In the Shadow of His Wings

Sponsa Christi December 31st, 2010

   Merry Christmas Octave!

Blessed Feast of the Theotokos!

Happy New Year!

Holy Epiphany Eve!

    I hope you don’t mind – this blog post is going to be kind of all over the place. Perhaps that is how some of you are feeling on this last day of 2010!  

    Tonight we will have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 11:30 and “ring in the New Year” by chanting Matins. All of you, our readers, have a special share in our poor prayers. May the Lord forgive all our sins and faults of 2010 and may we respond more generously to the promptings of His radical Love in 2011.

   Now for sundry photos and thoughts…

Our Jesse Tree in our refectory a few days before Christmas

    During the Advent liturgy we heard many Old Testament readings telling of the coming of the long-awaited Messiah. They waited thousands of years for Him to come! 

“Joy to the world!
The Lord has come!
Let earth receive her King!”

    Even from the confines of His cradle, Redeeming Love begins the restoration of the universe.

*****

Christmas brought us a little humor too…

    It’s hard to believe it has been almost two years since the big ice storm of 2009. Mother Catherine Marie, always the generous one, making sure her spiritual daughters are a little better prepared for “next time”, found a good deal on these bonnet scarves and so bought each of us one for Christmas!

*****

PRAY FOR OUR ASPIRANT LIZ!!!

    I have some very EXCITING news to share with you…we have an aspirant coming this week!  She will arrive Wednesday evening. The aspirancy lasts about 3 months; it is an extended visit to further discern Passionist life.  Please keep Liz and her family in your prayers. Liz hails from Texas – so we will have another Texan in our midst!

*****

    The Epiphany of Bethlehem is a strange mingling of light and shadow. The Dayspring from on high shines upon a world darkened by sin and death and subservience to the powers of night. The great God-Man is made known to a few men but remains hidden from most. Some welcome and worship Him, while others plot His destruction.  Innocent hearts blaze with the flame of love, and yet corrupted minds fill up with the smoke of hate. Even in His infancy, in the very act of being manifested, the face of the Man of Sorrows is “as it were hidden and despised” (Isaiah 53:3).

    May the Star arise within us to pierce the darkness of our hearts, our nation, our world and lead us to the Bethlehem above.

~ Some of these ponderings are from Cradle of Redeeming Love: The Theology of the Christmas Mystery by John Saward

~ Night photos of monastery courtesy of Sr. Rose Marie’s father – Mark Schoppe

Tags: Humor, Stages in Formation, Weather Flora & Fauna

• Advent , Christmas , Passionist Life , Vocation Discernment
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Sponsa Christi December 24th, 2010

    A most Blessed Christmas to all of you our dear readers!  It has been a delight to hear from so many of you, our friends, during this most holy Advent. We are taking all of you with us in spirit as we begin the celebration of the Feast of Christmas. You are in our thoughts and prayers as we enter into the Liturgy of Midnight Mass and Christmas Morning Mass and also all the Liturgy of the Hours.

This work of art was created by our Sr. Rose Marie, CP

    This has been a busy week of choir practice, cooking, decorating, letter writing, sacristy preparations and so on.  Today we turned on the Christmas lights for the first time and we are looking forward to the wondrous liturgies and feasts of the Christmas Octave.

A view of the Christmas village in our library

    I leave you with an excerpt from our beloved Holy Founder Saint Paul of the Cross. He certainly knew how to “wax eloquent” about this most holy Mystery.

Who would not shed tears of tenderness from the heart, seeing a God,
for our sakes become a Babe in swaddling bands,
for our sakes placed in the hay of manger,
for our sakes in need of the breath of two beasts of burden!
What a misfortune it would be if I would not let myself be consumed by holy love and would prefer to remain tepid and cold as I was before.

The nativity in our library – special thanks to our benefactors
who have given these lovely decorations over the years

Prayer – “Lord, help me to gaze on the Crib and hear your love in sending your Son to become so little and needy for me. May I be one of your little ones, docile to every breath of your Spirit.”

- Living Wisdom for Every Day by Fr. Bennet Kelley, C.P.

Tags: Liturgy

• Christmas , Monastery traditions , Saint Paul of the Cross
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Sponsa Christi December 21st, 2010

Our Magnificat

In this awe-inspiring icon we see John the Baptist 
prostrating himself before Emmanuel – “God with us”

We join the Blessed Virgin Mary on this day
and we raise our hearts in praise:
It is the prayer and the praise of Advent.

Our soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
He has filled Advent with unlimited graces.
The harvest has been abundant.

The response to John the Baptist
has been reform and conversion…
We have obeyed Paul in the call
to make greater progress in our spiritual journey.

Hope has come to a fullness:
in three days a Savior will be born…
a Redeemer will be in our midst.
We will know the presence of God.

Indeed we proclaim the greatness of the Lord.
Our spirit rejoices in God:
Our spirit knew a silence.

There was a journey into the deepest core of our being,
into sacred solitude;
God was encountered and adored.

Our spirit knew a hunger that moved us
to consume the Inspired Word of God,
Faith opened the riches of the Messiah.

Our spirit knew a desire for a Savior
that made us cry out with John:
Maranatha! Come, O Come Christ the Lord!

He has shown the strength of his arm:
The impossible has become possible:
Christ was found in suffering.
Asceticism led to riches…
Fidelity brought a joy.

He has shown the strength of his arm……
Afflictions purified the soul
Struggles made hope greater…
Self-giving made community life a glory to God…

He has cast down the mighty
and lifted the lowly:
He showed the emptiness of my prayer
yet gave the desire to pray more…

He has come to the help of his servant…
When obedience was beyond the possible
He took us to the fiat of Mary.
When loneliness tore at the human heart
He assured us of his presence.
When one was exhausted with mystery
He gave greater faith.
His help was abundant
and the heart bowed in gratitude.

Indeed He has remembered his promises
When I asked, I did receive.
When I sought, I did find.
When I knocked, He did open.

He promised a Redeemer.
In three days his promise will be fulfilled.
In longing and hope
my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

Amen

Msgr. Bernard Powers

Tags: Msgr Bernard Powers, Poetry

• Advent , Blessed Mother , Passionist Life , Prayer
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Sponsa Christi December 20th, 2010

Live Jesus, so live in me, that all I do be done by Thee,
that all I think and all I say, be Thy thoughts and words this day.

    The following are some thoughts from our monastery Christmas newsletter 2010. Let us live the Christmas Mystery every day of the year!

    “As religious women in the Church we have surrendered our lives to Christ to be another ‘humanity’ in which He may continue His redemptive work. In the ordinary events of daily life, as well as the bigger things that come our way, we pray to be like Mary who always gave God a whole-hearted ‘Yes, be it done!’

    “This yes, as difficult as it sometimes is, allows Christ to be formed more and more in us through the simple as well as the great things of daily life—the prayers, works, joys and sufferings of each day. Nothing is insignificant, nothing is too small to be used by God for the salvation of souls. Our Savior Himself chose the life of growth and work and suffering, and He spent about 30 years in what has been called His ‘hidden life’.

    “His life continues in all the baptized. This is a great mystery—that Christ is in us and we are in Him. Being aware of this mystery can turn an ordinary day into treasure for the Church.”

    Maranatha! O come, O come, Emmanuel!

Tags: Passionist Nuns Newsletter

• Blessed Mother , Christmas , Passionist Life , Passionist Spirituality
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Sponsa Christi December 19th, 2010

    Woe is me…lots of ideas but no time to post articles as the Christmas Mystery draws near! 

    But here is something of great interest.  The Passionist Nuns were featured in the September/October issue of the Institute on Religious Life‘s magazine Religious Life.  Here is a link to the PDF file. I hope you enjoy the articles. Special thanks to IRL for permitting us to link to this issue.

    Blessings upon you as we enter into the sacred mysteries about to be renewed.  We are keeping each of you in our prayers.

Tags: Mother Mary Crucified

• Bride of Christ , Passionist History , Passionist Life , Passionist Saints , Passionist Spirituality , Saint Paul of the Cross
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Sponsa Christi December 4th, 2010

The sacred time of Advent is approaching. In it Holy Mother Church celebrates the memory of that Divine Espousal which the Eternal Word entered into with human nature in his Most Holy Incarnation. Contemplate this mystery of infinite love and give your soul the freedom to plunge into its Sea of Good. Desire and pray for that same Espousal of love between Jesus and your soul.

~ Saint Paul of the Cross

    Prayer:  Jesus, you are God, yet you became one of us – “one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). You invited us into the closest imaginable love-union with yourself. May the season of Advent open our hearts always wider to this.

~ Living Wisdom for Every Day by Fr. Bennet Kelley C.P.

• Advent , Passionist Spirituality , Prayer , Saint Paul of the Cross
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