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Poor
Clare Nuns of Roswell, New Mexico
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“The contemplative life! How precious it is in the eyes
of God! How precious it is to the Church! In all truth,
it is these souls who by their suffering, their love and
their prayers exercise in silence within the Church the
apostolate which is the most universal and the most
fruitful” (Pope John XXIII).
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TO
UNDERSTAND THE CONTEMPLATIVE VOCATION is to know that
its apostolate is universal and timeless. The Poor Clare
has stepped apart from the world and has thus got a
better perspective on it. She has left the world not
because she hates it, but because she wants to love it
more purely and more realistically.
IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY, St. Francis of Assisi founded
three Orders: preaching friars, enclosed nuns, dedicated
seculars. The nuns were formed by St. Clare, his first
spiritual daughter; and they constituted the Second
Franciscan Order. After Clare’s death, these Poor
Ladies, as Francis had called them, became identified
with the name of their mother and foundress. They are
still called Poor Clares
today, living by the work of their hands and their
minds and on the alms of the faithful, and because
they are followers and daughters of one of the most
charming women who ever lived, Clare of Assisi.
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To the
active religious today, Holy Scripture rings out
challenges. “Preach the word. Be urgent in season and
out of season” (2 Tim 4:2). “And He went about doing
good” (Acts 10:38). |
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TO THE CONTEMPLATIVE RELIGIOUS, Holy Scripture
underlines other words. “Your life is hidden with Christ
in God” (Col 3:3). “He went out to a mountain to pray,
and He passed the whole night in the prayer of God” (Lk
6:12). “As dying, and behold we live!” (2 Cor 6:9). The
active sister serves God and ministers to souls in the
marketplace. The contemplative nun serves God and
ministers to souls from the cloister.
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Formation Program |
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Postulancy in the Order of St. Clare today
is a year of preparation for that kind of
total giving which will be climaxed in
Solemn Profession some six years later.
The noviceship of two years which
follows upon postulancy is a time of refining
and deeper evaluation, of profounder
preparation and expectation. Now the life of
prayer and penance is embraced in fuller
detail.
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In exchanging the white veil of the novice
for the black veil of the professed nun, the
young Poor Clare assumes her full
responsibilities as a member of her Order:
prayer, penance, the
spiritual motherhood of souls.
The vows bring a marvelous enrichment. One is
truly bound to Christ now with fourfold and very
dear chains. To the ordinary three vows of
religion, the cloistered Poor Clare adds a
fourth, that of enclosure. She promises to live
in obedience, in poverty, in virginal chastity,
and in enclosure.
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The Habit |
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In an era when cumbersome religious
dress has been summoned to trial for
modification, the seven hundred-year-old garb of the Poor Clares
stands forth already intrinsically
updated. The cross-form habit is a
parable of simplicity. The plain
white cord is both functional and
symbolic, belting the garment and
expressing the vows with its four
knots. The head covering is
unstarched and simple, the veil is
flat and plain. The nuns are
barefoot. This is the garb
functional for work and for prayer.
These are the garments betokening
the pilgrim journeying through the
world to the Father, symbol and
sign, witness to Him this religious
woman loves, for whom she lives.
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The Effect |
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What is the sum total of
night vigils, fast and
abstinence, silence and
prayer, withdrawal and work?
What does a lifetime of
penance produce? Joy. In a
world dizzy with pleasure,
there is a dearth of joy. In
a welter of luxuries, there
is a drought of Christian
gaiety. But to the martyrs
who sang on their scaffolds,
to the confessors who
laughed in their labors, to
the virgins who despised
earthly prestige and station
for the love of Christ, the
Poor Clares add their humble
testimony: it is in giving
that we receive. And giving
all, we receive all joy. “I
will see you again and your
heart will rejoice. And your
joy no man shall take from
you” (Jn 16:22). The
contemplative’s heart
already rejoices as her
whole life keeps watch for
his coming.
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Applicants |
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Women between
the ages of
eighteen and
thirty are
eligible as
applicants to
the Order, with
exceptions
sometimes made
where there is
good reason.
Normal good
health, a high
school
education, and
the proper
qualities of
mind and heart
are the other
broad
requisites. A
dowry is not
required.
For more
information,
write
to:
Poor
Clare
Monastery
of Our
Lady of
Guadalupe
809 East
19th
Street
Roswell,
New
Mexico
88201-7599
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For
many,
the
day
ends
when
they
retire
at
midnight.
For
Poor
Clares,
the
day
begins
when
they
rise
at
midnight. |
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809 EAST NINETEENTH STREET
ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO 88201-7599
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