This letter is long overdue, as so many of our friends and benefactors have expressed warm concern in hearing of the move of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary from Buffalo. The community has been considering the possibility of a move for the last several years. Our location in the city, the serious maintenance demands of our building and a growing desire for a physical environment where we might live out the fullness of our Dominican contemplative life made it clear that remaining in our Doat Street location was unrealistic. At first it seemed impossible to relocate, in light of our strong ties to the Diocese, the devotion of many friends and benefactors, and our strong Chapter of the Lay Fraternity of St. Dominic. Gradually, however, the community began to feel called by the Holy Spirit to consider a move to a place in the United States lacking a contemplative monastery of nuns, in response to the call of Pope Francis for contemplative religious to recognize the cloistered life as a work of evangelization among the People of God. Since Buffalo has a vibrant community of Discalced Carmelite Nuns, we began to consider a move to another diocese in a different part of the country.
After much prayer and discussion, our community has decided to relocate to the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. The bishop, Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan, has long desired to welcome a community of cloistered religious into the diocese.
Once the decision was made, matters developed rather quickly, particularly with the offer of purchase for our present building and property by the Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School, which plans to open a school at the location. This decision came as a shock to many of you, our dear friends. We must continue to impose on your patience and understanding, as current circumstances make it impossible for us to say a proper goodbye to you in the way we had hoped. We originally intended to celebrate a Thanksgiving Mass for all of you at the monastery on Doat Street, followed by a reception, but even now it is still not possible to arrange anything of this kind. We trust that in the future God will provide for this.
We hope to be fully moved to Columbus by the end of September. Our address will be: Sts. Peter and Paul Retreat Center, 2734 Seminary Rd SE, Newark, OH 43056-9339 and our telephone number is 740-928-4246.
Until early September, we continue to reside in temporary accommodation with the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance & Christian Charity in Stella Niagara, New York. We could not have found kinder and more gracious hosts than the Stella Franciscans, and we thank them for their hospitality and the blessing of the time we had with them.
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is with heavy hearts that we will leave Buffalo and our many friends who have known us over the years, even decades. We want you to know that wherever we are, the good people of Buffalo and Western New York will always be in our hearts and prayers. Words cannot express the gratitude we feel for your tremendous support, friendship, and generosity over the years.
With our heartfelt love and prayers, Mother Mary Dominic and Sisters
On Wednesday, May 13th, 2020, the Feast of our Lady of Fatima, the Poor Brothers of St. Francis ceased as a Franciscan community in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
The Diocesan Press Release: “The beloved Brothers have made this decision based on their personal, vocational discernment as they consider where God is calling each of them. Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades and the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend would like to thank the Poor Brothers of Saint Francis for their service and devotion to our diocese and community. We extend our prayers that God continue to guide and bless them in the days ahead.”
From the Brothers:
“ Beloved Family, Friends, and All who have supported us Brothers,
May the Lord give you His peace. May He fill you with the overabundance of His merciful love, and grant you every grace to become saints in this life. We send you this update first of all to thank you. It’s hard to express in just those two words the gratitude we have for the gift each one of you has been to each one of us. It seems that much more is owed to you for all that you have done to help us follow the Lord. St. Paul tells us “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” (Rm 13:8) Surely, our love for you is much more than what he can convey in this forum, but this is a start. Thank you for everything.
The second reason we are writing you is to inform you that our community is, of its own accord, disbanding. As of May 13th, 2020 the Poor Brothers of St. Francis will no longer exist. It’s very difficult to know where to begin in telling you why and how we have come to this decision. What’s even more difficult is relating it to you with all the love and gratitude we have for each one of you. Instead of trying to communicate all of that here, please know that we “long to see you, that [we] may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” (Rm 1:11-12)
Since it is unlikely that we will be able to speak with each one of you and answer all of the questions that you may have, we offer here a brief summary of how we came to this decision. We had known for some time that our inexperience of founding a religious community would be difficult to overcome. Shortly after we began, brothers had been of the mind that we would need help from men with many years of experience living a faithful and fruitful religious life.
In a meeting with His Excellency, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, held on March 31st, 2020 we related this awareness to him. As has been his custom, Bishop Rhoades acted speedily in our favor and acquired for us the assistance of Fr. Joseph Tuscan, OFM, Cap. During Fr. Joseph’s time with us it became clear through our meetings with him that we “were [not] of one heart and one mind,” (Acts 4:32), in terms of each brother’s personal discernment of his vocation. Fr. Joseph helped us see that the Lord was leading each one of us down different paths which would ultimately mean we couldn’t live together in the same community.
In the final analysis, we will have a peaceful parting amongst us. For we still have “a sincere love of [our] brethren, [and] love one another earnestly from the heart.” (1 Pt 1:22) We have this same love for each one of you. We will always be your brothers wherever God leads us. We have wanted to convey here something of that bond we’ve experienced with each one of you so that you may be assured that through this transition you all remain in our hearts, and will be fixed there until we reach the time of no more partings.
In Christ and Francis,
Your Poor Brothers”
Hearing the news that Mother Amabilis Urszula Debicka, SSCJ, age 94, entered into eternal life on July 16, 2020, is a reminder to thank all of the religious communities who were the initial founding members of the IRL 46 years ago. We were touched to read in the obituary that Mother was remembered as “one of the first major superiors to belong to the Institute on Religious Life.”
Mother was born in Poland in 1926 and had an amazing life story. She was abducted at the beginning of World War II by the Nazi’s when she was in the eighth grade, enslaved, and sold to an SS family who wished to adopt her. As the war was ending, Mother managed to escape from her captivity and walked back to Poland where she spent time in a sanitarium recovering from tuberculosis.
In 1950, she entered the Sister Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and in 1961, came to America to serve in the Congregation’s fledgling foundation in the United States. In addition to her administrative roles in the community, Mother was an organist, kindergarten teacher, catechist, and sodality director. She will be remembered for her “personal holiness, Franciscan joy, wit, and wonderful personality that drew many to seek her counsel and prayers.”
Houston, TX, April 14, 2020 – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, priests are being called into great heroic action by offering the sacraments to the sick and dying, finding creative ways to serve parishioners, and maintaining empty parishes with limited staff support. In response, Houston-based Vocation Ministry is set to launch the first-ever nationwide “Uplift Your Priest” campaign from April 20 through May 1. The campaign is designed to inspire the laity to support and encourage their priests who are now on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and to let clergy know that their people recognize their current sacrifices.
“Our priests are in a vulnerable position like never before,” said Rhonda Gruenewald, founder of Vocation Ministry, an international organization whose mission is to equip dioceses and parishes to promote vocations. “They need to know that we are behind them. They need to be ‘uplifted!’”
The “Uplift Your Priest” campaign will use social media and resources available in both English and Spanish on www.vocationmininstry.com to promote a variety of ways the laity can “uplift” priests over the next two weeks. Ideas include offering a spiritual bouquet, drop off or have lunch/dinner delivered, text/email/write a note of encouragement, challenge three families/individuals to pray a Rosary for their priest (think ice bucket challenge on social media), or deliver protective gear or cleaning supplies to the rectory.
“The possibilities are endless,” stated Gruenewald. “We hope by offering concrete and practical ideas that we can mobilize Catholics everywhere to uplift their priests and be a source of encouragement during this stressful time.”
Since its founding in 2015, Vocation Ministry has become a driving force for promoting vocations in North America. Through their hands-on Hundredfold Workshops, Vocation Ministry focuses on establishing and sustaining parish-based vocation ministries to create a vocation-friendly environment that inspires adults and children to consider a supernatural call to the priesthood, consecrated life, or to sacramental marriage.
“Uplift Your Priest” begins Monday, April 20 and will continue through Friday, May 1. Vocation Ministry will be circulating ideas and resources through Facebook, Instagram, and through the resource page found on their website: www.vocationministry.com.
To schedule an interview with Rhonda Gruenewald to discuss how to promote this campaign and “uplift” our priests, contact Carrie Kline at carriek@revolutionizingmissions.com
This beautiful icon was commissioned by the Passionist Fathers as a part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the year their Founder, St. Paul of the Cross, received the charism to found their Congregation.
The figures in the main part of the triptych are Jesus, experiencing His death on the Cross, with the Blessed Virgin Mary on one side and St. Paul of the Cross on the other. Saint Paul has his hand over his heart, where on the Passionist habit is depicted the beautiful “Passionist Sign” or emblem (pictured above Jesus). Below the Cross is the devil, about to experience his final defeat.
Tot he left and right are two angels carrying instruments of the Passion – the spear and the reed of hyssop. The Passionist saints on the left are St. Gemma Galgani and Bl. Isadore de Loor. On the right are St. Gabriel Possenti, with the skull, and Bl. Dominic Barberi, who played such an instrumental role in the conversion of Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman.
For a detailed description and for more information on the Jubilee celebrations, visit the Passionist nuns’ website (PassionistNuns.org)
I pray to a merciful God to console you in the great trials you are presently experiencing. However, don’t stop placing them all in the Most Holy Wounds of Jesus. This will ease them for you. Also place them under the mantle of Mary’s Sorrows. She will bathe and soothe your heart with her tears. —St. Paul of the Cross
A Reflection by Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, servant mother of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth in the Archdiocese of Boston
During these very difficult times of dealing with the Coronavirus and its effects, people are struggling in so many ways, grief for the loss of loved ones, physical pain for those who are infected by this virus, emotional struggle living in this unknown situation and the fear of what comes next, financial challenges for all those whose businesses and jobs have already been jeopardized in recent weeks, the impact of which might be carried for months and years ahead for so many people.
In the midst of all this, people have mixed spiritual struggles as well. Some are relieved that the Church has been following the government restrictions regarding all the faith gatherings, including Sunday Masses, others are struggling from missing the essential part of their spiritual life, the Holy Eucharist, which is the summit of our Faith. Many are turning to God, the Saints, and spiritual devotions to look for hope, others are looking for an answer, “Where is God in the midst of all this?”
Throughout history, human tragedies have fallen upon humanity; epidemics, wars, recession etc. Across the centuries, the Church has been the source of comfort and aid when people suffer the most. During the Middle Ages, Monasteries and Convents were the key medical centers of Europe and the Church established an early version of a welfare state. During the Influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, Religious Sisters of numerous Religious Orders played an indispensable role in fighting the flu.
Just like the early Religious Communities in America, who are remembered as the pioneers for healthcare and human services in the history of our nation, Religious men and women today in the face of COVID-19 crisis serve as lighthouse keepers in the storm of this epidemic. Lighthouses are meant to be seen as a directive point at the shoreline. Today many people have been writing, calling, reaching out to Religious Men and Women for help, comfort, consolation and spiritual support.
Many Religious Communities have increased their prayer hours, started many novenas, increased other spiritual practices for the intentions of the world that has been shaken by so many lost lives because of this virus.
Just like lighthouse keepers, the light comes from within the lighthouse and the keeper of the lighthouse is there to serve the purpose of the lighthouse. We Religious Men and Women believe that Jesus is the ultimate lighthouse and we are only His instruments.
Power of Prayer: In these days and weeks of affliction, prayer has become like the air that helps people breathe, the hope that they desperately need; the hope of returning back to their parishes and their faith communities, the hope of going back to a secure job and financial stability for their loved ones, the hope to find comfort in being with one another, etc. Our life of prayer and hours of Adoration is what we have to offer to kindle this hope in the hearts of people around us and beyond.
Our community has been keeping daily Adoration from 12:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Our time in the Chapel adoring the Lord and interceding for people has become our daily offering for God and people. First, to console the Heart of Jesus Who is suffering with His Mystical Body, the Church. He longs to be one with His people in the Holy Eucharist, “How many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Lk 13:34). Second, to console hearts of people who long to be one with Him, “My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord (Ps 84:2).
Our Adoration time and daily intercessory prayers and devotions are like the two oars that we carry in the boat of “aid and support” to all who are in need. The aid we give is our supplication before the Lord to care for His people during these trying times. It is in silent Adoration and heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament that we pray for our people to receive comfort that our Lord is close to the brokenhearted and a “very present help in time of trouble” (Ps 46:1).
Sister Mary Ruth from the School Sisters of Christ the King in Lincoln, Nebraska shared, “During this global health crisis, we realize that we are called to fervent intercessory prayer, begging Our Merciful Lord to bestow healing and consolation upon all those suffering in any way. We are more aware than ever what an immense privilege it is to be able to assist at Mass each day in our chapel and to receive Holy Communion, offering this prayer for so many who are currently unable to do so. On the third Sunday of Lent, our chaplain led us in a Eucharistic procession around our Motherhouse grounds as we chanted the Litany of the Saints. We have continued to pray this Litany daily after mass for an end to the devastation caused by COVID-19. At 3:00 each afternoon, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in our chapel and we gather to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.”
Outreach through service and social media: Some of the Religious Communities who have ministries within their own convent like Missionaries of Charity and the Little Sisters of the Poor continue their faithful and joyful dedication to the residents.
Join to the Little Sisters in saying a million rosaries to end the pandemic.
As Mother Margaret Charles from the Little Sisters of the Poor in Palatine, Illinois, wrote, “As Little Sisters of the Poor, we are exactly where we should be – in the midst of our elderly brothers and sisters, caring for them, doing our utmost to keep them safe and happy. Our elderly suffer from the sudden isolation, they miss their friends in the common dining areas and activity rooms. They miss their families. We try to help them reach out through Skype to their loved ones. We sing, celebrate birthdays, and call Bingo from hallways.”
The Franciscan Capuchins from Capuchin College in Washington, D.C. make lunch bags and deliver them to people who experience homelessness. They leave lunch bags for them on a table under a bridge so the homeless can come and pick up their food, even though the Brothers continue to follow the order of social distancing, they still wanted to reach out to those most in need around them. The Brothers also have many musical talents and have desired to sing outside the building of nursing homes across from their monastery to comfort the elderly and the staff as they watch them from the windows of their rooms, as Brother Michael Herlihey O.F.M. Cap. said, “We are hoping to bring to them the joy of music and the praise of God.”
In our community we have made a list of names of the seniors who live alone in their neighborhood to reach out to them on a regular basis to help them with their grocery shopping since the elderly feel vulnerable to be out in public places. Also, recently we made a delivery of flower arrangements to twenty-four locations around our city; post-office, CVS, three grocery stores, eight Fire Department stations, Police Department, two emergency rooms, one hospital, another urgent care center, etc. I wrote them a letter on behalf of the community titled “Hidden Heroes, Good Samaritans, and Next-Door Saints.” Each Sister wrote a personal note with each flower arrangement. It is our little way of expressing our gratitude with the assurance of our prayers for those who put their lives every day at risk for the people of our city and beyond.
Many Communities who are very active in social media have taken these tools of evangelization to be out there for people who are in need of words of encouragement and support. The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light from the Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn have created a special phone call line called “Need a prayer? We care and we are here for you.”
When we read the story of the Bible, the storms were never evidence of God’s absence. It was the opposite; the storms were the arena in which God moved to show us His presence. Jesus calmed the storm because He was there. That is true then and it is true now. In the book of Ecclesiastes 4:12, we read “The chord of three strands is not quickly broken.” As we continue to weather the storm of COVID-19, we journey together in prayer and service, placing our hope in the Lord Who said in the Gospel of John 14:27, “Peace I leave you; My peace I give you […] do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Let us keep our gaze on the Lord, our Lighthouse, trusting in His promise that no harm will overtake us, no disaster will come near our tent (Ps 91:10).
It does us all good to refresh, renew, and rediscover what it means to be human, to be a child of God. In this new book by Fr. John Henry Hanson, O.Praem., he shows you how to come “home” through a prayerful revitalization of your faith in God’s plan for you by recalling its incredible beauty and depth.
“…if people are still people, and the world operates according to all the patterns Ecclesiastes says it does, with sunrise and sunset, rivers flowing to the sea, and the birth and death of all living things (cf. Eccl 1, 3), we should look deeper for an inner renewal caused by grace. Change without grace, renovation without interior renewal, is spiritually worthless. The thing remodeled, so to speak, remains what it always was. The most important kind of regeneration isn’t outward or skin-deep but takes places in the hidden depths of the soul.”
Allow yourself to be reminded that God is a lover Whose very desires for you will lead you directly to fulfillment and everlasting joy. The author hopes for you to live the resounding cry:
Vocations Outreach, an outreach of Franciscan University of Steubenville, offers free graphic design to religious communities. Since Vocations Outreach has an ongoing partnership with the Institute on Religious Life, communities may request this service if they:
2. Are an Affiliate Community with the Institute on Religious Life
Vocations Outreach will assign one of their interns to work with your community to design brochures, flyers, social media posts, and other marketing materials as requested. This is an ongoing resource you can request at any time. If your community is interested in their graphic design services, then we recommend also requesting their photography services to receive new pictures their interns can use while designing. At this time, they are not able to help with website design or to print designed materials.
Please contact them if you are interested in receiving graphic design services.
Complete a digital resource application if your community is not an IRL Affiliate or if you would like to receive additional digital resources for your community.
This was sent to me by a Little Sister of the Poor. It came from a doctor who is on the front lines fighting the coronavirus.
“In this sign thou shalt conquer”
—A LIGHT IN A DOCTOR’S DARKEST NIGHTMARE—
Never in my darkest nightmares did I imagine that I would see and experience what has been going on in Italy in our hospital the past three weeks. The nightmare flows, and the river gets bigger and bigger. At first, a few patients came, then dozens, and then hundreds. Now, we are no longer doctors, but sorters who decide who should live and who should be sent home to die, though all these patients paid Italian health taxes throughout their lives.
Until two weeks ago, my colleagues and I were atheists. It was normal because we are doctors. We learned that science excludes the presence of God. I laughed at my parents going to church.
Nine days ago, a 75-year-old pastor was admitted into the hospital. He was a kind man. He had serious breathing problems. He had a Bible with him and impressed us by how he read it to the dying as he held their hand. We doctors were all tired, discouraged, psychologically and physically finished. When we had time, we listened to him.
We have reached our limits. We can do no more. People are dying every day. We are exhausted. We have two colleagues who have died, and others that have been infected. We realized that we needed to start asking God for help. We do this when we have a few free minutes. When we talk to each other, we cannot believe that, though we were once fierce atheists, we are now daily in search of peace, asking the Lord to help us continue so that we can take care of the sick.
Yesterday, the 75-year-old pastor died. Despite having had over 120 deaths here in 3 weeks, we were destroyed. He had managed, despite his condition and our difficulties, to bring us a PEACE that we no longer had hoped to find. The pastor went to the Lord, and soon we will follow him if matters continue like this.
I haven’t been home for 6 days. I don’t know when I ate last. I realize my worthlessness on this earth. I want to use my last breath to help others. I am happy to have returned to God while I am surrounded by the suffering and death of my fellow men.
Mercedarian friars proved their mettle years ago by stepping up to the plate to help victims of disease in a city overcome by despair.
Eight friars of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy heroically gave aid to the people of plague-stricken Palermo in 1625-26, and as a result died of contracting the disease, said Fr. Daniel Bowen, O. de M. Fr. Daniel is based at a Cleveland, OH parish and is the Order’s vocation director in the United States.
“These men generously offered their own lives to the people of Palermo,” he said, adding, “This shows that Christians have dealt with such troubles as the coronavirus before, and this will not keep us back from loving the Lord and one another.”
“Prompted by the demands of their fourth vow, these religious men centuries ago put themselves at the material and spiritual service of the plague-stricken people.”
The fourth vow of the Order of Mercy involves offering up one’s own life to ransom those Christians who are held captive because of their faith in Christ. The Order was founded in 1218 in Spain to redeem Christians held captive by Muslims.
“Other religious who had been infected went back after they recovered,” he added, “to serve those plague-stricken people without worrying about the risks.” He said that there was a ninth person in the effort who also died, a Mercedarian tertiary.
There were also three Mercedarian lay knights who voluntarily cared for victims of the plague during the 7th Crusade (13thC). Captured by Muslims and ordered to convert to Islam, they refused, were tortured and killed in Damietta, Egypt.
In response to the threat of the coronavirus, the Order’s Master General in Rome, Fr. Juan Carlos Saavedra Lucho, O. de M., wrote in a March 14 letter sympathizing with those suffering in a world that is “convulsed.” He asked that his friars around the world make a “Chain of Redemptive Love” dedicated to St. Joseph on March 19, his feast day.
This effort would be, he said, “…a sign of our concern for those most affected in the world. Together with all of you, I have the faith and hope that after testing, our faith increases and after the storm comes the calm; but we need to be signs of fraternal charity through the antidote of universal prayer in the Church. In this way, I invite you to make fraternal prayer among religious and the faithful in all Mercedarian communities be the footprints of our evangelizing mission.”
Thus, the Master General was asking his own Mercedarian friars to pray, and to pray together with their parishioners and those whom they serve in this effort.
His letter included a passage that could be used as a prayer:
“May this time of Lent en route towards Easter be a time of true fasting, conversion, and solidarity with what God wants from us. Let us follow the instructions provided by the various institutions concerned with the health of the world. Let us take care of our bodies with corporal hygiene and spiritual cleanliness. Let us help the new captives so that they can overcome the psychosis, the chaos, the anxiety and uncertainty of each day, showing that the Mercedarian is always at the side of the sick and needy.”
Friars of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy can be found in 22 countries, and mainly in the Americas, Italy and India. In the United States, they serve in parishes, hospitals and schools as well as marriage and prison ministry in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida.
