Stages in Formation

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”

—Psalm 27:4

“If I contact the nuns, does that mean I am committed to entering the monastery?”

“Does a novice have vows? When does she receive a new name? At one point does the young woman make her final commitment?” This page is meant to answer questions such as these about the process of becoming a nun, particularly in our monastery. The Church and the Order provide for this time of initial formation with great care, so that those who wish to follow Christ according to our contemplative Dominican way of life may be led to the fullness of the cloistered life.

First Steps

A young woman finds out about our monastery from a priest, a Sister, or a friend, or perhaps by searching online. Our life attracts her, so she contacts the Vocation Directress, introduces herself, asks any questions she might have, and inquires if she can come visit. After a getting to know her enough to tell if a visit would be worthwhile, we invite her to come to the monastery for a weekend.

Whether a young woman decides to continue discerning with us or not, a personal retreat at the monastery is always a time of many graces, helping the young woman learn more about how God may be leading her.

Contact Vocation Directress

Aspirancy & Application Process

“Diligent inquiry should be made first of all as to whether the aspirant is truly seeking God.”

— The Constitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers

If the young woman desires to consider our vocation more deeply, and we think she would make a good candidate, then we continue getting to know each other by writing back and forth, and by further visits to the monastery. The Vocation Directress may also provide reading or specific recommendations to help the young woman prepare well for religious life, especially in areas of human and Christian formation. This period is known as the aspirancy, and lasts at least a year before entrance to the monastery as a postulant.

We think of the application process as having three parts: application, residential aspirancy, and formal letter of request.

At a certain point, the young woman and the community may feel sure that this is where God wants her to try her vocation. It is at this stage that the aspirant begins her application process, with the intention of entering the monastery as a postulant.
The residential aspirancy is a 3-4 week stay inside the enclosure. The aspirant lives in the novitiate, the special section of the monastery set apart for the Sisters in formation. Joining in the novitiate classes and participating in the prayer and common life of the community helps the aspirant to make an initial evaluation of this vocation, while also allowing the community to get to know her better. At the end of this time the aspirant returns home.
If the residential aspirancy has confirmed her vocation so far, she writes a formal letter requesting to enter the monastery as a postulant. Once she receives her letter of acceptance, she settles her affairs in the world in order to try her vocation as a Dominican nun. If she perseveres in this way of life, her entrance to the postulancy will be her definitive departure from the world.

Postulancy

Formation in the monastery begins with the postulancy, which lasts one year. During this time the postulant lives in the novitiate and participates in the novitiate schedule. She begins to let go of the attitude of the outside world as she gradually learns and interiorizes the practices of the monastic life.

“During the time of postulancy the candidate gradually comes to experience the goal and the means of our contemplative life, through suitable catechesis and personal dialogue concerning both the life of union with God and monastic observance.”

— The Constitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers

Novitiate

The next step in formation is the novitiate, which begins when the postulant receives the Dominican habit and her new religious name. During her two years as a novice, the young woman continues to grow in her Dominican vocation especially through attentiveness to God’s presence, willingness to learn from the Novice Mistress, and charity and self-sacrifice in daily life.

For all the Sisters in formation, the monastic community forms a school of charity, in which all strive to learn from Christ our Lord and His holy Mother. In addition, regular novitiate classes in Dominican monastic life, Sacred Scripture, liturgy, Church history, the history of spirituality and of the Order, and dogmatic and moral theology provide a firm basis for the Sisters’ contemplative vocation.

This time of formation is also a time of discernment. As a young woman learns and lives our way of life, it becomes clear whether or not she is able to flourish and be at peace in this vocation. A postulant or novice is always free to return to life in the world. What is important is to seek and do God’s will, whatever it may be.

“The novitiate is a time of probation and is ordered to this: that the novice should come to know more intimately her call from God, and also her Dominican vocation; that she experience the way of life of our Order, and be formed in mind and heart in the Dominican spirit; and that her motivation and suitability become evident to the nuns.”

— The Constitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers

Temporary Vows

At the end of the two years of novitiate, the novice makes her temporary profession of vows for three years. By this profession the Sister is implanted and rooted is the monastic life so that she may prepare for her total consecration to Christ in the Dominican Order. She receives the black veil, but continues to live in the novitiate under the direction of the Novice Mistress. At the end of the third year in simple vows, the simply professed Sister is integrated into the community of professed nuns and receives greater community responsibilities as preparation for Solemn Profession and life as a professed nun. The Church requires that temporary vows be renewed each year for at least two more years prior to Solemn Profession.

“By our profession we dedicate ourselves to God, following Christ and leading the gospel life in the Order, so that our baptismal consecration may achieve its effect more completely.”

— The Constitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers

Solemn Profession

By solemn profession the nun is totally consecrated to God in the Order until death. Having completed her initial formation, she becomes a member of the monastery Chapter, is given official charges, and has a voice in the governance of the community.

“I, Sister N., make profession and promise obedience to God and to blessed Mary and to blessed Dominic, and to the Master of the Order of Preachers, and to you, Sister N., prioress of this Monastery of St. Jude . . . that I will be obedient to you, and to your successors until death.”

— The Constitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers

Life-long formation continues through personal study, community classes, the support of her Prioress and Sisters, and constant attentiveness to grace. Monastic life is a call to continually deeper conversion to the Lord, bearing fruit not only for the nun herself but also for the whole world. Persevering in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Dominican nun ardently longs for the fullness of the Holy Spirit, so that with unveiled face she may reflect the glory of the Lord, her Spouse, and be transformed into His image from splendor to splendor by the Spirit of the Lord (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18).