My Visit to a Passionist Monastery
“Maybe the article could be titled ‘How Lovely is Your Dwelling Place, O Lord’. That line was often my prayer during my live-in.”
So began Olivia’s email in which she shared about her Passionist monastery visit. I thought you all would enjoy hearing from a young woman who spent a week living in the monastery with us, discerning Passionist life.
Hello. I am Olivia, and I am seventeen years old. I am from a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. In the summer of 2014, I went on a nun run, and we visited the Passionist nuns. During this first visit to the Passionists I felt such immense peace, but I was also frightened that I liked a cloistered order so much. The peace greatly outweighed my fears, and I left with tears in my eyes and a sense that the monastic Passionist life was for me.
Over the following year, I e-mailed with Sr. John Mary. I also started going to spiritual direction, and I grew in understanding that my heart’s desire was for Passionist life.
A little over a month ago, I went for a week-long live-in at the monastery. I got to participate in the community’s daily schedule. During Liturgy of the Hours and community prayer, especially, I felt greater senses of heaven, the Communion of Saints, and Jesus and Mary’s aching Hearts. Recreation was always joyous; I was always amazed at the end when the bell would ring and we would enter back into silence. I also really enjoyed doing simple work around the monastery. Altogether, it was probably the best week ever.
Now, I am beginning the sixth week of my senior year of high school, and I am trying to do God’s will and be close to his Son. So please keep me in your prayers, and you all will be in mine.
A bullet list of Olivia’s Passionist favorites!
- Divine Office and the way you pray it
- Brides of Christ
- With Mary at the Foot of the Cross
- Daily Mass
- The habit
- Fasting and Abstaining
- Penitential
- JOY!
- Time spent outdoors
- Sandals
- Sense of community
- Recreation
- Silence
- Eucharistic Adoration
- Divine Mercy Chaplet
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
Ora pro nobis!
My prayers will be with Olivia’s, that she may find God’s will for her life and that He might richly bless her discernment.
I enjoyed reading of her blessed experience with God and you Passionists. Thank you for sharing.
I think you will have a new postulant in a year or two. I am praying for Olivia.
God bless you, Olivia. I will keep you in prayer.
Oh how wonderful! What a special story! I will keep Olivia in my prayers at Mass tomorrow. Does she know how special she must be to be Courted by the King of Kings? Prayers are on the way!!
Will be keeping Olivia in my prayers! At her age, I was visiting religious Orders, too, looking for the things on her bullet list. Unfortunately, no one suggested the Passionists to me.