Postulancy
Br. Luis cleaning the Chapter Room
The postulancy is a period of further experience of personal goodness and tranquility by initiation and progressive adaptation to monastic life, learning new skills (farming, woodworking, machine repair, etc...) and growth in virtue.
Many postulants will experience a sense of wonder at the beauties of the place and community. At times this can even be a bit overwhelming. He may also feel, "finally I am living the way I have desired and been called to live!" The bond developed with other men in formation and the novice director, the realization of many new truths about the world and oneself all provide great joy.
However, the postulant also meets sufferings. He begins to realize the truth of his past ( his sinfulness and the sufferings he encountered). Further, the devices and distractions he used in the past to deal with them no longer seem to work or be available. He also begins to have a growing awareness of the faults of the community. However, through the guidance of the novice director, these sufferings enable the postulant greater experience of reality, in its truth, and foster humility.
Goal: Further discernment
Procedure: Living the full monastic life, regular spiritual direction, and study.
Time: One year
Practices and Observances (which foster the spiritual experience of the postulant)
Excerpts from the Ratio Institutionis (Guidelines on Formation) on Postulancy:
§24
Newcomers will be entrusted to the pastoral care of the novice director. Chosen for a real love of the monastic life and an aptitude for winning souls, the novice director will be responsible for introducing the candidates to the Cistercian conversatio, accompanying them on their spiritual journey until the moment when they leave the novitiate. Apart from this individual guidance, the novice director attends to the quality of the novitiate environment and gives regular conferences. He or she is responsible for the practical organization of the novitiate and may also supervise group activities and work.
§25
The novice director and those who assist him or her need to have a real love for persons and a reverence for the grace of God present in each individual. As they strive to foster growth, they are attentive to the novices' gifts and strengths, as well as to their limitations and weaknesses. They need to be persons who possess the ability to listen and they are careful to teach by the quality of their lives as much as by their words. They are open to receive some form of supervision in their task.
§26
The relationship between the superior and the novice director should be characterized by a deep unity of spirit, heart and orientation and a respect for each other's service within the community. Together they formulate a policy for the organization of the novitiate, which they explain to the community. This is important, since the cooperation and the confidence of the community are essential for those who are responsible for formation.
§27
The postulancy is a period of initiation and of progressive adaptation to the monastic life. The novice director introduces the postulant to prayer, to the Divine Office and to lectio divina, and helps him or her surmount the difficulties which are proper to this stage. Often these are connected with the physical and affective separation from the activities and relationships that were part of the postulant's life before entering the monastery. Although the postulancy is not a time for studies, in some cases it can be a time for completing the catechetical instruction required for taking part profitably in the novitiate program if it has not been possible to complete it before entry.
§28
A minimum period for the postulancy is determined by each community. When, on the advice of the novice director, the superior judges that postulants are ready to begin their canonical novitiate and they themselves express a desire to do so, they are accepted after the council has been consulted.
Many postulants will experience a sense of wonder at the beauties of the place and community. At times this can even be a bit overwhelming. He may also feel, "finally I am living the way I have desired and been called to live!" The bond developed with other men in formation and the novice director, the realization of many new truths about the world and oneself all provide great joy.
However, the postulant also meets sufferings. He begins to realize the truth of his past ( his sinfulness and the sufferings he encountered). Further, the devices and distractions he used in the past to deal with them no longer seem to work or be available. He also begins to have a growing awareness of the faults of the community. However, through the guidance of the novice director, these sufferings enable the postulant greater experience of reality, in its truth, and foster humility.
Goal: Further discernment
Procedure: Living the full monastic life, regular spiritual direction, and study.
Time: One year
Practices and Observances (which foster the spiritual experience of the postulant)
- Lectio Divina
- Manual Labor
- Opus Dei (Work of God)
- Community life, creating physical and affective separation from the world.
- Introduction to elementary christian and monastic doctrine, monastic history, liturgy, scripture, basic church teachings.
Excerpts from the Ratio Institutionis (Guidelines on Formation) on Postulancy:
§24
Newcomers will be entrusted to the pastoral care of the novice director. Chosen for a real love of the monastic life and an aptitude for winning souls, the novice director will be responsible for introducing the candidates to the Cistercian conversatio, accompanying them on their spiritual journey until the moment when they leave the novitiate. Apart from this individual guidance, the novice director attends to the quality of the novitiate environment and gives regular conferences. He or she is responsible for the practical organization of the novitiate and may also supervise group activities and work.
§25
The novice director and those who assist him or her need to have a real love for persons and a reverence for the grace of God present in each individual. As they strive to foster growth, they are attentive to the novices' gifts and strengths, as well as to their limitations and weaknesses. They need to be persons who possess the ability to listen and they are careful to teach by the quality of their lives as much as by their words. They are open to receive some form of supervision in their task.
§26
The relationship between the superior and the novice director should be characterized by a deep unity of spirit, heart and orientation and a respect for each other's service within the community. Together they formulate a policy for the organization of the novitiate, which they explain to the community. This is important, since the cooperation and the confidence of the community are essential for those who are responsible for formation.
§27
The postulancy is a period of initiation and of progressive adaptation to the monastic life. The novice director introduces the postulant to prayer, to the Divine Office and to lectio divina, and helps him or her surmount the difficulties which are proper to this stage. Often these are connected with the physical and affective separation from the activities and relationships that were part of the postulant's life before entering the monastery. Although the postulancy is not a time for studies, in some cases it can be a time for completing the catechetical instruction required for taking part profitably in the novitiate program if it has not been possible to complete it before entry.
§28
A minimum period for the postulancy is determined by each community. When, on the advice of the novice director, the superior judges that postulants are ready to begin their canonical novitiate and they themselves express a desire to do so, they are accepted after the council has been consulted.
