Posted on Wednesday, 29th March 2006 by Maritzia
I've been spending a lot of time updating my website lately, which of course leads me to thinking about religious life. (For those curious, my website is Consecrated Life, a site for women wanting to become a sister or nun in the Roman Catholic Church). Many of you may not know this, but I seriously pursued religious life before I met my husband. I entered one community in the early 90s, but they had some serious problems, and I left before I made vows. I was going to enter another community in 2002 (The Sisters of St. Rita, a truly lovely community), but then I met my husband.
Anyway, monastic life has always had a great attraction for me, and I've always thought that if anything ever happens to my husband, I would want to pursue that life again. Only one small problem…I'm not really Catholic anymore *laughs*. So my thoughts lately have been centered around the idea of some kind of pagan monastic life. Women (and/or Men) living together in community, mutually supporting, with some form of daily ritual/prayer. It's kind of got my thoughts running about how easy it would really be to set up an intentional community. Heck, it's even an idea that would work with married members as well. Yes, yes, I know some of you are screaming now…”OMG, she wants to start a commune!” But truthfully, that's exactly what convents are…communes. They hold everything in common, and in many communities these days they have shared governence. The big thing for me, though, isn't so much holding everything in common. That just helps tie the community together, helps encourage interdependence. It's the idea of shared daily ritual. I love ritual, but I'm not much of a solitary practitioner. You'd think that as a serious introvert, I would be more attuned to solitary prayer and ritual, but it's the one thing that I've never really enjoyed doing on my own.
I think these thoughts have mainly been running around so much lately because it is so hard to find any kind of community in the pagan arena, at least in this area. I know there are pagans around here, a good number of them, but they all seem to be quite insular. Except the druids…and I'm not really called to a druid path. I really like what I've read about the reclaiming tradition, and I know there are reclaimers in the area, but most of them go to Seattle and Vancouver to communities there. And right now, that trip is too hard…not to mention to expensive, to do on a regular basis for me. So, for now, I continue on the solitary path….I continue to define my own path…I just miss having company on the journey.
In other news, I applied yesterday to the university where I work…you know…to finish my degree. As an employee, I can take classes whether I'm accepted or not, but can't work towards my degree here without being accepted. I've looked into some distance programs, but they are so expensive (most around $200 a credit), and I can take classes here for $30 because I'm a state employee. So, keep your fingers crossed that they will accept me into the program. Of course, I'll probably be 60 before I graduate, but what the heck, I'll be 60 whether or not I have the degree. *grin* I'll be able to retire into a new career.
Posted in Personal, Religion/Spirituality | Comments (1)
March 8th, 2008 at 11:27 am
My path has taken much the same turn as yours, from devout Catholic, to Paganism, and to a Pagan spiritual order. I have missed company on the path as well; that’s the price we pay, as Pagans. for being such an eclectic and independent group! And, wanting a spiritual community is one of the reasons I started The Order of the Verdant Path. Thanks for sharing the thoughts and good luck with your search.
R.E.