C ONTEMPLATIVE W OMEN ’ S O RDERS Gabrielle Rogoff, Megan Roelant, Amelia Stewart

C HARACTERISTICS OF CONTEMPLATIVE ORDERS Do not engage in active ministry Live in seclusion apart from the world Lives are taken up in prayer and meditation In order to sustain themselves, communities perform such tasks as keeping bees/bottling honey, farming, translation, artistic work, vestment design, vestment production and baking.

F OUNDERS Poor Clares- Saint Clare of Assisi Cistercian Order- Robert of Molesme, Alberic of Citeaux and the English monk Stephen Harding

M ISSION Enables people to know the father and the mystery of Trinitarian communion so they can enter into the depths of God. Expressed by listening to and meditating on the Word of God. Participate in the Divine Life transmitted to us in the Sacraments. Self-giving to others for the coming of the Kingdom

L IFESTYLE /R ULES Spend several hour a day in the chapel for Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours An hour for private study Much of the day spent on manual labor and tending to the needs of the community Hour or two set aside for recreation Meals often eaten together in silence or while listening to a spiritual book on tape. To leave the enclosure they must have a special kind of permission

V OWS Chastity Poverty Obedience Once vows are made, it is a very difficult process to be released from them. Prayer

T HE O RDERS T ODAY Poor Clares~ sisters throughout the world in 16 federations and in over 70 countries. There were169 Cistercian monasteries at the beginning of the 21st century Cistercian monks and nuns have a reputation of being silent, which has led to the public idea that they take a Vow of silence. This has actually never been the case, although silence is an implicit part of an outlook shared by Cistercian and Benedictine monasteries.

J OINING P ROCESS Live a devout Catholic life, praying daily for God’s guidance and direction. Discern that you are called to religious life. This doesn’t have to be a final decision, but one that you offer to God to see if He confirms it. A spiritual director can help you to discern your vocation. Get information about different religious communities. Use this information to pray about which one is right for you. Contact vocation directors to find out more. Visit a community that you may want to join and speak with its members. If your short visit was a success, apply for a longer one. Make a decision to move forward. Apply for entry into the formation program. Enter novitiate. This is the period of intense study, training, and prayer before you officially become a member of the order. Take your temporary vows. These vows make you part of the community for one to three years.

I NTERESTING F ACTS, S AINTS & L EADERS Saint Clare founded the Poor Clares in By the end of the 12th century, the Cistercian order had spread throughout France and into England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Eastern Europe

W ORKS C ITED "Cloistered, Contemplative and Monastic Religious Orders." Holy Spirit Interactive: Vocations -. Web. 25 May < cations/intro_07.asp>. EHow Culture & Society. "How to Join a Religious Order." EHow. Demand Media, 10 July Web. 25 May < religious-order.html>. "St. Clare of Assisi." About.com Women's History. Web. 25 May < nts/p/clare.htm>.