In the Shadow of His Wings

Sponsa Christi June 16th, 2013

Since today is Father’s Day (Happy Father’s Day to all those “Dads” out there!) it seems appropriate to share with you about the Love of our life and His love for the Father.

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Prior to entering the monastery I had little knowledge of this devotion…the theology and history of the devotion.  This is one of a zillion blessings of being in a monastery – a deeper penetration of Jesus – the True, Beautiful and Good One.

The heart of Jesus is the symbol of Jesus’ love for the Father and for mankind. A the Lord Jesus told Philip (and all of us): “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”  He who has seen, who knows the love of Christ Crucified knows the love of the Father.

Contemplation of the Heart of Christ is not merely a “devotion”…but rather an absolutely indispensable component of the Christian’s interior life…the Heart of Jesus, pierced on the Cross for our sake, is the true fleshly Veil of the Temple, torn so that through it we may enter the sanctuary of God’s holiness, there to dwell eternally (Hebrews 10:19f). Christ’s Heart is the outer limit of the Incarnation, the visible human manifestation of God’s eternal love, the Sacrament of our redemption.  He who would be devoted to God must, by definition, be devoted to his incarnate love, whose living emblem, culmination and realization is the Heart of Jesus.

- Harry G. John – International Institute of the Heart of Jesus

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is still relevant, and rediscovery of this form of worship will give us new strength to cooperate in the work of redemption and bring the peace of Christ in justice and charity to a disordered world.

- Archbishop of Toulouse – Andre Collini

On this day when we give thanks and praise to God for the gift of human fatherhood let us also offer a hymn of  thanks and praise to our Father who art in Heaven and to Jesus who came to earth to reveal the Father’s love and mercy to us.

Tags: Sacred Heart of Jesus

• Catholic Vocations for Women
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Sponsa Christi June 7th, 2013

We have had a wonderful feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – much time spent with our Sacramental Lord contemplating his infinite love for the Father and for mankind and how this love impelled him to give the complete gift of Self on the cross – to become a holocaust of fiery love for our salvation – of which his physical heart is a natural symbol.

We too had quite a fire here earlier this week.

This is a picture of our brush pile that has gradually grown over the years, especially due to the clean up after the Big Bad ICE STORM of 2009. Our wonderful volunteer fire fighters came to our rescue when we showed them how large the pile was and that it was way too big for us nuns to burn.

Here the fire is just beginning.  One Sister knew the fire had begun not because she smelt the smoke but because she heard the deer snorting – there must have been some upset wild-life that evening.

A couple of sisters went up into the bell tower hoping to get a good view of the fire…

But they miscalculated the layout of the buildings and all they saw was smoke. I’ll share with you another time the photos of the grounds taken from up there.

Sisters making their way to the fire.

Great fire fightin’ friends pictured above and below

A little too close for comfort?  Not only the heat but also the ticks were making a great exodus.

This nest of turkey eggs was several yards from the fire. They weren’t harmed but mamma was a bit upset.

I never saw nuns so happy about a fire…

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Sponsa Christi June 3rd, 2013

Hmmm…is our Lord calling YOU to embrace a life of total consecration to himself through religious life or priesthood?

Here is a great new resource to help you grow in those listening skills so that you CAN respond generously and quickly to the Lord’s promptings.

This Vocational Download of the Month Club from the Institute on Religious Life provides an audio download every month for an entire year. This is for men and women 18 -35 years old who are serious about discerning a vocation to priesthood and religious life. Periodic emails will also provide helpful discernment resources as well as notices of special vocation events.

I hope you will subscribe!

 Speak Lord, Your Servant is Listening…

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Sponsa Christi June 1st, 2013

Sister lights the candles for exposition of the Blessed Sacrament during First Vespers of Corpus Christi Divine Office.

This evening our community began the annual celebration of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi with the chanting of First Vespers. You can follow the Divine Office here if you like.

This is a very special feast for us. As Passionists devoted to the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, Holy Mass and daily Eucharistic Adoration hold pride of place.

We were delighted to hear of the global Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration that Pope Francis has asked the Church to participate in tomorrow. Living in western Kentucky this will take place in our monastery chapel from 10 -11 a.m. central time.

Normally we would have Eucharistic Adoration all day but tomorrow we will be celebrating a special Mass of Thanksgiving for the ordination of our dear friend, newly ordained Fr. David Gayhart. We will have Eucharistic adoration after Mass and into the evening, including an outdoor Eucharistic procession – weather permitting!

Regarding the global Holy Hour:

“I am proud to say that this is a historical moment for the history of the Church because for one hour all the churches in the world will be united. … We are united because the Eucharist makes us all one body and one spirit, so we enter into the deepest meaning of the Eucharist,” the archbishop [Fisichella] told EWTN News in a May 28 interview.

The gathering will be an hour of simultaneous adoration for the Feast of Corpus Christi, which Pope Francis will begin in St. Peter’s Basilica at 5:00 p.m. Rome time.

Archbishop Fisichella announced May 28 that there are two intentions for the Holy Hour.

The first is for the “Church throughout the world united today in Adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist,” that the Lord makes her ever obedient to his word so that she appears before the world as “beautiful, without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish.”

The second intention is dedicated to people around the world who are suffering from violence, drug or human trafficking, economic insecurity, and those who have been pushed to the margins of society.

O Sacrament Most Holy
O Sacrament Divine
All Praise and All Thanksgiving
Be Every Moment Thine!

It was to impress the vastness of this love more firmly upon the hearts of the faithful that our Lord instituted this sacrament at the Last Supper. As he was on the point of leaving the world to go to the Father, after celebrating the Passover with his disciples, he left it as a perpetual memorial of his passion. It was the fulfillment of ancient figures and the greatest of all his miracles, while for those who were to experience the sorrow of his departure, it was destined to be a unique and abiding consolation.

 St. Thomas Aquinas
excerpt from the second reading of the Office of Readings for Corpus Christi

Tags: Liturgy

• Catholic Vocations for Women , Passionist Spirituality , The Holy Eucharist
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Sponsa Christi May 28th, 2013

Greetings!

A couple weeks ago I promised to post some spring pictures.  These photos are of our Retreat Plaza – one area set aside for our retreatants.

This area is just outside of the retreatants’ dining room.

You can see some of the monastery roof
on the other side of the fence.

Sweet Mother and Child welcome all who come to draw near to God.

Our Founder, St. Paul of the Cross, desired that a place be set apart in the monastery for women retreatants and most monasteries of Passionist Nuns have or had an area designated for this.  In the 1960′s or perhaps it was the 1970′s our community decided to stop the retreats because it was too difficult to maintain silence and recollection with lay women staying within the cloistered areas. It was only during our relocation in 1995 that we were able to once again take up this practice of offering a place of silence and solitude.  But now the retreatants’ area is in a place outside our cloister and therefore priests, religious and men and women laity can make retreats here. We have such a wonderful architectural design that there can be a house full of retreatants and it does not impede the solitude of the Nuns.

Interested in making a retreat?  Click here to learn more. Contact us with your questions.

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Sponsa Christi May 25th, 2013

Where does the time go? Can you believe I had this almost ready to post on Monday?  and now it is Saturday…and the vigil of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

Last week brought us two fabulous Nun Runs – one from Texas A&M – travelling to 11 different monasteries! And the one below from University of Miami – the called their trip “Nun Run Light” – as they only visited 4 or 5 communities.  There are great Catholic things going on at these colleges. Praise God. And these ladies are fabulous!  Each one desiring to find, follow and fulfill the Lord’s plan for their lives. Keep praying some of them return for a follow up visit.

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Thought you would enjoy seeing the cute poster designed by Sr. Cecilia Maria to welcome Sr. John Mary back to the kitchen after her 8 day retreat.

The scenes depicted above really happened
- although, not all at the same time.

Any guesses as to what happened in the kitchen while half the Sisters were in retreat?

Tags: Humor

• Catholic Vocations for Women , Monastic Life , Nun Run , Passionist Vocations for Women , Vocation Discernment
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Sponsa Christi May 12th, 2013

Today is Mother’s Day!  O Blessed day to all you Moms out there. Each year on this day the Mass in our chapel is offered for all of our mothers, living and deceased.

To honor our heavenly Mother we just had our annual May procession, and we also installed a picture of our new Pope Francis in the entrance foyer of the monastery. Tomorrow is “Fatima Day,” May 13th, the anniversary of Mary’s first apparition to the children of Fatima in 1917.  Pope Francis asked the archbishop of that area to consecrate his Petrine ministry to Our Lady of Fatima on this anniversary. So our installation of the new Pope’s picture today is quite significant, as we pray for his intentions for the Church throughout the world.

Mother Catherine Marie hangs the new image of Pope Francis.

Not all the Sisters could be present for the procession.

Yes…it is a little chilly today in western Kentucky.

After singing hymns in honor of our Blessed Mother and crowning her image in the back of our chapel we prayed the following prayer of consecration by Fr. George Kosicki.

Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of Mercy, since Jesus from the Cross gave you to me, I take you as my own. And since Jesus gave me to you, take me as your own. Make me docile like Jesus on the Cross, obedient to the Father, trusting in humility and in love.

Mary, my Mother, in imitation of the Father, who gave his Son to you, I too give my all to you; to you I entrust all that I am, all that I have and all that I do. Help me to surrender ever more fully to the Spirit. Lead me deeper into the Mystery of the Cross, the Cenacle and the fullness of Church.  As you formed the heart of Jesus by the Spirit, form my heart to be the throne of Jesus in his glorious coming.

By Fr. George Kosicki

Tags: Pope Francis

• Blessed Mother
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Sponsa Christi May 10th, 2013

Isn’t that a neat word? – heterogeneous!  Meaning “different in kind, unlike, incongruous”…I thought that a good description of the photos in this post. Really, I was just wracking my brain to think of a unique name for this post and happened upon this word.

Please keep us Sisters in your prayers…the Marthas of a few weeks ago are now the Marys. That’s right – half the Sisters are beginning 8 day solitude retreat Saturday through Pentecost Vigil – while the other half keep the monastery running – hopefully the kitchen will survive – the 3 junior professed sisters have taken over…

Some monasteries news…

Nothing like putting a meal on the table for the Nuns and also baking some bread for a feastday breakfast.  Mmmm…delicious!

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Several weeks ago we celebrated Mother Catherine Marie’s feast day (St. Catherine of Siena) with a lovely Gaudeamus day.

Sr. Mary Therese surprised Mother and all of us with about 7 new oil paintings!  I think some of them might be put in our on-line gift shop so stay posted.

Sr. Cecilia Maria presents Mother Catherine Marie with the “first fruits” of her peppermint and spearmint plants. We are enjoying fresh mint tea!

One can’t outdo the Superior in generosity – Mother Catherine Marie has treats for all the Sisters, with the blessing of our Eucharistic Jesus – Lord of our House.

Sr. John Mary presents Mother with some note cards made from cartoons drawn by a recently deceased sister of our Passionist Nuns in Japan – Sr. Maria Dolores.

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Recently we were invaded by the Niehaus clan (Sr. Mary Andrea’s family) who helped move and stack wood. Sr. John Mary’s brother also joined in on the fun. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK! ! !

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Thanks to our dear Passionist brother in Christ – Fr. Giuseppe Barbieri, C.P. – we have these photos from Easter day.

Christie and Sr. Ann Miriam have a transfiguration moment.

These smiles show forth the joy of being brides of Christ and living a life of love in the heart of the Church.

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I hope you enjoyed this little highlight from the past couple of months.  God-willing and the creek don’t rise (which it is currently doing with all the rain we are getting) I will write another post with photos of our grounds during this beautiful Spring weather.  Please join us in praying for good planting weather for our farmers!

Tags: Family, Gaudeamus Days

• Catholic Vocations for Women , Easter , Monastic Life
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Sponsa Christi April 26th, 2013

After spending time going through the troubleshooting list of our Spam Free plug-in and getting no where…my Computer Guru-Sister had the idea of just getting rid of that ole plug-in and seeing if a comment would then come in…this idea was backed up by our tech guy. YES, the comment came right on in!  So we now have a new Spam Free Plug-in.  It has been working for about 5 minutes now…so, if you want to leave a comment about a previous post I would love to hear from you and so would the other Sisters here who read your comments!

I would especially like to hear from you if you tried to contact us about disseminating our vocation brochures…

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Sponsa Christi April 25th, 2013

It’s that time of year when we have our Community retreats. Beginning yesterday half of the Sisters are “in retreat”; they are the “Marys”. The other half of us are the “Marthas” and we keep the monastery running for 8 days.  I always seem to have extra time during these days to catch up. Thank you Lord!

This morning I have been “unburying” my desk of letters, cards, to-do notes, etc. In the midst of this I came across a Christmas card that had a powerful promise of prayers. I had set it aside to share with you all and well…here it is 4 months later!

This card is from a woman who works with the Institute on Religious Life. They do an excellent job fostering and strengthening vocations to Consecrated Life.

I wanted you to know that you have someone special praying for the Passionists. A prisoner named Richard has written to us in the past and told us that he and his roommate are living the monastic life – regular prayer, no TV and often silence. They are praying specifically for Passionists. I’m sure his prayers, given his environment, are very powerful. I pray that his sacrifices may in God’s mysterious ways, bring young women to your beautiful way of life. May Christ’s passion be always in our hearts.

Wow, what a powerful tribute to the power of Christ’s mercy and love.

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