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156-406: The devotion is especially concerned with what the church deems to be the long-suffering love and compassion of the heart of Christ towards humanity. The popularization of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a Roman Catholic nun from France , Margaret Mary Alacoque , who said she learned the devotion from Jesus during a series of apparitions to her between 1673 and 1675, and later, in

312-772: A Carthusian at St. Hugh's Charterhouse in England. Merton had harbored an appreciation for the Carthusian order since coming to Gethsemani in 1941, and would later come to consider leaving the Cistercians for that order. In 1948 The Seven Storey Mountain was published to critical acclaim, with fan mail to Merton reaching new heights. Merton also published several works for the monastery that year, which were: Guide to Cistercian Life , Cistercian Contemplatives , Figures for an Apocalypse , and The Spirit of Simplicity . That year Saint Mary's College (Indiana) also published

468-601: A Catholic, and by July 26 was baptized at a church in nearby New Haven, Kentucky , leaving the following day. This would be the last time the two saw each other. John Paul died on April 17, 1943, when his plane failed over the English Channel . A poem by Merton to John Paul appears in The Seven Storey Mountain . Merton kept journals throughout his stay at Gethsemani. Initially, he felt writing to be at odds with his vocation, worried it would foster

624-445: A Christo" of 8 December 1900. The 1917 Code of Canon Law reserved the term "nun" (Latin: monialis ) for religious women who took solemn vows or who, while being allowed in some places to take simple vows, belonged to institutes whose vows were normally solemn. It used the word "sister" (Latin: soror ) exclusively for members of institutes for women that it classified as " congregations "; and for "nuns" and "sisters" jointly it used

780-774: A Mass honoring the mystery of the Sacred Heart. In 1693 the Holy See imparted indulgences to the Confraternities of the Sacred Heart, and in 1697 granted the feast to the Visitandines with the Mass of the Five Wounds, but refused a feast common to all, with special Mass and Office. The devotion spread, particularly in religious communities. The Marseille plague in 1720 furnished perhaps the first occasion for

936-497: A booklet by Merton, What Is Contemplation? Merton published as well that year a biography, Exile Ends in Glory: The Life of a Trappistine, Mother M. Berchmans, O.C.S.O . Merton's abbot, Dunne, died on August 3, 1948, while riding on a train to Georgia . Dunne's passing was painful for Merton, who had come to look on the abbot as a father figure and spiritual mentor. On August 15 the monastic community elected Dom James Fox,

1092-481: A child that he never met, although he later signed at least two official court documents stating that he had "no children". In January 1935, Merton enrolled as a sophomore at Columbia University in New York City. There he established close and long-lasting friendships with the painter Ad Reinhardt , poet Robert Lax , commentator Ralph de Toledano , and the law student John Slate . He also befriended

1248-725: A community of nuns is often associated with prayer for some particular good or supporting the missions of another order by prayer (for instance, the Dominican nuns of Corpus Christi Monastery in the Bronx , New York, pray in support of the priests of the Archdiocese of New York ). Yet religious sisters can also perform this form of ministry, e.g., the Maryknoll Missionary Sisters have small houses of contemplative sisters, some in mission locations, who pray for

1404-583: A contemporary context. Worship of the Sacred Heart mainly consists of several devotions , practices, consecrations , hymns , the salutation of the Sacred Heart, and the Litany of the Sacred Heart . It is common in Roman Catholic services. Since c.  1850 , groups, congregations, and countries have consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart. By a law voted on 24 July 1873, the Basilica of

1560-960: A controversial monastery for the training of Buddhist nuns in Thailand. The relatively active roles of Taiwanese nuns were noted by some studies. Researcher Charles Brewer Jones estimates that from 1951 to 1999, when the Buddhist Association of the ROC organized public ordination, female applicants outnumbered males by about three to one. He adds: All my informants in the areas of Taipei and Sanhsia considered nuns at least as respectable as monks, or even more so. [...] In contrast, however, Shiu-kuen Tsung found in Taipei county that female clergy were viewed with some suspicion by society. She reports that while outsiders did not necessarily regard their vocation as unworthy of respect, they still tended to view

1716-456: A day with which the Eudist feast was from then on to be connected. The feast soon spread to other dioceses, and the devotion was likewise adopted in various religious communities. It gradually came into contact with the devotion begun by Margaret Mary Alacoque at Paray-le-Monial , and the two merged. The most significant source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart in the form it is known today

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1872-411: A deacon in the order, and on May 26 ( Ascension Thursday ) he was ordained a priest, saying his first Mass the following day. In June, the monastery celebrated its centenary , for which Merton authored the book Gethsemani Magnificat in commemoration. In November, Merton started teaching mystical theology to novices at Gethsemani, a duty he greatly enjoyed. By this time Merton was a huge success outside

2028-556: A feast for it. John Eudes is regarded as "tireless apostle of the devotion of the Sacred Hearts", entitling him as 'Father', doctor and apostle of the liturgical cult of the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Little by little, the devotion to the Sacred Hearts became distinct, and on 31 August 1670 the first feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was celebrated in the Grand Seminary of Rennes . Coutances followed suit on October 20,

2184-591: A formal religious life. In 1566 and 1568, Pope Pius V rejected this class of congregation, but they continued to exist and even increased in number. After at first being merely tolerated, they afterwards obtained approval. Finally in the 20th century, Pope Leo XIII recognized as religious all men and women who took simple vows. Their lives were oriented not to the ancient monastic way of life, but more to social service and to evangelization , both in Europe and in mission areas. Their number had increased dramatically in

2340-400: A former US Navy officer, as their new abbot. In October Merton discussed with him his ongoing attraction to the Carthusian and Camaldolese orders and their eremitical way of life, to which Fox responded by assuring Merton that he belonged at Gethsemani. Fox permitted Merton to continue his writing, Merton now having gained substantial recognition outside the monastery. On December 21 Merton

2496-653: A guesthouse for Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem. Religious communities throughout England were destroyed by King Henry VIII when he separated the Church of England from papal authority during the English Reformation (see Dissolution of the Monasteries ). Monasteries and convents were deprived of their lands and possessions, and monastics were forced to either live a secular life on a pension or flee

2652-593: A head-on collision. In 1953 he published a journal of monastery life titled The Sign of Jonas . Merton became well known for his dialogues with other faiths and his non-violent stand during the race riots and Vietnam War of the 1960s. By this time, he had adopted a broadly human viewpoint, concerned about issues like peace, racial tolerance, and social equality. In a letter to Nicaraguan liberation theologian Ernesto Cardenal (who had entered Gethsemani but left in 1959 to study theology in Mexico), Merton wrote: "The world

2808-479: A local synod of bishops by jurisdiction, but are otherwise self-governing. Abbesses hear confessions (but do not absolve ) and dispense blessings on their charges, though they still require the services of a presbyter (i.e., a priest) to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and perform other priestly functions, such as the absolution of a penitent. In general, Orthodox monastics have little or no contact with

2964-638: A major role in American religion, education, nursing and social work since the early 19th century. In Catholic Europe, convents were heavily endowed over the centuries, and were sponsored by the aristocracy. There were very few rich American Catholics , and no aristocrats. Religious orders were founded by entrepreneurial women who saw a need and an opportunity, and were staffed by devout women from poor families. The numbers grew rapidly, from 900 sisters in 15 communities in 1840, 50,000 in 170 orders in 1900, and 135,000 in 300 different orders by 1930. Starting in 1820,

3120-668: A peace prize, has been awarded since 1972 by the Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Social Justice in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. The 2015, in tribute to the centennial year of Merton's birth, The Festival of Faiths in Louisville Kentucky honored his life and work with Sacred Journey’s the Legacy of Thomas Merton . An annual lecture in his name is given at his alma mater, Columbia University in which

3276-527: A prominent member of the Tibetan community. Then, in what was to be his final letter, he noted, "In my contacts with these new friends, I also feel a consolation in my own faith in Christ and in his dwelling presence. I hope and believe he may be present in the hearts of all of us." Merton's role as a writer is explored in novelist Mary Gordon 's On Merton (2019). According to The Seven Storey Mountain ,

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3432-452: A province near Bangkok , Thailand, attending a monastic conference. After giving a talk at the morning session, he was found dead later in the afternoon in the room of his cottage, wearing only shorts, lying on his back with a short-circuited Hitachi floor fan lying across his body. His associate, Jean Leclercq, stated: "In all probability the death of Thomas Merton was due in part to heart failure, in part to an electric shock." Since there

3588-496: A solemn consecration and public worship outside of religious communities. Other cities of southern Europe followed the example of Marseille. After Pope Leo XIII received correspondence from Mary of the Divine Heart asking him to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he commissioned a group of theologians to examine the petition on the basis of revelation and sacred tradition. The outcome of this investigation

3744-784: A somewhat lesser extent the two Mechthildes – experienced this devotion centrally in their mystical visions. In the 16th century, the devotion passed from the domain of mysticism into that of Christian asceticism . It was established as a devotion with prayers already formulated and special exercises, found in the writings of Lanspergius (d. 1539) of the Carthusians of Cologne, the Benedictine Louis de Blois (d. 1566) Abbot of Liessies in Hainaut , John of Avila (d. 1569), and Francis de Sales (d. 1622). The historical record from that time shows an early bringing to light of

3900-487: A student nurse assigned to his care. (He referred to her in his diary as "M.") He wrote poems to her and reflected on the relationship in "A Midsummer Diary for M." Merton struggled to maintain his vows while being deeply in love. It is not known if he ever consummated the relationship. On December 10, 1968, Merton was at a Red Cross retreat facility named Sawang Khaniwat ( Thai : สวางคนิวาส ) in Samut Prakan ,

4056-520: A tendency to individuality. But his superior, Dunne, tasked Merton beginning in 1943 to translate religious texts and write biographies of saints. On March 19, 1944, Merton made his temporary vows and was given the black scapular and leather belt. In November 1944 a manuscript Merton had given to friend Robert Lax the previous year was published by James Laughlin at New Directions : a book of poetry titled Thirty Poems . In 1946 New Directions published another poetry collection by Merton, A Man in

4212-525: A white veil instead of black, to distinguish her from professed members) and undertakes the novitiate , a period (that lasts one to two years) of living the life of the religious institute without yet taking vows . Upon completion of this period she may take her initial, temporary vows. Temporary vows last one to three years, typically, and will be professed for not less than three years and not more than six. Finally, she will petition to make her "perpetual profession", taking permanent, solemn vows . In

4368-536: Is a clear distinction between "orders" and "communities", as the Episcopal Church has its own two-fold definition of "religious orders" (equivalent to the first two groups above) and "Christian communities" (equivalent to the third group above). The Anglican Religious Life directory affirms this, stating "This distinction in not used in other parts of the Anglican Communion where 'communities'

4524-475: Is a late addition.) Fully ordained Buddhist nuns ( bhikkhunis ) have more Patimokkha rules than the monks ( bhikkhus ). The important vows are the same, however. As with monks, there is quite a lot of variation in nuns' dress and social conventions between Buddhist cultures in Asia. Chinese nuns possess the full bhikkuni ordination, Tibetan nuns do not. In Theravada countries it is generally believed that

4680-696: Is a way of perceiving the substantial reality of all things—their goodness, their beauty, and their oneness (ichinyo). Zhong interpreted this as Merton aligning Zen Buddhism with an enlightment of the Aristotelean-Thomistic transcendentals common to everything that has or is or will exist. In keeping with his idea that non-Christian faiths had much to offer Christianity in experience and perspective and little or nothing in terms of doctrine, Merton distinguished between Zen Buddhism, an expression of history and culture, and Zen. By Zen, Merton meant something not bound by culture, religion or belief. Merton

4836-623: Is also used for those who take traditional vows." In some Anglican orders, there are sisters who have been ordained and can celebrate the Eucharist. The Emmanuel Sisterhood in Cameroon, Africa, is part of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC). The Saint Brigid of Kildare Benedictine Monastery is a United Methodist double monastery with both monks and nuns. All Buddhist traditions have nuns, although their status

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4992-451: Is different among Buddhist countries. The Buddha is reported to have allowed women into the sangha only with great reluctance, predicting that the move would lead to Buddhism's collapse after 500 years, rather than the 1,000 years it would have enjoyed otherwise. (This prophecy occurs only once in the Canon and is the only prophecy involving time in the Canon, leading some to suspect that it

5148-484: Is full of great criminals with enormous power, and they are in a death struggle with each other. It is a huge gang battle, using well-meaning lawyers and policemen and clergymen as their front, controlling papers, means of communication, and enrolling everybody in their armies." He developed a personal radicalism which was political but not overtly sympathetic to Marxism, even though his Cisterican critic Louis Lekai identified Merton's "adherence to Marxian slogans." Merton

5304-641: Is he who hangs on the cross for you. His death brings the dead to life, but at his passing heaven and earth are plunged into mourning and hard rocks are split asunder. It was a divine decree that permitted one of the soldiers to open his sacred side with a lance. This was done so that the Church might be formed from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death on the cross, and so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: 'They shall look on him whom they pierced'. The blood and water, which poured out at that moment, were

5460-463: Is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948). Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through study and practice. He pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures including the Dalai Lama , Japanese writer D. T. Suzuki , Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa , and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh . Thomas Merton

5616-786: Is often used interchangeably with religious sisters who do take simple vows but live an active vocation of prayer and charitable work. In Christianity , nuns are found in the Catholic , Oriental Orthodox , Eastern Orthodox , Lutheran , and Anglican and some Presbyterian traditions, as well as other Christian denominations. In the Buddhist tradition, female monastics are known as Bhikkhuni , and take several additional vows compared to male monastics ( bhikkhus ). Nuns are most common in Mahayana Buddhism , but have more recently become more prevalent in other traditions. In

5772-432: Is often used of the houses of certain other institutes. The traditional dress for women in religious communities consists of a tunic , which is tied around the waist with a cloth or leather belt. Over the tunic some nuns wear a scapular which is a garment of long wide piece of woolen cloth worn over the shoulders with an opening for the head. Some wear a white wimple and a veil, the most significant and ancient aspect of

5928-651: Is seen in the names of numerous hospitals. The example of the Deaconess communities eventually led to the establishment of religious communities of monks and nuns within some Protestant traditions, particularly those influenced by the more liturgical Protestant reformers (such as Martin Luther ) rather than the more extreme reformers (such as John Calvin ). This has allowed for communities of nuns (or, in some cases, mixed communities of nuns and monks) to be re-established in some Protestant traditions. Many of these are within

6084-660: Is widely recognized as an important 20th-century Catholic mystic and thinker. Interest in his work contributed to a rise in spiritual exploration beginning in the 1960s and 1970s in the United States. Merton's letters and diaries reveal the intensity with which their author focused on social justice issues, including the civil rights movement and proliferation of nuclear arms . He had prohibited their publication for 25 years after his death. Publication raised new interest in Merton's life. The Abbey of Gethsemani benefits from

6240-496: The Blessed Sacrament as much as possible. He gave her his heart as a pledge of his love, as a place of refuge during her life and as her consolation at the hour of her death. From this time Mechtilde had an extraordinary devotion for the Sacred Heart, and said that if she had to write down all the favors and all the blessings which she had received by means of this devotion, a large book would not contain them. Gertrude

6396-506: The Bull of Canonization of Margaret Mary Alacoque on 13 May 1920, Pope Benedict XV encouraged the practice of this act of reparation of the first nine fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart. Pope Pius XII , on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Pius IX's institution of the feast, instructed the entire Latin Church at length on the devotion to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical letter Haurietis aquas of 15 May 1956. On 15 May 2006,

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6552-465: The Catholic tradition, there are many religious institutes of nuns and sisters (the female equivalent of male monks or friars ), each with its own charism or special character. Traditionally, nuns are members of enclosed religious orders and take solemn religious vows , while sisters do not live in the papal enclosure and formerly took vows called "simple vows". As monastics , nuns living within an enclosure historically commit to recitation of

6708-496: The Catholic Church and Merton's political foes. The Spring 2024 issue of The Catholic Historical Review published "The Official Thai Reports on Thomas Merton's Death". The official cause of death was a natural cause, "sudden heart failure" and not "accidental electrocution." The police report states that Merton was already dead before he came into contact with a faulty fan that was found lying across his body. Merton

6864-584: The Franciscans , Dominicans , and Carthusians . Among the Franciscans the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has its champions in Bonaventure (d. 1274) in his Vitis Mystica ("Mystic Vine") and John de la Verna. Bonaventure wrote: "Who is there who would not love this wounded heart? Who would not love in return Him, who loves so much?" It was, nevertheless, a private, individual devotion of

7020-717: The University of Chicago . Merton was impressed by him. While Merton expected Brahmachari to recommend Hinduism, instead he advised Merton to reconnect with Christianity. He suggested Merton read the Confessions of Augustine and The Imitation of Christ . Merton read them both. In August 1938, he attended Mass at Corpus Christi Church , located near the Columbia campus. He began to read more extensively in Catholicism. On November 16, 1938, Thomas Merton underwent

7176-533: The World Apostolate of Fátima . The Scapular of the Sacred Heart and the Scapular of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary are devotional articles worn by some Catholics . Nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent . The term

7332-555: The apparitions of Christ reported by Margaret Mary Alacoque . This devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was fully approved by the Catholic Church and a "Great Promise" of final penance was made to those who practice the First Fridays Devotion. The devotion consists of several practices that are performed on the first Fridays of nine consecutive months. On these days, a person is to attend Mass and receive

7488-561: The code of 1983 , the Vatican has addressed the renewal of the contemplative life of nuns. It produced the letter Verbi Sponsa in 1999, the apostolic constitution Vultum Dei quaerere in 2016, and the instruction Cor Orans in 2018 "which replaced the 1999 document Verbi Sponsa and attempted to bring forward the ideas regarding contemplative life born during the Second Vatican Council". Nuns and sisters played

7644-454: The feast of the Sacred Heart was progressively instituted throughout the Church. The feast later became a solemnity in the liturgical calendar , a feast of the highest rank, celebrated eight days after the Feast of Corpus Christi just as Jesus requested. On 21 June 1675, following that apparition, Claude consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart, making him the first person to be consecrated to

7800-618: The 19th century, from the mystical revelations of another Catholic nun in Portugal , Mary of the Divine Heart , a religious sister of the congregation of the Good Shepherd , who requested in the name of Christ that Pope Leo XIII consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Predecessors to the modern devotion arose unmistakably in the Middle Ages in various facets of Catholic mysticism , particularly with Gertrude

7956-531: The 50th anniversary of that encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Peter Hans Kolvenbach , the Superior General of the Society of Jesus , reaffirming the importance of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On 24 October 2024, Pope Francis published his fourth encyclical, the 28,000-word Dilexit nos ("He loved us"), which addresses the importance of the devotion to the Sacred Heart in

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8112-703: The Birds of Appetite as "Wisdom in Emptiness". Merton wrote then that "any attempt to handle Zen in theological language is bound to miss the point," calling his final statements "an example of how not to approach Zen." Merton struggled to reconcile the Western and Christian impulse to catalog and put into words with the ideas of Christian apophatic theology and the unspeakable nature of the Zen experience. Zhong Fushi mentions having met Merton, who allegedly said to him “ Zen,

8268-399: The Church of England's Church Commissioners , General Synod , Archbishops' Council , and National Society . This department publishes the biennial Anglican Religious Life , a world directory of religious orders, and also maintains an official Anglican Communion website for religious orders. Anglican Religious Life defines four categories of community. In the United States (only), there

8424-607: The Columbia chaplaincy invites a prominent Catholic to speak. The campus ministry building at St. Bonaventure University , the school where Merton taught English briefly between graduating from Columbia University with his M.A. in English and entering the Trappist order, is named after him. St. Bonaventure University also holds an important repository of Merton materials worldwide. Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School in downtown Toronto, Ontario , Canada, which

8580-508: The Divided Sea , which, combined with Thirty Poems , attracted some recognition for him. The same year Merton's manuscript for The Seven Storey Mountain was accepted by Harcourt Brace & Company . The Seven Storey Mountain , Merton's autobiography , was written during two-hour intervals in the monastery scriptorium as a personal project. On March 19, 1947 he took his solemn vows, binding for life. He also began corresponding with

8736-497: The Eucharist. If the need arises, in order to receive communion in a state of grace, a person should also make use of the sacrament of penance before attending Mass. Alacoque stated that she received a vision of Jesus in which she was instructed to spend an hour every Thursday night as a reparation and to pray and meditate on his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane . This practice later became widespread among Roman Catholics and became

8892-613: The Gethsemani Abbey. In 2018, Hugh Turley and David Martin published The Martyrdom of Thomas Merton: An Investigation , presenting the evidentiary record's refutation of claims of accidental electrocution , and suggesting Merton was assassinated for his political opposition to the Vietnam War . A subsequent book by Turley, Thomas Merton's Betrayers: The Case Against Abbot James Fox and Author John Howard Griffin , presents documentary evidence of manipulation and coverup by

9048-582: The Great was an early devotee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Book 2 of the Herald of Divine Love ( Latin : Legatus divinæ pietatis ) vividly describes Gertrude's visions, which show a considerable elaboration on the hitherto ill-defined veneration of Christ's heart. Bernard articulated this in his commentary on the Song of Songs . The women of Helfta – Gertrude foremost, who surely knew Bernard's commentary, and to

9204-462: The Great . The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns , surmounted by a cross, and bleeding. Sometimes, the image is shown shining within the bosom of Christ with his wounded hands pointing at the heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Christ's passion , while

9360-417: The Latin word religiosae (women religious). The same religious order could include both "nuns" and "sisters", if some members took solemn vows and others simple vows. The new legal code of the Catholic Church which was adopted in 1983, however, remained silent on this matter. Whereas previously the code distinguished between orders and congregations, the code now refers simply to religious institutes. Since

9516-452: The Merton family left France for the United States. They lived first with Ruth's parents in Queens , New York, and then settled near them in Douglaston . In 1917, the family moved into an old house in Flushing , Queens, where Merton's brother, John Paul, was born on November 2, 1918. The family was considering returning to France when Ruth was diagnosed with stomach cancer . She died from it on October 21, 1921, in Bellevue Hospital . Merton

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9672-460: The Sacred Heart of Montmartre known as National Vow , is declared of public utility by the National Assembly of 1871. On 16 June 1875, the Archbishop of Paris , Cardinal Guibert layed the first stone of the basilica, honoring after two hundred years the fourth request of Jesus reported by Margaret Mary Alacoque from 16 June 1675. On 25 March 1874, by petition of president Gabriel García Moreno and archbishop José Ignacio Checa y Barba, Ecuador

9828-408: The Sacred Heart are found in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the fervent atmosphere of the Benedictine or Cistercian monasteries . It is impossible to say with certainty what were its first texts or who were its first devotees. Bernard of Clairvaux ( d. 1153) said that the piercing of Christ's side revealed his goodness and the charity of his heart for humanity. The earliest known hymn to

9984-399: The Sacred Heart image. (Enthroning the Sacred Heart in a home should not be confused with the practice of having a priest bless a home, which is customarily done when a family first occupies a new home.) The presence of a priest is not required for an Enthronement. The practice of the home enthronement of the Sacred Heart was started by R. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, a priest of the Congregation of

10140-417: The Sacred Heart of Jesus (also referred as Church of the Good Shepherd or Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) was built between 14 July 1957 and 21 April 1966, in the civil parish of Ermesinde in north Portugal , and consecrated to the Heart of Christ in fulfillment of the vow made by the nun. She is buried in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ermesinde . In 1353, Pope Innocent VI instituted

10296-415: The Sacred Heart of Jesus after Margaret Mary, and began spreading the devotion. De la Colombière directed her to write an account of the apparitions, which he discreetly circulated in France and England. After his death on 15 February 1682, his journal of spiritual retreats was found to contain a copy in his handwriting of the account that he had requested of Margaret Mary, together with a few reflections on

10452-626: The Sacred Heart of Jesus on 8 June 1899. The following day, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus . Mary of the Divine Heart said that in her mystical experiences Jesus Christ inspired her to build a shrine dedicated to his Sacred Heart. According to the writings of Sister Mary of the Divine Heart, Jesus said: "I will make it a place of graces. I will distribute copiously graces to all who live in this house [the convent], those who live here now, those who will live here after, and even to their relatives." She did not live to see this come to fruition. The imposing Church of

10608-417: The Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Pius X also granted a Pontifical decree for the imposition of a golden crown to the lowly foot of a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Nevers Cathedral on 9 July 1908 (via the Archbishop of Nevers and Besancon , Francois Leon Gauthey, both signed and notarized by the Sacred Congregation of Rites ). By inserting the "Great Promise" of the First Fridays Devotion into

10764-404: The Sacred Heart, "Summi Regis Cor Aveto" , is believed to have been written by the Norbertine Herman Joseph (d. 1241) of Cologne, Germany. The hymn begins: "I hail Thee kingly Heart most high." From the 13th to the 16th centuries, the devotion was propagated but it did not seem to have been embellished. It was everywhere practised by individuals and by different religious congregations, such as

10920-478: The Sacred Heart. The Feast of the Sacred Heart is a solemnity in the liturgical calendar of the Latin Church . It is celebrated on the third Friday after Pentecost , which was up until the changes in the General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII referred to as the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. It is the last feast day of the year that is dependent on the date of Easter . The acts of consecration , reparation , and devotion were introduced when

11076-504: The Sacred Heart. The First Fridays Devotion , which is the reception of Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of each month, was revealed to her through a "Great Promise" of final penance granted to those who practice this act of reparation . Margaret Mary also said that she was instructed to spend an hour every Thursday night, from eleven to midnight, to pray and meditate on Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Her prayers intended to ask mercy for sinners as well as to make reparation for

11232-841: The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary , in 1907, having visited the apparition chapel in Paray-le-Monial . Enthronement of the Sacred Heart is promoted by the National Enthronement Center in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, the Sacred Heart Apostolate of Knoxville, Tennessee, Sacred Heart Columbus in Columbus, Ohio, and the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network, a 501(c)(3) located in Columbus, Ohio. It is also endorsed by

11388-687: The Sisterhood of the Holy Communion (now defunct) in New York. Whilst there is no single central authority for all religious orders, and many member churches of the Anglican Communion have their own internal structures for recognising and regulating religious orders, some central functions are performed by the Anglican Religious Communities Department at Church House, Westminster , the headquarters of

11544-746: The Thomas Merton Institute for Catholic Life at the Church of Notre Dame . Merton's life was the subject of The Glory of the World , a play by Charles L. Mee . Roy Cockrum, a former monk who won the Powerball lottery in 2014, helped finance the production of the play in New York. Prior to New York the play was being shown in Louisville, Kentucky. In the 2017 movie First Reformed , written and directed by Paul Schrader , Ethan Hawke 's character (a middle-aged Protestant reverend)

11700-467: The Trappist sign language and daily work and worship routine. In March 1942, during the first Sunday of Lent , Merton was accepted as a novice at the convent. In June, he received a letter from his brother John Paul stating he was soon to leave for the war and would be coming to Gethsemani to visit before leaving. On July 17 John Paul arrived in Gethsemani. John Paul expressed his desire to become

11856-468: The Visitandines, priests, religious , and laymen espoused the devotion, particularly the Capuchins . The reported apparitions served as a catalyst for the promotion of the devotion to the Sacred Heart. In 1691 Jesuit priest John Croiset wrote a book called De la Dévotion au Sacré Cœur , and Joseph de Gallifet promoted the devotion. The mission of propagating the new devotion was especially confided to

12012-509: The abandonment Jesus felt from his apostles in the garden. This practice is now known as the " Holy Hour " and is also frequently performed during an hour of Eucharistic adoration . During the octave of Corpus Christi in 1675, probably on June 16, the vision known as the "great revelation" reportedly took place, where Jesus said: "Behold the heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love; and in return, I receive from

12168-562: The ascetics who live therein are "monastics". In English, however, it is acceptable to use the terms "nun" and "convent" for clarity and convenience. The term for an abbess is the feminine form of abbot ( hegumen ) – Greek: ἡγουμένη ( hegumeni ); Serbian : игуманија ( igumanija ); Russian: игумения ( igumenia ). Orthodox monastics do not have distinct "orders" as in Western Christianity. Orthodox monks and nuns lead identical spiritual lives. There may be slight differences in

12324-408: The aspiring nun lives the life of a nun without taking the official vows. As she lives in the convent she is closely monitored by the other women in the community to determine if her vocation is genuine. This would be officially determined by a vote from the choir nuns. If the aspiring nun passes the scrutiny of the women of the religious community, she then can make her solemn vows . Prior to making

12480-418: The aspiring nuns if whether or not their vocation was "true and voluntary" in order to ensure no enforced conversion. To be considered as a nun, one must have the economic means to afford the convent dowry. During this time convent dowries were affordable, compared to secular marriages between a man and a woman. Typically during early modern Spain many nuns were from elite families who had the means to afford

12636-427: The associated Third Order , often wearing a different habit or the standard woman's attire of the period. In general, when a woman enters a religious order or monastery she first undergoes a period of testing life for six months to two years called a postulancy. If she, and the order, determine that she may have a vocation to the life, she receives the habit of the order (usually with some modification, normally

12792-662: The branches of the Benedictine tradition, (Benedictines, Cistercians , Camaldolese , and Trappists , among others) nuns take vows of stability (that is, to remain a member of a single monastic community), obedience (to an abbess or prioress ), and conversion of life (which includes poverty and celibacy). In other traditions, such as the Poor Clares (the Franciscan Order) and the Dominican nuns , they take

12948-446: The consecration of the human race performed by Leo XIII be renewed each year. Pius XI affirmed the church's position with respect to Margaret Mary Alacoque's visions of Jesus Christ by stating that Jesus had "manifested Himself" to Alacoque and had "promised her that all those who rendered this honor to his Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces." The encyclical reaffirmed the importance of consecration and reparation to

13104-481: The convent dowry and "maintenance allowances", which were annual fees. Monasteries were economically supported through convent dowries. Convent dowries could be waived if the aspiring nun had an artistic ability benefiting the monastery. Once an aspiring nun has entered the convent and has the economic means to afford the dowry, she undergoes the process of apprenticeship known as the novitiate period. The novitiate period typically lasts 1–2 years, and during this time

13260-753: The country. Many Catholic nuns went to France. Anglican religious orders are organizations of laity or clergy in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule. The term "religious orders" is distinguished from Holy Orders (the sacrament of ordination which bishops, priests, and deacons receive), though many communities do have ordained members. The structure and function of religious orders in Anglicanism roughly parallels that which exists in Catholicism. Religious communities are divided into orders proper, in which members take solemn vows and congregations, whose members take simple vows. With

13416-480: The decrees of the Council of Trent. This changed the way in which nuns would live. One edict of the Council of Trent was that female monasteries be enclosed in order to limit nuns' relationship with the secular world. Enclosure of monasteries during this time was associated with chastity. Another decree issued by the Council of Trent was that religious devotion be "true and voluntary". A male clergy member would ask

13572-584: The devotion of the Holy Hour , a devotional tradition of spending an hour in prayers or in Eucharistic adoration in the presence of the Eucharist. The Act of enthroning the Sacred Heart entails placing an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a place of honor in the home after a time of prayerful preparation. Many families will also place an image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in tandem with

13728-414: The devotion to his Sacred Heart. Right after this, she had a vision of his heart with a crown of thorns, surrounded by flames and above which a cross was planted. This representation will become the popular image of the Sacred Heart which Margaret Mary used to propagate the devotion. Between 1674 and 1675, other apparitions followed in which Jesus Christ revealed to Alacoque different forms of devotion to

13884-571: The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A contemporary of Francis of Assisi, she "entered upon the mystical life with a vision of the pierced Heart of the Saviour, and had concluded her mystical espousals with the Incarnate Word by an exchange of hearts with Him." Sources say that Christ came in a visitation to Lutgarde, offering her whatever gift of grace she should desire; she asked for a better grasp of Latin, that she might better understand

14040-809: The devotion. Ascetic writers spoke of it, especially those of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was everywhere in evidence, largely due to the Franciscan devotion to the Five Wounds and to the Jesuits placing the image on the title-page of their books and on the walls of their churches. The first to establish the theological basis for the devotion was Polish Jesuit Kasper Drużbicki (1590–1662) in his book Meta cordium – Cor Jesu ( The goal of hearts – Heart of Jesus ). Not much later John Eudes wrote an office, and promoted

14196-735: The episcopal Lutheran tradition and the closeness of Lutheranism with Anglicanism in its belief and practice has led to local arrangements of inter-Communion between the two traditions, such as the Porvoo Communion . There are a plethora of religious orders within the Lutheran Churches , such as the Order of Lutheran Franciscans and Daughters of Mary . Nearly all active Lutheran orders are located in Europe. The Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary , an order of Lutheran nuns, operates

14352-409: The feast of the Sacred Heart was declared. Some Anglican Franciscans keep the feast under the name (The) Divine Compassion of Christ . The month of June is traditionally devoted in a special way to the veneration of the Sacred Heart. Masses, novenas, and the recitation of devotional prayers in honor of the Sacred Heart are traditionally observed. A personal prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart

14508-401: The first millennium, nearly all religious communities of men and women were dedicated to prayer and contemplation . These monasteries were built in remote locations or were separated from the world by means of a precinct wall . The mendicant orders , founded in the 13th century, combined a life of prayer and dedication to God with active works of preaching, hearing confessions, and service to

14664-421: The flames represent a furnace of ardent love. Historically, the devotion to the Sacred Heart is an outgrowth of devotion to what is believed to be Christ's sacred humanity. During the first ten centuries of Christianity, there is nothing to indicate that any worship was rendered to the wounded Heart of Jesus. The revival of religious life and the zealous activity of Bernard of Clairvaux and Francis of Assisi in

14820-476: The founder of the Nunnery of Baan Huai Saai, who is believed by some to be enlightened as well as Upasika Kee Nanayon . At the beginning of the 21st century, some Buddhist women in Thailand have started to introduce the bhikkhuni sangha in their country as well, even if public acceptance is still lacking. Dhammananda Bhikkhuni , formerly the successful academic scholar Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, established

14976-432: The full Divine Office throughout the day in church, usually in a solemn manner. They were formerly distinguished within the monastic community as "choir nuns", as opposed to lay sisters who performed upkeep of the monastery or errands outside the cloister. This last task is still often entrusted to women, called "externs", who live in the monastery, but outside the enclosure. They were usually either oblates or members of

15132-577: The full ordination lineage of bhikkunis died out, though in many places they wear the "saffron" colored robes, observing only ten precepts like novices. In Thailand , a country which never had a tradition of fully ordained nuns ( bhikkhuni ), there developed a separate order of non-ordained female renunciates called mae chi . However, some of them have played an important role in dhamma-practitioners' community. There are in Thai Forest Tradition foremost nuns such as Mae Ji Kaew Sianglam,

15288-459: The greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love." He then asked Margaret Mary for a feast of reparation of the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, bidding her consult her confessor Claude de la Colombière , then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray-le-Monial. This request was transmitted and

15444-399: The habit of the institute, made according to the norm of proper law, as a sign of their consecration and as a witness of poverty." Although usage has varied throughout church history, typically "nun" (Latin: monialis ) is used for women who have taken "solemn" vows , and "sister" (Latin: soror ) is used for women who have taken "simple" vows (that is, vows other than solemn vows). During

15600-534: The habit. Some orders – such as the Dominicans – wear a large rosary on their belt. Benedictine abbesses wear a cross or crucifix on a chain around their neck. After the Second Vatican Council , many religious institutes chose in their own regulations to no longer wear the traditional habit and did away with choosing a religious name . Catholic Church canon law states: "Religious are to wear

15756-588: The home, Canadian women had few domains which they controlled. An important exception came with Catholic nuns, especially in Québec. Stimulated by the influence in France, the popular religiosity of the Counter Reformation , new orders for women began appearing in the seventeenth century. In the next three centuries women opened dozens of independent religious orders, funded in part by dowries provided by

15912-593: The influence of Mary of the Divine Heart and in response to demands received over 25 years. On 19 May 1908, a particular family consecration prayer known as the Act of Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Heart was approved and granted with an indulgence by Pope Pius X . The First Fridays Devotion is a devotion to offer reparations for sins to the Eucharist and in honor of the Sacred Heart, which had its origin in

16068-571: The last vision and private revelation was reported during her presence as mother superior in the Convent of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Porto , Portugal. Based on the messages she said she received in her revelations of Christ, on 10 June 1898 her confessor at the Good Shepherd monastery wrote to Pope Leo XIII stating that Mary of the Divine Heart had received a message from Christ, requesting

16224-462: The male equivalent of canon , usually following the Rule of St. Augustine. The origin and rules of monastic life are common to both. As with the canons, differences in the observance of rule gave rise to two types: the canoness regular , taking the traditional religious vows, and the secular canoness, who did not take vows and thus remained free to own property and leave to marry, should they choose. This

16380-602: The monastery despite his international reputation and voluminous correspondence with many well-known figures of the day. At the end of 1968, the new abbot, Flavian Burns, allowed him the freedom to undertake a tour of Asia, during which he met the Dalai Lama in India on three occasions, and also the Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen master Chatral Rinpoche , followed by a solitary retreat near Darjeeling , India. In Darjeeling, he befriended Tsewang Yishey Pemba ,

16536-405: The monastery guest house, waiting for acceptance into the order. On December 13 he was accepted into the monastery as a postulant by Frederic Dunne, Gethsemani's abbot since 1935, and given the religious name Mary Louis . Merton had a severe cold from his stay in the guest house, where he sat in front of an open window to prove his sincerity. During his initial weeks at Gethsemani, Merton studied

16692-441: The monastery, The Seven Storey Mountain having sold over 150,000 copies. It is on National Review ' s list of the 100 best nonfiction books of the twentieth century. In this particularly prolific period of his life, Merton is believed to have been suffering from loneliness and stress . One incident indicative of this is his drive with the monastery's jeep, acting in a possibly manic state, during which he almost caused

16848-513: The most about— Zen . Having studied the Desert Fathers and other Christian mystics as part of his monastic vocation, Merton had a deep understanding of what it was those men sought and experienced in their seeking. He found many parallels between the language of these Christian mystics and the language of Zen philosophy. In 1959, Merton began a dialogue with D. T. Suzuki which was published nearly ten years later in Merton's Zen and

17004-816: The mystical order. Nothing of a general movement had been inaugurated, except for similarities found in the devotion to the Five Holy Wounds by the Franciscans, in which the wound in Jesus's heart figured most prominently. Bonaventure's Opusculum 3, Lignum vitae (a part from which is the reading for the Divine Office on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart) refers to the heart as the fountain from which God's love poured into one's life: Take thought now, redeemed man, and consider how great and worthy

17160-535: The nuns as social misfits. Wei-yi Cheng studied the Luminary (Hsiang Kuang 香光) order in southern Taiwan. Cheng reviewed earlier studies which suggest that Taiwan's Zhaijiao tradition has a history of more female participation, and that the economic growth and loosening of family restriction have allowed more women to become nuns. Based on studies of the Luminary order, Cheng concluded that the monastic order in Taiwan

17316-563: The nuns from the outside world. The nuns rarely leave (except for medical necessity or occasionally for purposes related to their contemplative life) though they may receive visitors in specially built parlors, often with either a grille or half-wall separating the nuns from visitors. They are usually self-sufficient, earning money by selling jams, candies or baked goods by mail order, or by making liturgical items (such as vestments, candles, or hosts to be consecrated at Mass for Holy Communion). They often undertake contemplative ministries – that is,

17472-699: The outside world, especially family. The pious family whose child decides to enter the monastic profession understands that their child will become "dead to the world" and therefore be unavailable for social visits. There are a number of different levels that the nun passes through in her profession: After the Protestant Reformation, some monasteries in Lutheran lands (such as Amelungsborn Abbey near Negenborn and Loccum Abbey in Rehburg-Loccum ) and convents (such as Ebstorf Abbey near

17628-607: The parents of young nuns. The orders specialized in charitable works, including hospitals, orphanages, homes for unwed mothers , and schools. Prior to women becoming nuns during early modern Spain, aspired nuns underwent a process. The process was ensured by the Council of Trent , which King Philip II (1556–1598) adopted within Spain. King Phillip II acquired the aid of the Hieronymite order to ensure that monasteries abided by

17784-416: The poor, and members of these orders are known as friars rather than monks . At that time, and into the 17th century, Church custom did not allow women to leave the cloister if they had taken religious vows. Female members of the mendicant orders ( Dominican , Augustinian and Carmelite nuns and Poor Clares ) continued to observe the same enclosed life as members of the monastic orders . Originally,

17940-407: The pope to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart. The pope initially attached no credence to it and took no action. However, on 6 January 1899 she sent another letter asking that in addition to the consecration, the first Fridays of the month be observed in honor of the Sacred Heart. Mary of the Divine Heart died in her monastery in Portugal when the church was singing the first vespers of

18096-422: The price of our salvation. Flowing from the secret abyss of our Lord's heart as from a fountain, this stream gave the sacraments of the Church the power to confer the life of grace, while for those already living in Christ it became a spring of living water welling up to life everlasting. According to Thomas Merton , Lutgarde (d. 1246), a Cistercian mystic of Aywieres , Belgium, was one of the great precursors of

18252-410: The publisher Robert Giroux . Merton attended an 18th-century English literature course during the spring semester taught by Mark Van Doren , a professor with whom he maintained a lifetime friendship. In January 1938, Merton graduated from Columbia with a B.A. in English. In June, his friend Seymour Freedgood arranged a meeting with Mahanambrata Brahmachari , a Hindu monk visiting New York from

18408-538: The religious life, such as simple vows, and a daily obligation of prayer. Lutherans were especially active, and within both Lutheranism and Anglicanism some Deaconesses formed religious communities, with community living, and the option of life vows in religion. The modern movement reached a zenith about 1910, then slowly declined as secularization undercut religiosity in Europe, and the professionalization of nursing and social work offered better career opportunities for young women. A small movement still exists, and its legacy

18564-463: The religious of the Visitation and to the priests of the Society of Jesus. Alacoque said that in her apparitions Jesus promised specific blessings to those who practice devotion to his Sacred Heart. The last promise, also called the "Great Promise", is a promise of final penance granted to those who practice the First Fridays Devotion. Another source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

18720-538: The rise of the Oxford Movement in Anglicanism in the early 19th century came interest in the revival of "religious life" in England. Between 1841 and 1855, several religious orders for nuns were founded, among them the Community of St. Mary at Wantage and the Society of Saint Margaret at East Grinstead . In the United States and Canada, the founding of Anglican religious orders of nuns began in 1845 with

18876-461: The rite of baptism at Corpus Christi Church and received Holy Communion . On February 22, 1939, Merton received his M.A. in English from Columbia University. Merton decided he would pursue his PhD at Columbia and moved from Douglaston to Greenwich Village . He then discerned a call to religious life . On December 10, 1941, Thomas Merton arrived at the Abbey of Gethsemani and spent three days at

19032-640: The royalties of Merton's writing. In addition, his writings attracted much interest in Catholic practice and thought, and in the Trappist vocation. In recognition of Merton's close association with Bellarmine University , the university established an official repository for Merton's archives at the Thomas Merton Center on the Bellarmine campus in Louisville, Kentucky . The Thomas Merton Award ,

19188-439: The same time hiding her heart within his breast. Mechtilde of Helfta (d. 1298) became an ardent devotee and promoter of Jesus' heart after it was the subject of many of her visions. The idea of hearing the heartbeat of God was very important to medieval saints who nurtured devotion to the Sacred Heart. Mechtilde reported that Jesus appeared to her in a vision and commanded her to love him ardently, and to honor his sacred heart in

19344-647: The same vows. Because ten nuns are required to ordain a new one, the effort to establish the Dharmaguptaka bhikkhu tradition has taken a long time. It is permissible for a Tibetan nun to receive bhikkhuni ordination from another living tradition, e.g., in Vietnam . Based on this, Western nuns ordained in Tibetan tradition, like Thubten Chodron , took full ordination in another tradition. Thomas Merton Thomas Merton OCSO (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968), religious name M. Louis,

19500-485: The sisters always outnumbered the priests and brothers. Their numbers peaked in 1965 at 180,000 then plunged to 56,000 in 2010. Many women left their orders, and few new members were added. Since the Second Vatican Council the sisters have directed their ministries more to the poor, working more directly among them and with them. Nuns have played an important role in Canada, especially in heavily Catholic Quebec. Outside

19656-422: The terms used by a particular order or by the level of independence of the religious house. Technically, a convent is any home of a community of sisters – or, indeed, of priests and brothers, though this term is rarely used in the United States. The term " monastery " is often used by The Benedictine family to speak of the buildings and "convent" when referring to the community. Neither is gender specific. 'Convent'

19812-549: The threefold vows of poverty , chastity and obedience . These are known as the 'evangelical counsels' as opposed to 'monastic vows' proper. Most orders of nuns not listed here follow one of these two patterns, with some Orders taking an additional vow related to the specific work or character of their Order (for example, to undertake a certain style of devotion, praying for a specific intention or purpose). Cloistered nuns ( Carmelites , for example) observe "papal enclosure" rules, and their nunneries typically have walls separating

19968-701: The town of Uelzen and Bursfelde Abbey in Bursfelde ) adopted the Lutheran Christian faith. Other convents, especially those in Reformed areas, closed after the Reformation, with some sisters deciding to marry. A modern resurgence of the early Christian Deaconess office for women began in Germany in the 1840s and spread through Scandinavia, Britain and the United States, with some elements of

20124-758: The twelfth and thirteenth centuries, together with the enthusiasm of the Crusaders returning from the Holy Land, gave a rise to devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ and particularly to practices in honour of the Sacred Wounds . Devotion to the Sacred Heart developed out of the devotion to the Holy Wounds, in particular to the Sacred Wound in the side of Jesus. The first indications of devotion to

20280-466: The upheavals brought by the French Revolution and subsequent Napoleonic invasions of other Catholic countries, depriving thousands of religious of the income that their communities held because of inheritances and forcing them to find a new way of living the religious life. But members of these new associations were not recognized as "religious" until Pope Leo XIII 's Constitution "Conditae

20436-429: The usefulness of the devotion. This journal, including the account – an "offering" to the Sacred Heart in which the devotion was explained – was published at Lyon in 1684. The little book was widely read, especially at Paray-le-Monial. Margaret Mary reported feeling "dreadful confusion" over the book's contents, but resolved to make the best of it, approving of the book for the spreading of her cherished devotion. Along with

20592-592: The vows taken by profession in any religious institute approved by the Holy See were classified as solemn. This was declared by Pope Boniface VIII (1235–1303). The situation changed in the 16th century. In 1521, two years after the Fourth Lateran Council had forbidden the establishment of new religious institutes, Pope Leo X established a religious Rule with simple vows for those tertiaries attached to existing communities who undertook to live

20748-486: The vows, the family of the nun is expected to pay the convent dowry. Nuns were also expected to renounce their inheritance and property rights. Religious class distinctions: In the Eastern Orthodox Church there is no distinction between a monastery for women and one for men. In Greek , Russian , and other languages of primarily Christian Orthodox nations, both domiciles are called "monasteries" and

20904-479: The way a monastery functions internally but these are simply differences in style (Gr. typica ) dependent on the abbess or abbot . The abbess is the spiritual leader of the convent and her authority is absolute (no priest , bishop , or even patriarch can override an abbess within the walls of her monastery). Abbots and Abbesses rank in authority equal to bishops in many ways and were included in ecumenical councils . Orthodox monasteries are usually associated with

21060-506: The word of God and sing God's praise. Christ granted her request and Lutgarde's mind was flooded with the riches of psalms, antiphons, readings, and responsories. However, a painful emptiness persisted. She returned to Christ, asking to return his gift, and wondering if she might, just possibly, exchange it for another. "And for what would you exchange it?" Christ asked. "Lord, I would exchange it for your Heart." Christ then reached into Lutgarde and, removing her heart, replaced it with his own, at

21216-590: The work of the priests, brothers, and other sisters of their congregation, and since Vatican II have added retreat work and spiritual guidance to their apostolate; the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master are also cloistered sisters who receive visitors and pray in support of their sister congregation, the Daughters of St. Paul in their media ministry. A canoness is a nun who corresponds to

21372-444: The youthful Merton loved jazz , but by the time he began his first teaching job he had forsaken all but peaceful music. Later in life, whenever he was permitted to leave Gethsemani for medical or monastic reasons, he would catch what live jazz he could, mainly in Louisville or New York. In April 1966, Merton underwent surgery to treat debilitating back pain. While recuperating in a Louisville hospital, he fell in love with Margie Smith,

21528-517: Was Mary of the Divine Heart (1863–1899), a religious sister from the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd , who reported to have received several interior locutions and visions of Jesus Christ. The first interior locution Mary of the Divine Heart reported was during her youth spent with the family in the Castle of Darfeld  [ de ] , near Münster , Germany, and

21684-655: Was Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690), a nun of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary , who claimed to have received Sacred Heart revelations from Jesus Christ between 1673 and 1675 in the Burgundian French village of Paray-le-Monial . The first apparition took place on 27 December 1673, the day of the feast of Saint John the Evangelist , during which Jesus allowed Margaret Mary to rest her head upon his heart, telling her that he wanted to make his love known to all mankind and that he had chosen her to spread

21840-411: Was above all devoted to non-violence. He regarded his viewpoint as based on "simplicity" and expressed it as a Christian sensibility. His New Seeds of Contemplation was published in 1961. Merton finally achieved the solitude he had long desired while living in a hermitage on the monastery grounds in 1965. Over the years he had occasional battles with some of his abbots about not being allowed out of

21996-456: Was an American Trappist monk , writer, theologian, mystic , poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion . He was a monk in the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani , near Bardstown, Kentucky , living there from 1941 to his death. Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years, mostly on spirituality , social justice , and pacifism , as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most widely-read works

22152-467: Was born in Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales , France, on January 31, 1915, to parents of Welsh origin: Owen Merton , a New Zealand painter active in Europe and the United States, and Ruth Jenkins Merton, an American Quaker and artist. They had met at a painting school in Paris. He was baptized in the Church of England , in accordance with his father's wishes. Merton's father was often absent during his son's childhood. During World War I , in August 1915,

22308-423: Was deeply interested in what each said of the depth of human experience. He believed that for the most part, Christianity had forsaken its mystical tradition in favor of Cartesian emphasis on "the reification of concepts, idolization of the reflexive consciousness, flight from being into verbalism, mathematics, and rationalization." Merton was perhaps most interested in—and, of all of the Eastern traditions, wrote

22464-448: Was first exposed to and became interested in Eastern religions when he read Aldous Huxley 's Ends and Means in 1937, the year before his conversion to Catholicism . Throughout his life, he studied Buddhism , Confucianism , Taoism , Hinduism , Sikhism , Jainism , and Sufism in addition to his academic and monastic studies. While Merton was not interested in what these traditions had to offer as doctrines and institutions, he

22620-509: Was formerly named St. Joseph's Commercial and was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph, is named in part after him. Some of Merton's manuscripts that include correspondence with his superiors are located in the library of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia . Antony Theodore has provided details of his encounters with Asian spiritual leaders and the influence of Confucianism , Taoism , Zen Buddhism and Hinduism on Merton's mysticism and philosophy of contemplation. Merton

22776-424: Was influenced by Aelred Graham's book Zen Catholicism of 1963. Merton also explored American Indian spirituality. He wrote a series of articles on American Indian history and spirituality for The Catholic Worker , The Center Magazine , Theoria to Theory , and Unicorn Journal . He explored themes such as American Indian fasting and missionary work. Merton's influence has grown since his death, and he

22932-408: Was no autopsy , there was no suitable explanation for the wound in the back of Merton's head, "which had bled considerably." Arriving from the cottage next to Merton's, the Primate of the Benedictine order and presiding officer of the conference, Rembert Weakland , anointed Merton. His body was flown back to the United States on board a US military aircraft returning from Vietnam. He is buried at

23088-450: Was officially consecrated to the Sacred Heart by King Alfonso XIII . In the Catholic tradition , the Sacred Heart has been closely associated with Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ . In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor , Pope Pius XI stated: "The spirit of expiation or reparation has always had the first and foremost place in the worship given to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus." The Golden Arrow Prayer directly refers to

23244-422: Was one of four Americans mentioned by Pope Francis in his speech to a joint meeting of the United States Congress on September 24, 2015. Francis said, "Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions." In 2023, Columbia University opened

23400-406: Was ordained as a subdeacon . From 1948 on, Merton identified himself as an anarchist . On January 5, 1949, Merton took a train to Louisville and applied for American citizenship. Published that year were Seeds of Contemplation , The Tears of Blind Lions , The Waters of Siloe , and the British edition of The Seven Storey Mountain under the title Elected Silence . On March 19, Merton became

23556-487: Was positive, and in 1899 he decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on 11 June 1899. The encyclical letter also encouraged the entire Roman Catholic episcopate to promote the First Friday Devotions , established June as the Month of the Sacred Heart, and included the Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart . The idea of this act, which Leo XIII called "the great act" of his pontificate. Pope Pius X decreed that

23712-462: Was primarily a way of leading a pious life for the women of aristocratic families and generally disappeared in the modern age, except for the modern Lutheran convents of Germany. A nun who is elected to head her religious house is termed an abbess if the house is an abbey, a prioress if it is a monastery, or more generically may be referred to as "Mother Superior" and styled "Reverend Mother". The distinction between abbey and monastery has to do with

23868-475: Was six years old and his brother not yet three. In 1926, when Merton was eleven, his father enrolled him in a boys' boarding school in Montauban , the Lycée Ingres. In the summer of 1928, he withdrew Merton from Lycée Ingres, saying the family was moving to England. In October 1933, Merton, age 18, entered Clare College, Cambridge , as an undergraduate to study French and Italian. He was unhappy at Clare College, preferring loafing over studying, and fathered

24024-440: Was still young and gave nuns more room for development, and more mobile believers helped the order. The August 2007 International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha , with the support of the XIVth Dalai Lama , reinstated the Gelongma ( Dharmaguptaka vinaya bhikkhuni) lineage, having been lost, in India and Tibet, for centuries. Gelongma ordination requires the presence of ten fully ordained people keeping exactly

24180-440: Was the first country in the world to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart by legislative decree. Since then, more than twenty countries have followed and consecrated themselves either by decree or at the initiative of their respective national Church, some of which renewed their consecration a few times. On 22 June 1902, Colombia was consecrated by decree with the agreement of president José Manuel Marroquín . On 30 May 1919, Spain

24336-429: Was written by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque , allegedly under the inspiration of Jesus, which she wrote to the priest John Croiset, recommending that he include it in the book he was to publish about her revelations "It comes from Him, and He would not agree to its omission." On 25 may 1899, Pope Leo XIII wrote an Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical letter Annum sacrum , with

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