Formation

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Becoming a Benedictine sister requires exploration and prayer. There are several distinct stages of vocation discernment:

"Listen with the ear of your heart.” Discernment begins with prayer. Each community has a specific process. Listed below are the common stages and some of the specific details from various communities.

Affiliate (Applicant/Associate).

During this stage of discernment you visit the monastery regularly. You and a your sister sponsor stay in contact with one another for encouragement, support and study.
Upon completion of the interviews and with the recommendation of the vocation team, an invitation is extended for entrance into the community as a postulant.
In general, applicants are accepted after they have been in contact with the community for a sufficient time to allow both the individual and the community time to experience one another.
As an associate you will discern whether you are being called to Monastic life. Visits and live-in time at the monastery, a program of spiritual reading and lectio, and monthly contact with the vocation director will assist you in your discernment.
The Affiliate phase is designed for the woman who is seriously discerning a call to Benedictine Life. Affiliation provides the opportunity for the individual to search out her life call in our lifestyle.

Postulant (Candidate).

This stage lasts at least one year and requires moving into the monastery, sharing the prayer, work, and leisure of the community. You take classes in Scripture and Benedictine spirituality and practice.
“What do you seek?” The first year in the monastery is called the postulancy. The goal of this year is to allow you to test your vocation.
At the end of the year you and your director, as well as twelve sisters in community, will evaluate your progress. These evaluations will be given to the Prioress General and the General Council who will then decide if you are ready to be admitted to the novitiate.
Postulants attend classes on various aspects of monastic life: The Rule of St. Benedict, Scripture, monastic spirituality and history, community history, and many other courses geared to provide the solid foundation necessary for living in a monastic community.
The postulants also spend a few hours each day working at assigned duties and tasks within the monastery. The formation director meets frequently with each postulant, and there are occasional meetings with the Prioress.
The postulancy period is a time of getting to know more fully all the Sisters, experiencing the charism of the community, growth in prayer life, and development of discernment skills. During this time the community is also in discernment regarding your living the monastic life with them.
Through ongoing discernment while living in community, you will enter more deeply into the monastic lifestyle. You will continue to be self supporting through your full-time work or education and will participate in our daily Liturgy of the Hours, meditation, spiritual reading, community life, and ministries. Conferences on Benedictine Life will be a part of your schedule.
The Candidate phase is designed for the woman who requests admission. The Candidate publicly states her intention to become a member. Candidacy lasts from nine months to one year.

Novice.

This period is one to two years and includes in-depth study of the Benedictine way of life through prayer, study, reflection, solitude and work. Classes cover the Scriptures, Rule of Benedict and monastic profession.
"Test the spirits to see whether they are from God." The novitiate is a two-year period of intense spiritual formation. Its purpose is to help you continue discerning the will of God for your life through prayer, instruction, spiritual guidance, and the lived experience of our Benedictine lifestyle.
You will participate fully in the prayer life of the community and may be called upon to be a reader, chanter, or Eucharistic minister.
Your work assignment will be changed every six months to give you more experience with the different works of the community.
You will also take classes to help in your monastic formation, including courses on Scripture, Liturgy, the Rule of St. Benedict, and lectio divina.
The second year of the novitiate is designated as the canonical year during which time you will observe stricter enclosure for the sake of discernment, and study the Benedictine vows (stability, conversatio and obedience) in preparation for First Monastic Profession.
The evaluation process, which occurs at the end of each year of the novitiate, is identical to that of the postulancy. The Prioress General and the General Council will decide if you are ready to be accepted for First Monastic Profession.
During these years, the novice continues her work and studies, and continues to seek God's will in prayer and discernment.
By attending and participating in Federation and area workshops, retreats and conferences, novices meet women in formation from other monastic communities.
At the end of this two year period, novices go before the community to request admission to Temporary Profession.
The novitiate will include study of the Benedictine Rule, Constitution, Scripture, Liturgy, Church Fathers and other classes on meditation, and developing the spiritual life.
During this time you will come to know more fully the Benedictine way of life through prayer, study, reflection and solitude. You will study the Benedictine vows, charism, history, constitution and practice of the vowed life.
A time of intense spiritual preparation that lasts two years.

Sister in Temporary Profession.

During this three to six year period you live as a member of the community, continuing your study, ministry and discernment towards final monastic commitment.
"I vow to Almighty God for three years . . .” Once you have made First Profession you will be addressed as Sister. In discernment with the Prioress General you may also choose a new name.
The juniorate is at least three years in length and can be extended up to six. During this time you will settle more deeply into the life and determine whether or not this is the path to which you wish to dedicate yourself until death.
When you ask to be received as a perpetually professed sister, every member of the community will evaluate you in regards to your ability to live monastic life. These evaluations are given to the Prioress General and the General Council who will decide whether or not you are ready to make Final Monastic Profession.
During temporary profession, which lasts at least three years, the new sister works in a ministry compatible with her talents and training. Educational possibilities exist, and she spends time discerning her future commitment and ministry.
The individual takes part in all aspects of community life. This includes daily meditation, Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, Lectio Divina, and the daily schedule of activities.
As commitment to the vows are made, you will live as a vowed Monastic, participating in prayer, community life and ministry. You will begin to live more deeply Benedictine life of stability, obedience and conversion of life as Monastic values are incorporated in your personal life and as you prepare for perpetual vows.
The sister becomes now fully integrated into the Monastic Community and she begins a ministry.

Sister in Perpetual Profession.

At this time you make a life-long commitment to live the Benedictine way within our monastic community.
Following completion of temporary profession, the sister again addresses the community. This time she requests admission to perpetual profession. A gold ring is presented as a sign of this commitment.
The sister is now a full member of the community. She will be officially commissioned to ministry in the monastery, ministry on a mission location, or possibly asked to further her education in a field she and the community agree upon.
The new fully professed sister continues to listen to God in all areas of her life, along with all her sisters in community.
By perpetual profession, the Sister embraces a lifelong commitment to following the evangelical counsels and fidelity to the monastic observance.
You will live as a sister vowed to Conversion of Life in fidelity to the Monastic lifestyle. The process of conversion and growth will continue as you serve the Community, the Church and the world in your designated ministry as a prophetic witness to the Gospel.