For those of you interested in relocating, did you know that there is such a thing as a Catholic community in the United States? In Arkansas, one such community is called Star of the Sea Village:
"Catholic families, singles, and retired couples have chosen to relocate from all corners of the United States to a quiet, rural setting in northeastern Arkansas. This is in a sincere attempt to leave many of the secular trappings of the world behind while embracing and encouraging one another to live their vocation in life in a way pleasing to Almighty God. You will find an eclectic mix of Catholic neighbors, spread over 1,000 acres commonly known as and dedicated to our Lady under her title ‘Star of the Sea.’
"St. Michael’s Catholic Church, located less than five miles away, offers Mass in both the English and the Traditional Latin Rite (as an apostolate of the Fraternity of St. Peter.) Common to all residents is faithfulness to the Pope, the magisterium and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Perpetual Adoration of Our Lord draws many to St. Michael’s. The chapel has been a place of perpetual prayer for the past five years.
"Families at Star of the Sea privately hold property and individual families decide the degree to which each participates in community activities. Residents become part of a much larger family. Individuals and families can gain spiritual growth through local parish programs, attending daily mass and through the reception of the sacraments. Property owners have the option of belonging to the New Entity Corporation, the corporation that owns unsold land at Star of the Sea.
"Ave Maria Hall, with adjacent tennis/basketball court and soccer field, is the common area. Community activities have included the annual May crowning of our Blessed Mother, Fourth of July parties, the August rededication ceremony to St. Philomena, and the traditional All Hallow’s Eve celebration (door-to-door ‘saintly visits’ followed by hayrides and a bonfire). Prayer, including the Holy Rosary, is a common devotion at most gatherings. Presently, community prayer is held at the Hall once a week."
Sounds like a project of which both our current Holy Father and St. Benedict of Nursia, the saint from whom Pope Benedict took his name, would approve, given that it is very much reminiscent of the Benedictine spirituality of creating Catholic communities in which the faith and the faithful can grow and flourish.
What a unique concept. God bless them as they try to build their community.
Great idea … but I’m a bit perplexed as to why they’d choose Star of the Sea when they’re in Arkansas 🙂
Hang on for a minute, though. How do they justify hole-ing themselves up like this? I admit, there have been days when I felt at my very limit with secular society, and I fantasized about attaining Vatican citizenship. But is it not clear in the Bible that we’re meant to spread out a little, and to spread the Word, especially to people most in need of it? Also, I could be taking this out of context–easy to do with the Old Testament–but in Exodus, didn’t God punish those who refused to do so, by confusing them and making them babble? (It was partly for their pride, and partly because they didn’t spread out). The apostles didn’t stay in one place, and it’s always been the Church’s way to go out into the world and witness to those most in need of witnessing. (On the other hand, I know that we’re all part of One Church and that not everyone’s duties are the same.) This Catholic community sounds like a wonderful place, but I have trouble reconciling their objective with my understanding.
While I’m on the subject, something about the morality of relocating confuses me. I was taught in religion class that you should stay somewhat close to your family. In other words, that relocating without proportionate cause is wrong. It’s been too long ago for me, to remember details. Would anyone like to comment on this?
I meant Genesis, not Exodus. Arrrgh.
St. Benedict and his brother monastics separated themselves from the world. And that was how their message was spread.
When I first heard of this, I thought, wow….great! Now all I have to do is find a job nearby. Then upon further reflection, I thought, that might foster a fortress mentality. Not to mention that I would not have neighbors (or perhaps co-workers) to evangelize. Better to remain in my predominantly Jewish neighborhood, and be a Christ-bearer.
It may be nice for the founding generation, but you know that things will change once children become adults and start raising their own kids. This is the perennial looming cloud on the horizon for experiments of this sort. One hopes the founding generation is fully aware and realistic about that.
Who knew? I live just a few hours from Star of the Sea and this is the first I have heard of them. It sounds great to me.
Maybe the best way to “spread out” would be to have communities like this all over the place. I think such a place could be a powerful witness.
Withdrawing (to some extent) from a sick society might be the only sane thing to do.
Ronda Chervin, the former Jewish/Athiest convert to Catholicism and professional Philosopher/Writer, lives in this community. She was featured on EWTN’s The Journey Home a week or two ago, and she’s fascinating. She is putting forward the idea to Rome of consecrated widows, and is a compelling speaker and thinker. I don’t think she’s holing up in the community trying to get away from it all. I think it is like any home – it nourishes her and strengthens her to get back out there and do the work of God.
This type of community is obviously not for everyone, but I think it’s well-suited to Chervin and probably to many other intellectual types like her, whose personal vocation is more inclined to reflection and study. A place like this would drive my mom nuts, who at 70 is out of the house nearly every day volunteering somewhere or helping at the church. There is a similar community very close to where I live, they call it a “traditional community” with a school and everything you would need. I would guess that 90% of the residents are Christian of some sort. But it is located within 10 minutes of my town. Looks like Star of the Sea is a little more remote than that. Still is an interesting concept!
Also, we can’t forget the power of words and ideas (ie publishing) – not every evangelisation needs to be accomplished through one to one contact.
I think this is a great idea for those who think they’re called to do it. If people go there for an escape, I agree that such a move is not “Christian” in nature. But if it’s done more out of a kind of “family monasticism” or witness, it can be a powerful, spiritually fruitful choice.
Chervin’s example is a good one; it’s not really possible to hide in today’s world unless one seriously goes off the grid. If these families have internet access and work outside the community, then they aren’t isolated.
I’m a little lost here on people thinking we need to be a part of the world. Living in community is not seclusion from the world. The purpose of community is to build each other up, not to provide continued challenges to our faith. The fact that you would choose like minded people to do so seems rational to me.
It seems like a great thing for those who are called to it.
However, it’s my personal opinion that most lay people are called to be in the world but not of the world.
There are many possible pitfalls to avoid, some of which have already been mentioned.
Keep in mind that utopianism is a condemned heresy. Not that such a project is inherently utopian, but it could easily go that way.
If you check out this link, “Cardinal Ratzinger on the New Evangelization,” it may be instructive for the pros and cons of such an experiment:
http://www.ewtn.com/new_evangelization/Ratzinger.htm
Rebecca wrote, “Also, we can’t forget the power of words and ideas (ie publishing) – not every evangelisation needs to be accomplished through one to one contact.”
1) Be careful.
Words and ideas are certainly powerful, but we can’t reduce our faith to them. This was a frequent theme of Ratzinger and JPII.
I’m not saying that you’re in danger of implicitly reducing our faith to words and ideas. But this is a temptation of mine, and a temptation of many many other people. So this warning is not necessarily addressed to Rebecca, but “to whom it may concern.”
2) Certainly preaching the Gospel does not always require one to one contact.
However, I have never heard of any conversions in which face to face evangelization was not involved.
Certainly books and internet resources can and do play a part in conversions, perhaps even a predominant role in some cases.
And yet, the witness of friendship, the supportive environment of friendship, seems to be an essential element for conversion.
These are my unscientific anecdotal observations, so if anyone has experience contrary to what I’m saying, let me know.
One more thing. Rebecca wrote, “This type of community is obviously not for everyone, but I think it’s well-suited to Chervin and probably to many other intellectual types like her, whose personal vocation is more inclined to reflection and study. A place like this would drive my mom nuts, who at 70 is out of the house nearly every day volunteering somewhere or helping at the church.”
We all have to serve. Different people will serve in different ways. Everyone is called to serve through prayer. Not everyone is called to serve by volunteering.
Study and reflection do not fulfill and cannot replace our joyful obligation of service and prayer. Because, study and reflection are NOT prayer, unless they are made prayer by consciously offering up such activities as done for God and in the pursuit of God. Indeed, study and reflection can be a profound distraction from prayer, as in these words that St. John of the Cross wrote about me:
“Many can never have enough of listening to counsels and learning spiritual precepts, and of possessing and reading many books which treat of this matter, and they spend their time on all these things rather than on works of mortification and the perfecting of the inward poverty of spirit which should be theirs.”
Maybe I’m preaching to the choir here and/or going off on a tangent.
Catholic families, singles, and retired couples have chosen to relocate from all corners of the United States to a quiet, rural setting in northeastern Arkansas. This is in a sincere attempt to leave many of the secular trappings of the world behind while embracing and encouraging one another to live their vocation in life in a way pleasing to Almighty God.
Funny, my Bible says “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations,” “the gospel must first be preached to all the nations,” and “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” My Bible asks “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”
This village is not a religious order with a specific vocation, these are whole families we’re talking about. I don’t see how holing up in escapist/isolationist villages fulfills the Gospel calling to be salt and light to the world. The Lord advises us not to “light a lamp and put it under a basket.”
But, someone protests, not every evangelisation needs to be accomplished through one to one contact. I agree. But neither will evangelization occur if there is no one-on-one contact. Every potential convert must eventually come face to face with members of the group to which he converts. It is not possible to become Catholic otherwise.
Another protests, I’m a little lost here on people thinking we need to be a part of the world.
Maybe this will help: “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” Jesus wants us protected from Satan, evil, and sin, but not removed from the world.
The same person said: Living in community is not seclusion from the world. It is seclusion when “this is in a sincere attempt to leave many of the secular trappings of the world behind.” Including the non-Catholic people of the world, apparently.
Ryan wrote: I have never heard of any conversions in which face to face evangelization was not involved.
You’re onto something. You’ve never seen it precisely because Catholicism makes it impossible for a person to convert without personal contact with members of the Church. People of Korea, like Saint Andrew Kim, wanted to convert to Catholicism even before they had ever met Catholics, but they could not actually convert to Catholicism until they had met Catholics.
If people mean they want to remove themselves from sin and wicked passions when they say they want to remove from “the world,” that’s fine. You can do that at home.
But if people are removing themselves from other people, and especially people who desperately need the Gospel, I see no justification for it. That’s not right.
Against It,
If they reject it, we are also to shake the dust off our feet and go. Regardless, the verse I cited here and the ones you’ve cited speak to missionary activity. Additionally when you speak of being Light, I can think of no better way than showering the countryside with the light from a vibrant Catholic community.
As Jimmy wrote many posts down, there are emerging many more challenges to living in the world. Often we are called to sin or to abet sin just to survive. (See the post regarding Remote Sin and Selling Items.) Missionary work is just one part of the Church. Cloistered nuns serve an invaluable service to the Kingdom, yet they are certainly not in the world.
Just as an aside, I think if you read through the site for Star of the Sea, you will find that they caution people about the soft (i.e. nonexistent) job market in the community, and that many husbands will be commuting an hour away. Sounds like civilization is not too far away. I used to commute 1.5 hours each way to work, it’s do-able; it also made me *very* grateful for my quiet, somewhat in the country home.
This combox lists numerous pros and cons as to why this could be a good or a bad idea (respectively).
It would seem to me, then, that some might be called to this kind of place while others are not. Some are called to forage into unknown territory; others are called to stay behind and defend the homefront. It would be a mistake, then, to consider either the foragers or the defenders as “better” than the other; both are necessary.
Liam says: It may be nice for the founding generation, but you know that things will change once children become adults and start raising their own kids. This is the perennial looming cloud on the horizon for experiments of this sort. One hopes the founding generation is fully aware and realistic about that.
Knowing nothing about the founding generation of Star of the Sea, AK, I join my hopes with Liam’s. Hopefully, succeeding generations of Star of the Sea citizens will grow their municipality while remaining faithful to the Church. Who can predict the power of a growing metropolis, rooted in the Catholic faith, burgeoning in the heartland of America, would have on the rest of the nation?
Far from “foster(ing) a fortress mentality,” this could potentially be the greatest tool of evangelization this country has ever seen.
Of course, that’s only “potentially,” not “definitively.”
We’ll never know unless someone tries!
Against it writes: If people mean they want to remove themselves from sin and wicked passions when they say they want to remove from “the world,” that’s fine. You can do that at home.
But if people are removing themselves from other people, and especially people who desperately need the Gospel, I see no justification for it. That’s not right.
This pretty much sums up my feeling about it. Keeping a Catholic home in the midst of others, showing hospitality to others in your home, and witnessing as a visible organization by performing good works in the form of Church services brings more light into society than a remote light from a far away fortress.
M.Z. Forrest writes: Additionally when you speak of being Light, I can think of no better way than showering the countryside with the light from a vibrant Catholic community.
The light would be like that of a star in the sky–visible, but far away. Can you read a book by the light of a star?
Against It also writes: This village is not a religious order with a specific vocation, these are whole families we’re talking about. I don’t see how holing up in escapist/isolationist villages fulfills the Gospel calling to be salt and light to the world. The Lord advises us not to “light a lamp and put it under a basket.”
Again, those are my sentiments. Are families called to a life of prayer, as a calling and vocation? There is much more to being a family than devoting an entire life to prayer. Needs must be met; children must be nurtured, cared for, and educated. There is a reason for the cloistering of religious orders–their vocation is one of prayer. Cloisters are the means by which carrying out this unusual vocation is made possible.
I’m fascinated by Amish country, but to say that they shine a bright light that inspires me to become Amish is saying a bit too much–that’s just me. Star of the Sea also doesn’t seem to have the aspirations the Amish do, of giving people a reason to come and check them out from within. I don’t see Star of the Sea becoming a curiosity for very many. A secularist looking from afar is going to conclude other things about them, which will go by uncorrected because of the isolated nature of this community–conclusions of which the least likely would probably be, “What an inspiration”.
+J.M.J+
Well, the website does say that the community is “predominantly Catholic.” This must mean that some people there are not Catholic, so there is opportunity for witness. I’m sure people who live there would also encounter non-Catholics at work, etc. I rather like the idea, but I’m not going to move that far away from the rest of my family.
In Jesu et Maria,
If the primary goal of my life is to not sin, then it makes sense for me to live in the community that will best support me in that endeavor.
If the primary goal of my life is to not sin, then I am a very lost person indeed.
If they reject it, we are also to shake the dust off our feet and go.
Go take the Gospel to other people, not off by yourself to Catholic Utopiaville.
when you speak of being Light, I can think of no better way than showering the countryside with the light from a vibrant Catholic community
I can think of much better ways: ways that don’t include hiding the light under a basket where no one will ever notice or see it.
Missionary work is just one part of the Church.
Missionary work is everyone’s vocation, no exceptions.
Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici (On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World)
if you read through the site for Star of the Sea, you will find that they caution people about the soft (i.e. nonexistent) job market in the community, and that many husbands will be commuting an hour away
That’s even more outrageous.
If the primary goal of my life is to not sin, then it makes sense for me to live in the community that will best support me in that endeavor.
Fleeing the people who most need the Gospel, hiding the light under a basket, and not preaching the Gospel to every nation and creature is a sin. So if living in this town hinders any member of your family in his or her missionary responsibility, don’t move there!
against it, read the next sentence I posted after the one you quoted.
I am saying that utopian escapism (which btw is much different than monastic life) seems like it’s coming from a faulty understanding of what our goal is on this earth.
I’m saying that our primary goal on this earth is NOT merely to avoid sin.
Our primary goal on this earth is NOT merely to be a good person.
JPII and Ratzinger have spoken out very emphatically against those who reduce Christianity to moralism.
I’m saying that our primary goal on this earth is NOT merely to avoid sin.
I misunderstood your next sentence, then. It sounded like you were just expressing a Charlie Brown-esque “my life is so messed up it’s almost hopeless” rather than “hey, that isn’t the real goal, people.” If you mean the latter, I agree with you completely.
I find the condescending attitudes of those who term this attempt “utopianism” rather insulting. I suppose you can go up to a cloistered monk and call him a “utopianist”? After all, cloistered monks are one of the few groups of people to have successfully implemented a form of Communism.
All this talk about this being a “The Village”-like cop-out all operate on the assumption that this attempt at a good Catholic community is done on the basis of fear or contempt of the outside world (something Jesus would condemn). There is no evidence of that here. And even then, let these same people condemn the Pilgrims who came to America for precisely that reason…fear of their own worlds.
As was noted earlier, the workers of the community have to commute up to an hour to get to work. They work in the outside world. Hardly counts as a withdrawal to me.
If those who sneer “utopianism” at this project wish to put their money where their mouth is, let them abandon their comfy suburban homes and return to live in the inner city. After all, Suburbia was created with a little utopia in mind….
JonathanR wrote, “those who sneer “utopianism” at this project wish to put their money where their mouth is, let them abandon their comfy suburban homes and return to live in the inner city.”
1) My very first words on the topic were, “It seems like a great thing for those who are called to it.
2) Your words demonstrate an utter ignorance of my personal circumstances.
As was noted earlier, the workers of the community have to commute up to an hour to get to work. They work in the outside world. Hardly counts as a withdrawal to me.
The fact that workers have to commute an hour to get to the outside world probably means the people who aren’t commuting (likely the majority) have virtually no contact with the world they’re supposed to be evangelizing.
let these same people condemn the Pilgrims who came to America for precisely that reason…fear of their own worlds.
*LOL* I do think the Pilgrims were theologically unsound! I certainly don’t condone their freakish religion!
If those who sneer “utopianism” at this project wish to put their money where their mouth is, let them abandon their comfy suburban homes and return to live in the inner city.
Guess who among us is not living in a suburban escape community?
As I said before, this village is not a religious order made up of unmarried individuals with a specific vocation, these are whole families we’re talking about.
If people mean they want to remove themselves from sin and wicked passions when they say they want to remove from “the world,” that’s fine. You can do that at home.
But if people are removing themselves from other people, and especially people who desperately need the Gospel, I see no justification for it. That’s not right.
I don’t quite understand the hostility towards having a Catholic community. In reading the website, they don’t seem to be running away from anything so much as running TOWARD something. Specifically, toward an environment that encourages them “to live their vocation”. That doesn’t exclude evangelization. A strong community (whether parish or Bible study group)helps Christians go out, evangelize, and re-group afterwards. What’s wrong with establishing a community that supports people in following their belief? I don’t read too many of you arguing against attending Catholic schools and universities or running Catholic assisted-living communities for the elderly.
Besides, I was one of Catholics who went out into the world and ended up converting to its immorality. Ironically, two of the most hostile and anti-Christian people I knew in those years -including one who celebrated the assasination attempt on JPII – ended up drawn to Catholic institutions and converting.
I think that a Catholic community might very well be a light to the world. In my job and community, I often hear people – supposedly good Christians – who talk and act as if worldly evils are inevitable; e.g. “Well, unmarried people these days are going to have sex, so what can you do?” They aren’t bad people, but they’ve been broken down by the constant barrage of our society. It might be nice to have a public place – as opposed to a retreat house or cloister – where people can be reminded that Christ’s way of life is still LIVABLE for ordinary people.
Oh, I just read Jimmy’s comments about apologetics, and realized that this community would be PERFECT for cyber-preachers. (And for the naysayers who think all evangelization must be physically face-to-face, I can just say that this is the new way of going to where the unsaved are.
Wow! I didn’t expect this post to draw so many comments. For now, per Rule 2, let’s table the discussion. Thanks for all the input and comments, everyone! 🙂