Jump to content
Seriously No Politics ×

Recommended Posts

8 hours ago, Kenngo1969 said:

However, as no such order exists currently outside of full-time missionary service, I'll need some advice on how to go about starting the order.

I  think we all know why none exists...although the Celestial Kingdom level one might qualify.

Link to comment
5 hours ago, Doctrine 612 said:

My great uncles are Jesuit and before I joined the lds church I was in the process of joining the order as well.

The Catechism- is the basis for your avatar?

"The agony at Gethsemani

612 The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his Father's hands in his agony in the garden at Gethsemani,434 making himself "obedient unto death". Jesus prays: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. . ."435 Thus he expresses the horror that death represented for his human nature. Like ours, his human nature is destined for eternal life; but unlike ours, it is perfectly exempt from sin, the cause of death.436 Above all, his human nature has been assumed by the divine person of the "Author of life", the "Living One".437 By accepting in his human will that the Father's will be done, he accepts his death as redemptive, for "he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree."438. "

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a4p2.htm

Edited by mfbukowski
Link to comment
On 4/16/2019 at 6:00 PM, Kenngo1969 said:

Actually, at this point, it's looking as though my "vow of chastity" is going to be life-long. :o:shok::blink:

:D:rofl::D

Philippines and India, Im sure you can arrange an arranged marriage. The love part will eventually come, well it worked out for Golde and Tevya

Link to comment

Great topic! I've been drawn to contemplative orders and spend a couple of weeks a year in retreat at the two nearest my home:

https://www.ourladyofguadalupemonastery.com

https://christdesert.org

(I highly recommend checking out the links, if nothing else but to view the pictures)

Both of these monasteries are Benedictine, meaning they follow the Rule of St. Benedict. There are other types of contemplative monastic orders, too, including one of the strictest, the Carthusian Order, formed in 1084. There are no visitors allowed to that monastery and they spend the days in solitude and silence, only coming together for liturgical services.

One of the great aspects of the contemplative orders is that time is made holy. In Benedictine monasteries, the day is not spent idle. The focus is on work and prayer: labor et ora (which is were the word laboratory comes from). Many times a day, starting at 3:30 or so in the morning, the monks gather together in the chapel to pray, to chant what are called the hours (prayers and the psalms). Of course there is daily Mass. The other times are spent working. Of course there is time set aside for private devotions and contemplation/meditation. I love staying at a monastery for an extended time because you get into this rhythm that seems to sanctify the day. Everything that you do becomes focused on God, on finding Him, on loving Him, on worshipping Him, and hopefully becoming one with Him.

Not being LDS, I have no idea what an LDS monastic would look like, though it seems from what I know it would be impossible to mimic the Catholic orders, if for no other reason that the LDS seem to have difficulty bringing other Christian churches' practices into their own (see the thread on the cross and the comments about Easter and Christmas services). I imagine members would freak out of someone started up an LDS monastic order, but that's my view from the outside.

I do think that the official status of different Catholic orders and spiritualities is most most beneficial. Not everyone is the same. Not everyone's path to God is the same. Catholicism recognizes this explicitly and formally in some pretty profound ways. For example, the Catholic Church is officially made up of 24 Churches. Almost everyone thinks of the Latin Church when they think of Catholicism, but there are also 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, with their own liturgy, own canon laws, own traditions, etc. They are Catholic (not Eastern Orthodox) because they recognize the Pope's primacy among all the bishops.

In the Latin Church, there are all the different orders that cater specifically to one's calling and spiritual path. If you are drawn to contemplation, there are a handful of orders for you. You can join one officially (taking on the religious life), or you can simply follow the path in a lay life. If you are drawn to service, you can connect with the Franciscans or other such orders. If the spiritual intellectual life is for you, then go hang out with the Jesuits. Now I know that these paths can be pursued by individual Mormons within the context of Mormonism (contemplation, service, intellectual pursuits, etc), but I don't think there is any institutional support for a specific path. I think that would be quite helpful for someone's spirituality. It's good to recognize that not everyone is going to find God the same way.

Why do you think there are no such "orders" (or whatever they would be called) in the LDS church? Is it because of a desire to not look like Catholicism? Is it because the LDS church is young? Is it because there is a belief that the path to God is very similar for all people? I'd be interested to know your thoughts.

Link to comment

I think the main reason we really cannot function in a monastic sense is it clashes with some of our other directives. Primarily the emphasis on family. Providing a celibate order to go to would be a way of intentionally refusing exaltation. The other is that we are not (yet) commanded to withdraw from the world. We have to be in it to share the gospel with others. We do have service missionaries but they are secondary to our proselyting.

Link to comment
23 hours ago, MiserereNobis said:

 

... One of the great aspects of the contemplative orders is that time is made holy. In Benedictine monasteries, the day is not spent idle. The focus is on work and prayer: labor et ora (which is were the word laboratory comes from). ... Many times a day, starting at 3:30 or so in the morning, the monks gather together in the chapel to pray, to chant what are called the hours (prayers and the psalms). Of course there is daily Mass. The other times are spent working. Of course there is time set aside for private devotions and contemplation/meditation. I love staying at a monastery for an extended time because you get into this rhythm that seems to sanctify the day. Everything that you do becomes focused on God, on finding Him, on loving Him, on worshipping Him, and hopefully becoming one with Him. ...

I excerped the part of your post that I'm interested in focusing on at the moment.  The first thing I thought of when I read that are the Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  While it is not "work" in the traditional sense, there's plenty of working and praying going on in each of those edifices, as well.  Thanks for your thoughts.  I'll check out your links later (I'm on a mobile device ...)

Edited by Kenngo1969
Link to comment
On 4/16/2019 at 10:15 AM, Kenngo1969 said:

I'm considering entering the equivalent of an order of monks in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  However, as no such order exists currently outside of full-time missionary service, I'll need some advice on how to go about starting the order.  Perhaps our Catholic brethren, who have a much stronger and lengthier tradition of monkhood, can offer such advice?  Thanks in advance.

For a little more excitement, you might consider joining the Danites.....the Mormon “Knights Templar” (Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, the “Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonic,” the Order of Solomon's Temple)?

Intrigue, danger, secret stuff, etc.......

 

Edited by Bernard Gui
Link to comment
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...