COSJ PRIESTS AND BROTHERS

The Contemplatives of Saint Joseph priests and brothers live a deep life of contemplative prayer while simultaneously serving a dynamic and fruitful active apostolate within the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Our contemplative life is formed by the monastic spiritual tradition; hence, we are monks. Yet we are monks who live our vocations fully within the world, similar to the active Benedictine monks who serve at seminaries, parishes, and retreat centers, while also living a full life of deep prayer.


“I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15).


“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). 


This perfection is what the COSJ priests and brothers aspire to in a special way. The essence of it lies in the evangelical counsels, or counsels of perfection: i.e., the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These three vows are meant to restore harmony to three relationships: respectively, that between ourselves and external things, that between our soul and our body, and that between ourselves and the Triune God.

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POVERTY

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).


COSJ priests and brothers are poor in spirit and strive to be attentive to any lingering attachment in themselves to the few possessions they are allowed. They use technology – computers and cell phones – for work purposes. They eat simply, for the most part avoiding meat and sweets. They do not watch television, listen to secular music, or get swept up in the controversies of the day. The COSJ requires its priests and brothers to abstain from alcoholic beverages and smoking.

CHASTITY

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).


COSJ priests and brothers know that their active apostolate can open them to temptations to unchastity, but they are confident that through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and her most chaste spouse, St. Joseph, they can keep that purity of mind and body which leads them to supernatural contemplation.

OBEDIENCE

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).


The priests and brothers understand that, among the three vows, obedience is chief. They strive to obey their prior promptly and with true filial affection. They also support the Archbishop of San Francisco and desire to foster unity in the Church through this obedience. Above all, though, obedience is meant to purify the monk of all self-seeking and self-centeredness. 


"Obedience is rightly placed before all other sacrifices, for in offering a victim as sacrifice, one offers a life that is not one’s own; but when one obeys, one is immolating one’s own will" (Pope St. Gregory the Great).

SISTERS

Formed in 2018, the COSJ Second Order is very close to the monks. The sisters join the brothers in the main monastery for all hours of prayer and the community meal. The sisters’ monastery is short walk from the main monastery and Mater Dolorosa Church. Mass is celebrated at the sisters’ monastery on special occasions, such as on the first Wednesday of each month in honor of St. Joseph.


COSJ sisters also adhere to the contemplative/active charism, follow the same formation process, and profess the evangelical counsels.3

Third Order

The COSJ Third Order is for Catholics who are drawn to the order’s contemplative/active charism insofar as it can be lived by the laity. Third Order members give prominence to exterior and interior silence in their lives and carry out their duties in the world with joyful simplicity.


Moreover, members strive for a more personal relationship with Our Lord through frequent Mass and Divine Liturgy, monthly Sacrament of Reconciliation, frequent Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Lectio Divina, the Jesus Prayer, and devotions to Our Lady and St. Joseph. On the first Wednesday of each month, many members practice a special devotion to St. Joseph.


Members must embrace all the teachings of the Catholic Church in matters of faith and morals and should take seriously the “universal call to holiness” expressed in Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium document. They may not belong to another Third Order.


FORMATION

Formation within the COSJ Third Order lasts five years. Our program has members engage in both community learning and self-study on an ongoing basis, deepening their knowledge of, and love for, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the writings of contemplative saints and contemporary spiritual authors.


From September to May, on the second Saturday of each month, members meet in the main monastery for an intense day of worship, prayer, education, study, reflection, and fellowship. They also attend an annual monastery retreat, where they practice greater silence and solitude in union with God.




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