A Garden Enclosed
Anglican Compass is proud to announce the republication of the 1907 spiritual classic A Garden Enclosed: Practical Studies in Religious Life by Sister Frances Anna, writing anonymously as “A Sister of the Community of St. Mary.” This community is the oldest Anglican religious order in the United States. Below is an introduction by the Rev. Brandon LeTourneau, who has also added selected classic prayers to each chapter of this volume.
“Vocation” comes from the Latin word “vocare,” which simply means “call.” All Christians have been called by the voice of Christ, which they recognize to be none other than the voice of the Good Shepherd.
Sister Frances Anna, C.S.M., writes in her little volume A Garden Enclosed: “God speaks to every soul he calls into being.” All in Christ have heard his voice, and therefore all in Christ have received a call, a “vocation.” Sister Frances reminds her readers that this call is put explicitly to every new candidate for Holy Baptism by the Prayer Book: “Will you obediently keep God’s holy will and commandments, and walk in them all the days of your life?”
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To assent to this inquiry made by the Prayer Book is to assent to all future callings and commands that God may place upon the newly christened soul.
Many Callings, One Body
From this common call are distinguished the myriads of individual Christian callings. It is because the Church is one Body that it is at all possible to discern its members. A hand or foot knows its duty to the rest of the body, facilitated by the guidance of the head—the Body of Christ is no different. From the common call—“be holy!”—manifests the many spectacular gifts recounted by St. Paul, just as every nerve and tendon participates in the common life of your body. The only difference is that nerves and tendons are confident that they are nerves and tendons; the same cannot be said of every Christian.
The World’s Presumption
The world is fraught with presumption. There are assumed base states and predetermined inevitabilities. Entitlements, rights, and prerogatives are frequently taken for granted. “Surely,” exclaims one neighbor, “nobody is expected to live like that anymore.” “God would never call me to this,” chuckles another. Yet, for those of us within Christ’s Church, the Holy Scriptures have promised a very different sort of outlook. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” exhorts St. Paul.
“Fear and trembling”? Why? Because these require a level of attentiveness to one’s soul. Unfortunately, attentiveness is diametrically opposed to presumption. To these words are annexed many promises within God’s Word, which stand in stark contrast to presumption’s lackadaisical method. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,” writes St. James. St. Paul confesses that God healed him of his conceit by sending him a “messenger of Satan.” Even our Lord promises that the Christian will be hated by all, and—as if this were not enough already—he insists that only those who endure this hatred will be saved. Trials, tormenting spirits, and the hatred of mankind are the lot of the Christian. These are the base statuses and generalities the Scriptures expect.
The Courage of Christian Calling
If this is truly the Christian status quo, what then can be said of the unique Christian occupations and vocations? If this is the common milieu from which the Christian is diversified by God’s providence, how strange then those many giftings mentioned by St. Paul must be! How utterly unlike and contrary to lazy passivity and generalizations! If the Christian faith is contra mundum, Christian callings must then all possess within themselves some form of the virtue of fortitude, what we call “courage.” This is to say that Christian vocation is far more grand than it is convenient simply because the Christian Faith is such. And just as the Christian faith does not fit into contemporary cultural molds, neither does the individual Christian’s calling.
But how does one slay soul-wrecking presumptions? The very difficult—yet valiant—work of discernment. This is the monumental task that lies before every Christian soul and remains a paramount duty for every parish, diocese, and province to facilitate.
The Call of Religious Life
Within the Church’s work of discernment, the Lord beckons a privileged few toward what we traditionally call “Religious Life.” These persons, like Elijah and St. John the Baptist, God has called into a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience; a life of prophetic witness to the world for the salvation of souls and the benefit of Christ’s Church. They are what we most often call “monastics.”
The Christian Faith has always teemed with such persons from its earliest days, and they are never to be found far from monumental works of the Spirit. God the Holy Spirit—as the Spirit of Truth who leads into all truth—has never failed to lead the people of God, whether out of Egypt or into the monastery. Wherever his call is most felt, there you find the “Religious.”
Sister Frances’ Practical Wisdom
It is to these kinds of persons that A Garden Enclosed is written, particularly women. Sr. Frances wrote it as an aid to those courageous women discerning a call to consecrated life, who are contemplating becoming “nuns,” used in conjunction with the Holy Spirit’s direction and the guidance of the Church. Those who read Sr. Frances’s little treatise will immediately discover it full of practical wisdom. As a consecrated nun herself, she serves as a knowledgeable guide to those following her footsteps and the countless other precious souls who have likewise walked in obedience to their Savior. I commend it as a resource to women discerning their call within Christ’s Church, as well as to every pastor and director entrusted with the profound duty of aiding them in this endeavor.
Sr. Frances’ words are no less significant today than they were when they were first penned. In fact, we—even you—may be in need of them more now than ever before.
May the soul of Sr. Frances and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Buy A Garden Enclosed now at Amazon.
Image: photograph by terra24 courtesy of Getty Images, sourced and modified through Canva by Jacob Davis.
A Garden Enclosed: Practical Studies in Religious Life
First published in 1907, A Garden Enclosed is a hidden gem of Anglican spirituality-an intimate and practical guide to the inner life written by Sister Frances Anna, writing anonymously as “A Sister of the Community of St. Mary.” This community was the first Anglican religious order founded in America.With the gentle authority of lived experience,…
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