Dominican Study

When St. Dominic founded the Order, he gave pride of place to study. In fact, he instituted dispensations so that brothers could be dispensed from part of the rule if it impeded their study, which was essential to the preaching apostolate of the Order. Study for Dominicans is a kind of contemplation and asceticism.

Humbert of Romans says that “Study is not the end of the Order, but it is an utmost necessity to that end, which is preaching and laboring for the salvation of souls, for without study we can do neither.” You many wonder how this applies to the contemplative nuns who aren’t out preaching at the pulpit or teaching in schools. For nuns, study nourishes and prepares us for contemplation. Fr. Isidore Clarke OP explains that Dominican contemplation “embraces both prayerful meditation and systematic study—two complementary approaches, nourishing both our hearts and minds in our love for the truth, which is Christ himself.”

A Dominican studies to grow in knowledge of God so as to grow in love of Him. You cannot love what you do not know. As love of God increases so does the desire to know the Beloved more intimately, and so the cycle repeats itself.

Our monastery has always been known for our commitment to study. Study has taken many forms over the years. Decades ago the sisters would gather in the community room on Sundays and listen to a taped lecture together. These days we have a robust library and access to many different options for study. At dinner we listen to taped lectures, and we regularly have Friars come to give a lecture series on a variety of topics.

The newly professed sisters take part in the Monastic Theological Studies program, and the novitiate has an array of required classes taught by our sisters. Distance learning has also been a means of study for us for quite some time. In recent years distance learning has moved to the internet and opened up many new opportunities for study.

One of those opportunities is the Magdala Apostolate, a program that offers free courses for Catholic sisters and nuns provided by the Institute of Catholic Culture. Their vision for the Magdala Apostolate is to be able to provide a free seminary level education for sisters. They are still in the beginning years and are slowly working up to that goal. Classes are held for 2 hours a week over Zoom, running for a semester. Nine of our sisters have participated in the Magdala Apostolate, taking a combined seven classes ranging in topics from Philosophy to Scripture to Catechetics, and there’s been a variety of feedback on their experiences.

The classes sisters have taken are: The Psalms in Liturgy and Prayer (Fr. David Anderson), Introduction to the Catechism (Rev. Msgr. Charles Pope), Johannine Literature (Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo), Intro to the Old Testament (Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo), Intro to the New Testament (Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo) and Biblical Apologetics (Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo).

One of the big difficulties we’ve experienced is the timing of the classes. Because sisters from all over the world (Mainly USA and Canada) attend class, getting the time zones to work is not an easy task. This is made even more difficulty for us, as we need to find a class that fits in between the Divine Office which we pray every 3 hours. Unfortunately, this meant that most of these classes met during Profound Silence, a time sisters are able to rest or nap, so it was a definite struggle to stay awake in class and not crash the rest of the day.

Most sisters had a positive experience with their courses.

One sister wrote: “My experience with Magdala was both positive and negative. It was positive because listening and learning with the other communities was a lot of fun as well as broadening my knowledge of these subjects which I've heard about before and was interested in getting a better understanding of them. It was negative because sometimes the professors would go on and on about random things which made it difficult to understand what we were supposed to be grasping or understanding. To put [it] simply, they were boring and I felt like I was wasting my time.”

Another sister: “The first few classes were very general and I enjoyed them more once we started talking more about specific psalms. I hope it will continue along the lines of our last class and be a positive experience. He has some very strong ideas about scriptural translation that might be controversial. I think this has been a great opportunity to take a deeper look in that field which I didn’t give much thought to before.”

So what did the sisters like about their experience with the Magdala Apostolate?

“ I like that it has given me a lot of questions I would like to pursue to guide my study of scripture.”

“Firstly (and perhaps most obviously) the Magdala Apostolate and its benefactors provide a fantastic opportunity for women religious to receive quality course content, which would otherwise be impossible. This is particularly true for cloistered communities, who are also limited in their choice of educational opportunities by the way in which courses are offered. The online remote format enables contemplatives to participate fully while still respecting enclosure.

Similarly, it offers a rare chance to interact with other women religious in an environment that supports specifically faith-directed learning and offers an open platform for questions that get to the heart of our call to the religious life. Interaction with the wider Church community under these controlled conditions is a real gift to cloistered women, as it offers all the benefits with much fewer influences that can invade the monastic culture of the community.

Thirdly, the course content itself caters to women religious specifically, which makes for an edifying choice of courses that offers real value on the whole for the formation of women religious. In connection with this, it has been wonderful to have professors who are faithful Catholics, dedicated to the Faith and the Church and clearly passionate about both. Dr. Wunsch and Rev. Anderson have both been fantastic in this regard. 

Finally, the perspectives offered by the Magdala Apostolate—such as greater exposure to the traditions of the Byzantine Rite—are a real gift to broaden the horizons of sisters in formation, which makes for an excellent supplement to the formation received within our communities.”       

“As for the Catechism class it was edifying to hear the personal experiences of the professor which helped bring some of the topics to life more. Especially, the topics which were a bit difficult to understand.” 

“Taking classes through Magdala Apostolate offers a broad perspective on the topics which we are learning about. Some of the classes are on subjects which other sisters in the monastery might not have as much expertise, and others can simply provide a very different perspective on the same subject from someone who does not come from the monastic tradition. For example, in our class on the Psalms right now, our professor is a Byzantine rite priest, and I have appreciated being able to experience the differences in perspective and emphasis which come from someone from another rite of the Catholic church. In our philosophy class which we took last year, our professor was a philosophy professor who teaches at Christendom college—it is a wonderful opportunity to be able to take classes from college-level professors in these subjects.”

“I am very grateful for this class as I feel I needed to deepen my knowledge more and more with sacred Scripture. Father Sebastian is very knowledgeable and very engaging. His commentaries of the gospel of St. John are very enlightening, inspiring and meditative. He has such a wealth of knowledge on Sacred Scripture that when he helps me see something clearer, it becomes a "wow moment" for me. Father gave us lecture notes from His new Testament class and these commentaries include so many scriptural references that make your study of sacred scriptures so enlightening.”

“The Magdala Apostolate scripture courses have been life changing for me and have had a profound impact on my contemplative life. I sincerely appreciate Fr. Hezekias and Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo really encouraging us to mark up our bibles. As they say, we are not a people of the book, like Judaism or Islam, but a people of the Word, so we need to do whatever is helpful for absorbing the Word. It has completely changed the way I study the Bible.”

What didn’t they like or what could have been done better?

“ I really wish they would have given homework assignments” (A very common answer!)

“One of the difficulties of offering classes for such a broad group of women is that it is not always easy to manage every class at a single level of learning. The wide levels of experience in our philosophy class, for example, made it difficult for Dr. Wunsch to cater to the needs of everyone in his class, with some needing to thoroughly examine elementary philosophical concepts, while others were hoping to obtain a deeper understanding of the more complex questions of human nature.

Additionally, time spent in class answering questions was often dominant rather than supportive of the lecture content, which made the class feel scattered and lacking in direction at times.

While we have just begun the course on the Psalms, a more detailed summary of class content might aid students in getting a better picture of where the class is heading and the detail of content likely to be covered. Additionally, while Rev. David Anderson’s perspectives on the development of the Psalter within the Church are very interesting and certainly a welcome critique of our approach to Church tradition, a greater coverage of the reasons for the decisions taken by the Church might serve to avoid creating an atmosphere of suspicion of the Church hierarchy generally.”     

”I didn't like how both professors would ramble on about a random topic outside of what we were supposed to be talking about. It made it very boring and difficult to follow.”

“To be perfectly honest, I find it difficult to pay attention to a 2-hour lecture! I wish that they would offer at least some of their classes as two days a week for only 1 hour at a time. While the classes do often have readings assigned, there are no tests or homework, which can sometimes mean that it is difficult to gauge how well you are taking in the information. And even though I really am not a fan of homework, sometimes assignments can help deepen your grasp of the material. I think that might be a helpful addition to the classes.”

How did taking a virtual class from MA impact their life as a Dominican nun?

“ I have often gotten little ideas from the lectures that have directly influenced the way I pray the psalms. For example, I always thought of the psalms as applying most perfectly to Christ but also to us in our personal prayer life. I had never before thought about how the psalms apply to us because they apply to Christ and we are his body.”

“The content of the courses have both been a great supplement to my formation, offering a deeper understanding both of my human development, as well as my integration into the Church and religious life more fully. Praying the Psalms daily as a contemplative, I am benefiting a great deal from the depth of Rev. Anderson’s insights, and praying intently for our culture, it has been fantastic to have a better understanding of the philosophical foundations of the Church’s approach to the human person.”  

“To be honest, I think it affected me to the extent where I don't think I would want to take anymore online courses, especially if the professors don't stay on topic. It actually really undermined my drive to take classes. I think I've been spoiled since being here because when we take classes or hear lectures, there's so little time that the professors have to stay on topic and be precise in explaining things. Where as, when I was in college it was expected that the professors would ramble and go off topic, yet I still found it interesting. Now when it happens I feel like I'm wasting my time and it's boring.”

What do you hope to see them offer in the future?

“Homework”

“I am hoping to participate in some courses on prayer and the navigation of the spiritual life. (I would find a course with some insight into the Byzantine traditions very interesting!) Also, a greater number of classes offered by religious sisters themselves would be welcome.”

“ If they do offer anything else, I would love to take some classes on literature and poetry, and art.”

Overall, 7 of the 9 sisters would recommend the Magdala Apostolate to other sisters/communities.

While the courses are free for sisters, they aren’t free for the Institute which must pay for professors, etc. You can donate to the Magdala Apostolate HERE if you are interested.

The Institute of Catholic Culture also offers free live and self-paced courses open to everyone. There is a vast library of past lectures and series as well. Their goal is to be able to offer to all Catholics a free undergrad level Catholic education.

The ICC’s Mission Statement: The Institute of Catholic Culture is an adult catechetical organization, faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, and dedicated to the Church’s call for a new evangelization. The Institute seeks to fulfill its mission by offering educational programs structured upon the classical liberal arts and by offering opportunities in which authentic Catholic culture is experienced and lived.