Monthly Archives: June 2012

Men's communities, Saints, Women's Communities

Feast of St. Norbert

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June 6th is the Feast Day of St. Norbert. May the Norbertines around the world be blessed by their most saintly founder, St. Norbert.

The five ends of the Norbertines are:

1) Laus Dei in choro (the singing of the Divine Office)

2) Zelus animarum (zeal for the salvation of souls)

3) Spiritus jugis pœnitentiæ (the spirit of habitual penance)

4) Cultus Eucharisticus (a special devotion to the Holy Eucharist)

5) Cultus Marianus (a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin)

Check out the Norbertine website of St. Michael’s Abbey (a thriving IRL Affiliate Community) in Silverado, CA, and the Norbertine Canonesses website as well which is a new community of nuns.

News, Women's Communities

Imagine Yourself

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Imagine yourself …… a Sister!

Watch this video of young sisters joyfully living out their vocations as a brides of Christ. Seeking joy in the world and finding it was not enough, these sisters found that doing the Will of God brought them happiness  and was incredibly freeing.

“Imagine Sisters” is a web and campus-based movement that aims to inspire the imaginations of young women to consider the beautiful call to consecrated life as a sister. With the guiding truth that one sister can change the world, Imagine Sisters strives to connect the world with sisters passionately embracing their call to serve the Lord.

The Web site is coming soon but in the meantime, watch this beautiful video!

Men's communities

The Boston HUB

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Last year, Sean Cardinal O’Malley asked the Brotherhood of Hope to minister to students in 12 institutes of higher education within a 5 mile radius in Boston’s Back Bay. With a total of 60,000 students, the brothers have their hands full. The name of the program is Hub – Hope for Undergraduates in Boston.

The Brotherhood of Hope, an IRL Affiliate founded in 1980, began serving Rutgers University in 1985. As evangelists, their consecration of God First, God Alone,  fuels their passion for the New Evangelization, primarily to college students at secular universities. Reaching out to inactive and uncommitted Catholics, they encourage conversion to Christ and His Church. Their hope is that their students will transmit this conversion-and-outreach passion into their vocation, family life, parish, and work environments. One student said after attending a retreat that “my faith became the priority over everything else.”

The Brothers describe themselves as spiritual marines, taking their “place at the frontlines of the Church. We seek to hold a place in the wall where it is weakest.” God bless them and all the students who seek to find their true vocation in life.

Women's Communities

Chrissie’s Journey

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On August 15, 2012, Christina Skelley will be entering the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Hamden CT to begin her time of formation in religious life. Her Q&A is a beautiful testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit working in a young woman’s life and a beautiful review of religious life in general.  Wise spiritual directors often say that when you find the right Order, you will feel at home and KNOW. Christina felt right at home with the Apostles and wrote, “I feel called to the Apostles because I really have a sense of being at home with them and fitting in with them. I feel free to be myself with them. They are deeply prayerful, down to earth, friendly, compassionate, and joyful.”

The Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are an IRL Affiliate Community. For them, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is “the first and most beloved of devotions.” It is at the center of their spiritual, ascetical and apostolic life. Their foundress Clelia Merloni urged the Apostle to be before she does, to adore before she witnesses, and to witness with the power of Jesus present within her who makes Himself light, love, conviction, and redemption.

May God grant the Apostles many holy vocations in this month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.