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The Vocation of the Camaldolese Nun

The formation of candidates for monastic life includes: a period of preparation for the novitiate in two stages, known as aspirancy and postulancy; a canonical novitiate; and the years following first profession.

The purpose of the formation period is to lead the candidate to seek an ever deeper union with God through the acquisition of the elements that make up the monastic spiritual experience. Within the framework established by the Constitutions, the initial formation process has as its primary criterion that of “personalizing the journey” in order to foster the candidate’s authentic maturation.

 

Stages

  • Getting to know the community through short visits and 6 months of experience
  • Aspirancy: 1 year
  • Postulancy: 1 year
  • Novitiate: 2 years
  • Temporary profession for 3 years (Juniorate)
  • Solemn or perpetual monastic profession.

The purpose of the postulancy, together with the aspirancy, is to encourage young women to gradually adapt, psychologically and spiritually, to their new situation, so that, in a climate of serenity and under the versatile guidance of the master, they can carefully study their monastic vocation.

The main purpose of the novitiate is to introduce the candidate to the fundamental requirements of the monastic community to which she will one day make her profession in response to God’s personal call to live out her baptism.

A prolonged and special deepening of formation after the novitiate (juniorate) is absolutely necessary for everyone if they are to progress effectively in monastic life. Reaching this level, however, requires a lifetime.

In this new phase, the educational work must consider the whole person of the candidate from a human, cultural, and spiritual point of view, so that she, with respect for her personality, may develop in a harmonious and balanced way, in view of the divine vocation she has freely accepted and also in view of her definitive insertion into the community.

Ongoing Formation

 

Initiation into monastic life is a process of emotional acceptance and joyful celebration of the divine grace that precedes us and in which the Lord allows us to share in faith. Each nun, moved by the Gospel of the Father’s unconditional love revealed in Jesus, sets out to let the Spirit expand the spaces of her heart in a process of transfiguration that lasts a lifetime and embraces her entire existence.

In the Prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict, the monastic community is called a school of the Lord’s service (RB, Prol. 45). As such, the monastic community has a formative character towards its members and, at the same time, feels the need for ongoing formation.

In view of the close link between identity and formation, the threefold good—fraternal communion, solitude, evangelization—which underlines the characteristic of the Camaldolese charism, must also outline the program of our formation.