We are starting only with the celibate female branch at the present time.  We have six at present, and the deadline for candidacy is this Sunday, September 14, Feast of the Triumph of the Cross.  We start their novitiate year officially on October 10, Feast of Our Lady of the Cloister.

http://cloisters.tripod.com/cloisterites/

We are working with officials of the Diocese of Charlotte, NC, on this.

Those candidates who are already on the yahoo group--which is one way we keep in touch--have been modifying their wardrobes toward modesty; simplifying their lives by dejunking their homes; and have been discerning the names of their hermitages.  So far, we have The Cleft; The Paraclete; and Mount Carmel.

Hurricane Ike raked across Puerto Rico, which is where one of our celibate lady candidates is located.  Please keep her safety in your prayers.  We also have one in Texas, and we're praying for God's will to be done--please, Lord, protect those in jeapordy.

Anyone interested in being a Cloisterite, please remember the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, in your prayers.  Don't forget to pray for your own diocese.

I had mentioned including married folk in the Cloisterites--that will have to take the form of a Lay Association of the Faithful.  I have a number of people interested in that.  The lay hermits would try to follow the same horarium as the celibates, but there would be far more flexibility in order to accommodate family.  The lay hermits would live their married lives in reparation for neglect and abuse of spouses and children (among other things).

Now, before anyone blasts me for that last paragraph, permit me to convey one observation--most objections to such a concept come from those who have never been married.  I say the following with the greatest of charity--you're in for a real surprise if you ever do get married and have such expectations as to not be more flexible with one's thinking.

If both spouses are working at the time of marriage, both will be occupied with the remunerative work.  Spousal time afterward will hopefully be blessed with quality interaction.  Newlywed fights occur as a result of unmet expectations.  My advice is to get said expectations out and decide on conflict resolution measures before the wedding.

When she becomes pregnant, though, the parameters--and expectations--all change.  Once the baby is born, the focus of the parents is entirely on providing for the child.  Support systems have to be in place.  If there are no relatives in the area, then it is up to the husband to find support from either the workplace or the church.  (Neither happened when we lived out-of-state and away from our families.  My life is a cautionary tale in that respect).

The next couple of decades will probably be spent on the raising of children.  Homeschooling may enter the picture.  The family may be blessed with special needs children.   If properly informed, the care of said child will be incorporated so that family life will be seamless.  If not homeschooling, when all of the kids are away at school, and the husband is off to work, what is the woman supposed to do with herself during those eight hours?  I should hope she would turn to God.  How many times have I heard other moms say while awaiting our kids' release from school, "I wish I knew what to do with myself during the day?"

And that brings me back to the subject at hand--lay hermits.  The lay association of the faithful, which I have dubbed "Monastics of Nazareth," would have three classifications--married; widowed or divorced with option of remarriage; or consecrated widow/widower.  I have only this week started pulling those inspirations together, and since the celibate Cloisterite Hermits are the primary focus at this moment in time, I have to concentrate on that.  I have to come up with a year's worth of lesson plans in less than a month.

My summer was overwhelmingly overwhelming.  My Aspergers son was incorrectly diagnosed as bipolar last year, and the meds he was on made his drivers education course twice as hard for everyone involved.  When we were finally finished with driving with an instructor, I thought I would require an EKG--yes, my son's reflexes were that slow.  Only last week did we get to the Mecca of Autism--UNC-Chapel Hill--to have him re-evaluated by their new bipolar center.  They said he wasn't bipolar, and now we're weaning him off the meds, and have added Adderall to the equation.  He's sleeping through the night now (thanks to Clonidine and Remeron), and I've got my sweet kid back.

We also had computer problems out the wazoo.  Fortunately, Staples was able to refurbish our first desktop PC, which we've dubbed "Chunk" due to it being the size of a dehumidifer, and made it wireless capable.   It has Windows ME.  We invested in a 1TB Alienware laptop--we call it the "The Tardis"-- for my gradute school hubby.  With him being in school, and both boys taking honors classes in high school, as my college roommate put it, "You need all the internet access you can get."

I'm a hermit during the day, and work to make the lives of my three students as problem-free as possible in the evening.  What's wrong with that?

And here's an update on our proposed Reparatrices of Charity of the Miraculous Medal (RCMMs): we have just about the number needed to start the foundation, but I've got to work with them on the constitutions.  The Rule of St. Vincent de Paul will be used.  They are to make reparation for crimes against the poor.  The aspirants are following the horarium to the best of their ability in their own homes, from whence they are developing their ministries.  One of the group projects we will be initiating will be a poverty relief site for the state of Mississippi, similar to the one conducted by the Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation: http://friendsofpineridgereservation.org/

Here is the link for the RCMMs: http://cloisters.tripod.com/charity/

On this Patriot Day, let us remember the American Martyrs (IMHO) of September 11, 2001.

Blessings, Gemma