Charism and Spirituality

We, the Colettine Poor Clare Nuns of Kokomo, Indiana, are a cloistered contemplative community called to follow Christ in a Gospel form of life according to the tradition of Ss. Francis and Clare of Assisi. We see our vocation at this time in history as a special way of rebuilding the Church by living at the heart of the New Evangelization through our life of prayer and penance.  

Over 800 Years of Tradition

Jesus is our life.  It was the love of Jesus and His poor Mother, especially in their poverty and humility, that inspired our founders to dedicate themselves to the Gospel life in the thirteenth century.  Today our own community is caught up in the same great adventure of this timeless ideal. 
 

A Eucharistic Life

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and daily Eucharistic Adoration are at the heart of our contemplative life.  This spirit of prayer permeates our day, whether we are praying the Liturgy of the Hours, fulfilling our everyday work or enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. 

Papal Enclosure:  A Choice of Love

We cherish our vow of enclosure of enclosure as a liberating gift that enables us to love and serve all people by our hidden lives of prayer and penance, silence and solitude.  Like our Mother St. Clare, we are co-workers of God and a support for the frail members of the Body of Christ through our union with Him.

Modeled on Mary

Our monastery is dedicated to Maria Regina Mater.  We claim her as the Queen and Mother of our spiritual family and look to her example of faith and obedience to God’s plan as we model our daily fiat on hers.

Spiritual Motherhood

By our religious consecration, we are wed to Christ as His brides. This union enlarges our hearts to make us spiritual mothers through the total gift of ourselves to God and His Church.
 

The Grace of Working

Like St. Clare, we her daughters call work a grace.  Through our manual labor, we serve one another in charity and provide for our simple material needs.
 

Happy-Hearted Penance

The penances we embrace are one way of returning love for Love.  Fasting, bare feet, never eating meat and rising at midnight for Matins are some of the sacrifices we undertake with our sisters each day.
 

A Shared Life and Ideals

As spiritual sisters drawn together by God’s own design, we believe that each of us was handpicked by the Lord.  We share the humble tasks of everyday living as we foster a joyful and united fraternal life based on charity, prayer, work, patience and a sense of humor.  Our holy habit is a particular reminder to us of our shared life and ideals.

We affectionately call St. Colette of Corbie our second mother, since it was she who preserved for us the primitive Rule of St. Clare.  It was her God-given mission to recapture the original spirit of San Damiano and bring new life to the Poor Clare Order in the fifteenth century.  We seek to keep this life viable and vibrant even now in the 21 ^st century.