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Cloistered Life Blog

Inside the hidden life

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Promote World Day of Cloistered Life on Nov 21st!
Promote World Day of Cloistered Life on Nov 21st!

Free resources to promote and honor the hidden lives of contemplative religious in cloisters and monasteries.

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EventsMary ShafferSeptember 26, 2024Comment
Giving My Life and Getting it Back―With Interest!
Giving My Life and Getting it Back―With Interest!

by Sr. Marie Jeanne, PCC

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Vocation StoriesMary ShafferSeptember 14, 2023Poor ClaresComment
Thirsting for Our Eucharistic Lord
Thirsting for Our Eucharistic Lord

by Sr. Maria Epifania, SSpSAP

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Vocation StoriesMary ShafferSeptember 4, 2023Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters, Pink SistersComment
Our Lady Secretly Watched Over Me
Our Lady Secretly Watched Over Me

by Sr. Marites, OCD

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Vocation StoriesMary ShafferAugust 28, 2023Carmelite Comments
Why Am I Entering a Monastery in 2021?
Why Am I Entering a Monastery in 2021?

Read the full article on Crisis Magazine by Gretchen Erlichman.

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Intro to Cloistered LifeSusan ShingleMarch 22, 2021Comment
"The True Spouse of Jesus Christ": A Classic Book Reissued
"The True Spouse of Jesus Christ": A Classic Book Reissued

I keep an old, dilapidated copy of a Catholic literary classic that has helped me tremendously over the years. So impressive was this work that, despite having been written most especially for nuns, I used it in 2010 as one of the sources for a little book of short meditations called Saint Alphonsus Liguori for Every Day.

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NewsHannah KrollMarch 26, 2020book review, Trent Beattie, Religious resource, Book Comment
A Day Within the Walls: Cistercians
A Day Within the Walls: Cistercians

The rising bell sounds throughout the dormitory cloisters at 3:30 AM, and the monastery day has begun. Sister Maria, not gifted with the charism of early rising, dresses with heavy eyes but devout heart.

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Day in the LifeMary ShafferMarch 5, 2020Dominican, cloister, daily life Comments
ESPN Features Poor Clare Nun and Former Villanova Basketball Star Shelly Pennefather
ESPN Features Poor Clare Nun and Former Villanova Basketball Star Shelly Pennefather

Feature article and video from ESPN highlight former basketball star Shelly Pennefather’s 25th Jubilee as a Poor Clare Nun in Alexandria, VA.

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NewsMary ShafferAugust 5, 2019Shelly Pennefather, Poor Clares, cloistered nun, basketball, sports Comment
Cloistered Nuns Devoted to Mary
Cloistered Nuns Devoted to Mary

Some cloistered traditions have a specific devotion to Mary at the root of their charism. In this month of May, I want to highlight a few of these traditions.

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CharismsMary ShafferMay 22, 2019Mary, marian devotion, Rosary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of the Rosary, Carmelite, Benedictines, Dominican, Passionists, Handmaids of the Precious Blood, Sisters of Mary Morning Star Comment
Passionist Nuns Elect First "Mother President" of New Congregation
Passionist Nuns Elect First "Mother President" of New Congregation

Mother Catherine Marie, CP, from Whitesville, Kentucky, was named the first Mother President of the Congregation of Passionist Nuns! Mother Catherine Marie wrote the following reflection describing the Holy Spirit’s work at the General Chapter in which she was elected.

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NewsMary ShafferFebruary 18, 2019Passionists, cloistered nuns, federation, Pope Francis, Cor Orans, Vultum Dei Quaerere Comment
Cloistered Nuns that Have Eucharistic Adoration
Cloistered Nuns that Have Eucharistic Adoration

Many young women discerning cloistered life are interested in monasteries that practice Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. We highlight some of the communities with Adoration and explain the role it plays in their life.

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CharismsMary ShafferFebruary 7, 2019 Comment
Enclosure in the Instruction Cor Orans
Enclosure in the Instruction Cor Orans

Cor Orans reflects on the observance of “Cloister” within the broader framework of the whole monastic life of nuns, restoring a proper balance in understanding the observance of cloister.

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Intro to Cloistered LifeSr. Mary Catharine Perry, OPNovember 29, 2018cloistered nuns, papal cloister, papal enclosure, constitutional enclosure, enclosure, monastic, Cor Orans, Pope Francis, Vultum Dei Quaerere, cloister, grill Comments
First Federation of Visitation Sisters Launches New Website in Light of Cor Orans
First Federation of Visitation Sisters Launches New Website in Light of Cor Orans

To comply with the requirements of recent Vatican documents, the Visitation Sisters of the First Federation in the United States have taken some important steps.

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NewsMary ShafferNovember 15, 2018Visitation Nuns, Visitandine, Cor Orans, First Federation, cloistered nuns Comments
“I want to be a nun, but I lack physical or mental health. What does that mean for my life?”
“I want to be a nun, but I lack physical or mental health. What does that mean for my life?”

First of all, if this is you, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in fantastic company.

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ReflectionsMary ShafferOctober 15, 2018cloistered nun, cloister, poor health, mental health, St. Gemma Galgani, St. Benedict Joseph Labre Comments
Nuns Who Pray for Priests
Nuns Who Pray for Priests

The truth is, ALL cloistered nuns pray for priests! But some cloistered traditions consider it a special part of their charism to pray for priests.

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CharismsMary ShafferOctober 5, 2018priests, prayer for priests, cloistered nunsComment
A Day Within the Walls: Benedictines
A Day Within the Walls: Benedictines

It was a bright sunny day when I awoke on January 17, feast of St. Anthony, called the first hermit. This celebration would be simple.

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Day in the LifeMary ShafferJuly 17, 2018Benedictines, cloister, daily life, monastic, monastery Comments
A Right to Be Merry - Audio Book
A Right to Be Merry - Audio Book

Can life really be “merry” inside a Poor Clare cloister? This classic book written by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C., reveals the challenges, cares and joys of that cloistered life from an “insiders” view.

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Intro to Cloistered LifeMary ShafferJuly 10, 2018Mother Mary Francis, audio book, Poor Clares, daily life Comment
Glossary of Cloistered Life Terms
Glossary of Cloistered Life Terms

Cloistered life has a whole vocabulary of its own. As you read about nuns, you may wonder why they sit in choir, rather than singing in choir. And you may have no idea what a hebdomadarian is.

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Intro to Cloistered LifeMary ShafferJuly 3, 2018glossary, cloister, terminology, vocation, discernment Comments
"Heaven and Earth in Little Space"
"Heaven and Earth in Little Space"

The smallness of the world did not stifle the Incarnate God. Rather, he brought his infinite love into the cramped quarters of our fallen world and transformed it into a truly boundless place.

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Intro to Cloistered LifeMary ShafferJune 28, 2018nun, cloister, monastery, enclosure Comments
A Day Within the Walls: Carmelites
A Day Within the Walls: Carmelites

No matter how one may want to look at it, five o’clock is truly early in the morning; and it is at this time that the stillness of the monastery is abruptly broken by the alarm.

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Day in the LifeMary ShafferJune 17, 2018Carmelite, cloister, Grand Silence Comments
A Day Within the Walls: Dominicans
A Day Within the Walls: Dominicans

The world is sleeping as I make my way through the darkened cloister. Not all the world: I think of my friends who are nurses and new mothers. Perhaps our vocations are not altogether different.

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Day in the LifeMary ShafferMay 17, 2018Dominican, cloister, daily lifeComment
A Day Within the Walls: Passionists
A Day Within the Walls: Passionists

When we are more aware of God’s love for us, then we are better able to handle the sufferings of life, because we know that we are not alone.

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Day in the LifeMary ShafferMarch 17, 2018Passionists, daily life, cloister Comments
A Day Within the Walls: Poor Clares
A Day Within the Walls: Poor Clares

In a world where “time is money,” the Monastic culture grasps a deeper reality. For the contemplative, it is not a matter of material gain; rather, all time is at the service of God.

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Day in the LifeMary ShafferFebruary 17, 2018Poor Clares, cloister, daily life, manual work Comments
A Day Within the Walls: Visitandines
A Day Within the Walls: Visitandines

St. Francis de Sales provided his spiritual daughters with a little book called The Spiritual Directory, in which he “walks” his daughters through the day from “Rising” and ending with “Going to Bed.”

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Day in the LifeMary ShafferJanuary 17, 2018Visitandine, Visitation Nuns, St. Margaret Mary, cloister, daily life Comments
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