Midnight. I quickly slid out of bed and threw on my clothes (including my little white veil). Jesus was downstairs in the chapel and though I was sleepy, I wanted to see Him. Upon entering the chapel, a couple of the sisters were already seated, awaiting our community prayer. I bowed before the Lord in the tabernacle and knelt at my seat. As I prayed, the rest of the sisters filed in. We promptly began midnight prayer which is a part of the communal catholic prayer known as the Liturgy of the Hours. After about forty-five minutes or so (we chanted the prayers), the sisters had quiet time to pray. Since I was just a first year (known as a postulant), I went straight to bed. Also, since I was a postulant, I didn't go to midnight prayer every night. A quick note: the order I was with is known as the Poor Clares. There are several different orders in religious life and they all live their lives for God in different ways. Poor Clares specifically focus on poverty (hence the name) and prayer. 5:00 AM. The bell rang, waking me up. As is custom for the Poor Clares, I kissed the floor to surrender my day to God and began a series of individual prayers, preparing me to live the day as the Lord's child and friend. I dressed, and washed up (with a pitcher and bowl that were in my room!). I walked downstairs and entered the chapel. Time to chant morning prayer and then have some quiet time until Mass! 6:45 AM. Holy Mass! Got to receive my Beloved Jesus before starting our work for the day! After Mass, the sisters said mid-morning prayer. I did not usually attend this part because I was just a little postulant! 8:00 AM. Time for tea with some bread, which we ate in silence. After tea, I would go to my Novice Mistress to get a morning blessing and then join the sisters for a blessing for the day's work. Next, it was time for my Novice Mistress to give me instructions. She would teach me about the life of the Poor Clares, the founders of the Poor Clares, and the Catholic Church in general. 10:00 AM. Work time! I had very simple tasks such as cleaning, ironing, assisting the cook, and learning how to sew. The sisters would do jobs such as baking the bread, seeing to the chapel, taking care of the elderly sisters, and don't worry, they did their share of cleaning too! 11:00 AM. Mid-morning prayer. This is another prayer that I didn't participate in since I was just a first-year. At 11:30, I joined the sisters for the rosary. 12:00 PM. Dinner (aka lunch). This was the main meal of the day (very delicious) and one of the sisters would read from a spiritual book as we ate. After dinner, we gave thanks to God for our meal and started on dishes. 1:30 PM. Recreation. This was the time to talk, laugh, tell stories, and joke. We couldn't forget to have fun! 2:30 PM. Mid-afternoon prayer. I got to join the sisters on this one! 3:00 PM. Another work period. More cleaning and whatever other little tasks my Novice Mistress gave me. 4:30 PM. I got a half-hour of Eucharistic Adoration. This was a time I just got to sit with Jesus and chat. Sometimes we would just sit quietly in each others presence. After this, we said evening prayer, followed by quiet time. 6:00 PM. We walked in procession (walked two-by-two in a line) to collation. Collation was the final meal of the day. It is a small meal about the size of a lunch. Next came dishes, followed by free time. 7:30 PM. Benediction. It was Jesus blessing us, saying goodnight! Lastly, we all said night prayer and it was time for bed. I got to take a sponge bath before retiring, and I said a few customary individual prayers before hitting my head to the pillow. Well, that is a quick taste of a cloistered nun's daily schedule. Just a reminder: any underlined words can be found on the glossary page.
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AuthorJacqueline St. Clare: I spent six months in a cloistered convent, and now I'm a college student! Archives
April 2021
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Unexpected Church MembersAll words that are underlined can be found on the "Glossary" page
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