At a time when “we see that the Church suffers so many things and that we are in very bad shape in many aspects, one of the most effective ways to contribute our grain of sand is sanctification itself,” she emphasized.
“So,” she continued, “what better way than to dedicate oneself radically and with all possible effort to one’s own sanctification to give that flower to the Church, right?”
For Sister Raquel, the hermetical life is “a plus within the contemplative life. It’s a more radical silence, a more radical withdrawal from the world” that includes, for example, shortening the time of visits by outsiders.
Ultimately, it’s about “recovering the original charism from Carmel, which at times has been relaxed a bit. It is the hermitical spirit of St. Elias and the early fathers,” Sister Raquel explained.
An open door to the world
The community’s daily schedule is not the world’s schedule.
The nuns rise at 5 a.m. The hours of the day are then dedicated to prayer and study. Holy Mass is at 9 a.m. followed by a time for work, more prayer, and spiritual reading. Lunch is at 1 p.m., and after a short break, the nuns return to work and meditate on lectio divina. After vespers, there is another time of meditation before dinner at 7:30 p.m. They then enjoy 30 minutes of recreation before praying compline at 9 p.m. and then retire for the night.
Despite this rigor and its isolation from the world, the community would like to find an ideal location where they can also leave a door open to the world.
“We intend, if we find the right place, to offer young girls a closer experience of the contemplative life,” Sister Raquel said. They also hope to foster vocations to “be able to form girls in the preciousness of monastic life” and the cultivation of Gregorian chant.
They also keep a small opening to the world through a blog, where they have begun posting some reflections and propose examples of dedication to God such as that of the young girl, Corpus Solá y Valencia, known as “the Maria Goretti of Navarre,” who in 1943 gave her life to keep her virginity in the city of Olite.
“Many young girls are not spoken to about these issues, about giving their youth to God, etc. We, who live apart, don’t have any type of apostolate nor can we speak to people, nor catechize, and it occurred to us to write these entries,” she explained.
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Recovering monastic life
Asked about the difficulty of vocational discernment for youth, the sister answered without hesitation: “It’s easier than it seems. There are girls who go around and around with it too much. Vocation is nothing more than a firm decision to follow Christ radically. No one should expect anything mystical or supernatural. It’s simply a firm decision.”
“We have to recover the monastic life,” Sister Raquel added, “because it is crucial at this time. It is one of the most effective ways the Church has put in place for the salvation of souls and for their flourishing.”
“For the love of the Church and for the love of souls, surrendering one’s life to God is the best thing that can be offered to the Lord,” she concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Nicolás de Cárdenas has been the correspondent for ACI Prensa in Spain since July 2022. In his journalism career he has specialized in socio-religious topics, and he has also worked for local and international civil associations.