Category: Readings

The New Beguines: Customs and Practices by Sister Kate We are living a social experiment.   We are very public to the world and unprotected, so we are protecting our energies in other subtle ways, like the no hugging rule.  We are against hugging or any intimate personal contact with people outside our tribe.  When we…

About the Beguines: The Wisdom of the Beguines Summer Moon Ceremony June 2017 Laura Swan, a historian and author of Wisdom of the Beguines It was the Beguines’ skill in caring for the poor, the sick, and the dying that earned these women the respect of townspeople, local authorities, and, at first, church leaders.  The…

About the Beguines:  Our Beguine Mothers Source:  The Wisdom of the Beguines Traders Moon Ceremony November 14, 2016 Women who were called ‘Beguines’ were from every social class – aristocrats, merchants and guild members, widows or daughters of knights, the urban poor as well as rural poor. The very first Beguine communities, the very first…

About the Beguines: The Beguines and the Beghards A reading from the Wisdom of the Beguines. Pp 11-15; Quiet Moon Ceremony dedicated to reviewing and reaffirming core beliefs, Quiet Moon, March 2017 The Beguines were a phenomenal way of life that swept across Europe, yet they were never a religious order or a formalized movement.…

About the Beguines: The Influence of Catholicism Source:  The Wisdom of the Beguines The Beguines pre-dated Christianity and though they lived together, worked together, dressed alike, and prayed together, their mission was not to spread any kind of dogma.  Their mission was to rescue women from poverty and give them independence and property (wealth).  They…

About the Beguines: The Model for the Sisterhood Beguines lived and ministered primarily in the growing urban areas of Europe — the principal exception were Beguines who worked with lepers, since lepers were not permitted in cities.  Beguines worked and prayed and socialized together but also maintained close contact with family, friends, and neighbors. While…

Visions of Autonomy by Lina Samuelsson, Thesis submitted, Stockholm University, March 2017 It was clear why the Beguines provided such a fruitful role model for the Sisters.  Just like the Sisters, the Beguines did business: they did not root their existence on gifts and alms.  Similarly, they prayed, prepared natural remedies, and engaged in protest…