The weekend of Saturday and Sunday January 30 and 31st, 2016 was set aside for individual meetings within each of the lifestyle groups: Consecrated virgins, monastic, apostolic religious, secular institutes and new ecclesial movements. Therefore our gathering was greatly reduced from 4000 total religious to merely 800 cloistered contemplatives!
We met at Urbano College, first for Mass in the Chapel and then in the modern auditorium with bleacher seats that provided authentic translators and headphones. This university was within walking distance also of both the Vatican and the ubiquitous bus terminal and being on a height, afforded wonderful views of Rome.
The talks were dynamic, filled with care and concern for us, informative and helpful. It became very clear that the Holy See is well aware of the many concerns of our monasteries throughout the world and intends to continue trying to gather us together every once in a while.
The first talk was again by Cardinal Aviz entitled Fraternal Communion in the Monastic Community and the second by Sr Fernanda Barbiero SMSD entitled Formation in the Monasteries; the legacy of the past and openness to the future.
We present just some highlights of both here:
Fraternal Communities in Communion
We are a treasure of the Church
Enter into the mystery don’t just contemplate it; This mystery of love where God gazes on our face who gave us the Trinity the greatest reality there is
Community life is essential for us as cloistered contemplatives
There is a new text of Verbi Sponsa in the hands of the Pope regulating our life
The cloister is a theological space where we encounter the Risen Lord
The problem of vocational crisis is because communities are dying of solitude there is no real profound relationship with others
Fraternal life is love it is also a penance because forgiveness is hard to ask for
If you have problems in the monastery you are not close to God
In the cloister you are total gift Jesus is first and only Spouse You renounce even space to be with the One who contains everything
You are enclosed with the Spouse and only for Him
Cloister of the heart is to be with the loved one be with the Lord to be transformed by him
Is Jesus your first and only love otherwise monastery is a prison
Life of the cloister entails penance
Render transparent the love of the Lord
Cloister is a desert where things blossom; You are separated from and separated for
Solitude leads to outreach to the other; Silence is space for listening; Silence is the language of love it is important for society
Listen to the eternal word to bear witness That God can fill the heart of every person
In 2008 the Dicastery wrote a document called A cloistered life- publication was delayed because some pontifical laws changed and the document needs to be integrated with these changes it is being worked on
Formation in the Monasteries -Sr Fernanda Barbiero
Formation is an artistic work;It is of one’s soul, an inner formation
Contemplative formation is a privileged space where one is to become a perfect copy of Christ
Preference is for the term educator rather than formator in some cases
Fundamental theology of formation is relationships, attentive obedience
Wen need a pedagogy of formation directed to the heart of a person
One is trained to silence to be alone with the alone, waiting day after day, searching for the other not turned back on oneself
It is directed toward the gift of self in behavior and in intentions
Becoming full of divine sentiments
The work of formation is to incarnate this divinized nature
Got have Gods way of thinking throughout ones entire life
To participate in the life of the Holy Spirit
Ones life inserted into the very life of God, holiness and love
To partake in the life of the trinity like the air one breathes
Formation is not a project it is a gift of God
The whole community is a part of the formation process
It should be a place of growth
Become aware of ones shortcomings
Lack of vocations and perservence
The question should be- why do you stay
In discernment we need to look for the divine inspiration of the vocation; We need to verify it
Candidates need an attitude that shows that they respond to grace; Must be docile to grace
Look for personality traits not suited to cloistered life
Issues today are training of formators taking women with problems or older ones needing psychological tools
We need to rethink the ratio of formation; Formation need to be well planned
Think of forming women for the 21st century
Prayer is very important
Language of the cloister and enclosure is a strong factor in formation
Afterwards we met in language groups to discuss these topics. Sisters were from all over the world and there was much in common among all the different cloistered groups.
