Contemplative Life
While all Catholic religious life inclines toward God, personal perfection and Christian charity, women and men who enter religious life may choose from a broad array of communities that are distinguished by their ministry, way of life, and form of prayer.
Contemplative religious orders devote themselves primarily to prayer and solitude. Following the mystical traditions of the church, contemplative women and men seek union with God and believe that spiritual contemplation influences the course of human events and the well-being of humankind.
In addition to prayer, those who choose contemplative religious life, engage in ministry that is consistent with a life dedicated to the contemplation of God in relative solitude. This ministry helps support the community without distracting from the primary ministry of contemplation. Contemplative religious communities may provide spiritual direction or counseling. Some contemplative monasteries are known for the baked goods or cheeses that they sell or the computer or mailing services that they provide.
The Monastery of St. Clare, Greenville, SC
A contemplative women's religious community that receives grants.
The Monastery of St. Clare, built in 1950 in a county whose Catholic population is in the single digits, is one of more than 300 religious communities with fewer than 100 members. By 2004, the city of Greenville had grown and surrounded the monastery's seven acres, and the nearby street had become one of the city's main arteries. The nuns, who gather for prayer six times daily, in addition to private prayer, reading, and contemplation, managed to transcend the 21st century sounds. However, the costs—both financially and physically—of maintaining the immense building exceeded their capacity. The membership of the monastery had declined from a peak of 25 to 17; the youngest nun was 50. The work they undertook—making and distributing altar breads and providing spiritual direction—made up only 25 percent of the income needed to sustain the monastery.
The Poor Clare nuns knew they needed help—in evaluating their living conditions, their projected needs for a handicapped accessible environment, elder care, and fundraising. They applied to the National Religious Retirement Office for help with planning and fundraising and were awarded a $150,000 grant that helped fund a development office for three years. In 2006, the Greenville nuns broke ground for a new monastery on a property adjacent to a nature preserve.
Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Cross, Berryville, Virginia
A contemplative men's religious community that receives grants.
The brothers who founded Holy Cross Abbey in 1950 made a deliberate choice to live in poverty and simplicity; they constructed dormitories of unfaced cement block, a chapel, and libraries. They relied on farming and baking for economic support and, with the help of benefactors, they paid off the mortgage in 25 years. Then they enlarged the monastery, adding an updated kitchen and living quarters that gave each monk a small room that held a bed, desk, night table and chair. "Our spiritual training was that God takes care of things," said Brother Benedict Simmonds. There was no retirement plan.
With help from other abbeys, Holy Cross entered the Social Security system in 1993, but the construction of a retreat guest house had thrown the abbey deeply into debt. The monks knew they needed a master plan for upgrading the monastery and caring for frail, elderly members; and one of their actions was to apply to the National Religious Retirement Office for grants to help pay for feasibility studies. They also applied for and were awarded a $150,000 grant to seed a retirement fund.
