Order of Wandering Monks/Nuns

[Rebekah Scott]

A young woman from Finland stayed with us last week, having walked the Camino Portugues from the Algarve and now "a reves" toward France. She wore a dark brown habit and tonsured hair, but no veil. She´d left her convent in Tenerife to follow another calling.

She and several other religious wanderers (including the ubiquitous Sister Anna) are gathering in Aubrac, France this summer to discuss formation of a mendicant religious order, based on the original wandering monks of St. Francis of Assisi. Those who feel called to a consecrated lifetime of spiritual travel, within a framework of strict Christian discipline and discipleship, might consider this... They do not wish to interfere or compete with existing groups, and so far there are no bars as to gender, denomination, or marital status -- it is a contemporary look at a very old idea.

I know few details of the proposed group or their gathering. I don´t think at this point they are interested in philosophical debate or online chitchat, as they are on the road and their email time is very limited. Those with a serious interest can PM me for contact information.

 

[Br. David]

How marvellous! That will be St Chély d'Aubrac, and during July-august I think?

There is a Religious of the Sacred Heart there. I met some in Lourdes two years ago and they were so happy and so jolly!

How nice it must have been for you to shelter her.

Marvellous!!

 

[marian55]

Great people. I also met some of them. Three singing angels.

 

[nathanael]

Would like to know more on wandering religious...just of note St. Francis of Assisi followers were friars not monks. Nevertheless it was of interest you topic.
n.

 

[Br. David]

True. In Catholicism monks are cloistered, turning inwards, and friars are in open communities, turning outward. But in non Catholic denominations such as the Church of England the term 'Monk' is common usage for both monks and friars.

 

[andy.d]

The Church of England has monks, nuns and friars,

Andy

 

[Br. David]

True, but 'monk' is the common term for both monks and friars :wink:

 

[Lydia Gillen]

It is my understanding that monks and nuns are members of usually quite ancient orders following the rule of St. Basil or St. Augustine and they would have and still do live in communities and obey the rules of cloister. ie they stayed within their own walls.

In more recent history,people such as St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic would have seen the need to work among people and would have seen the public streets and homes of the poor as their cloister. Their followers are friars

Within the last three centuries many orders of women also decided to work in the streets with the poor.
I think of the great women Margaret Alward founder of the Holy Faith sisters. Mary Akenhead, founder of the Irish sisters of Charity, and many many others. They had huge fights with Rome to be acknowledged when those in power in the Vatican thought that a women "should have a man or be within walls." These women are not nuns in the strict sense of the word they are 'religious sisters'.

However I think we should be quite clear that the ancient orders of monks and nuns are not"inward looking" They take on as their life's work to pray for people.

 

[Br. David]

Lovely post - I agree completely ..

but
However I think we should be quite clear that the ancient orders of monks and nuns are not"inward looking" They take on as their life's work to pray for people.

my apologies - mea culpa - , I wasn't being clear. What I meant by 'inward looking' was not their personal perspective but that they were cloistered and therefore their work was inward looking to the cloister (and yes, including praying for the world and helping all visitors and guests) whereas friars were outward as they worked in the outside world.

Such a shame that titles are still gender specific .. though I do think that this is changing, don't you?

Perhaps this quote will clear things up?

"Friar (Latin frater,"brother") is a term applied to members of certain religious orders who practice the principles of monastic life and devote themselves to the service of humanity in the secular world. Originally, their regulations forbade the holding either of community or personal property, and the resulting dependence of friars on voluntary contributions in order to live caused them to be known as mendicant orders. The founders of the orders used the term friar to designate members; Saint Francis of Assisi called his followers Friars Minor, and Saint Dominic used the name Friars Preachers. The larger orders were given popular names, derived usually from the color or other distinguishing marks of their habits, such as Black Friars (Dominicans), Gray Friars (Franciscans), and White Friars (Carmelites). Friars differed from monks in that the monk was attached to a specific community within which he led a cloistered life, having no direct contact with the secular world. The friar, on the other hand, belonged to no particular monastic house but to a general order, and worked as an individual in the secular world. Thus, friar and monk are not synonymous terms, even though in popular usage monk is often used as a generic term for all members of religious orders."

So those who adhere to and follow, say, the principles and actions of St. Francis and act as individuals in the world in this way, are friars, whether belonging to an ancient order or not - and in our age the term, I do believe, should be used for both males and females equally (my opinion).

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Po-tay-to, po-tah-to....or as they say in SE Asia, same same but different. It's just semantics. I think we all got the gist of it! I think it's a pretty cool idea, to be honest. Wish I had the guts to do something like that.....

 

[Wandering monk]

A young woman from Finland stayed with us last week, having walked the Camino Portugues from the Algarve and now "a reves" toward France. She wore a dark brown habit and tonsured hair, but no veil. She´d left her convent in Tenerife to follow another calling.

She and several other religious wanderers (including the ubiquitous Sister Anna) are gathering in Aubrac, France this summer to discuss formation of a mendicant religious order, based on the original wandering monks of St. Francis of Assisi. Those who feel called to a consecrated lifetime of spiritual travel, within a framework of strict Christian discipline and discipleship, might consider this... They do not wish to interfere or compete with existing groups, and so far there are no bars as to gender, denomination, or marital status -- it is a contemporary look at a very old idea.

I know few details of the proposed group or their gathering. I don´t think at this point they are interested in philosophical debate or online chitchat, as they are on the road and their email time is very limited. Those with a serious interest can PM me for contact information.

Tell me more about the wandering monks very interested thanks. God bless

 

[Marbe2]

A young woman from Finland stayed with us last week, having walked the Camino Portugues from the Algarve and now "a reves" toward France. She wore a dark brown habit and tonsured hair, but no veil. She´d left her convent in Tenerife to follow another calling.

She and several other religious wanderers (including the ubiquitous Sister Anna) are gathering in Aubrac, France this summer to discuss formation of a mendicant religious order, based on the original wandering monks of St. Francis of Assisi. Those who feel called to a consecrated lifetime of spiritual travel, within a framework of strict Christian discipline and discipleship, might consider this... They do not wish to interfere or compete with existing groups, and so far there are no bars as to gender, denomination, or marital status -- it is a contemporary look at a very old idea.

I know few details of the proposed group or their gathering. I don´t think at this point they are interested in philosophical debate or online chitchat, as they are on the road and their email time is very limited. Those with a serious interest can PM me for contact information.

FOund this post most interest8ng.....
Who is, if you do not mind, is ubiquitous Sister Anna??

And, I too, thank you for sheltering the young sister sister from Finland.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

"Wondering monks" is an oxymoronic descriptor. Sorry, but the truth.

 

[Marbe2]

"Wondering monks" is an oxymoronic descriptor. Sorry, but the truth.

You, of course, are technically correct. . But the lines get blurred sometimes....

 

[C clearly]

"Wondering monks" is an oxymoronic descriptor.

This seems too deep and I can't quite figure it out, or be sure if it applies to "wandering monks."

 

[Wandering monk]

"Wondering monks" is an oxymoronic descriptor. Sorry, but the truth.

Ye

 

[David Tallan]

This seems too deep and I can't quite figure it out, or be sure if it applies to "wandering monks."

I think that the idea is that monks, by definition, live secluded in monasteries. If they are off wandering among the rest of us, then they aren't monks by that definition. I believe that if they are off wandering among the rest of us they are called "friars", but I might be wrong there.

Of course, this is a Christian perspective. Perhaps Buddhism or other religions have travelling monks

 

[mikebet]

Yes, Buddhism has traveling monks. In fact the Buddha himself was pretty much always on the move as numerous holy sites attest. Even now Buddhist monks travel freely between Theradvada countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma, and when we lived in Sri Lanka we met Thai monks who were teaching there. There is also a tradition of "forest-dwelling" monks who eschew even resident monastic life in favor of a simpler and more mobile lifestyle.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

This original thread from 2011 has been resurrected.
I would think @VNwalking could shed light on the subject.

 

[liliesfromruins]

A young woman from Finland stayed with us last week, having walked the Camino Portugues from the Algarve and now "a reves" toward France. She wore a dark brown habit and tonsured hair, but no veil. She´d left her convent in Tenerife to follow another calling.

She and several other religious wanderers (including the ubiquitous Sister Anna) are gathering in Aubrac, France this summer to discuss formation of a mendicant religious order, based on the original wandering monks of St. Francis of Assisi. Those who feel called to a consecrated lifetime of spiritual travel, within a framework of strict Christian discipline and discipleship, might consider this... They do not wish to interfere or compete with existing groups, and so far there are no bars as to gender, denomination, or marital status -- it is a contemporary look at a very old idea.

I know few details of the proposed group or their gathering. I don´t think at this point they are interested in philosophical debate or online chitchat, as they are on the road and their email time is very limited. Those with a serious interest can PM me for contact information.

Hello! I was not sure how to pm you. I would be very curious to know if there is an update on this? My being has been calling to be a part of an order like what it sounds like they were proposing. I would be be very grateful to hear more !

 

[GPeachy]

Many monks and nuns live in monestaries or convents but work in the community, in schools, hospitals or charitable associations. Some stay in their location (monastery / convent), but provide goods for the community and interact by selling their products (honey, beer, fruitcake, etc.). Cloistered nuns, like the Poor Clair's, established by St. Clair, the follower of St. Frances, do not leave the convent or work in the community. We live next to such a convent in Italy. They live lives of prayer and contemplation. If you go to Mass at the church there, the sisters are behind a gate. You occasionally see them in the front garden raking leaves. There are also Franciscan sisters, who live in a different convent, who do work out in the community. You can recognize them, and the Franciscan monks, by their sandals and brown habits.

 

[Katherine Radeka]

There are three orders of Franciscans: the original order of Friars Minors, the wandering brotherhood, many now priests.

Then the Poor Clares, a cloistered order of women founded by St Clare of Assisi. She has an incredible life story and her order was the first women’s order that had its own Rule, written by St. Clare herself.

Then the Third Order, which was originally intended for married people who couldn’t join one of the other two. They work in the community. Secular Franciscans are in this group today, along with many other religious communities, some who take full religious vows including chastity and poverty.

This new group sounds very much in that spirit no matter what they call themselves.