
I want to begin with a resounding affirmation: there is a future for monasteries. There is a future for Dominican contemplative life. I have hope because this way of life, in prayer and silence, in joy and fraternity, is an indispensable good for the Church and for our world. It is a rare commodity, especially now, in many places, but I am convinced that there is a future. Optimism depends on us. Hope is in God. I believe there is a future because of the mission of the nuns. The nuns in their monasteries show us the Lord, our Saviour Jesus Christ, who, through faith, is the way, the truth and the life. He is the creator and redeemer of mankind and thus gives meaning and purpose to our existence. Monasteries are not only schools of humanism and holiness, but places that announce the coming of the Kingdom to a world hungry for transcendence and hope. The nuns and monasteries of the Order are diverse – comprised of different federations throughout the world. Yet their desire for fidelity to the Gospel and to their mission in the Church and in the Order is evident.
I consider the three greatest challenges currently faced by the monasteries of the Order to likely be:
- Continual renewal in community of the intrinsic richness and beauty of Dominican contemplative life.
- The strengthening of each and every nun in order to create more fraternal communities.
- The need to raise awareness of the importance of real autonomy of the monasteries. This requires an understanding that Dominican contemplative life demands a certain number of nuns and a quality of life according to the Dominican ideal and the lights of the Church.
I would like to present a brief reflections on each of these points.
- Pope Francis says: “Over the centuries, the experience of these sisters, centred on the Lord as their first and only love, has brought forth copious fruits of holiness. What apostolic efficacy radiates from the monasteries through prayer and offering! What joy and prophecy the silence of the cloisters shouts to the world! What would the Church be without you and without those who live on the peripheries of humanity and act in the vanguard of evangelisation? The Church greatly appreciates your life totally dedicated to God.” It is true; monasteries are beacons and torches radiating grace and holiness for the journey of humanity. The purpose of the nuns is to show the beauty of the praise of God. If, as St Thomas says, beauty is truly the revelation of goodness and truth, their place at the forefront of the Church is indispensable. The world needs to discover the beauty of divine grace which you can show by your personal and community life so that there may be peace, truth and charity in our land. The nuns spend hours each day in prayer, adoration and liturgical celebration. They spend hours together in silence or at work or together in recreation. The Eucharist and prayer fill their lives. They live prayer and prepare for it with great care and attention in order to draw from it all its richness. Their intercessory prayer is much sought after by the people of God who entrust their problems, needs and anxieties to them. Many priests, sisters and lay people seek to spend a weekend or a retreat in their monasteries. They seek a word from the nuns to shed light on their lives. They seek the silence that they cannot find outside in the world. They seek recollection and solitude to meet God. How much apostolic effectiveness is born and forged in monasteries!
- We know that fraternal or community life or “koinonia” has its origin and root in the Trinitarian mystery. It has a theological origin. Common life is a blessing and a challenge. It is a marvellous grace, as a participation in the divine life. At the same time, it is terribly demanding in its participation in the building up of the human community. Its purpose is none other than to live the fundamental precept of the Gospel: charity – love of God and neighbour. The community is a place of growth, forgiveness and reconciliation. It is a theological place of discovery of Jesus. Brother J.M.R. Tillard, OP, says that koinonia – the fraternity among those gathered together in religious life – is so important that if there is no koinonia, there is no Church. “Koinonia is the flesh of being Christian. Being together is not enough. The sister who does not greet or smile or talk to the one she is next to, does not live koinonia. She is not in grace. And when koinonia is violated, there is an infidelity more serious than a commandment. When koinonia is compromised or lacking, the Eucharist is undermined, because the Eucharist is the source of unity by the Spirit, and koinonia is an effect or fruit of the Spirit.” Fraternal life in monastic community radiates a love of life lived authentically and is a witness to peace and fraternity for the rest of the world.
- The monasteries must be autonomous. That is, they must be able to manage life in all its dimensions. Therefore, they must guarantee that the nuns benefit from a fully Dominican contemplative life with times of prayer and silence. They must have the capacity to support themselves, a choir of at least ten or twelve nuns, and the possibility of attracting and forming young people. They also must maintain the capacity of caring for older members. Finally they need to possess civil recognition as a juridical person and own ecclesiastical property. Currently, there is a shortage of vocations. There are also elderly and sick nuns. In some cases, even when the number of nuns is not decreasing to the point that life can no longer be managed, there is, however, an attachment to material goods, to maintaining control and decision making. There is fear of losing what is one’s own. There is a great fear of change and of giving up possessions, There is fear of the invitation to join with weaker monasteries through affiliation and merger, even if it means a valuable improvement, not only in numbers, but in quality of life. There are uncertain hopes for the vocations which might come, but the reality is that the desired number are not coming. There have been monasteries that have had the courage to join together. This is not accomplished without pain and tears. Yet these nuns have had the courage to seek that quality of life and to think of the young women to come. They want these to know what a chapter is and what a council is, how the rotation of offices can take place, what a worthy choir is in number, with a beautiful and harmonious liturgy. St Dominic asked the nuns of Prouilhe to go to Rome “to teach the Order” to the sisters of San Sisto. And then he sent four nuns from San Sisto to Bologna for the same purpose. He sent them to strengthen the monasteries. This can be called collaboration, communion, synodality, co-responsibility, or belonging to a Federation. These monasteries care for one another, even the most distant. Our Father Dominic was clear that in his Order, at all levels, itinerancy and mobility, help and collaboration are necessary for the future of Dominican religious life to be authentic and lasting.
I believe that this can only change for the better if work is done at both personal and community level. The Order insists on this not only for the nuns, but also for the friars and sisters in active life. The federations of monasteries with their presidents and councils, can assist through their reflection and awareness. Monasteries can participate by discussing the issue chapters, councils and various meetings. This will be the work of serious community discernment in the light of the Gospel and the needs of the Church in this third millennium. Each nun individually, must also look at the reality with sincerity and with a deeply Dominican spirit. Always also, and at all levels, with prayer, contemplation and the lucidity that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Santa Sabina, Rome, October 2024
Fernando García, OP
General Promoter of the Nuns
