Why The Cloister?
Why Don’t You Go Out Instead?
Why bother to live in a cloister? Aren’t those grates are too prison like? Don’t you miss going out? Do the postulants and novices cease going out straight away? Do you have contact with the family? Do you go out for weddings and funerals?
These common difficulties brought to us by the nation have often been explained. Yet they still seem to crop up too often, in spite even of the hit documentary we made three years ago with Xarabank. Although many came to know us from that programme, many are still entertaining pre-Vatican Council II ideas that were still in vogue then. Yet the Jerosolimitan cloister and its lifestyle within have indeed changed while still retaining those aspects which distinguish it from the rest of the Maltese cloisters. In the first part of this article we will tackle issue of “going out”.
Do you go out?
What was known at most to past generations was that cloistered nuns just lock themselves within four bare walls just to pray. There was also the common notion that such nuns embroidered or did chores. That was the situation up till the Second Vatican Council.
Why do we not go out? Obviously, we entered monastic life out of our own free will, to do God’s Will. If we wanted to, we could have stayed outside like you, enjoyed life and all its pleasures. We could even have got married. During recreation, we often remember and have a good laugh over the good times we remember when we were still out, including the guys we remember. After all, mixing with the opposite sex is the most natural thing humans do. If one takes a look at various case studies of nuns (both in the active and contemplative life) one may even find those who were originally preparing to get married before deciding to enter religious life. So why do we not go out?
We entered because God first and foremost sounded His voice within our own souls:
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
‘Today, when you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts ..’”.
(Hebrews 3:7-8)
Why, you may rightly ask? The letter to the Hebrews continues to answer:
“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no
one fall by the same sort of disobedience. For
the word of God is living and active, sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing to the
division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of
the heart.” (Hebrews 4: 11-12).
Let us look closely at this quote. The first sentence mentions the word “rest”. Most often we use the word “rest” in referring to the time spent in bed. Did you have a good night sleep? Did you rest in the afternoon? Yet God’s rest is of a different kind. It is a peaceful rest after doing His Will for the day. A serenity, that knows no bounds. A joy, that the world doesn’t offer, because it’s a divine, everlasting joy. The joy the world can offer lasts just a moment or two, leaving void within.
The “sort of disobedience” mentioned in this quote refers to the disobedience the Jews demonstrated in refusing to comply with God’s request. See how listening to God’s Voice and His rest go hand in hand? In listening to His Will and following it the best way possible, one can indeed from this earth reap this rest. Even while going through the occupations and difficult times that occur according to the state of life one has embraced, one can still experience this rest. And if one is not experiencing this and doubting what is being written here, then one had better see how one is in his/her relationship with God.
With regards to our contemplative, cloistered lifestyle, these apparently austere walls which seem to separate us from the rest of the world are indeed life-giving. They offer a kind of lifestyle which is suitable to leading an intense existence in God’s exclusive Divine Presence. The walls as we said may seem to separate us from the rest of the world. Yet we still to know what is going on. Such knowledge would be included in our intercessory prayer. The Church herself states in her teachings on our way of life that we harbour in the depths of our consecrated hearts the anxieties and difficulties, misfortunes and temptations, joys, blessings and graces earned through our prayer, of all who come into contact with us.
The “thoughts and intentions” mentioned in this Biblical letter are driven towards God. Man was created to give glory to God and for no other reason. So in discerning how God desired us to give Him glory, we found He desired us to embrace this particular state of life. So we decided to forgo such worldly pleasures which, although maybe morally indifferent in themselves, were nonetheless distractions for us.
So let us follow closely God’s Voice in the way He desires us to, so He can tell us at the close of our life:
“I rejoiced greatly to find some of your
children following the truth, just as we
have been commanded by the Father.”
(2John: 4).
Why The Cloister?
Do The Postulants and Novices Go Out?
“And let him who hears say, “Come”. And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.” (Revelation 22:17).
“He said to them, “Come and see.” ”(John 1:39).
Consider these two Biblical passages.
Do the postulants and novices go out after they enter? Many often ask us this question when they visit us and realise we have students. These students are usually called postulants and later on novices, depending on which part of formation they are tackling (see elsewhere in this website for information about this.)
Normally, when a person gets to know about us, canon law, or the law stipulated by the Church, permits the candidate to spend up to three months to see what sort of life we live. Such experiences are valuable because they show to the newcomer, a picture totally different to what the world presents about us. So during this period of time they can decide for themselves whether to dedicate themselves to God or not for life in such a manner. If they sincerely desire to follow God totally, and feel they are called to the live this kind of life, then they begin to realise by themselves that what might appear to be mission impossible to the outside world, becomes in fact mission possible – with God’s omnipotent grace.
So here lies the issue of “not going out”. In their decidingto enter for life, they begin their process of formation which leads them step by step to become full members of the community. Postulancy is the first year. They start to integrate themselves into the community, by getting to know more the rules and regulations, history, documents and the like. It is also a time of preparation for the novitiate. This period of time permits the candidate to continue building up her intimacy with God and her formation. During the two years spent in the novitiate, the novices are also geared towards a third important step: their temporary profession. This is a unique occasion, very different from the solemn profession. The temporary profession kicks off a three year period in which the candidate continues her formation towards her solemn profession and at the same time starts being a member of the community in that she can take up Obediences from the Mother Superior.
So postulancy and novitiate in the contemplative way of life are two intense times of formation, leading up to the solemn profession. If they desire to, postulants and novices can leave the monastery if they feel they are not in their place. Yet once they would have come to see, and tasted the Lord’s goodness to His Spouses, they would definitely find it difficult to leave.
Sr Christine Maria Vella OSJ