Category Archives: Cloistered life

Cloistered life, News

Letter Announcing Closing of the Carmelite Monastery – Hague, ND

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J.M. ♰ J.T.                                                                                   April 2019

Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus Discalced Carmelite Nuns
2051 91st. St. SE
Hague, ND 58542
Phone: 701-336-7907

Dear Friends and Benefactors of Carmel,

Praised be Jesus Christ! When we first came to the Diocese of Bismarck 5 years ago, we enthusiastically set about arranging things so that we could remain for at least 100 years and all of you have been so supportive and generous in helping us. One of the first things we did was to establish the boundaries of our enclosure area which is very important to cloistered contemplative religious. A privacy fence and a chain link fence were put up and many trees were donated and planted. With all the proper permissions we began planning for a monastery that would house all the nuns that would soon be entering. We even obtained 2 mobile homes — one to temporarily serve as a Novitiate and one for a Guest House. God was blessing these efforts and we thought that God was answering the prayer that all of you have been saying with us for the permanent establishment of the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus.

Yet, a very short time ago, we have been faced with the possibility that maybe the answer to this prayer is no — such are the mysterious designs of God’s Will. We are not obliged to understand why things turn out the way they do but just to cooperate with them when His Will becomes apparent. So it is with great sadness that we are writing to inform you of the decision that has been made by our Superiors to close the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus. (The voice of our superiors is a most sure sign of the Will of God.) We do not have the required minimum number of nuns to remain open. With the Instruction for contemplative nuns (Cor Orans) which was issued from our Superiors in Rome in May of 2018, the minimum number of Professed Sisters required in order to be able to have a Novitiate and receive new members is 5. We have only 4 and our Monastery in Alexandria, South Dakota (from which we originally came) does not have any other Sisters to send to us. It is on this account that we are having to return to South Dakota.

Though the closing of the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus comes as a great disappointment to us and to all of you, we need to rely totally on our Faith in God that He is working some marvelous wonders of sanctity through this sudden turn of events. Trusting in the Goodness of God who has provided so bountifully for us these past 5 years, we cannot stop trusting Him now. Trusting in the Lord does not mean that if we pray the right prayer long enough and fervently enough that God will change His mind and let us stay. Trusting in God means believing that God is working through these circumstances to accomplish His loving plan for each one of us and that obeying our superiors will be the best thing for us… even if we don’t understand right now why it has to happen this way. Fortunately, as you have heard from us many times before, our main objective in establishing a monastery here was not just to build a monastic structure for ourselves – we have wanted to build faith in the hearts of individuals, of families and of parishes throughout the diocese of Bismarck and all of you who write and call from across the United States and beyond. This has been our main goal and we will continue to strive to fulfill it just the same, but from a different geographical location. There are no state boundaries where God’s love is concerned. You will ever have a special place in our hearts and prayers. We cannot but marvel at the bounteous Providence of God that we have experienced through the goodness and kindness of each one of you from the very day of our arrival in Hague up to this present moment, and we ask our most loving Father to abundantly reward each one, filling you to overflowing with His choicest blessings, as indeed we know He will.

There are, of course, a number of practical matters that must be taken care of in this process:

1) Mass stipends: Many people have sent us requests for Masses and our remaining time here will not be sufficient to have them all offered in our Chapel. Any Masses that are left will either be entrusted to our Chaplain, Fr. Leonard Eckroth, or sent to the priest at the Bismarck mission in Kenya.

2) Perpetual Enrollments: Those who have been enrolled in the perpetual prayers of the Sisters of the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus will now be added to the enrollment register in the Monastery of Our Mother of Mercy & St. Joseph in Alexandria, S.D., to which we will be returning. Please be assured that those perpetual prayers WILL CONTINUE to be offered!

3) Donated items: If anyone has donated something to the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus which is of sentimental value to themselves and they would wish these items to remain in a convent here in North Dakota please contact us as soon as possible, no later than June 15th. (701-336-7907) All those who have generously given to us will now be considered benefactors of our Sisters in Alexandria as well and will remain in our grateful prayers.

4) Building Fund: We had already contracted with our architect for the design/development of phase one before we received the news that we might be returning to Alexandria, and since the decision was not yet definitive, the work proceeded as agreed upon. Thus, all “donor designated” funds that were set aside for the building project have in fact been used toward planning for that intended end. If our present situation, so different from the hoped-for results of your generous gifts, presents a difficulty for those who donated to the building project, or for any other of our donors, please contact us and we will see what we are able to do. All the remaining funds of the Carmel of the Holy Face of Jesus will now provide for us at the Monastery of Our Mother of Mercy and St. Joseph in Alexandria, SD.

5) Present correspondence: Due to the many preparations needed for our return to Alexandria (which is scheduled for late summer), we will be unable to continue our correspondence beyond necessary business. Please be assured of our continued prayers for ALL of your intentions, despite our inability to respond by letter.

6) Future correspondence: For those of you who would like to continue participating in Carmelite Novenas and in requesting prayers throughout the year, you may contact us at the following address:

Carmelite Monastery
P.O. Box 67 a
Alexandria, S.D. 57311

You may also call in prayer requests at: (605) 239-4382.

We give thanks to our Father in Heaven for the countless blessings He has showered on us during our time in North Dakota and we ask Him to continue to bless all of you for your kind charity towards us. We ask you to join us in praying daily the enclosed Prayer for Vocations to the Contemplative Life, entreating Our Blessed Savior to renew and increase the contemplative life and, thereby, His whole Mystical Body, the Church. May our good Jesus grant that through an abundant outpouring of His Holy Spirit in our day, true contemplative vocations would abound, making it possible for the Diocese of Bismarck to one day have her own contemplative monastery.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His Face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His Countenance upon you,
and give you peace.
Num. 6:24-26

Gratefully in Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph

Mother Mary Baptist of the Virgin of Carmel, O.C.D. and Community

Cloistered life, News

Carmelite Monastery in Launceston, Tasmania, Joins St. Joseph Association

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The Carmelite Monastery in Launceston, Tasmania, recently received approval from the Holy See to join St Joseph’s Association of Carmelite Monasteries in the US.

The Carmels that are part of this Association choose to live a traditional interpretation of the Rule given to them by St. Teresa of Avila.

The principal aims of the Association are:

In all the member monasteries of the Association, papal enclosure is observed, the full Carmelite habit is worn, and the traditional austerity of the Order is joyfully embraced.

Sprinkled into this blog post is artwork done by one of the Carmelite nuns in Launceston, Sr. Christina Mary of the Incarnation. She was tremendously encouraged by Pope Saint John Paul II’s Letter to Artists and continued on with her artistic works after entering religious life.

Launceston Carmel was founded from the Carmel in Adelaide, Australia, in June 1948 in the town of Longford, Tasmania. (Do you know that Australia was originally called by the early explorers “the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit”?)

The community moved to the present monastery built in the hills of West Launceston in April 1975 at the request of the then Archbishop Guilford Young to be nearer the priests and people. The parish priests in Launceston offer daily Mass which a small regular congregation also attend.

Carmelite Monastery
7 Cambridge St
Launceston TAS 7250
Australia
email: tascarmel1@gmail.com

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey Welcomed as a New Affiliate

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The IRL is pleased to welcome Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey as a new Affiliate Member. The Abbey is a cloistered, monastic community of 20 nuns of the Cistercians of Strict Observance (Trappist), striving to follow Jesus Christ through a life of prayer, silence, simplicity and ordinary work.

The Abbey was founded in 1964 when 13 nuns left the Mount Saint Mary Abbey in Wrentham, MA, to found an new community near Dubuque, Iowa.  Situated on a bluff overlooking the  Mississippi River, the nuns support themselves though the Trappistine Creamy Caramels they make themselves and sell by mail.

Seven times a day the nuns gather in the Abbey to sing God’s praises. All of their liturgies are open to the public. Four small guest houses are available for individuals or small groups wishing to make a private retreat in a beautiful, peaceful setting.

Stay in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.

– Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Sr. Mary Wilhelmina, OSB, first Prioress of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, Dies at Age 95

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From the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles….
+PAX
Dear Family, Friends and Benefactors,
Mother Abbess and the Sisters humbly request your prayers for the soul of our beloved Sister Mary Wilhelmina of the Most Holy Rosary, osb (née Mary Elizabeth Lancaster) who passed away peacefully at 8:35 PM on Wednesday, May 29th, 2019 having been strengthened by the Last Sacraments and the entire community surrounding her in prayer. It seems Our Lord could not have granted a more consoling departure from the community, who loved her so dearly.
Sister became unresponsive on Saturday morning. Nevertheless, several times she joined in as best she could while the Sisters sang Marian hymns and prayed the Rosary between Sunday and Wednesday. She also briefly smiled at the Sisters gathered around her.
On May 29th, the feast of the Ascension having begun with First Vespers, the whole community assembled at 7:00 PM in Sister’s cell while Mother Abbess read to Sister Wilhelmina and all of us the various notes of assurance of prayers, along with prayer requests from family and friends. At this time Sister was not actively conscious, though it cannot be doubted that she indeed was taking all to heart. After singing some more of her favorite Marian hymns, the community chanted Compline in her cell. As Mother Abbess was giving the traditional sprinkling of holy water to the community, peacefully and without a struggle, Sister Wilhelmina breathed forth her last breath immediately after Mother Abbess blessed her with holy water, as the Sisters finished the antiphon Vidi aquam.
Sister Wilhelmina once was asked who was her favorite Benedictine saint, she replied, “St. Bede the Venerable, of course! I became a Benedictine on his feast you know.” 1300 years ago on this very feast, St. Bede the Venerable also expired peacefully as the evening Offices were being completed. Though it was Rogation Wednesday, according to Liturgical accounting he is said to have died on the Ascension, since First Vespers of this feast had been chanted, and it was an hour after sunset. Following not only in her beloved saint’s footsteps in the love of the Divine Office and our Blessed Lady, our dear Sister Wilhelmina followed him even in the manner of death.
Sister’s final words were “O Maria” on Tuesday afternoon, as the Sisters sang one of her favorite hymns: “Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above.”
Sister Wilhelmina has long been the treasure of the community, both by right as our first Prioress and through her exemplary conduct as a Bride of Christ. We are deeply saddened at the loss of her beautiful example. Sister Wilhelmina recently celebrated her 75th anniversary of vows and her 95th birthday, so we remain deeply grateful to God for her persevering fidelity and faithful service.
Many years ago, our first chaplain asked Sister Wilhelmina “why did you become a religious?” Her instantaneous reply was: “because I was in love with Our Lord.” It could be easily said even in her declining years that she never fell out of love with Him. Let us unite in loving prayers that the love she bore for her Divine Bridegroom likewise bears her directly to His embrace.
All are invited to pay prayerful respects at the wake, which will begin immediately in the Chapter House at the Abbey until the Funeral Mass. Traditionally, a silent wake is kept so that the community may take turns praying the psalms, so we do ask that all talking cease upon entry into Chapter House on the southeast side of the church. The Funeral Mass (Requiem) will be offered in the Abbey church at 11:00 AM on Friday, May 31st. Sr. Wilhelmina will be buried at the Abbey cemetery immediately following Mass. All are welcome to the reception to follow in the basement of the Abbey Church.
Thank you for your many prayers for the soul of dear Sr. Wilhelmina, and for our entire community. May God bless and reward you all.
In Corde Mariae,
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

Cloistered life

A Carmelite Artist in Tasmania Inspired by Faith

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Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation—as poet, writer, sculptor, architect, musician, actor and so on—feel at the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it at the service of their neighbor and of humanity as a whole.                                                                                                             —Pope John Paul II, “Letter to Artists” (April 4, 1999)

One of the beautiful Carmelite monasteries listed on our new CloisteredLife.com website is the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Tasmania.  The nuns have long been receiving our magazine Religious Life and we are happy to be united with them in spirit across the ocean on our website.

Last Sunday, they hosted an art exhibition at the monastery because they have a wonderful artist-in-residence—Sr. Christina Mary, O.C.D., who entered Carmel in 1999. She comes from a family of artists and her whole upbringing was characterized by art and faith. Sister Christina graduated college with an honors degree in art and wondered if her art would distract her from living fully the Carmelite life. But her superior and novice mistress at the time realized “that God was working in and through my art and so they gave me permission to continue.”

The date chosen for the exhibition recalled St. John Paul II’s “Letter to Artists” issued on April 4, 1999, Easter Sunday, in which he said: “…my hope for all of you who are artists is that you will have an especially intense experience of creative inspiration. May the beauty which you pass on to generations still to come be such that it will stir them to wonder! Faced with the sacredness of life and of the human person, and before the marvels of the universe, wonder is the only appropriate attitude.”

Mother Teresa Benedicta of the Cross said that Sr. Christina Mary’s work continues a centuries-old tradition of nuns and monks involved in creative pursuits. “All the Sisters are encouraged to develop their gifts in creative ways,” she said, “which gives glory to God and is an extension of our prayerful pondering of the Word of God and the mysteries of Christ, and also provides relaxation and human flourishing in manifold ways.”

The Australian Carmel in Launceston was founded in June 1948 and moved to its present location in April 1975. Their life of prayer and sacrifice in solitude, in strict papal enclosure as desired by St. Teresa and given by the Church, is for the sake of the Church and the world, supported by life in community. They wear the habit of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as a sign of our consecration.

The Cloister Grounds

Sister Christina Mary accepts commissions for new paintings and  relies on photos, her imagination and the sky above to find her inspiration, though they have a great vista down the Tamar Valley in northern Tasmania. Mother Teresa Benedicta says: “Please God, it will draw people to Our Lord through the beauty of her art.”

Cloistered life, Consecrated Virgins, Discernment, General interest, News, Pro-life, Reflection, Resources, Saints, Vocations, Women's Communities

New Website Alert: Poor Clare Colettine Nuns of Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford, IL

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In the Fall of 2017, a seminarian for the Diocese of Rockford, Jack Reichardt began exchanging letters with Poor Clares Mother Abbess, Mother Maria Dominica, PCC, in order to obtain permission and discuss building a new website for the local monastery, home to twenty professed nuns.

Finally meeting at the Monastery in January, Reichardt and Mother Dominica decided that the site should serve two purposes:

  1. To appear to an audience of those women who may be discerning a call to the consecrated life as a Poor Clare nun, and
  2.  To appeal to the faithful who would like to visit with the Poor Clares in prayer.

Having taken a web design course while in high school, Reichardt wanted to put his hobby to use and build something worthy of the Poor Clares that reflected their “beautiful life, that is chaste and pure and prayerful” where people could find out more about their history, life, and vocation.

Click here: Poor Clare Colettine Nuns of Rockford, Illinois | JMJ+FCC

In gratitude for his hard work, one of the sisters offered the following remarks:

“[Jack’s] deliberation and prayerfulness impressed us very much, and his competence to create a site that is simple but beautiful and which effectively reflects our way of life has been crowned with success. We are grateful to him and to all those who contributed!”

Cloistered life, General interest, News, Reflection, Vocations, Women's Communities

New Affiliate: The Dominican Nuns of Our Lady of Mt. Thabor Monastery in Ortonville, Michigan

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The IRL is very delighted to welcome a new affiliate: The Dominicans Nuns of Our Lady of Mount Thabor Monastery in Ortonville, Michigan (Archdiocese of Detroit).  The contemplative community lives the joy-filled monastic life of prayer, work, silence, and study… all for the sanctification of souls!

The foundation of the Monastery began in 1969 when two nuns, Sister Mary Martin, O.P. and Sister Anne Mary, O.P. received permission to leave the Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary Monastery (Blue Chapel) in Union City, NJ, to establish a new contemplative mode of life within the monastic setting.  Remaining faithful to the essentials of monasticism, they eventually found a home in Detroit at the invitation of John Francis Cardinal Dearden. In August of 1973, they moved into their current location in Ortonville, in rural Oakland County.  Their foundation day is August 6, 1973, the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mt. Thabor. The community received its letter of aggregation into the Dominican Order in 1999.

Their daily schedule focuses on the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours), which they sing or chant together in chapel. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated daily and is the center of their contemplative life.  Profound silence is observed from after Compline until after Morning Prayer. Their habit is a simple white tunic, black veil, leather belt with rosary attached, and scapular.

The community is self-supporting and does remunerative work for its self- sufficiency.  Sewing services are offered by the Sisters including the making and alteration of Dominican habits as well as the sale of Dominican Third Order Scapulars.  They also maintain Transfiguration Retreat House where faithful may come for a private retreat.  The intellectual life is nourished through reading, research, and study.  This strong charism of the Dominican Order is never neglected.

Cloistered life, General interest, Pro-life, Reflection, Resources, Vocations

The Vanishing American Adult and the Religious Life

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Senator Ben Sasse has written a new book called The Vanishing American Adult. I highly recommend it, especially for those of us concerned about the future of religious life in America. The book is a diagnosis and prognosis of the current situation of the youth in America. He doesn’t lay blame on American kids but mainly their parents for protecting them from challenges that will help them become adults.  Adulthood is not just a biological stage but something to be earned. In the past, it  was what we all needed to learn, whether or not we liked it. This is not the case anymore. Our culture endorses prolonged adolescence, upholding baby 40-year-olds.

Adults are responsible and virtuous as good citizens and members of the Church.  They make tough decisions and take responsibility for their decisions. They are not passive but active. Senator Sasse’s book is important for those of us concerned with Religious Life because becoming a religious takes the virtues of an adult, putting away childish things. With the vanishing of the American adult, the Republic will not only suffer but also the Church, especially religious life.

Pray for parents. It is difficult to raise children in today’s culture of the vanishing adult. Unlike any time in history, the culture is raising kids more than the parents, undermining parental authority. Parents should be supported and encouraged to actively raise their children into the virtues. Senator Sasse gives some helpful advice on what he and his wife are doing for their children. Read his book and take his advice.

Buy the book here. 

Cloistered life, General interest, Liturgical Year, Men's communities, News, Papal Address, Reflection, Resources, Women's Communities

Tuesday, November 21, 2017 – World Day of Cloistered Life

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On November 21 (the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple), the Church will celebrate World Day of Cloistered Life, also known as “Pro Orantibus” Day, which is a Latin phrase meaning “for those who pray.” This is an important ecclesial event for all Catholics worldwide to commemorate the hidden lives of consecrated religious in cloisters and monasteries.

We celebrate this day because the contemplative life is a gift from Almighty God to us all — all the world benefits spiritually from the prayer and sacrifice of these dedicated and faithful souls, even when we may not know it. On this day, the faithful are encouraged to reach out to the cloistered and contemplative communities in their diocese, through prayer, encouragement, and material support.

Please click at the link for more info and for resources: //www.cloisteredlife.com/news/pro-orantibus-day/

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

The Right to Pursuit of Happiness or Holiness?

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The Right to Pursuit of Holiness

―by a Poor Clare Nun, Palos Park, IL

“Religious profession so orders our whole life to God and neighbor that it is a sign the unity of the Trinity reflected in our unity and our outpouring love for God, our sisters and all mankind. It is this loving kenosis which produces perfect human fulfillment.”

—Constitutions for Poor Clare nuns (Article 5, number 3)

 

Poor Clares, Palos Park

St. Thomas Aquinas asserted that happiness is union with the One who is Goodness itself, namely God. Our country’s forefathers saw the human desire for happiness as not just a goal but a fundamental right, the “right to the pursuit of happiness.” However, pleasure and happiness are not the same and the “right to the pursuit of happiness” presupposes the moral obligation to live according to the laws of God. Indeed, the Catholic Church proclaims that we were created to know, love and serve God in this life so as to be happy with Him forever in the next.

This happiness or blessedness is ultimately holiness. Therefore, we can say we have been endowed by our Creator with the “right to pursuit of holiness.” This pursuit of holiness, or striving for perfection, is the life’s work and obligation of those who make profession of the evangelical counsels. We do this by daily offering our lives at the service of God’s plan in the vows of obedience, poverty and chastity, emptying ourselves in order to be filled with Christ and bring him to others. “It is this loving kenosis which produces perfect human fulfillment.”

Obedience

Obedience is an act of the will, a free choice, not an act of fear or compulsion. “The love of Christ impels us,” St. Paul says, and it is through this love that any fear is transformed into the free surrender of our will and the great desire to do what God is asking of me at this moment. In his conferences on the evangelical counsels, Archbishop Charles Schleck, C.S.C. asserts that “obedience perfects the will instead of suppressing it. To love God is not merely to surrender or give up something of our own will. It is to adhere positively and firmly to the will of the one we love. And to love God means to do what He desires; it is obey. Obedience is universal in character and belongs to the very life of the Church. It brings to completion our baptismal faith … (it) perfects the consecration proper to baptism.”

Chastity

In her biography of Saint Colette, Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C., describes the young Colette, with the vow of perpetual virginity fresh upon her soul, as a woman no longer alone in the world. She is espoused to Christ now. Yet this reality is hidden from the eyes of men and is part of the great paradox of Christian life where the one who loses her life finds it and the grain of wheat that dies brings forth much fruit. It is our radical renunciation of all things, even the great good of earthly marriage, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven which is the source of our union with Christ. And it is our union with Christ which allows us to enter into His love for all mankind.

Poverty

In a radical kenosis the second person of the Blessed Trinity became man to save us by His death and resurrection. In the words of St. Paul “… He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at but emptied Himself.” Our form of life is to live the holy Gospel, and we do this by striving to imitate the self-emptying of Christ in every aspect of our life. “According to the thinking of St. Clare, evangelical poverty goes far beyond the renunciation of earthly possessions, extending to the whole of life. For in the Franciscan concept, the surrender of temporal goods is intimately bound up with the profession of obedience and chastity and also with enclosure and communion in the spirit” (Art. 11 #1).

“Enclosed nuns are called to give clear witness that man belongs entirely to God, and so to keep green among the human family the desire for a heavenly home” (Art. 20 #2). We strive for that union in this life and are a sign for the world of each soul’s destiny.

For those who are called and who respond to its totality of grace, ours is a life of profound joy in the pursuit of holiness through the total surrender of all we are and all that is, for God’s glory and the salvation of souls. “Amen, amen, without ever turning back” (Testament of our Holy Mother St. Colette)