{"id":5035,"date":"2020-05-06T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/?p=5035"},"modified":"2020-05-14T19:12:54","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T23:12:54","slug":"cloistered-nuns-on-coping-with-solitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/cloistered-nuns-on-coping-with-solitude\/","title":{"rendered":"Cloistered Nuns On Coping With Solitude"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe title=\"Cloistered Nuns On Coping With Solitude 5\/05\/20\" height=\"122\" width=\"100%\" style=\"border: none;\" scrolling=\"no\" data-name=\"pb-iframe-player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podbean.com\/media\/player\/q8736-db5418?from=yiiadmin&amp;download=1&amp;version=1&amp;skin=1&amp;btn-skin=107&amp;auto=0&amp;share=1&amp;fonts=Helvetica&amp;download=1&amp;rtl=0&amp;pbad=1\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The sisters at St. Clare\u2019s Monastery in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota abide by the three vows taken by all nuns: poverty, chastity and obedience. But they also take a vow of enclosure, meaning they spend their entire lives behind the high walls surrounding the monastery, leaving only for emergencies or medical appointments.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>That means they are experts on staying put &#8211; so Gov. Tim Walz\u2019s stay-at-home order doesn\u2019t change their daily lives. But for those outside the monastery &#8211; whose lives are disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic &#8211; the sisters have some sage words.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Five sisters spoke to the&nbsp;<em>St. Cloud Times<\/em>&nbsp;in a parlor at the monastery, following both religious and state orders: They were separated by a lattice to follow the no-interaction rule and by 6 feet to follow social distancing rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cOur silence really helps a lot,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  said Sister Mary Consolata, 68, who has lived at the monastery for 17 years.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cIt keeps us recollected in the Lord and prevents a lot of useless &#8211; sometimes not helpful &#8211; chatter. There is a lot more peace with silence.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  Instead of feeling confined or isolated, the sisters say they find safety and security within the monastery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cIt\u2019s a freedom,<\/em><\/strong>\u201d said Sister Marie Elizabeth, 56, who has lived at the monastery for 22 years.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cI feel more like a fish out of water when I have to go to the doctor\u2019s office. There\u2019s so much noise out there.&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cI mean, out in the world you can be around a ton of people but still be very lonely,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  she continued.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cBut that sense to me is not here. In the enclosure, we\u2019re never by ourselves. We\u2019re with Jesus all the time. He\u2019s always present everywhere. There\u2019s not that sense of loneliness.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>That idea holds true even for those who are not religious: The entire world is living through the shared experience of the pandemic so no one is really alone in it. Although the stay-at-home order isn\u2019t uprooting the sisters\u2019 lives, the novel coronavirus has changed the content of many of their prayers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cWith COVID-19, people will come to the door and most will say, \u2018Well, you know what to pray for.\u2019 Everybody\u2019s got the same major intention,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  said Sister Mary Christiana, 43, who has lived at the monastery for 17 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 16 sisters at St. Clare\u2019s Monastery devote their lives to prayer.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cWe pray seven times a day. That\u2019s our job,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  said Mother Marie Immaculata, 69, who has lived at the monastery for 39 years. She is the monastery\u2019s abbess, the superior of the monastic community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sisters pray at midnight, then rise at 5:30 a.m. for morning prayer. A 7 a.m. Mass is followed by a breakfast of bread and water, milk or coffee and a midday prayer. After the main meal of the day, the nuns pray twice and have a work period for chores. They then have an hour of recreation at 6:15 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cThat\u2019s when we talk,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  Mother Marie Immaculata said, noting the sisters try not to speak during the day except for essential communication. The sisters then pray again and retire to their bedrooms at 9:30 p.m. And at midnight, the schedule begins again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Mother Mary Barbara, 82, encouraged people to find a routine to help with the angst and uncertainty stemming from the pandemic.<\/em> Mother Mary Barbara, who has lived at the monastery for 27 years, is the vicaress, or assistant to the abbess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>She also suggested breaking the routine &#8211; just a little bit &#8211; for some joy: maybe having a root beer float or popcorn and spending time with family. <\/em><strong><em>\u201cThat surely breaks the anxiety,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  she said. Before coming to St. Clare\u2019s Monastery, Mother Mary Barbara was active in the community as a teacher for 33 years but was so busy and distracted she was losing touch with the Lord. She longed for peace.&nbsp;<strong>\u201cIt\u2019s what my heart wanted,\u201d<\/strong>  she said. The sisters\u2019 recommendations, based on experience and observation, follow that of mental health experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Local mental health professionals recommend establishing a routine and helping people, which releases dopamine and oxytocin in the brain. Other suggestions include taking the time to notice the good things and showing gratitude for them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cMaybe now, without the distractions, without the hustle and bustle, it\u2019s the time to focus on the present moment and live each moment \u2026 and be glad for it,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  said Sister Marie Elizabeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Poor Clares, who rely entirely on donations for survival, practice gratitude every day. They also rely on the outside world for updates on current events.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cMany friends in the community like to let us know what\u2019s going on so we can pray,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  Sister Marie Elizabeth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sisters said they felt a strong calling from the Lord to join the monastery<strong><em>. \u201cNone of us come, you know, running from the world because you have to face yourself here,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  said Sister Marie Elizabeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mother Marie Immaculata agreed:&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cIt\u2019s not an escape. But it is a haven.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>The sisters put their calling to good use, answering letters from across the state, nation and world.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cThey are always filled with intentions for prayers,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  said Mother Mary Barbara.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cSomething so marvelous about the letters, too, is I find is there are so many people who don\u2019t ask for prayers for themselves. It\u2019s always for their neighbor or somebody that\u2019s sick or for the world or the Church.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prayer also helps the sisters get through uncertain times.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cIt keeps us so busy,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  Mother Mary Barbara said.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cWe\u2019re always focused on others.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Along with the increase in prayer requests related to the pandemic, the sisters have noticed an increase in people coming together to help one another since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cWe\u2019re getting a lot more people coming to the door and just saying, \u2018Do you need anything? I\u2019m checking with all the people I know if they need anything,\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/strong>  said Sister Mary Consolata.&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201cSo there\u2019s a lot of people out there who are looking after their neighbors and just trying to think of who they can help in this time. It\u2019s very beautiful to hear all of this.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Jenny Berg&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;St. Cloud Times.&nbsp;&nbsp;May 2, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who are YOU trying to help in addition to your own family members during this pandemic?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sisters at St. Clare\u2019s Monastery in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota abide by the three vows taken by all nuns: poverty, chastity and obedience. But they also take a vow of enclosure, meaning they spend their entire lives behind the high walls surrounding the monastery, leaving only for emergencies or medical appointments. That means they are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"true","qubely_interactions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"qubely_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",1170,400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",1170,400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",540,185,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized-300x103.jpg",300,103,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized-768x263.jpg",768,263,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized-1024x350.jpg",1024,350,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",1170,400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",1170,400,false],"ocean-thumb-m":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",600,205,false],"ocean-thumb-ml":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",800,274,false],"ocean-thumb-l":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",1170,400,false],"qubely_landscape":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",1170,400,false],"qubely_portrait":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",540,185,false],"qubely_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",140,48,false],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/guillaume-de-germain-594851-unsplash-3-Optimized.jpg",45,15,false]},"qubely_author":{"display_name":"Medard Laz","author_link":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/author\/medlaz\/"},"qubely_comment":0,"qubely_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/category\/daily-treats\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Daily Treats<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"The sisters at St. Clare\u2019s Monastery in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota abide by the three vows taken by all nuns: poverty, chastity and obedience. But they also take a vow of enclosure, meaning they spend their entire lives behind the high walls surrounding the monastery, leaving only for emergencies or medical appointments. That means they are&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treatsforthesoul.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}