A Religious Vocation

Not necessarily. It is normal to want to be bride and mother—this is inscribed in our nature from the beginning, when “God created them male and female.” A religious vocation does not eliminate this desire, but raises it to a supernatural level: we participate directly in the spousal relationship with Christ that human marriage points to symbolically, and we exercise a spiritual motherhood for the salvation of souls.

Right now, while you are considering a vocation, you can take steps to grow in your practice of the Faith, in human maturity, and in certain practical skills that may be helpful. Most of these are not strange things that would raise eyebrows, but simply good advice for growing into a mature, adult Christian. See our Preparing for Religious Life page.

Yes, Recommended Reading for Discerners.

Yes. There are several organizations in the Church today dedicated to ensuring that no man or woman is turned away from a vocation because of student loans. However, if you are a student, it is good to be proactive by researching and applying for scholarships, and working to help sponsor yourself. Also, dealing with debt can add additional time before entrance, so it can be helpful to inquire with a community you are interested in earlier rather than later.

As cloistered nuns our life is hidden and mysterious from the outside—don’t you think it should be that way? The cloister is a sacred space reserved for God and our life given to Him in love. In order for you to get a glimpse inside without disturbing our enclosure, we have been writing a whole series of Vocation Letters about a fictional novice in our monastery.

If Jesus is the desire of your heart, that opens up the possibility of receiving a cloistered, contemplative vocation as a gratuituous grace, a gift of love, an invitation to give yourself totally to Him in the complete interior availability and hidden Marian fruitfulness that is the point of enclosure.

You can read and share our For Families page, where we go over some questions helpful for parents and relatives who are wondering what on earth you have gotten into. Reading Mother Mary Francis, PCC’s A Right To Be Merry, about cloistered life, can be helpful as well. Make sure your parents know you love them and are not trying to avoid them or real life.

Often it was visiting the monastery and meeting the nuns that helped convince our parents that we could find happiness in a life given completely to God in community (without marriage, grandchildren, or earthly markers of success).

It is true that this is a common misconception, even among priests and active Sisters. But consider the implications of this: “Wait, you have absolutely no talents at all? Great! That is a clear sign of a contemplative vocation!” Do you think people said that to St. Therese or St. Teresa of Avila, two well known Carmelite cloistered nun saints? No. Our Lord calls normal, fun-loving, talented young women to give themselves totally to Him in love in the cloister.

For more “myths” like this one, read our “5 Myths about Cloistered Life.”

Our whole life is ordered to the continual remembrance of God . . . through Mary to Jesus, and through Him, entering into the life of the Blessed Trinity dwelling in the depths of our souls. This is Heaven on earth!

Sometimes people think cloistered nuns spend all day on their knees in the chapel, but it’s not like that! We take turns for our Hour of Guard praying the Rosary before Jesus in the Eucharist, but our days are very balanced, with liturgical and private prayer, community time and time alone, work, study, and recreation. Also, monastic life is a school of charity that lasts a lifetime. You do not have to start out as an expert or a saint; you just start with love for God and desire for more—for a whole life ordered around Him and offered to Him.

We have had several Sisters from Alabama, but most of us came here from across the country—New England, California, the Midwest, even the Great State of Texas! We came for the same reason you would come: because God called us to belong to Him in this monastery. We then fell in love with the great natural beauty of our tiny slice of Alabama, delighted in the generous friendship of our local Catholics and in Southern hospitality—and even came to appreciate greens (at least, some of us!).

No; we celebrate the liturgy according to the rite current in the Church today, with special elements throughout the liturgical year in according to the traditional Dominican Rite of the Order of Preachers. Since the solemn celebration of the liturgy is the heart of our life, and the chief source of its unity, we take care to make our participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and our chant of the Divine Office as reverent and beautiful as possible. We sing the hymns, Psalms, Canticles, and prayers of Lauds, Vespers, and Compline in Latin, in the grave beauty of our traditional Dominican chant. So if you value liturgical tradition, reverence, and beauty, but are drawn to the Dominican charism, we invite you — come and see.

If our life and charism resonate with the desires God has placed in your heart, a good next step is to get in touch! Introduce yourself, and ask any questions you may have about discernment, contemplative Dominican life, or our monastery. Often the next step is to “come and see”—a visit helps dispel unknowns and bring clarity about whether you should keep looking, whether this is a possibility for the future, or whether under Our Lady’s mantle here at Marbury is where your heart belongs. Feel free to use the contact information below.

We also have a Dominican Holiness Retreat Day coming up on November 14!