Academic literature on the topic 'Vocation (in religious orders'

The bankruptcy in 1756 of the major French creditors of Antoine Lavalette, superior of the Jesuit missions of Martinique, resulted in the ‘Lavalette affair’ of 1756–62. During that period, Lavalette borrowed feverishly in an attempt to save his commercial enterprises in the Caribbean, his religious superiors sought to deal with his betrayal of his religious vocation and his mounting debts, and the Jesuits’ enemies gained court orders for the seizure of Jesuit property and the dispersal of the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus was then suppressed in most French territory by royal edict in 1764.

One purpose of canonization, particularly for founders of religious orders, is to present a paradigm for emulation. The legacy of Charles de Foucauld (1858—1916), a Catholic hermit who lived and died in French Algeria as a witness for Christianity to Islam, has been in some dispute. There are nineteen different congregations and associations in the Foucauldian spiritual family, only one of which came to fruition during his lifetime. His beatification in 2005 has sparked a debate about the nature of his vocation, and consequently about which of his characteristics should be emulated. This raises the question of whether he was a monk or a missionary. Careful consideration of his life is an essential prerequisite for answering these questions.

If you were a religious of the i ith or 12th centuries choosing the order in which you were to find your vocation, how did you distinguish order from order, monk from canon? How did you determine gradations of the ascetic life? If you were a founder or benefactor, planning to found a new religious house, how did you determine which order to favour? At a time when asceticism and the religious orders flourished as never before, choice must have been bewildering. There is a copious contemporary literature arguing the relative merits of this mode and that; and modern scholars have offered a remarkably wide variety of advice. Some have proceeded on the assumption that there must have been a fundamental difference and have pursued it as best they might; others, disappointed in the chase, have doubted if any true difference existed. Some have seen all such differences engulfed in the deeper stream of new impulses and modes which affected every approach to the religious life in this age; others have said that to lose track of such differences is to take a very superficial view of the meaning of the rules of St Augustine and St Benedict. It is very easy indeed to take an entirely sceptical view; and I propose to start by stating the case for saying there was no difference visible to all in every part of Europe – that no general statement of the difference stands up to close inspection. But to rest the matter there, I am sure, would be superficial and mistaken – and so in the second part of this paper I embark on the much more hazardous path of determining where the difference lay. I shall try not to add another definition to the scrap heap, but to show by looking at a number of local situations how it might have appeared both externally to a founder and at a deeper level to an educated man with some discernment of different approaches to the ascetic life and religious spirituality. Yet the ultimate abiding impression is of the strangeness of the central fact: at a time when men were seeking their own religious vocation in numbers never before approached in medieval Europe – and patrons lavishing resources on an unparalleled variety of new religious houses – it is especially difficult for us to observe in many cases where the differences lay.

Beginning in 1609, as a result of the Capitulations concluded between France and the Ottoman Empire, the French Jesuits launched their missionary work in Istanbul. Protected by the French ambassador, the French Jesuits defined themselves as both French subjects and Catholic missionaries, thus experiencing in a new and complicated geopolitical context the tensions that were at the core of their order’s identity in France, as elsewhere in Europe. The intricate story of the French Jesuit mission to the Ottoman Empire is here considered through two snapshots. One focuses on the foundational period of the mission in Istanbul, roughly from 1609 to 1615. A second one deals with the temporary suspension of the Jesuits’ mission in Istanbul in 1628. These two episodes illustrate multilayered and lasting tensions between the French and the Venetians, between the hierarchy of the Greek Orthodox Church and Western missionaries, and between missionaries belonging to different Catholic orders, between the Roman church’s centralism and state-funded religious initiatives. Based on missionary and diplomatic correspondence, the article is an attempt to reconstitute the way in which multiple allegiances provided expedient tools for individual Jesuit missionaries to navigate conflicts and to assert their own understanding of their missionary vocation.

The introduce analysis the synodal resolution of the dioceses of Włocławek on space eight centuries on angle dean’s office, its authorization, duty and tasks in diocese, give conviction haw important is this office and necessary to realization religious mission of Church and his spiritual mission. From the beginning formation this office, through its evolution and actual obligatory norms of canon law, this office always write in mission of Church, joint action in realize and many methods activity community of the People of God. Moreover office of deans, definite authorizations and obligations always have on in view help of the diocesan bishop in performance pastoral service in particular Church. The deans as representative of presbytery the Włocławek Church, in light discussion rules of Włocławek synodal legislation, had belong and belong to nearest and most trustworthy collaborators of the diocesan bishop and have very important part in structure of this Church. The synodal legislation of Włocławek made and make with dean assistant of the diocesan bishop, mediator between the diocesan bishop and the diocesan curia, and priest and faithful deanery in specified matter. In the beginning dean introduced synodal legislation and orders of the diocesan bishop in life denary and individual parishes, was guardian of faith, customs and discipline. After the Council of Trent this office took bigger meaning and not limit to function control and inspect work priest in deanery, but also administrative in design assistance of the diocesan bishop in control of the diocese. After the Council of Vatican II to duty of the dean join pastoral duty in deanery. On the person dean and his service in big degree depend realization of mission of the Church. The synodal legislation of Włocławek made for detail designation function and assignment of deans servant designs inspection and administration-pastoral of the Włocławek Church. In they light office and service dean had and has take for this, that under leadership of the dean all priest in deanery commit in priesthood realize priest and pastoral vocation, realize duty result with leadership of parish, take cooperation, with fruit will be animation religious and pastoral life in the particular Church, and also will be realize – peaceably with rules of cannon law – service pastoral, sanctify and teaching of faithful.

Les trois diocèses lorrains Metz, Toul et Verdun, ont vu durant l’époque moderne, une très forte implantation d’ordres religieux. Cette force monastique de la Lorraine, héritée du Moyen-Age et de la protection de la famille ducale, concerne toutes les grandes familles religieuses européennes et a permis l’émergence de réformes (comme celle des bénédictins de Saint-Vanne par exemple) ou encore la création de congrégations qui ont perduré bien au-delà de la Révolution. Il nous a semblé intéressant d’étudier cette permanence monastique lorraine sous l’angle du novice et du noviciat afin de chercher à comprendre s’il existe une spécificité propre à ces territoires. Grâce à une richesse archivistique impressionnante, une base de données de plus de 13 000 novices, tant hommes que femmes, a été établie pour l’ensemble des ordres religieux où sont prononcés des voeux de religion et implantés dans les diocèses lorrains. Ces données ont permis d’ouvrir la réflexion sur la naissance de la vocation, sur les procédures d’admission au sein des réguliers, les rythmes de recrutement et plus globalement, la formation des novices.Ainsi, notre étude se développe sur cinq thèmes suivant à la fois la chronologie du noviciat et ses grandes thématiques. La première porte sur l’apparition de la vocation et les contextes qui permettent ou non son épanouissement. Les impacts familiaux sont très opposés. La famille est, à la fois facteur d’encouragement pouvant aller jusqu’à la vocation forcée dans des contextes précis, et facteur d’opposition, poussant les candidats à chercher des parades pour suivre leur projet de vie. Outre la famille, d’autres acteurs interviennent comme des religieux, des livres ou des événements marquants. Le second thème développe la question de la postulation avec le choix de l’ordre religieux, la sélection des candidats et les premiers enseignements, postulation qui aboutit à la cérémonie de la prise d’habit avec sa symbolique. Le troisième thème est axé sur l’influence de l’argent avec deux problématiques. La première porte sur le coût du noviciat (pension, achats des vêtements, des accessoires nécessaires à l’engagement…) et la seconde sur le profil socio-économique des candidats lorrains avec les différences rencontrées d’un ordre à l’ordre, d’un sexe à l’autre. La quatrième réflexion interroge la géographie des noviciats et les profils du recrutement selon les ordres religieux et les siècles. Enfin, le dernier thème est entièrement consacré à la formation des novices avec leur place au sein de l’institution monastique, les apprentissages selon les sexes et les ordres, les maîtres et maîtresses des novices et les problèmes rencontrés par les novices jusqu’à la cérémonie de la profession qui transforme le novice en religieux.Cette recherche a permis d’établir, entre autres conclusions, que le novice est un personnage continuellement confronté à des choix (entrer ou non en religion, choix de l’ordre, partir ou rester…) marqué par des influences contradictoires de la famille, de l’ordre… C’est un personnage complexe et riche car il permet de comprendre les mécanismes qui régissent le choix volontaire ou non d’une vie consacrée à Dieu. Cette thèse a permis de cerner un profil de recrutement marqué par un XVIe siècle chaotique suivi d’une remontée spectaculaire qui est brutalement interrompue par la guerre de Trente Ans entre 1630 et 1650, avant une lente remontée jusqu’au premier tiers du XVIIIe siècle, suivi d’une stabilisation avant une relative décrue après 1770. Nous avons aussi dégagé une tendance à un recrutement centré sur la Lorraine, révélant un attachement très fort à une nation, pour la plupart des ordres. Les novices en Lorraine sont donc avant tout des lorrains confrontés, dès leur jeunesse, à une présence monastique dense, avec des religieux très impliqués dans l’éducation et dans des réseaux familiaux favorisant le renouvellement des recrues
During the modern era, the three Lorraine dioceses Metz, Toul and Verdun saw a very strong establishment of religious orders. This monastic force of Lorraine, inherited from the Middle Ages and the protection of the ducal family, concerns all the major European religious families and has enabled the emergence of reforms (such as that of the Benedictines of Saint-Vanne for example) or the creation of congregations that lasted well beyond the Revolution. We thought it was interesting to study this Monastic permanence of Lorraine from the perspective of novice and novitiate in order to try to understand if there is a specificity specific to these territories. Thanks to an impressive archival wealth, a database of more than 13,000 novices, both men and women, has been established for all religious orders where vows of religion are pronounced and established in the Lorraine dioceses. These data have opened the way to reflect on the birth of vocation, on the procedures for admission within the regulars, the recruitment rates and, more generally, the training of novices. So, our study develops on five themes following both the chronology of the novitiate and its major themes. The first is about the appearance of vocation and the contexts that allow it to flourish or not. Family impacts are very opposite. It is both an incentive factor that can go as far as forced vocation in specific contexts, and a factor of opposition, prompting candidates to seek parades to follow their life plan. In addition to the family, other actors are involved such as religious, books or significant events. The second theme develops the question of postulation with the choice of the religious order, the selection of candidates and the first teachings, a postulation that culminates in the ceremony of taking clothes with its symbolism. The third theme focuses on the influence of money with two issues. The first relates to the cost of the novitiate (pension, purchases of clothes, accessories necessary for engagement...) and the second on the socio-economic profile of the Lorraine candidates with the differences encountered from one order to order, from one sex to another. The fourth reflection questions the geography of the novitiate and the profiles of recruitment according to religious orders and centuries. Finally, the last is entirely devoted to the training of novices with their place within the monastic institution, learning according to gender and orders, the masters and mistresses of novices and the problems faced by novices until the ceremony of the profession that transforms the novice into a religious.This research has established, among other conclusions, that the novice is a character continually confronted with choices (enter or not in religion, choice of order, leave or stay ...) marked by contradictory influences of the family, of the order ... He is a complex and rich character because he allows us to understand the mechanisms that govern the voluntary or voluntary choice of a life devoted to God. This thesis helped to identify a recruitment profile marked by a chaotic 16th century followed by a spectacular upturn that was abruptly interrupted by the Thirty Years' Warbetween 1630 and 1650, before a slow ascent to the first third of the 18th century. century, followed by stabilization before a relative decline after 1770. We have also identified a trend towards Lorraine-centred recruitment, revealing a strong attachment to a nation, for most orders.Novices in Lorraine are therefore above all Lorraines faced, from their youth, with a dense monastic presence, with religious very involved in education and in family networks promoting the renewal of recruits

This thesis examines the history and activity of the Western religious orders in medieval Greece, from the time of their transplantation into Byzantine territories, following the Fourth Crusade, until the fifteenth century and the Ottoman conquest. Geographically it focuses on the areas conquered by the Latins during or after the Fourth Crusade, in other words, the lands of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. Due to the nature of the sources, particular attention is paid to the insular Venetian dominions and especially the island of Crete. The religious orders examined are the Benedictines, the Cistercians, the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Crociferi, and the Augustinians as well as other orders, with a smaller involvement in medieval Greece, like the Servites, the Carmelites and the Canons Regular. Each of the thesis's chapters focuses on one particular Order (or group of Orders). By examining a variety of published and unpublished sources, I have attempted to investigate the history of the individual convents and eventually to form a comprehensive picture of the installation of these Orders in Greece. In particular, I have focused on the missionary and Unionist goals of the Orders in Greece, their structure and organisation, their interaction with the newly established Catholic Church and Latin laity of Greece, their relations with the indigenous population and their diplomatic and cultural achievements. Where the sources allow it, I have also tried to establish the financial standing of some of these religious houses and to investigate their sources of income and their land tenure. The conclusion of the thesis draws together the findings of my research and makes comparisons between the structure, activity and success of each of the Orders in Greece. Having shed some light on the monastic landscape of medieval Greece, I argue that, although Latin monasticism in Greece has been regarded as a relatively insignificant by-product of the Franko-Venetian occupation of Byzantine lands, the religious orders played significant social, cultural and political roles both within the Latin communities of Greece and in wider international relations between Byzantium and the West. They largely failed, however, to appeal to the Greek population and thus Latinise the indigenous Greek society, like they had done in other frontiers of Latin Christendom.

Les médecins ont-ils encore « la vocation » ? Ceux qui ont entendu « l'appel » de la médecine et qui se sentent « faits pour ça » depuis tout-petits ne sont pas très nombreux. Les médecins qui « se consacrent » corps et âme à leur métier ne le sont pas plus. Certains sont encore des « passionnés », mais l'investissement personnel et le don de soi se font de plus en plus rares, à l'heure où la profession n'est plus le tout de la vie. La vocation médicale semble donc réservée à une élite, à quelques élus.Le concept même de « vocation » renvoie à un passé religieux dont la profession ne veut plus faire mémoire. L'appel de la Bible est une voix divine, la consécration s'adresse aux prêtres et aux religieux qui se donnent à Dieu, la passion ne renvoie qu'à celle du Christ. Même si la médecine peut se vivre comme un sacerdoce, quel médecin serait celui qui soigne à la façon dont le Christ-médecin guérissait les malades de l'Évangile ?Nous voulons pourtant montrer que la vocation médicale est une métamorphose de la vocation religieuse. Il existe un changement de forme et pourtant un fond commun persiste, celui d'un appel à guérir. La vocation médicale pourrait donc concerner tous les médecins, même ceux qui ne sont ni appelés, ni consacrés, ni passionnés. Chaque médecin « est fait pour » guérir. Alors que beaucoup de médecins se sentent plutôt faits pour soigner, nous pensons que le soin est un devoir d'humanité qui concerne chaque homme. Le médecin, comme tout être humain, a le devoir de soigner. En revanche, il n'a pas le devoir de guérir, mais telle est sa mission. Il n'en a pas le devoir mais il est « fait pour ça ». Telle serait la vocation de tout médecin
Do the doctors still have a "vocation"? Few are those who heard the medical "calling" and who feel "meant for it" since childhood. Few also are doctors who "consecrate" themselves body and soul for their job. Some are "passionate" about it, but the personal investment, the gift of self is more and more seldom in today's world where the profession does not embody the entire life anymore. The medical vocation seems reserved for an elite, for the few chosen ones.The very concept of the "calling" refers to a religious past that the medical profession does not want to recall. The biblical "calling" is a divine voice, consecration is then reserved for priests and religious who give themselves to God, passion recalls only Christ's passion. Even though someone can live medicine as a sacerdoce, which doctor would be able to heal in the same way as Christ healed in the Gospel?We would like to show that the medical vocation is a metamorphosis of the religious vocation. There is a common ground and yet a different form, it's a call to heal. It could concern all the doctors, even those who are not called, consecrated, or passionate. Each doctor "is meant to heal". Even though many doctors feel they are meant to care, we think that the care is a duty for all mankind. Like every human being, doctors have the duty of care. Even though the doctors do not have the duty to heal, they have the mission to heal. They do not have the duty to heal but they are "meant for it". That would be the vocation of any doctor

This thesis aims to explore the forms and characteristics of religious expression in Surrey during the later middle ages. The county has lacked detailed research, and one purpose of this study is, therefore, to discuss materials and evidence which have not yet been brought into the arena of scholarly debate. The thesis contains six chapters: a survey of the background history of the county and the sources: a discussion of support for the religious orders: an examination of the forms and types of charitable institutions: an analysis of gild activity: a survey of patterns of church-building and church-furnishing, while the final chapter seeks to ascertain the extent of the threat posed by heresy to the traditional order, and also charts the progress of the Reformation in Surrey down to the death of Edward VI. Much of the evidence for this study is derived from wills, bishops' registers, and churchwardens' and gildwardens' accounts. Wills exist in substantial numbers from c. 1480 onwards, while parish and gild records survive from Shere, Horley, Lambeth, Kingston upon Thames, St Margaret's and St Olave's Southwark and Wandsworth. The records generated during the Reformation, such as chantry certificates, and inventories of church goods have also been consulted. Some personal observation of surviving church buildings and church memorials has also been undertaken. Particular attention is given to the ways in which the evidence from Surrey fits into the broader picture, and where it contrasts, or conflicts, with the findings of similar studies for other parts of England. Local contrasts have been drawn between rural and urban parishes, and the thesis challenges the view that urban and rural distinctions are irrelevant as a tool for analysing patterns of piety during this period. Here, it is argued that the perceived differences between urban and rural religious practices help to delineate and define forms of piety in the later middle ages.