the process for joining our community
Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery uses the term oblate a bit differently than monasteries that have walls with sisters and brothers living together in community.
In traditional monasteries oblates are people who are affiliated with the community but are not full members of it. In Saint Brigid’s, oblates are our full members (or monks) of the monastery who have been through a process of learning, discerning, and prayer, and have decided to make a full and lifelong promise to the community.
In traditional monasteries oblates are people who are affiliated with the community but are not full members of it. In Saint Brigid’s, oblates are our full members (or monks) of the monastery who have been through a process of learning, discerning, and prayer, and have decided to make a full and lifelong promise to the community.
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To belong to a community is to begin to be about more than myself.
- Joan Chittister, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily |
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We have a 3 phase process of vocational discernement
Postulancy, Novitiate and Juniorate
The Postulancy: If someone feels called to monastic life with Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery, they begin by having a conversation with the monastery’s porter. If both persons agree that the discernment should proceed, the inquirer will then have a conversation with the monastery’s leader.
If prolonged prayer and discussion seem to indicate a monastic calling, the candidate may then become a Postulant and be assigned a mentor. The postulancy is a time to “get your big toe wet” by working with a mentor and praying with the community.
The timeframe for being in the postulancy generally lasts between a few weeks and two or three months. This is a time of discernment, for both the person and the community, to seek some clarity about whether God is indeed leading that person to a vocation in St. Brigid’s Monastery.
If prolonged prayer and discussion seem to indicate a monastic calling, the candidate may then become a Postulant and be assigned a mentor. The postulancy is a time to “get your big toe wet” by working with a mentor and praying with the community.
The timeframe for being in the postulancy generally lasts between a few weeks and two or three months. This is a time of discernment, for both the person and the community, to seek some clarity about whether God is indeed leading that person to a vocation in St. Brigid’s Monastery.
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Monastic life is a marathon not a sprint.
-Michael Casey, Strangers to the City |
The Novitiate: After an initial exploratory time, if a person still feels called to our community and our community is in agreement, that person makes an Initial Oblation promise to the monastic life. The Novice year consists of continued prayer with the community and monthly gatherings with other novices and a guide from the monastery.
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O search me, God, and know my heart;
o test me and know my thoughts. See that I follow not the wrong path, and lead me in the path of life eternal. - Psalm 139:23-24 |
The Juniorate: The next step in the process is the Juniorate. The Junior spends a period of one or two years of study with a guide from the monastery. The focus is on gaining a deeper understanding of the Rule of St. Benedict and of monastic history.
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Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.
- Rule of St. Benedict |
After completing these initial years of formation, both the candidates and the members of the monastic community should have arrived at clarity as to whether God is calling the new member to Benedictine life in St. Brigid’s.
If so, they will be invited to make their final oblation and will henceforth be full members of St. Brigid of Kildare Monastery.
Discernment is woven into the entire process because it is a holy time of listening together for God’s leading. Our hope and goal is to assist each person who comes to our door with the important task of determining where God might be calling them.
If so, they will be invited to make their final oblation and will henceforth be full members of St. Brigid of Kildare Monastery.
Discernment is woven into the entire process because it is a holy time of listening together for God’s leading. Our hope and goal is to assist each person who comes to our door with the important task of determining where God might be calling them.
