In the Shadow of His Wings

Sponsa Christi August 16th, 2012

Summer days are almost gone…along with many of you, this summer has been unusual with the triple-digit weather and lack of rain.

This summer brought us a large track hoe to dig out the sides of our lake which was becoming quite the weed-bed. So now we have huge piles of clay in our woods where they dumped the lake mud. It was a messy job; grass seed will definitely need to be sown in the fall.

Sisters watch the track hoe at its first day on the job.

Independence Day brought us a Gaudeamus Day  – a free day with time to relax and enjoy one another’s company. With the terrible drought we skipped the fireworks. This was the final day of the Fortnight for Freedom.

Grilling out on Independence Day. Delicious! But those barbecued grills were tough to clean!

Braving the heat on Independence Day—after a water balloon toss! The Lord sent a nice cloud cover and we enjoyed a game of croquet before Vespers.

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Today we had a Passionist Renewal morning led by our Msgr Powers. He has gradually been leading us through our Holy Founder’s letters to Mother Mary Crucified. This was letter #7. Msgr likes to pull words out of the letter and go very deeply into them.  He himself is a poet and mystic and keeps busy giving retreats and days of recollection and spiritual direction.

In today’s letter St. Paul of the Cross told Mother Mary Crucified (the Superior of the first Passionist Nuns, she was a Benedictine for many years, waiting the foundation of the Passionist Nuns) that he so desired her to be clothed as he was in the Holy Passion of Jesus Christ. Ah…he waxed eloquent on the holy habit for about an hour…one point he brought out is how we are clothed in the Passion of Christ, clothed in Jesus’ greatest act of love clothed in a spousal garment. This is the reason we wear black…to symbolize the love of Jesus crucified.  Our Passionist emblem – that the Passion of Christ would be ever in our hearts…not only his physical sufferings but the love, the virtues that motivated our Lord to endure all he did for our redemption, our sanctification – that this would be ever in our hearts!  Then we had a 45 min prayer period and then discussion time.  Truly, Passionists are “robed in salvation!”

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I just read in our Holy Cross Province Newsletter of our Passionist men that tomorrow, August 17, four men will be vested in the Passionist habit and enter the novitiate! Alleluia!  I don’t have any other details but please keep them in your prayers.

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Next Wednesday will bring our Gaudeamus Day in honor of Sr. Mary Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee. Which reminds me that I only have 5 days to finish my card for her.  You see, each Sister creates some kind of card for Silver or Golden Jubilarians….recycled cards, computer cards…whatever a Sister can come up with!  I must get busy…

Next week’s post should bring to you all the goings on that have been thus far worked on in secret for Sr. Mary Elizabeth’s day!

Ta ta!

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• Catholic Vocations for Women , Cloistered Life , Passion of Jesus , Passion Sign , Passionist Life , Passionist Spirituality
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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

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• Advent , Blessed Mother , Passionist Life , Prayer
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Sponsa Christi October 24th, 2009

   Regular readers of this blog will recognize the name of Msgr Bernard Powers. He is a retired priest of the diocese of Owensboro and resides in a nearby parish. Msgr is often here for Mass and occasionally gives spiritual direction to retreatants here and also offers days of recollection and preached retreats in our retreat house.

    Msgr has published several books of his poetic meditations and he would like to offer you the opportunity to obtain these for your spiritual enrichment. 

     The $2.00 shipping fee applies to those living in the USA. For our friends from abroad - it would be best to email Msgr and find out how much the shipping will be.

    Don’t pass up this great opportunity! God bless you

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Sponsa Christi October 9th, 2009

….so says Pope Paul VI and Msgr Bernard Powers

    Msgr had a stirring homily during Mass this morning on the Feast of St. Inocencio - our Passionist Martyr. You are probably familiar with Msgr’s way of writing by now…his homilies are like poetry.

Feast of Saint Inocencio
Martyred October 9, 1934
Passionist priest

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Inocencio
an occasion to reflect upon martyrdom and religious life.

Pope Paul VI makes us aware of the connection
between martyrdom and religious life.

In his Apostolic Letter on Religious Life
he says that the Holy Spirit
places side by side
     the heroic confession of the martyrs
     and the consecrated life of the religious.

     Both are a manifestation of the primacy of the love of God.

     Both are a manifestation of spiritual generosity.

          Martyrdom is a proclamation of the Gospel
          in dying.
          Religious life is a proclamation of the Gospel
          in the living of the Evangelical councils.

      Martyrdom unites one in dying with the Crucified Christ.
     Religious life unites on in living with the Crucified Christ.

          The martyr is one with Christ in surrender…
          the religious is one with Christ in choice.

               Both are the readiness to do God’s will.
               Both are generous acts of love.

“Unless the grain of wheat fall to the ground and die
it remains just a grain of wheat.
But if it die, it will bear abundant fruit.”

St. Augustine says of the martyr:
     “The Church everywhere flourishes
     through the glorious deeds of the martyrs”.

Pope Paul VI says of the Religious:
     “The Church could not do without
     these exceptional witnesses
     of the transcendence of the love of Christ.

The reading for the Feast of St. Stephen
speaks of martyrdom as an act of love.
     Love was Stephens’ weapon…
     Love was Inocencio’s weapon.
          His love for the poor…his love for the Church…
          His love for the priesthood…
          his love for the Passionist life.

You who are the Religious
have the same gift from God…the gift of love…
     Your love for the church…
     your love for the Crucified Christ…
     Your love for all mankind in praying for salvation.

     “Love is the source of all good things…
     it is the way that leads to heaven”…
     to union with Christ…to dying with Christ.

Love led St. Inocencio to martyrdom.
Love led you to religious life….
both are union with God.

     Both are an honor to God.
     One in a brief moment of dying with Christ.
     One in a lifetime of living with Christ.

Finis

Msgr. Bernard Powers

 *Image of the Passion sign from our Passionist Nuns in Korea

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• Passionist Life , Passionist Saints
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Sponsa Christi August 28th, 2009

    Today’s first reading from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 spoke of making greater progress and the Gospel spoke of the parable of the Wise Virgins. The following is a prayerful homily given today by our Msgr Bernard Powers on just how we as consecrated women can make greater progress in holy wisdom.

    Make greater progress in prayer
             by total abandonment to God
             and humble surrender to the Holy Spirit

    Make greater progress in silence
             by greater control of the inner faculties,
             the intellect, the memory, the imagination

    Make greater progress in holiness
             by being more like Christ in all you do
             and all that you say

    Make greater progress in community living
             by greater self-giving service…
             be victims of love

    Make greater progress in living the Passion
             by a greater fidelity to God’s will
             in the pattern of the day

    Make greater progress in the interior journey
             by greater desire
             for union with God

    Make greater progress in recollection
             by selective reading…
             by disciplined reading

    Make greater progress in loving
             through hospitality,
             that is, the readiness to be interrupted

    Make greater progress in loving Jesus in the Eucharist
             by frequent spiritual communions
             throughout the day

    Make greater progress in your love for the Virgin Mary
             by inviting her into your sufferings
             and your hunger for God

    Make greater progress in celebrating the Liturgy of the Hours
             by fuller union with Jesus

    The wise virgin is she who strives to make progress
             in all that pertains to greater love.

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