Week of the Immaculate Conception

As I mentioned in a previous post, our family (nuclear and extended) has been experiencing health problems. The hermit-novas understand, and are supporting the situation with their prayers.

Part of this added burden included my son injuring his knee on December 7, thus causing him to miss school on December 8. I told the Lord that if He wanted His novas to receive instruction, the matter was in His hands. Between drs offices, He showed me the time I had to visit the hermits' yahoo group.

Blessed Emilie had received her charism in Belgium at the very moment the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception had been proclaimed in Rome on December 8, 1854. Mary wanted other Marys to be with her Son in the Blessed Sacrament, to make the reparation on Earth that she could no longer do.

Well, with that accomplished (far longer than what I'm posting here), I went on with the "hermitage on wheels." The tidbits of instruction that I was able to give the hermits the rest of the week were: the three basic tenets of the eremitic life are silence, solitude, and simplicity; then I assigned them to research "acedia."

We are still reading Fr. Faber's "Bethlehem" through the Advent and Christmas Season. It has been quite enriching. Fr. Faber majored in mystical theology in his books, and his mystical explanations made some mysteries much clearer. At the end of Chapter 2, we encountered a "Godincidence." One member of Blessed Emilie's congregation was a mystic who kept a journal, and in it she talks of how Our Lady cared for the Child Jesus. Fr. Faber said the Trinity had given Mary special mothering skills for the sake of the Holy Child, and Mother Mary of the Lamb of God said she saw Mary saying to Jesus, "Is there anything I can do for you? How can I serve you?" A good lesson for all of us, I would think.

Blessings,
Gemma

Yes, we have the support of our diocese

I thought I had made it perfectly clear that our 'project,' as the Church calls it, has the support of our local bishop. Our canonist, a hermit for our diocese, is in touch with our bishop, and keeps him updated on our progress.

So, if there is still doubt, call the chancery of the Diocese of Charlotte, NC, and ask for yourself.

Blessings,
Gemma

Online formation has begun

On Friday, November 21, the Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple, and the date of the Pro Orantibus (Day of Prayer for the Cloisters), the Cloisterite Hermits received their first online lesson and assignment. I am now classifying them as "Novas." Under our cenobitic plan, the Novas were the first stage of training. Modern psychology teaches that a person requires 14 weeks to make adjustments, and that was part of the basis for the creation of the Nova stage. They would be doing mostly prayer--learning how to make their prayer better--and making adjustments to community life.

In our eremitic expression, though, it will be slightly different. They are receiving online formation (until further notice due to my familial circumstances which popped up unexpectedly), and are classed as Novas until the World Day of Prayer for Vocations in February. Then, they will be considered postulants.

Their Nova "habit" is all white--skirts and blouses--plus an all-white hoodie and white tiechel with white cord. Their postulant habit will be the same, except black. The eremitic habit is still under discernment, but it will retain the white tunic and light blue scapular of the former habit of the Society of Mary Reparatrix. The Cloisterites follow the Reparation spirituality of their foundress, Blessed Emilie D'Oultremont.

We order our tiechels from Headcoverings by Devorah.

We recommend that anyone interested in our eremitic way of life begin as a lay (non-canonical) hermit. That does not mean that we won't entertain inquiries from c.603 (canonical) hermits. The four basic tenets of Cloisterite eremitical life are: reparation; prayer for the cloisters and their vocations; prayer for emerging charisms and their vocations; the intentions of Cloister Outreach, including those whom we serve. Our eremitical plan of life is titled, "Nesting in the Sacred Heart." Blessed Emilie wrote that her SMRs were to further develop and deepen the Sacred Heart devotion given to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. The reparation nuns, as they were known, prayed the Office of the Sacred Heart. Alas, I am not able to find such a book.

For Thanksgiving week, I have challenged the Novas to be the strongest person when present at any family gatherings, and not to give themselves over to emotions, as some reunions can trigger melt-downs. Part of the Cloisterite charism is taken from the Visitation nuns: profound humility before God and great sweetness toward neighbor. As St. Teresa of Avila told her nuns: "Emotionally, be a man."

Pax & bonum,
Gemma

Foundation/Formation starts in earnest Nov. 21

God has His reasons for 'delays.'

While we were on foundational hiatus, due to my lack of a spiritual director, I continued with my research on Blessed Emilie, the foundress of the Society of Mary Reparatrix, whose spirituality we are adapting.

While reading her biography by Fr. P. Suau, S.J., I learned that Blessed Emilie and the SMRs' founding postulant band began their novitiate on November 21. The Pro Orantibus (prayer day for those who pray, aka, the cloisters) is that date this year.

I now have two spiritual directors--one is a Dominican friar involved in full-time formation, and a hermit with 40 years life experience with eremitism who conducts internet spiritual direction, and has his own eremitic community. The Dominican used to be involved with the now-defunct Fellowship of Emerging Communities.

The Holy Ghost moves when one door is closed and another is opened. Cloister Outreach and its hermits have as a constant prayer intention the emerging charisms and their vocations. Cloister Outreach also hosts the Founders Forum private, by-invitation-only, yahoo group, and Founders_and_Friends, an open-to-the-public yahoo group. Here is the URL:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Founders_and_Friends/

Pray for us, as we pray for you.

Blessings,
Gemma

Purpose of our blog

We'll be commenting on the progress of our proposed eremitic religious organization--the Reparatrix Anchoresses of Our Lady of the Cloister. Our link: http://cloisters.tripod.com/cloisterites/

The Cloisterite Hermits, as they're more commonly known, will have as their purpose in life withdrawing from the world to be more attentive to Our Lord. All of them hold regular jobs, so this will be challenging for them, but it can be done. They will be following a Plan of Life, known to us as "Nesting in the Sacred Heart," which will be based primarily on the spirituality of Blessed Emilie D'Oultremont, the foundress of the Society of Mary Reparatrix. The Cloisterite Hermits will have as their main four emphases: reparation; prayer for the cloisters and their vocations; prayer for emerging charisms and their vocations; and the initiatives of Cloister Outreach.

The hermits have each day of the week dedicated to a specific devotion:

Monday -- the Holy Ghost, making reparation in particular for suicide
Tuesday-- St. Joseph, making reparation for neglecting him and the saints
Wednesday--the angels, making reparation for the misuse of their name & purpose
Thursday--the Blessed Sacrament, making reparation for sacrileges, etc.
Friday--the Sacred Passion, making reparation for sin & disbelief
Saturday--the Poor Souls & Our Mother of Sorrows, making reparation for disbelief
Sunday--the Resurrection, making reparation for disbelief & unnecessary servile labor

If there are any questions regarding this emerging charism, please feel free to contact me. Please put "Cloisterite Hermits" in the subject line.

Blessings,
Gemma
foundress2003@yahoo.com