Community Database

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My husband and I have been tossing around an idea for a while now of creating a searchable database of communities to help women more easily find a compatible community.  It would be a free tool for both the communities and the women who are discerning.  I sketched out some criteria to start with, but I’d like to hear from you what you would find helpful.

The criteria I’ve listed so far are:

• Habit
• Type of Order (contemplative, apostolic, monastic)
• Size of order as a whole
• Size of communities within the order
• Communal prayer
• Primary ministries/work
• Age Limits
• Education requirements.

What other criteria would you find helpful to have in a database?  I’ve thought about location, but not sure how to do that.  But programming it is my husband’s job.

If you are active on other vocation boards or e-mail lists, please share this with others so we can get as much input as possible.  Thanks in advance for your help!

Video Monday: Sr. Margaret Chapman, IHM

Sister Margaret Chapman, an IHM Sister from Detroit, talks about the various work she has done over her 40 years of religious life.

Friday Community Highlight: St. Gertrude Monastery

The Benedictine Sisters of St. Gertrude Monastery have been in Ridgely, Maryland since 1887.  Originally teaching in parish schools, they now only teach in the elementary and high school in Wilmington, Delaware.  After closing their girl’s accademy at their motherhouse, they started a school for mentally challenged children and young adults.  In addition, they work with St. Martin’s Ministry to help the rural poor.  Like many Benedictine Sisters, they are devoted to peace and justice issues.

Click on “Meet our Sisters” and you can read a bit about each of the Sisters at St. Gertrude’s Monastery.

Take some time and visit their website today and get to know St. Gertrude’s Monastery.

Thursday Discernment Discussion: Vocation Directors

Today’s discussion is centered on Vocation Directors.  I’ve heard some great stories about vocation directors, and I’ve heard some really horrible ones as well.  My own experience while I was discerning religous life was rather mixed.  I had some really great experiences, I had some not so great experiences.

Tell us about your experiences with vocation directors, and how you handled any problems that arose.  I know that your stories and experiences can help those out there who are going through some of the same things, so please share with us.

Obviously, you may post anonymously if that is your wish, because, let’s face it, vocation directors do talk to each other.

Wednesday Discernment Link: Nuts and Bolts of Vocation Discernment

This week I found a great podcast called The Nuts and Bolts of Vocation Discernment.  The podcast seems to run every few weeks without a set schedule, but they already have been running for one and a half years, sponsored by the Diocese of Albany.  If you are listening in when the podcast takes place, you can call it and ask questions.

The next podcast is this Friday, January 23, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.  Listen and call in if you get the chance.  I’ve listened to a few of them, and they really are quite interesting.

Tuesday Book Review: Wisdom Distilled From the Daily

I first read Sr. Joan Chittester’s book, Wisdom Distilled From the Daily almost 15 years ago, when I was discerning religious life.  While I believe it has great significance for those discerning vocations, I think it is also a book appropriate for anyone attempting to live an authentic life of love.

The Rul of St Benedict was written centuries ago for the monks of his order.  But it is a rule that is easily adaptable to any state of life.  What always struck me more than anything else about Benedict’s Rule is it’s kindness and generosity.  Every rule is written for those with love and consideration for others.

Sr. Joan Chittester brings this beautiful rule forward into the modern world and applies it to the modern day struggles.  Well, not entirely modern day as it was written almost 20 years ago and society has changed a great deal since then.  But her words are still applicable today.

The point of the Benedictine Rule is to build our spirituality on our every day experience.  Sr. Joan does a great job of bringing into the every day experience of modern life.

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Video Monday: Poor Clares ~ Galway Ireland

This has to be one of the best Poor Clare videos I’ve found so far on YouTube. This 10 minute video was shot by a local news agency, and captures a very personal look at women who have entered there in the last decade. I highly recommend it to anyone who is discerning religious life.

The nun’s website is at Poor Clares Galway - Ireland.

Theme Update

I’m in the process of updating to a newer theme on the site. If things appear broken, just check back in a few hours and they should be fixed.

Video Monday: Interested in Becoming a Sister

This is a vocation video of the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs. It’s essentially a slide show with a musical background. The song, “Swimming to the Other Side”, is worth watching the video all by itself. I must go find a copy of it somewhere.

Tuesday Book Review

Learning the Art of Discernment
I first read Weeds Among the Wheat, by Thomas Green, SJ, early in my discernment of religious life. I had first read his book, Opening to God, and found it so helpful, I purchased several of his other books.

Weeds Among the Wheat is a book specifically about discernment. As in Opening to God, Green writes simply of a profound subject, how to discern God’s word for us in our lives. How to hear His voice.

Every day we are inundated with stimuli. Television, books, newspapers, radio, internet, friends, family, coworkers, pastors. How do we, among the cacophany, hear that small, still voice that tells us His plan.

After each chapter, Father Green offers exercises to help us learn the art of discernment. These exercises can have a profound impact on the development of our spirituality and on how we act upon the message of God leading us forward.

“Where Prayer and Action Meet”
Our discernment should always lead to decisions and actions. That, after all, is what discernment is all about. Discernment isn’t something that we do once and then never think about again. Discernment is something we do every day, day in and day out. Every decision we make should be discerned in light of our beliefs. Weeds Among the Wheat can help us all to learn how discernment functions so that we can continue to discern God’s path for us throughout our lives.

This is a book that is valuable not just for those discerning religious life, not just Catholics, and not even just Christians. It is an important book for anyone who is discerning any decision in their lives according to their beliefs.