In the Shadow of His Wings

Sponsa Christi May 29th, 2008

Greetings from the monastery!

Today I just have some odds & ends…

~ Does anyone know where I can find good photos of Pope Benedict XVI to use on this blog?

~ Don’t miss the new poems page that has been added – there are two subpages there – one focusing on the Passion of Christ and the other on the spousal relationship inherent in being consecrated to God. I hope to add more in the near future.

Keep walking by faith!

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Sponsa Christi May 28th, 2008

     I thought you might be interested in seeing what a typical day is like for the professed sisters in our monastery.

5 a.m. - Rising bell (many of the Sisters rise before this)

5:15 a.m. - Contemplative Prayer in private or in Chapel

6:15 a.m. - Morning Prayer in monastery chapel (Lauds)

7 a.m. - Holy Mass followed by 5 minutes of Thanksgiving and then Midmorning Prayer (Terce)

Breakfast

Tidy cell

Work/Class/Spiritual Reading

12 noon – Midday Prayer (Sext)

Dinner & dishes

Recreation

1:25 p.m. – Silence Time (free to exercise, read, rest, etc.)

Wednesday, Friday and Saturday – 2:45 p.m. - Midafternoon prayer (None) followed by the “Offerings of the Precious Blood” with arms extended for 5 minutes and the Divine Mercy Chaplet

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday – Silence time ends at 3:15

Work/Class/Study

4:30 p.m. – Rosary can be prayed communally at this time or in solitude.

5:00 p.m. - Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Evening Prayer (Vespers)

Followed by 1 hour of private contemplative prayer

Supper

Dishes

Recreation

8:00 p.m. - Office of Readings and Night Prayer (Matins & Compline)

9 p.m. - Great Silence

9:30 p.m. - Retire

· During the year we have various days of retreat, Forty Hours devotions, Lectio Divina afternoons, etc when there is more time for prayer and study.

· On Fridays we have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament all morning and are free from unnecessary work to spend time with our Eucharistic Lord in honor of His Sacred Passion.

· On Sundays, certain feast days and Holy Days of Obligation there is extra time for prayer and recreation.

Also, we have Gaudeamus days several times per year (Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, Mother Superior’s feast day etc.) when we are dispensed from silence all day and have more time for recreation: skits, games, fishing, hiking and just being together as sisters in the Lord!

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Sponsa Christi May 24th, 2008

     Greetings from the desert! Us “Marys” had a powerful, grace-filled 8 days of solitude. Our Bridegroom is so generous – He gives one a glimpse beyond the “Shadowland” – by way of dark faith of course; a peek into “Aslan’s Country” as C.S. Lewis would say. God reward you* for all the prayers.

     As we approach First Vespers of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ I wanted to let you know we are thinking and praying for each of you, for all your spiritual and temporal needs. I hope to be posting again within a couple days! Please pray for our sister in the Lord – Kirstine -whose plane is landing about right now in Evansville, IN. She will be with us for a couple weeks seeking to know the Lord’s will in her life.

*God reward you – monastic way of saying “thank you”.

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Sponsa Christi May 17th, 2008

     It is retreat time here in the monastery…God be praised! In reference to the scriptures about Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus and friends of the Lord, we refer to the group of Sisters in retreat as the “Marys”. They are free from work responsibilities and other preoccupations to spend 8 full days in solitude, seeking the Beloved of their souls and receiving His unconditional love. The other half of the Sisters we refer to as the “Marthas”; they have taken on the various communal duties – cooking, answering door bells, the phone, etc. (this year it worked out that our Spring newsletter is being stuffed and sealed at this time) The first half of the Sisters took their turn being on their 8 day retreat in April. Now it is the 2nd group’s turn.

     Why am I telling you all this? Well, I thought you would find it interesting, but also to let you know that “Sponsa Christi”- the Sister-Blogger taking care of posting new articles is now a “Mary” at the feet of Jesus. Therefore, there won’t be any new posts for a week. I look forward to getting back with you next week and sharing about our Corpus Christi procession and 3 full days of Eucharistic adoration. (Which will take place here in the monastery chapel May 25-27. Each evening there is a Holy Hour at 7p.m. All are invited to come worship our Eucharistic Lord – bring your family and friends!)

One of the “Marthas” working diligently on the newsletter!

     P.S. If you would like to receive our newsletter (published 2-3 times per year) please send us your mailing address. God bless you!

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Sponsa Christi May 15th, 2008

This picture of an icon was sent to us by our nuns in Lucca, Italy . Their monastery is attached to the Sanctuary of St. Gemma and her remains are encased there. They have a gorgeous Chapel- very fitting to hold the heart of a woman whose love for Jesus knew no bounds!

     The following biography I found on St. Paul of the Cross Monastery website.

     St. Gemma Galgani was born on March 12, 1878 at Camigliano, near Lucca in Italy, to Henry and Aurelia Galgani. Gemma’s mother died when Gemma was was very young. Her brother Gino to whom she was also very close, died soon after in 1894, after a battle with tuberculosis. Gemma’s father was a chemist and had been prosperous, but prolonged sickness in the family was a drain on his resources and resulted in complete financial ruin. To add to this Gemma’s father was stricken with cancer of the throat and she nursed him until his death in 1897. Thus, before Gemma was twenty she knew the sorrow of seeing her parents and family suffer tremendously.

    At nineteen Gemma became ill with a painful curvature of the spine and meningitis, resulting in a partial paralysis. One of Gemma’s greatest sufferings came about because of her confusion concerning God’s will for her in becoming a religious. While not juridically ascribed in the Passionist family, she aspired to the Passionist Nuns at Tarquinia and embraced profoundly the spirituality of the Passion. On June 8, 1899, Gemma entered into a deeper experience of the Passion of Jesus by suffering the physical wounds of Christ on her body. The agony continued on Thursdays and Fridays in various parts of her body, usually with the flow of blood. Although Gemma always remained a lay-woman, she absorbed the Passionist spirituality. Only after her death did the Monasteries of the Passionist Nuns enjoy a marvelous blossoming.

     Gemma died in Lucca on Holy Saturday April 11, 1903. Her holiness was evidenced by her whole life, her spirit of prayer, her loving acceptance of suffering, and her writings, all proclaim her desire to please God and to be united with Him. In 1923 her body was transferred to a shrine at the Passionist Monastery in Lucca. (Gemma foretold: “The Passionists will not receive me in life but they will have me in death.”) Gemma was beatified by Pope Pius XI on May 14, 1933 and on May 2, 1940 she was canonized by the Servant of God Pope Pius XII.

     St. Gemma is a model for lay people who want to pray, who want to turn to God, for help and consolation in their worried lives – plagued by financial insecurity, broken homes, and emptiness – caused by the death of loved ones, the rejection felt by some handicap, and the frustration of the willing who are unable – in a society where the able are unwilling.

If not by habit and profession, undoubtedly by desire and affection, Gemma is rightly numbered among the religious children of St. Paul of the Cross.

~ Pope Benedict XV said of St. Gemma Galgani

     For those who can read Italian – I just found an address Pope John Paul II gave to cloistered religious at the Shrine of St. Gemma where our Passionist Nuns Monastery is located in Lucca, Italy.

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Sponsa Christi May 14th, 2008

     Sharon, Sr. Mary Andrea and Novice Directress Sr. Mary Veronica – everything was covered in ice for a couple days this past March – it was breathtaking – and it damaged many a tree!

     Our dear friend Abby (whom we hope and pray will come visit us some day!) sent a comment last week wanting to know a bit about our aspirants*. Today I will share a little about Sharon. She is from North Carolina and is #11 of 12 children! She is 22 years old and was born on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. She really enjoys playing piano and make ours actually sound good. (it has seen better days…we are praying for a new one!) She can play piano just by looking at the chords – amazing.

    Before entering the monastery she spent 2 1/2 years at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. The attraction towards religious life became very strong and took time away from school for serious discernment. She found out about us through a parent of one of her friends from Steubenville who resides in Evansville, IN. He told her, “you need to go visit the Passionists!” Thanks Bob Smith! We’re so glad you spoke up…and the Lord used his suggestion to bring Sharon here for a first time visit last November.

     Before she entered the aspirancy this past February she was working in her brother’s donut/bistro shop, teaching Sunday school, singing in church choir, and she played on the church volleyball team. She was also involved with a parish program call “Why Catholic”. Sharon loves tennis and also played soccer in high school. She was homeschooled during her grade school years.

     Sharon at far left – Bingo on Vicar Sr. Mary Agnes’ gaudeamus day in April – How many bingo cards can a Sister play per game???

*The Aspirancy program gives a young woman an opportunity to have an extended live-in experience to further discern her vocation. It usually lasts about 3 months.

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Sponsa Christi May 11th, 2008

Happy Mother’s Day to our Spiritual Mother par excellence and Spouse of the Holy Spirit!

     …and Happy Mother’s Day to all religious sisters who are spiritual mother’s of souls! Have you thought much about this fact…that consecrated women are “spiritual mothers”? If you have never considered it I invite you to do so. And there is a crying need for spiritual mothers! Souls who will offer themselves in union with Christ to bring the fruits of redemption to men and women TODAY…right now…in Myanmar, in all those places torn by war and natural disaster, by abuse and neglect and so on.

     In fact, a recent letter from the Congregation for the Clergy heartily recommended to the people of God Eucharistic adoration for the sanctification of priests and for priestly vocations. It also noted the need for religious women, consecrated to God, to renew their commitment of spiritual motherhood for priests and all of God’s sons and daughters. A beautiful book was published earlier this year full of stories of mothers and Consecrated women whose lives of self-sacrifice greatly influenced vocations especially to the priesthood. Don’t miss reading it here.

     In our Rule & Constitutions in the section on the Vow of Consecrated Chastity there is a meaningful paragraph on spiritual maternity:

     “United to Jesus Crucified with bridal love, they live profoundly the death-resurrection mystery which begets the serene and intimate joy of spiritual fecundity in Christ.”

     To all of you Catholic, single young women…is Jesus calling you to be His spouse? Joining you to Himself in an intimate way and making you a partner in the redemption of the world? If He is calling you may our Blessed Mother obtain the grace for you to give a generous response!

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Sponsa Christi May 10th, 2008

The rising sun sets the clouds aflame…and as so many tongues of fire they descend…

In this country, the Church’s mission has always involved drawing people “from every nation under heaven” (cf. Acts 2:5) into spiritual unity, and enriching the Body of Christ by the variety of their gifts. As we give thanks for these precious past blessings, and look to the challenges of the future, let us implore from God the grace of a new Pentecost for the Church in America. May tongues of fire, combining burning love of God and neighbor with zeal for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom, descend on all present!

~ Words from Pope Benedict during the Mass with priests and men and women religious at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, April 19, 2008.

May each of us give Jesus, the true Rising Sun, the true Burning Bush, permission to set us aflame with His Holy Spirit!

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Sponsa Christi May 9th, 2008

Mother directs the choir at music practice

     Did you know that Pope Benedict has called the whole Church to reclaim our musical heritage, and in particular, the ancient Latin chant? The chant is sung prayer. Because it is not identified with any one culture, it can be and is sung by Catholics throughout the world. The chant does not exist to entertain, but to glorify God and sanctify His people.

     While our community has always preserved some Latin chant, hymns and motets, we are now learning new ones. Among the pieces recently learned is the oldest known Marian antiphon, the “Sub Tuum Praesidium” which means: “Under your protection.” Learning this chant selection was very exciting as it puts us in touch with the faith and prayer in the hearts of early Christians. It originated around Alexandria in Egypt and was in use by 250 A.D. One can almost hear the prayers of the early martyrs, crying out to the Mother of Jesus in their mortal danger:

Under your protection we fly for refuge,
O holy Mother of God:
In our needs, despise not our petitions:
but deliver us always from all perils,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.

The Latin:
Sub tuum praesidium confugimus,
Sancta Dei Genetrix.
Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus,
sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper,
Virgo gloriosa et benedicta.

     Kirstine thank you for this excellent translation! Congratulations on successfully defending your master’s thesis…we look forward to your visit in a couple of weeks!

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Sponsa Christi May 7th, 2008

     As we await the coming of the Holy Spirit I wanted to share this icon with you. Isn’t it marvelous? I would love to be able to view it in person. It must be quite large. The original is in the Passionist Nuns monastery in Gornate Olona, Italy. It was written by the Rumenian artist Aurel Jonescu.

     St. Paul of the Cross wrote MANY letters of spiritual direction. Here is a stirring excerpt of a letter to Mariana Alvarez – a lay woman, married and with children.

     I would like you to make this novena as did the apostles who…with Mary and the other holy men and women…returned to the cenacle and never ceased praying and inviting the Divine Spirit to descend into their hearts to set them on fire with his love. That is what I want you to do….prayer is to be made not in our way, but in God’s way. Lose yourself in God, keep yourself recollected.

     With your hands joined and your eyes to heaven say: ‘O Holy Spirit, Love of the Father and the Son, inflame me entirely with love…O Spirit of infinite light, infinite sweetness, come into my heart! Come, O Infinite Good! Come, Immense Love! Come, true and only God, into this poor penitent heart! Come, my Love! Come, my Sweetness, O my Light, my Happiness, O my Treasure, O my Riches, O my True Good, O my only Hope, O my God, O my All. Come, for I languish for love. Come, for I can no longer bear not to love you. Come and set me on fire to the marrow of my bones.’

     …I ask you in making these acts to allow your spirit to be filled with peace and love. Make these acts gently and, if love causes you to be silent, be silent and continue with eyes raise high and, if you will, with arms spread wide, as long as you are alone.

     There are 3 days left of the Pentecost Novena. Let’s take Saint Paul of the Cross’ prayer and make it our own. May the Holy Spirit come upon us, our families and our beloved nation as never before!

Veni Sancte Spiritus! Veni Per Miriam!

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