Vocational discernment
What is «contemplative life»?
Just as there are religious sisters of «active life», who have some kind of apostolate — that is, a work or task outside the monastery for the good of society (they are «the school nuns», «the nursing-home nuns»…) — we sisters of «contemplative life» devote ourselves exclusively to prayer.
Although we have a bakery where we make sweets to earn our bread, work is simply a means of subsistence; our end is contemplation.
And what does «contemplation» mean?
Contemplation is the state of permanent search for God. We look for God in daily life, from the moment we get up until we go to bed: before the Tabernacle; in the cleaning; at work; at rest… But above all in our sisters and in humanity: «As the Rule reminds us, the first reason for which we have gathered together in community is to live of one mind in the house, having one single soul and one single heart in God. And this unity reaches its fullness beyond the walls of the monastery, in communion with the Order and with the whole Church» (LCM 2. § I).
We try to see reality with a contemplative gaze, with the eyes of Love; to be bearers of hope; to be a witness to the Kingdom of God in the world.
How did you know you wanted to be nuns?
Each of us has her own story… But we all share something in common: at some moment in our lives something changed: it was the Lord calling us; and after a longer or shorter process of searching, full of hope and not free of struggles, fears and very contradictory feelings, we found the place where He was waiting for us: the Order of Preachers.
And what do you have to do to become a nun?
The first thing is to listen to the call of the Lord and to ask for the light needed to carry out the process of discernment.
Once the possibility of a religious vocation is accepted, the next step is to seek a community to talk with in order to go deeper into that call.
Finally, all that remains is to knock… To approach that community, either in person or by telephone, by email or through social media, for a first contact.
Remember that «everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds and to him who knocks, the door will be opened» (Mt 7:8) 😉
And once someone enters… is she already a nun?
Nooooo! The road is long and divided into several stages.
Anyone who decides to make formal contact with a religious community begins what is called the aspirancy, a stage lasting one year which allows close communication with the sisters and some periods spent inside the monastery so that, little by little, she comes to know this way of life.
If she likes the atmosphere and believes this is the life she is looking for, she must then ask the religious community for permission to enter the monastery. Once inside, the stage of the postulancy begins, lasting one year, during which she has conversations with the Mistress and receives classes to learn the art of the search for God, while getting to know the tasks proper to the community.
After that year, the postulant receives the habit and, with her white veil, begins the novitiate, which lasts two years. The novice is gradually introduced to the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, as well as to fraternal life in community and to enclosure, key elements of Religious Life.
When the novitiate ends, the novice decides whether she wishes to continue through a formal commitment: the profession of the evangelical counsels. If she so wishes and the community consents, the rite of profession of temporary vows for three years is prepared. At this point the white veil is exchanged for the black one.
The new nun now knows what it is to be a nun. She has three years ahead of her to experience the hardships and the joys of her new state, fully integrated into the community, still with the help of the Novice Mistress or another sister able to accompany her in the process.
After those three years, profession is renewed annually until completing a minimum of nine years of initial formation, counting from that first contact with what is now her religious community, and a maximum of twelve.
Finally, the sister will make her perpetual profession. Now without time, without goals… «Until death».
All this means that if you are 18 when you contact a religious community, you will be a nun at 28–30; and if you are 53… we may well celebrate your retirement together 😄.
Is there an age limit to become a nun?
You must have reached the age of 18.
Nothing is said about a maximum age… As long as you are not married, all is well.
What is your daily timetable?
We get up at 6:30 to go to the chapel at 7:00. From 7 to 8 there is a time of personal prayer made in common — that is, we are all there in silence, each at her own prayer, but together, because common life is fundamental in this Order. At 8 we begin the Liturgy of the Hours with the singing of Lauds, joined to the celebration of the Eucharist; and then we pray Terce.
When we finish, we go to the refectory (dining room) to have breakfast; this is around 9. Afterwards there is a time each of us uses, first, to tidy her cell (make the bed, put things in order…); and then to go to her office (for example, one cleans the refectory and prepares it for lunch, another tidies the sacristy…) or to clean, or whatever comes up…
At 10:30 the work in the bakery begins, and we all go except whoever is cooking that day; we take turns in the kitchen through the week, one day per sister. In the bakery we work together on the sweets, from making them to packing and labelling them. Work usually ends around 12:30, depending on circumstances; but during the Christmas season we extend the morning until 13:15 at most, and we work in the afternoon as well.
At 13:30 we return to the chapel for another prayer, called Sext, and then we go to lunch. After lunch we go to the work room for recreation, the moment when we share our experiences, our life.
When recreation ends, at three in the afternoon what is called the «hour of silence» begins. This hour is normally used to rest (yes, some of us take a nap…), but you can also read, or walk… It is an hour for oneself, quiet, without making noise.
At 16:00 we go to the chapel to pray the Office of Readings and None, which, like Terce and Sext, barely lasts five minutes. So we finish about half an hour later, depending on how long the Office takes.
Then, around 16:30, the afternoon begins, devoted to study. We have classes as a community and weekly meetings to deal with matters of the Order or of regular life. During the afternoon, anyone who wishes may also have an afternoon snack (except on the fast days marked by the Church and the Order).
At 19:00 we pray part of the rosary; then we pray Vespers (the evening version of Lauds) and after that we have another time of community prayer until 20:45, when we pray Compline, the last prayer. Then we go to supper and move on to the second recreation of the day, which ends around 21:45.
At 21:45 we withdraw, each to her cell, and off to sleep! Well, the truth is that few of us fall asleep that early… We usually take the chance to read for a while. The night is known as the time of «deep silence», which ends with Lauds the following day, when we begin by saying: «Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise» (Ps 51:15).
On Sundays the timetable varies a little because we have the Eucharist at ten in the morning and we pray a further part of the rosary, this one for the dead. But basically the rhythm stays the same.
As you can see, the timetable is organised around the Liturgy of the Hours, because it is about sanctifying the hours of the day.
So… are you silent all day long?!
No! Recreation is the moment when silence is broken and we talk: we share our experiences, our life. I say «silence is broken» because until then we have tried to stay quiet, even during meals (sometimes we listen to talks, and on Sundays and feast days we put on music) and at work. If we need to say something — because at work, above all, it is necessary for things to run well (asking where something is, or what to do at a given moment, for example) — we must do it «briefly and in a low voice», as our rules tell us.
Enclosure frightens me… do you never go out?
We go out to the doctor, to sort out paperwork, to do the shopping (when necessary, though we rely a lot on shopping online), to the chemist… And to take out the rubbish 😏.
We do not go out for a stroll for pleasure — for that we have plenty of kitchen garden; nor do we go out to find a confessor, because the confessor comes to us; nor do we go to the cinema, though we do watch films now and then; nor to see our families… They come here.
That said… if the parents of a sister are elderly and cannot travel, for example, then that sister may go and visit them. We have permission to go out according to the personal circumstances of each one. Not all cases are the same, and that is why it is important to make a proper discernment before leaving the enclosure, since there must be «a just cause, that is, one determined by a true necessity» (CO 194), as the law states. Always for the glory of God.
And do you receive visitors?
Yes! Our families come to see us from time to time and we can be with them both in the parlour and in the cloister, which is part of the museum route.
We are also visited by friends, and pilgrims and young people and prayer groups pass through here. Of suppliers, workmen and gardeners we had better not speak, but we see a great deal of them too…
Do you not get bored?
All of this, read like that, may look tedious… We know: it is a life that seems monotonous and so scheduled that, at first sight, it looks boring. But no two days are the same; the days roll along by themselves and there is always something in the air keeping us awake, open to reality. There is simply no time to be bored!
Do not be afraid to draw near to God!
If you still have doubts or other questions come up, write to us and we will answer as soon as we can.