tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65093598533219530222024-03-14T04:46:12.668-04:00The Cloistered HeartNancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comBlogger1336125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-88078168003024459912024-01-24T07:40:00.001-05:002024-01-24T07:40:00.123-05:00The Feast of Saint Francis de SalesNancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-79780501092092654252024-01-12T13:55:00.000-05:002024-01-12T13:55:16.884-05:00The Cloistered Heart in a Noisy World So Very Cloistered, HereOf all my retreats in the (physical) cloister, one was particularly fruitful. This could have been surprising given the circumstances. The monastery was not in mountains or meadow, but situated in the middle of a bustling city. That was okay with me; there was a lush cloister garden separated from the streets by high brick walls. My plan was to sit with Bible and Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-83137180156488840022023-11-22T07:30:00.001-05:002023-11-22T07:30:00.130-05:00What is the Grille of the Cloistered Heart? The grille is a powerful symbol. I would go so far as to say that, in the cloistered heart way of life I’m describing, it is the important symbol. It is a place of separation and, just as importantly, it is a place of encounter. It is only through the grille that some cloistered individuals (in a number of communities) connect with the world.Every human being has been given, by Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-60135363152948037352023-11-17T07:30:00.001-05:002023-11-17T07:30:00.144-05:00All I Must Do Is AcceptI have been privileged to spend time in monasteries of nuns on several occasions. As a retreatant, I've been able to live inside the enclosure for a few days at a time...praying with the Sisters, joining them for Mass, taking meals with them, sleeping in a cell.One of the (many) things that struck me during such experiences was the simplicity of monastic life, and I probably noticed this most Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-32962676855915846162023-11-12T15:00:00.014-05:002023-11-12T15:00:00.137-05:00Embracing the Mass "They recounted what had happened to them on the road, and how they had come to know Him in the breaking of the bread." (Luke 24:35)Mass is the highlight of the monastic day. The other prayers prepare for it, revolve around it, highlight and underscore it... and carry its themes into every other part of the afternoon and evening. This is reasonable, logical, for "The Eucharist isNancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-75075631905690678292023-10-28T13:50:00.000-04:002023-10-28T13:50:57.077-04:00What is the Enclosure of a Cloistered Heart?The enclosure of a cloistered heart is within the will of God. As a cloistered nun or monk lives within a specific area known as the cloister (or enclosure), we can make a specific choice to live within the "enclosure" of the will of God. We can actively embrace God's will as revealed in Scripture and the discernment of the Church.In every monastery, of nuns or of monks, there is an area Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-37791136635830051542023-10-21T08:30:00.001-04:002023-10-21T08:30:00.151-04:00The World's Greatest Romance In honor of Sweetest Day, here are some reflections on the Cloistered Heart, "the greatest romance the world has ever known":This post was originally written for The Feminine Gift, August 2013.When the idea of the Cloistered Heart first came to me, it was nothing more than a phrase. A wispy, vaporous daydream involving ivy-shrouded hermitages and candlelit Gothic windows. I told Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-28692539243013267322023-10-16T08:30:00.002-04:002023-10-16T08:30:00.140-04:00The Cloistered Heart of Saint Margaret MarySt. Margaret Mary Alacoque's was a heart filled with fire. Jesus chose to reveal to this Visitation nun a Heart ablaze - His own Sacred Heart. I think it's accurate to say that the saint encountered the Fire of Jesus' love and reflected it back to Him. Love met love, Heart met heart, Fire met fire. But the story did not end there.Jesus entrusted to Margaret Mary a mission: to spread the message Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-90233155981525163772023-10-13T14:16:00.000-04:002023-10-13T14:16:14.152-04:00What is the Monastery of a Cloistered Heart? The Monastery of a cloistered heart is the person's own life. A monastery is a place consecrated to God, a place of prayer, a place where God is loved and served. Our lives can be all of these things. Just as any building can become a monastery by being dedicated to God, so our lives can become "monasteries" by such dedication. This is more than a nice daydream. It is Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-20279997048917478962023-09-22T15:09:00.000-04:002023-09-22T15:09:39.680-04:00How Do I Become a Cloistered Heart? How to be cloistered in heart? Short answer: by a total gift of self to God. Long answer: by looking at the steps a person takes to live in a physical cloister, and discovering if some of those aspects can be applied to living in the world.The person entering a physical cloister does not stick her head in today and leave her arms and legs dangling outside to be cloistered atNancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-32259814646830167592023-09-16T14:42:00.001-04:002023-09-16T14:42:38.090-04:00The Cloistered Heart: An Introduction What is a "cloistered heart?" It is an analogy in which our lives can be seen as "monasteries," places where God is loved and lived for and served. Our call is to be in the world but not of the world. This is not a new or different idea; rather, it is an emphasizing, a kind of "underlining," of every Christian's call. Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.com0United States37.09024 -95.7128918.780006163821156 -130.869141 65.400473836178847 -60.556641tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-79078622837494037372018-10-16T03:30:00.000-04:002018-10-19T10:02:52.174-04:00Lost in His Heart
'I feel entirely lost in this divine Heart. It is as though I were in a fathomless abyss, in which He discloses to me treasures of love and of grace for those who consecrate and sacrifice themselves to give and procure for Him all the honor, love and glory in their power.'
St. Margaret Mary
public domain photo
This is a repost from the archives of 6/12/15.
Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-44638015668080405902018-08-30T03:30:00.000-04:002018-08-30T03:30:00.511-04:00The Name of Our Redemption
'How happy we will be if,
at the hour of our death,
as well as during the whole
of our lives, we pronounce
the Sacred Name of our
Savior with due respect.
It will be like a password
with which we freely enter
into heaven, for it is the
name of our redemption.'
St. Francis de Sales
Painting: Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-72370865439141987462018-08-12T20:13:00.001-04:002018-08-12T20:13:16.673-04:00Our Patroness
The concept of the cloistered heart
can be said to have several "patrons," but one saint in particular
serves as a primary role model. Why? Perhaps the following will
help, at least a little, to answer that question....
St. Jane de Chantal was Francis de
Sales' co-founder of the Visitation of Holy Mary. Before becoming a nun,
however, Jane was a young widow consulting St.Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-19533424519361610652018-06-08T03:30:00.000-04:002018-06-08T03:30:09.345-04:00The Cloistered Heart of St. Margaret Mary
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's was a heart filled with fire. Jesus chose to reveal to this Visitation nun a Heart ablaze - His own Sacred Heart. I think it's accurate to say that the saint encountered the Fire of Jesus' love and reflected it back to Him. Love met love, Heart met heart, Fire met fire. But the story did not end there.
Jesus entrusted to Margaret Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-21695583464857205242018-05-31T00:00:00.000-04:002018-05-31T00:00:02.375-04:00Revisiting Visitations
The
Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is one of my favorite feasts. On so many
levels, it speaks to my life as a cloistered
heart.
Mary
visited Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56) because she had BEEN Visited by God. She
didn't go to Elizabeth alone - she went with the Presence of Christ inside her.
As one living "cloistered for Jesus" in the midst of the world, I
carry Christ Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-10186195339527434042018-05-20T00:00:00.000-04:002018-05-20T13:16:01.734-04:00Pentecost'Veni Creator Spiritus!
Breathe on me, life giving Spirit of God,
come as a Wind.
I am dead, quicken Thou me.
I am listless, inoperative, lukewarm, indolent,
revive Thou me.
Sweep from my soul all its torpor,
all its indifference, all its decay.
'Veni Creator Spiritus!
Come as a Fire.
I need the fire that destroyeth all things rank and gross.
Many such elements are in my soul.
I need the fire Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-55528720372883544112018-05-06T20:58:00.000-04:002018-05-06T20:58:58.302-04:00What IS a Cloistered Heart?
We ask ourselves the question now and then, in different ways.
Is 'The Cloistered Heart' an analogy? (yes). Is it a way of life? (yes). Is The Cloistered Heart an article, a book, a blog? Is it Catholic? Is it people who pray for the Church and the world and one another?
The Cloistered Heart is basically an analogy in which our lives can be seen asNancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-27525521460422956532018-04-27T15:20:00.000-04:002018-04-27T15:20:04.122-04:00Jesus Through the GrilleNancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-25416878316281842182018-04-24T13:21:00.001-04:002018-04-24T13:21:47.446-04:00Cloistered Heart Easter Blessings! Christ has Risen, Alleluia!
During her final illness and prior to her death, on August 30, 2017, Nancy expressed her ongoing desire that the blog continue after her death. It has taken a while to get things organized so as to be ready to honor Nancy's wishes and begin to send out posts from The Cloistered Heart blog for those who were faithful followers and those who will discover it anew.
During Nancy's Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-37693905307525013372017-08-28T11:01:00.001-04:002017-08-28T11:05:31.275-04:00Ours is No Modified Habit
Painting: Ferdinand WagnerNancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-51722875116298604002017-08-25T07:48:00.001-04:002017-08-25T08:43:51.924-04:00So what IS a Cloistered Heart?
We try to put a "what is this?" post here from time to time, a brief look at the basic cloistered heart "analogy" for anyone wondering what this blog is about.
It's time to do this again! The following is from our archives:
The "Cloistered Heart" is basically an analogy in which our lives can be seen as
"monasteries," places where God is loved and lived for and
served.
Our
call Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-7836840099452040352017-08-23T12:17:00.002-04:002017-08-23T12:17:20.969-04:00Go Forward...
Welcome, Breadbox Letters friends!
Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-76917630096913449902017-08-20T07:56:00.000-04:002017-08-20T07:56:45.641-04:00Walking Toward the JetNancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6509359853321953022.post-54146283567224781552017-08-18T11:47:00.000-04:002017-08-18T11:49:15.883-04:00And In the Wind
There is change
in the air as a storm approaches. The wind picks up, clouds
gather, there may be a distant clap of thunder. As lightning
flashes around us, we race for shelter.
Monastery
grounds and walls are as subject to storms as those of any other
building. They get slapped with rain, pelted with sleet. Inhabitants of the cloister might find
themselves standing Nancy Shumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584199691076992017noreply@blogger.com0