalk their sisters online. Really, it's not our business. It's a private community. So I don't feel anyone is really right in this scenario.
NadaTeTurbe Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 I don't know well the PCPA, but when communities post such things as "this is our new postulant" "this is our new novice", it's normal then that people "stalk" sisters. Personally, I don't really like when you can follow every single minutes of a community, specially when it comes to new members. I understand announcing new novices, but new postulants is a little "too much" for me. There's a PCPA convent in Europe, nearly none postulant or novice have stayed beyong first vows, and even if it is not announced, you can follow it on the internet. But on the other hand, I am the first to follow religious communities blog, so like you, anyone is really right.
marigold Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 When I imagine one of my sisters being talked about like this on a public internet forum, it makes me really uncomfortable and protective. Does the rule about not posting other people's information (see pinned Intro to Vocation Station) apply at some identifiable point down the slippery slope?
beatitude Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 2 hours ago, marigold said: When I imagine one of my sisters being talked about like this on a public internet forum, it makes me really uncomfortable and protective. Does the rule about not posting other people's information (see pinned Intro to Vocation Station) apply at some identifiable point down the slippery slope? I am uncomfortable too and I think it would be better to close this thread, as we're treading a fine line between interest and gossip here. It's not possible to set hard and fast rules about how much sharing is too much sharing, but I think good questions to ask ourselves before posting something would be a.) is this information I'm sharing going to be practically useful or spiritually enriching to other discerners? and b.) do I really need to know the answer to my question or am I just being a bit nosy? If it's useful info, we should then decide whether it's better to make a public thread or send a PM, and use prudent judgment.
Recommended Posts