When I became Catholic fifteen years ago, I was amazed by all the organizations available to Catholic laypeople. They are the outward, organizational expressions of our “Catholicity”, our call to worship, to serve, to pray, to evangelize. I bet anyone reading this can rattle off a good list of these, from parish-based hospitality groups to Knights of Columbus to the Order of Malta. But there’s a subset of lay organizations based on the charisms of particular religious orders and patterned on the vows that religious make in those orders. These are called, variously, “Secular [name of order],” or “Lay,” or “Third Order,” or “Oblate,” or “Associate.”
Typically, lay associations connected to a religious order follow that order’s rule and express the order’s charism as appropriate for the life of a person in the world. Broadly, they are expected to be practicing Catholics, to pray morning and evening prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, and to adopt particular expressions of the order’s charism and devotion. They may also make vows or promises suited to the lay state.
What Become A Lay Religious?
Why would someone become a “lay” anything? First and foremost, they want a deeper relationship with Christ and see a good fit between their own spiritual inclinations and the charism of a specific order. Or, they may be drawn to the presence of a monastery or priory of religious and find that the community shapes that spirituality, and creates a credible, supportive path to holiness. The advantage of being associated with a community, especially with a component of real obligation, is obvious.
The other, more personal motivator is a personal call to a more rigorous walk with Jesus. As Catholics, we are called to express his love for us: to evangelize, to care for the poor, to convert heretics…Dominicans! If you’re familiar with religious orders or institutes, you know that they each have a specific charism, or gift of the Spirit, that is their principal expression and the basis of their spirituality.
This brings us to a second important factor in this process of discernment: geography. Clearly, if there are no lay groups of any kind in your area, joining one is difficult. However, some orders allow the creation of lay associations relatively easily. Lay Missionaries of Charity has a “low bureaucracy load” and is suited to “start-ups” for those whose personal spirituality emphasizes bringing Christ to the poor. They also meet weekly, which is very helpful for spiritual support and renewal. In the Third Order Carmelite link below, there is a discussion of how one started from scratch at a particular church.
Dominicans, Carmelites, Lay Missionaries of Charity, Benedictines
I spoke to members of three distinct major lay associations: Dominicans, Carmelites, and Lay Missionaries of Charity, and each has a very distinctive charism and a characteristic approach to forming their lay associates. If you are drawn to one particular charism, the structure of the chapters (their meeting times, formation period, hierarchical structure) is something you are bound to accept. All lay associations require prayer daily in the form of Morning and Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. All lay associations that require vows have a substantial period of discernment. For example, the period of discernment and formation is five years for both Carmelites and Dominicans, although after two years, you become “temporarily professed” (in the Dominican verbiage) and are considered a member of the order.
What about Benedictines? The Benedictines are their own species in the world of religious because they are so old and because of their governance structure.
Each monastic community is its own world. The abbot or abbess of the monastery is the ordinary of that monastery. He or she does not answer to the local bishop, but directly to the Holy See. Monasteries have, however, always had laymen associated with them called oblates. Because each monastery is its own entity, each one makes its own rules about oblates: how they are formed, who may become an oblate, and what is required of them to fulfill their commitment. The biggest factor is proximity to the monastery itself: no long-distance oblates, which goes back to the idea of stability. This system creates a community bond between the religious and the laymen, and also is very “tangible,” while other lay groups do not necessarily have a physical home. If you happen to live near a Benedictine monastery, it’s worthwhile to inquire about their oblate program. The spiritual emphasis is on the Rule of St. Benedict and how this can be expressed in the world.
Here are some websites of the biggest lay associations:
- Secular Discalced Carmelites* (OCDS): https://www.secularcarmelite.com/
- Third Order Carmelites (T.O.Carm): https://www.immaculateconceptionforestcity.org/mystical This isn’t a general website but has some good information about starting a T.O.Carm. group.
- Lay Missionaries of Charity: http://laymc.com/
- Lay Dominicans: https://www.laydominicans.org/. This page is on the Eastern Province website, but it has a handy national map to locate chapters.
- Franciscan Tertiaries: Despite my research, I couldn’t find a good central resource for this association. Beware: there is a very accessible website under the name “The Third Order” that is about the Anglican/Episcopalian Order of St. Francis. I’m not sure that they have any canonical status with Rome, which would surprise me, but that raises the question of why they call themselves “Third Order”, since they have no First or Second order Franciscans. Perhaps they consider themselves “grandfathered in”. I find it amusing, as a former Episcopalian, that they don’t love St. Dominic with the same fervor.
*There are two branches of the Carmelite order, Carmelites (sometimes called Carmelites of the Ancient Order) and Discalced Carmelites. I can’t tell you how the distinction works out for the laity because both have the same charism, contemplative prayer.
Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Missionaries_of_Charity_in_Tirana.jpg
