Norbertine Canonesses of the Bethlehem Priory of St. Joseph
Contact
Mother Mary Oda, O.Praem.
Prioress
17831 Water Canyon Road
Tehachapi, CA 93561
prioress@norbertinecanonesses.org
norbertinecanonesses.org
Dioceses
Fresno, CA
Mission
Shortly after founding his community of canons at Prémontré in 1121, St. Norbert also received women into his Order, beginning with the noble widow, Ricvera of Clastres. This incorporation of women perfectly corresponded with the ideal and the spirit of St. Norbert and his first followers, who wished to revive that way of life in which the Apostles “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers” (Acts 1:14). Like the Norbertine canons, Norbertine canonesses are consecrated for the service of divine worship and vow to live “according to the Gospel of Christ and the Apostolic way of life” (from the formula of solemn profession). However, the canonesses fulfill the wholly contemplative dimension of this Norbertine propositum and thus live a cloistered contemplative life with a truly apostolic spirit.
As Norbertine Canonesses, we are especially dedicated to the solemn and reverential celebration of the Church’s Sacred Liturgy, which we celebrate in continuity with the tradition of our Premonstratensian Order, and upholding the traditions of Gregorian chant and the Latin language. Following the Rule of St. Augustine, we joyfully live out our cloistered canonical vocation in community, within the monastic rhythms of the liturgy and lectio divina, of silence and recollection, of penance, manual labor and study. Our monastery is nestled in a quiet valley in the heart of California’s Tehachapi Mountains, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno. It is here, amidst the natural beauty of God’s creation, that we seek to continue the 900-year-old tradition began by St. Norbert and his first followers.
Qualifications
Single Catholic woman with a desire to give herself to God in a life of prayer and sacrifice; willingness to embrace a life of daily conversion; ability to live joyfully in community while cultivating the silence of the contemplative life
Formation
12-24 months of aspirancy, which may include one or more periods spent experiencing our life within the enclosure; 1 year of postulancy; 2 years of novitiate; 6-9 years of temporary vows prior to solemn profession
Belated Vocations
Contact community as to possible discernment as donata