Category Archives: Women’s Communities

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

Norbertine Canonesses Continue to Grow!

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Norbertine SrsCongratulations to Sr. Mary Thomas, O.Praem. and Sr. Mary Andre, O.Praem., both Thomas Aquinas College graduates, on their first profession of vows as cloistered Norbertine Canonesses in Tehachapi, California. How happy they look!

The sisters read the following handwritten profession as their families and fellow sisters looked on:

“I renounce the world and I promise a conversion of my ways and life in community, especially in poverty, consecrated chastity, and obedience, according to the Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of the Canonesses Regular of the Order of Premontre, to you Mother Prioress and to the sisters for three years.”

These sisters were just founded in 1996 by a group of lay women who wanted to become Norbertine canonesses. They have grown like crazy and now number 29!

The five fundamental elements of the Norbertine Order are:

  • Solemn and Reverential Celebration of the Sacred Liturgy in Choir: Besides participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the sisters pray the seven canonical hours of the Divine Office together in their chapel.
  • Devotion to the  Holy Eucharist: St. Norbert was known as the Apostle of the Eucharist.
  • Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary: They recite the rosary daily and promote consecration to the Blessed Mother.
  • Spirit of Penance: Knowing the need for continual conversion and reparation, the sisters abstain from meat and keep midnight Vigils amidst the silence of the cloister.
  • Zeal for Souls: With maternal love, the Canonesses embrace the whole world, desiring to bring Christ to spiritual birth in every heart.

We pray for them and beg the Lord for holy and persevering vocations to religious life!

News, Women's Communities

Why Would Anyone Want to Become a Nun?

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Happy Birthday Blessed Mother! The first to walk behind the standard of Christ.
Happy Birthday Blessed Mother! The first to walk behind the standard of Christ.

Time magazine recently had an article about “nuns,” asking why anyone in their right mind would want to become a “nun” these days.

Father Robert McTeigue, S.J. wrote a brief rebuttal. I give you the highlights here. Check out his complete post at Aleteia.org.

To summarize the article, it said in essence:

  • No one is becoming a nun anymore.
  • No one is becoming a nun anymore because the Vatican is mean to nuns.
  • The proof that the Vatican is mean to nuns is that the Vatican won’t let nuns become priests.
  • No one is becoming a nun anymore because all the cool reasons for which young women used to become nuns can now be realized by young women without suffering the indignity of enduring the Vatican’s lack of appreciation.

The author asks why young women would want to join an institution where they cannot rise above a certain level (ie. the priesthood and Pope). Young women do not need religious life anymore. They can become highly educated, travel and do good without being tied down with kids and husbands.

Father says in reply: Notice what the author did not mention.

  • She did not mention women entering religious life because the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience are a path to holiness.
  • She did not mention women entering religious life because they wanted to live as a consecrated bride of Christ.
  • She did not mention women entering religious life to find the consolation of communal life.
  • She did not mention women entering religious life to live the charism of their order’s founder (e.g., loving God in simplicity in the manner of Saint Francis, loving God in truth in the manner of Saint Dominic, etc.).

Regarding this lack of understanding, here is what St. Paul has to say:

“…no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms. Now the natural person does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually” (1 Corinthians 2:11b-14).

Check out our website for communities faithful to the Church who are attracting vocations. Find one near you!

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

St. Clare Festivities – Rockford, Illinois

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pcc malloyLast winter, we had the pleasure of visiting the Poor Clare Colettine Monastery in Rockford, Illinois, where we enjoyed a nice long visit with Mother Dominica. This recent article in the Rockford Catholic newspaper brought back happy memories of the grill and the incredibly nice, yet inexpensive candles available in their modest gift shop.

On August 11, the Feast Day of St. Clare, Bishop David Malloy celebrated Mass with the nuns and gathered guests. He said that the relationship between St. Francis and St. Clare was a “unique sharing of the gift of grace.”

The bishop said that we can’t talk about Clare without talking about poverty. It warns us against believing that wealth “is of our own doing, of our own making” instead of being a gift from God to be used to live justly, in service to the poor.

He said it was rather intimidating “to talk about Clare in front of the experts.” But after Mass, they gave him a thumbs-up from behind the grill when they said his choice of a particular St. Clare biographer was the best one to draw from for his homily.

pcc groupThe Poor Clares of Corpus Christi Monastery are a vibrant IRL Affiliate Community. They begin their day at 12:30 a.m. (!) when the a sister knocks on each cell door to summon the sisters to prayer. The nuns, clothed in the religious habit adapted for the night, rise in silence like the wise Virgins ready and waiting for the call: “The Bridegroom is here, come out to meet Him!”

If you want to really know what one day in their monastery is like, in detail, visit our website: cloisteredlife.com!!

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

St. Teresa of Avila Virtual Choir

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8066354_origNext year, on March 28, 2015, Carmelites around the world will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila, foundress of the Discalced Carmelite Order and first woman Doctor of the Church. In preparation for this momentous event, two virtual choirs composed of real Carmelite voices from around the world will debut this month. It’s hard to imagine but when I listened to a prior virtual choir recording, I was impressed. The singing sounded angelic!

Thanks to the wonders of computer technology, individual Carmelites from around the globe did a recording in the comfort of their own monastery and submitted it on the virtual choir website where it was synchronized with many other voices from around the Carmelite worldwide community and compiled into a single choir. If you did not know differently, one would think that the singers were all in one room. Really quite amazing.

Scott Haines produced Eric Whitacre’s first virtual choir, “Sleep,” in 2009 and the next production “Lux Aurumque” — featuring 185 voices from 12 countries — in 2010. You can listen to the production on YouTube where it has almost 4.5 million views. Scott is the producer behind the St. Teresa celebration.

The world premiere of the two virtual choirs is right around the corner. From August 21 through August 23, it will be part of a public celebration of St. Teresa of Avila in San Jose, California. It will be available on YouTube beginning August 24th. The PBS station KNPB is also producing a documentary on the whole endeavor.

The three day celebration in San Jose, called “The Creative Spiritual Genius of St. Teresa of Avila Today,”  will feature presentations by each branch of the Discalced Carmelite Order (Nuns, Friars, Seculars, Affiliates), a banquet, a special Eucharistic celebration, a concert and the two virtual choirs comprised of members of the Discalced Carmelite Order from around the world.

The songs that will be sung by the two virtual choirs are: Nada Te Turbe, a Spanish piece sung by Discalced Carmelite nuns, and Salve Regina, sung by nuns, friars and seculars. Both pieces were composed by Sister Claire Sokol, OCD.

Sr. Teresita Flynn of the Carmel, California, monastery was one of the singers. “I became so excited by the idea that nuns from all different countries were going to participate in this project to honor St. Teresa,” she said. “We actually didn’t have the equipment to make the recording, and I was very lucky that they prolonged the deadline, and also that someone donated a laptop so we could do it. I did it at about 5 minutes to midnight on the day of the deadline.”

Several members of IRL Affiliate communities will be speaking at the St.Teresa event including Sr. Regina Marie Gorman, OCD, (Alhambra, CA); Sr. Mary Clare Trolley, OCD, (Terre Haute, IN); Sr. Teresita Flynn, OCD, (Carmel, CA); and Sr. Michael Crimmins, OCD, (Danvers, MA).

Registration information can be found here. For those of us who cannot attend, we will look forward to the YouTube premiere!

 

 

 

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

A Poor Clare Father; A Poor Clare Daughter

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PCC corkPCC cork pcc corkWhen a Poor Clare nun enters the monastery, she leaves her family behind forever…or does she?

This wonderful story in the Irish Examiner peaked my interest so I looked deeper into the story behind the foundation of the Poor Clare Colettine Monastery in Cork, Ireland. The Poor Clares of Cork are celebrating the 100th anniversary of their founding this year, something that will make their Christmas Eve Midnight Mass extra-special for this is the date and time when the first Mass was celebrated in the monastery.

The Poor Clares came to Cork because of one man, Walter Dwyer, whose daughter was a Poor Clare nun in Tournai, Belgium. Wishing to have his daughter closer to home as he was dying, he asked the famous Jesuit, Fr. Wille Doyle (He was a military chaplain killed during the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I. His body was never recovered), to find sisters for a new monastery in Cork. Mr. Dwyer said that he would finance it. The long and the short of it is that Fr. Doyle and Mr. Dwyer were successful. The first Mass on Christmas Eve night was attended by the Dwyer family and two of the founding Sisters, one of whom was Sr. Maria Dwyer, Walter’s daughter.

Walter died a peaceful and holy death next door to the Monastery in Bon Secours Hospital. His body rested in the Monastery Chapel the night before his burial. His daughter died 40 years later on her father’s fortieth anniversary. The Cork monastery founded two daughter houses as well in Ennis, Ireland, and in Bothwell, Scotland.

There are currently 8 sisters living in Cork. Please pray that they receive a wonderful Christmas present this year−holy, persevering vocations to fill their monastery.

 

Vocations, Women's Communities

Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi

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osf wiThe IRL was blessed to have as one of its friends, Sr. Evelyn Ann Schumacher (1919-2013), OSF, a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity. Sr. Evelyn Ann wrote many books on a variety of topics that were published by the IRL, usually related but not limited to deepening one’s religious vocation.

One of her books was called An Undivided Heart: Pope John Paul II on the Deeper Realities of the Consecrated Life. She presents the Holy Father’s thoughts on the Call and the Vows that is helpful for novices and aspirants as well as those religious seeking personal renewal. Another book she wrote on the subject of Pope John Paul II’s regard for religious is Holiness Heart of the Renewal: The  Lasting Legacy of Pope John Paul II’s Message to Religious.

Sr. Evelyn Ann’s community’s Motherhouse is located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. They were founded in 1869 in rural Wisconsin by five young Catholic women, in response to God’s call and inspired by St. Francis of Assisi’s Gospel way of life. They serve in a variety of ministries across the U.S.

They are holding Vocation Discernment Retreats on August 17-19th, 2014, and again on August 21-23, 2014, at their beautiful Motherhouse. Click here to register or for more information.

 

 

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

St. Clare – A Family Affair

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St. Agnes of Assisi
St. Agnes of Assisi

I can’t remember where I read this but a bishop once asked a priest (I think Father Hardon, SJ) about vocation programs and asked, “What is the best way to attract priestly vocations?” The answer, “Become a saint, Your Excellency.”

Holiness is attractive and it reminds me of our saint for today, St. Clare of Assisi. The foundress of the Poor Clares, the 2nd Franciscans Order, Clare placed her life into the hands of St. Francis of Assisi in 1212 at the age of about seventeen. Sixteen days later, her younger sister Agnes secretly left the family home to join her sister. Emissaries, sent by their angry Father, dragged Agnes by her hair out of the monastery.They abandoned her in a field because she was so unexpectedly heavy, something viewed as Divine intervention. Their mother, Blessed Hortulana, and younger sister Beatrice, later joined them and their cousin Ruffino was an early companion of St. Francis.  Holiness attracts.

So on this feast day of St. Clare, as we pray for our relatives who may seem far from the faith, let us invoke St. Clare and St. Agnes and ask for their assistance in helping us to become saints, so we can inspire our nearest and dearest to draw closer to the Lord themselves.

O dearest, look on heaven that invites us, and bear the Cross and follow Christ who preceded us; indeed, after various and many tribulations we shall enter through Him into His glory.  Love with your whole heart God and Jesus, His son, crucified for our sins, and never let His memory escape your mind;  make yourself mediate continually on the mysteries of the Cross and the anguish of the mother standing beneath the Cross.

—St. Agnes of Assisi

 

Women's Communities

Little Sisters First Profession

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profession2014On Saturday, July 19, three young women made their first profession of vows of chastity, poverty, obedience and hospitality as Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Ann’s Novitiate in Queens Village, NY.  Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh was the main celebrant and homilist.

Following is a brief introduction of the new Little Sisters:

Sr. Amy Catherine Joseph (Hagedorn), a native of Indiana, met the Little Sisters while a nursing student in Evansville. She received her first obedience for their Home in Philadelphia.

Sr. Elisabeth de l’Eucharistie (Dugré), from Québec, Canada, met the Little Sisters while working as a baker in Montréal. In addition to her culinary skills, Sister Elisabeth is an accomplished flutist. Her sister played the cello for the Profession ceremony, and her mom sang a beautiful meditation hymn in French! Sister Elisabeth was assigned to their Home in Dinan, France, the third home of the Congregation and the site where St. Jeanne Jugan worked with the Brothers of St. John of God to draft the original Constitutions of the congregation.

Sr. Maria Carmen Therese (Ozuna) was born in Mexico but then migrated to the United States, settling in the Philadelphia area. Sister Maria Carmen worked as a child care provider before entering their congregation. Her sister performed a beautiful meditation hymn in Spanish during the ceremony. Sister Maria Carmen Therese is headed to Jeanne Jugan Residence in Washington, D.C.

Click here to enjoy a slide show of the new Little Sisters!

 

 

News, Women's Communities

Looking For Spiritual Renewal?

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dscjpodiumRight now, the IRL is hosting the Vita Consecrata Institute, a summer program of  spiritual renewal and graduate-level studies on the theology of the consecrated life. One group of attendees who attended the first session came from the Disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Christoval, Texas.

Sr. Magdalena, Sr. Mary Thomas and Sr. Elizabeth Ann took classes on the Theology and Spirituality of the New Evangelization and the Vows according to St. Thomas Aquinas. Sr. Elizabeth Ann was able to pray in front of the tomb of her patron, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and the sisters had fun going kayaking in the Shenendoah river!

dscj kAYAKAs you can see from the pictures, it is not all classroom study! There are outings, a daily schedule of prayer and lifelong friendships developed with different communities from around the country and sometimes the world. The course of studies is designed for priests, religious and other consecrated persons who seek spiritual renewal and enrichment. You can take the courses for credit towards a Masters Degree or simply audit them.

The classes are held at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. For more information, visit our website.

 

 

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

Golden Jubilee for a Daughter of Carmel

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May crowning - Sr Tanya 2On this beautiful Feast Day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, it is wonderful to highlight the Golden Jubilee of a daughter of Carmel, Sr. Tanya of the Carmelite Monastery in Latrobe, PA.

Sr. Tanya (born Tatiana) knew from age six that she had a desire for God. Though she frequently went to daily Mass with her mother at a nearby Carmel, she first spent some time with the Maryknoll Sisters before coming to Carmel in 1962. The Carmel in Latrobe was founded from the Carmel in Loretto, PA, in 1961. Sr. Tanya was one of the first two women to enter the new Carmel.

Sr. Tanya is a talented artist who painted the images of the Way of the Cross that are hanging in the the Chapel. She is an avid gardener and has great devotion to Our Blessed Mother and skillfully makes Rosaries to sell in their store.

Her sisters say that her fidelity to God and to the Queen of Carmel is manifest in her generosity and self-giving love.

With a public celebration of the Eucharist in August followed by a reception, the sisters will thank God for His goodness to her and to their community.  Later this year, the Carmelites will begin a year-long celebration preparing for the 500th birthday of St. Teresa of Avila, who reformed the Carmelite Order.

May Sr. Tanya have many more joyous and fruitful years ahead, all to the glory of God!

Photo of community taken by Sr. Tanya. She is at the upper right.
Photo of community taken by Sr. Tanya.