September 22, 2010

Capuchin Poor Clares: Prayer, fraternity and poverty

By Roxanne King

This story continues the Denver Catholic Register's series on monasteries.

Even after 22 years, many people don’t know they are here—ensconced in an inner-city neighborhood—and praying for them, which speaks to how well their cloister follows the example of Christ who before his public ministry led a hidden life at Nazareth.

Nine Capuchin Poor Clare nuns live vows of obedience, poverty and chastity at Our Lady of Light Monastery, located at 3325 Pecos St. in northwest Denver.  The nuns, all transplants from Mexico, range in age from 36 to 86. They follow the 13th-century rule of their patroness, St. Clare of Assisi.

Charism
“It is a life of prayer lived in fraternity and poverty,” Mother Maria de Cristo Palafox, the abbess, told the Denver Catholic Register last week. “Those are the three things that define our charism.”

Clad in brown Franciscan robes, white coifs, black veils and sandals, the nuns live a secluded life in imitation of Christ who retreated to the desert and frequently went off alone to pray.

“We observe papal enclosure, which means we spend our life and activities inside the monastery,” Mother Maria de Cristo, 50, said. “But our rule allows for going out for needs that cannot be met in the monastery. We go to the doctor; and when it’s not possible for friends to shop or do errands for us, we do our own.”

They have a website (www.capuchinpoorclares.org) to let the world know about their order. They receive prayer requests online and over the telephone or by mail. They limit television to the news and occasional religious or educational programs. Family visits are limited to every couple of years.

Their fraternity—the heart of their charism—models the close friendship enjoyed by Saints Francis and Clare.

“We pray together, we have meals together, we work together,” the abbess said. “Everything is done together.”

Sister Mary Adrianna Gonzalez, 36, said that prior to entering Our Lady of Light Monastery she had visited other orders—a contemplative order that has a stronger emphasis on solitude, and active orders that teach and care for children—but said she preferred the Capuchin Poor Clares.

“What drew me was the contemplative life of prayer and the fraternity,” she said. “When I arrived, I felt God was calling me here. I felt at home; it was like a family. And I felt the joy of the sisters.”

The nuns’ poverty follows that of Christ, who was born in a manger, lived a life of poverty, and died stripped of everything on the cross. 

History
In her day, St. Clare defended her order’s austerity from those who urged her to make it less strict. She established her order, originally called the Poor Ladies, in San Damiano, Italy, under the guidance and inspiration of St. Francis of Assisi. The monastic rule she composed—the first known to be written by a woman—was approved on Aug. 9, 1253, just two days before Clare died at age 59. After her death, the order was renamed the Poor Clares.

Three centuries later, in Naples, Italy, the Capuchin Poor Clares were established as part of the renewal of the Franciscan order.

In 1988, the Capuchin Poor Clares arrived to Denver from a monastery in Irapuato, Guanajuato. At the time, the Capuchins had two of their three branches represented in the Denver Archdiocese: friars (the first order) and lay (third order) Franciscans.

“Archbishop Charles Chaput (then-Father Chaput) was the Capuchin Franciscan provincial,” recalled Mother Maria de Cristo. “The province wanted to have the second order (contemplatives) present here.

“The first order, the Capuchin friars,” she explained, “complement our charism by active apostolic works and we support theirs with prayer.”

Then–Archbishop, now-Cardinal J. Francis Stafford made the invitation to the nuns and offered their present site, which was once the rectory of St. Patrick Church, now St. Patrick Oratory.

“Our life is devoted to love of God and to humanity through intercessory prayer for the Church and the world,” the abbess said. “When we were invited to the diocese, the archbishop wanted us to pray especially for the Church in Colorado and for the needs of Hispanics.”

Daily life
Inside the Spanish-style monastery the nuns arrange their day around praying the Liturgy of the Hours (also called the Divine Office), Mass and Eucharistic adoration. They support themselves primarily by baking and selling delicious “Clarisa’s” butter cookies ($12 for 1.5 pounds) and by sewing habits for Capuchin friars.

“One sister makes rosaries and several sisters do crafts—painting and woodwork items—that we sell on St. Clare’s feast day (Aug. 11),” Mother Maria de Cristo said, referring to the one day a year they host a small festival in a portion of their garden.

The nuns also maintain their lovingly landscaped grounds and St. Patrick Oratory, which is attached to their monastery by an arcaded walkway.

Their quiet lives of prayer and manual labor also include necessary conversation and recreation. And while their many trees provide seclusion to the enclosure during the summer, in winter high-rises that were built after the nuns acquired the property now permit prying eyes to invade their tranquility.

“The neighbors are very nice and say ‘Hi, Sister,’ but still…,” the abbess noted with a gentle shrug and smile. “When people are on their balconies it is not very private.

“We are limited in how tall we can build our fence,” she added as she pointed to the wall surrounding the monastery grounds. “Maybe we can put in a row of evergreens to create privacy. I think that is all we can do.”

Grace
Like other monastics, the nuns say that living in community is a mixed blessing that helps to form them as Christians. The support and love that comes from the sisters is a source of great joy, and yet dealing with other personalities and with the demands of caring for each other can force one to dig deep for charity and to confront one’s own imperfections.

Conversion demands that she respond to the trials of each day “with love, sacrifice and generosity,” the abbess said—and trusting in divine providence to take care of their needs.

“Part of the challenge (of monastic life) is to keep living anew every day and not fall into the routine of everyday sameness,” she said. “That challenge invites you to respond every day to the grace of God. It’s a challenge to be renewed and to respond in a fresh and new way.”

A nun for 30 years, Mother Maria de Cristo remembers vividly the deep prayer and fraternal love of the Capuchin Poor Clares whose monastery was near her childhood home.  Then she thought nuns were not like other people—superhuman perhaps. Now she knows they are very real—as is their joy, serenity and peace.

And she wants others to know that.

“We are here for God and for the people,” she said. “We want to be a presence in the Church of Colorado. And we invite young woman to come and see this way of life.”

MONASTERY SERIES:

To read the Sept. 1, 2010 installment of the monastary series, featuring St. Benedict Monastery and the Monks of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance, visit http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/4413. 

To read the Sept. 15, 2010 installment of the monastary series, featuring the Abbey of St. Walburga and the Benedictine Sisters, visit http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/4505.