Category Archives: Women’s Communities

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

The Lord Giveth, The Lord Taketh Away

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Sr. Veronica
Sr. Veronica

On November 23, 2013, the Capuchin Poor Clares of Wilmington, DE, as well as family and friends had the joy of witnessing Sr. Veronica de Jesus Amaya’s First Religious Profession. Sr. Veronica’s reception of the black veil, which replaced her white one, symbolized her total consecration to Jesus Christ and her death from the world.

Posted on the internet a day later, was the recording of the death of Sr. Maria Imelda Valencia, OSC Cap., a sister in the same monastery who died on November 4 at age 81.

Sr. Imelda entered the Capuchin Poor Clares in Mexico at the young age of thirteen and learned how to make hosts, sew vestments, play the organ, cook for the community and do laundry. Sr. Leticia writes that, 800 years after St. Clare:

Sr. Maria Imelda
Sr. Maria Imelda

Maria Imelda followed the dream of Clare to live her life totally and exclusively for God.  She wanted to embrace in her arms the God made flesh, and wanted His crucified body to be comforted by her friendship and love.  In her prayer, she was more in touch with humanity than most of us.  God let her hear the cry of the poor and the suffering.  They became loud in her silence.  Their pain became real for her.  Jesus was continuing His Passion in the sufferings of humanity, especially the least among us.  She comforted Jesus in His sorrow by raising up to the Father all those who needed grace in their lives.

Sr. Maria Imelda thought she would live and die in her convent in Mexico. But when volunteers were asked in 1986 to travel to America to begin a new foundation near the Capuchin friars, Sister Maria Imelda, at age 54 was one of eight sisters to embark on the journey. As Sr. Leticia writes:

Sr. Imelda never had the facility to learn English; nevertheless, she found an incredible joy and peace in her new home in Delaware.  As St. Augustine says, “In His will is our peace”.  Can you imagine never understanding a word the preacher is saying, or participating in a conversation, always needing a translator?  What sacrifice!  But for Sr. Imelda, it was just another way of dying to herself so that Christ will rise.

May she rest in the peace of her Spouse whom she longed to see.

News, Women's Communities

Carrying the Divine Message

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tallonOn November 13, 2013, Mother Mary Teresa Tallon’s cause for sainthood was approved by the US bishops during their assembly in Baltimore. Mother Mary Teresa is the foundress of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate who conduct door-to-door, person-to-person ministry in New York, New Jersey, Phoenix, Nigeria and the Philippines.

This kind of evangelization is just the sort that Pope Francis loves. It is a face-to-face meeting with suffering humanity. As one person in England said on the internet: “In all my years, I never knew of a person to person ministry. Let alone an order of nuns, dedicated to this cause….Truly, she is a beacon of light to behold in this universe. Deo gratias.”

pvmiAn example of the kind of work they do can be found in their latest newsletter. Sr. Mary Vivian had corralled a large group of children, ages fourth grade through eight, whose parents had been lax in instructing them in the Faith. Amongst the group who would be receiving their first Holy Communion was Emmy. When the big day came, she came alone; no family bothered to come with her and she was in her every day clothes. If the sisters had known, they would have bought her a special dress to wear. But Emmy didn’t mind. She thanked Sister Mary Vivian for introducing her to God and gave her a little pin that she had bought at a dollar store that said: “Mary.”

As the Sisters said, “Such a touching gift of thanks, from a child who had so little!”

Pray for vocations to this important ministry and for the cause of Mother Tallon whose witness is so needed in our isolated and fractured world. Mother Tallon is buried in Monroe, New York, at the Motherhouse of the Parish Visitors. She is a powerful intercessor, especially for spiritual healings.

“There is another class, so estranged, as to live beyond hearing the message of the Church unless it is carried to them….  Such a mission is the special privilege of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate….  Carry the divine message of the Gospel to neglectful families.” —Mother Mary Teresa Tallon

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

A Tranquil Oasis

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nazarena-6NazarenaYesterday, Pope Francis met with Camaldolese Nuns at the Monastery of Sant’Antonio Abateas (St. Anthony the Abbot) in Rome as the Church celebrated Pro Orantibus “(For Those Who Pray”) Day. The Camaldolese family is one of the ancient monastic orders in the Church, founded by St. Romuald a thousand years ago. They follow the Rule of St. Benedict (but also check out St. Romuald’s brief Rule) and most but not all of the communities existing today are part of the Benedictine Federation family.

The Holy Father greeted the 21 sisters and celebrated Vespers with them. The monastery was once noted for its resident American anchoress, Sister Nazarena of Jesus, who was born Julia Crotta in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Before entering religious life, she studied music at Yale and received a degree from Albertus Magnus College. She became an anchoress in 1945 and lived for 45 years in a tiny room attached to the chapel.

In sister’s cell was a plank for a bed, a small bathroom, a table and a chair (see old story in newspaper done while she was alive). For food, she lived on bread and water with an occasional grape or boiled carrot as a treat. She had a small window to the outside world and another opening into the chapel when she, unseen, participated in Mass ( a priest gave her daily communion).

When the abbess was asked if Sr. Nazarena was insane, she said, “Sister Nazarena is fully sane and has all her faculties. In a wild, self-seeking world, she has found an oasis that has given her tranquility and made her happy. She is the most serene person I have ever met.” Sister died in 1990 at age 82. Pope Francis went to her cell during his visit.

A book on her life by Thomas Matus is available at Amazon.com.

 

 

 

News, Vocations, Women's Communities

Straightening the Wayward Path

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visitation e-bookWhat can you buy for 99¢? Probably not even a candy bar! So, it is a tremendous gift to find an e-book available on discerning a vocation for only ninety-nine cents!

Entitled Straightening the Wayward Path, Online Chats about Discernment, this e-book was compiled by the Visitation Sisters from conversations occurring during their weekly discernment chat room called “The Living Jesus Chat Room.” Topics include: discovering and discerning God’s will, signs of a vocation, finding a religious community and other subjects.

Every Sunday evening from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (EST), a Visitandine sister and chat room guests talk about deepening one’s relationship with Jesus Christ. St. Frances de Sales, the founder of the Visitation Order, continues to draw people to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What he had to say hundreds of years ago is extremely relevant today!

O love eternal,
my soul needs and chooses you eternally!
Ah, come Holy Spirit,
and inflame our hearts with your love!

I just went to Amazon and today at least, the e-book is 99¢ off, that is, it is FREE! Don’t wait!

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

I Have Given My Angels Charge Over You

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pbwatertownToday, the Sister Adorers of the Precious Blood are celebrating the Golden Jubilee of their foundation in Watertown, New York. Bishop Terry LaValley of Ogdensburg will offer Mass in thanksgiving. Seven sisters came to Watertown from their newly built monastery in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1963 at the invitation of Msgr. R. J. McCarthy who had a deep devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus.

The sisters also rejoice today as Sister Mary Pham receives her Habit during this Jubilee Mass at St. Patrick’s Church. Sister Mary was born in Vietnam in 1966 and vividly remembers the explosions of bombs and the firing of guns as Saigon fell to the Communists. Even though her parents had only a grammar school education, they were determined to give their children a good education and a country where they could practice and openly keep their Catholic faith.

So her parents sacrificed their own family life in order to make this happen. Mary and 3 of her siblings became part of the “boat people.” They and 54 others went by river and ocean in two small fishing boats in the hope of reaching Thailand. Mary was in one boat and her 2 brothers and sister were in another. She was teary-eyed as she left her parents, siblings, friends and country for the unknown.

When the reached the ocean, the tiny craft waddled like humpty dumpty in the waves and everyone was sick. When gun shots were fired at the vessel, they became separated from the other boat. Later she learned that it had been captured by the Communist Vietnamese Coast Guard but bribes bought their freedom. After 5 days on the ocean, Mary’s boat reached Thailand and she was taken to a refugee camp. It would be five months before she was reunited with her siblings. All four of them arrived in California in 1981 to live with an aunt. It would not be until 1992 that Mary was reunited with her parents and the rest of her brothers and sisters, the year she graduated from college.

Her vocation story is a whole other story. Sr. Mary says of today, “I would not have the joy of being where I am – or being who I am, today, had I not endured the past.”

 

Women's Communities

Standing With Mary at the Foot of the Cross

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toe 25thA growing order celebrating its 25th anniversary this year are the Franciscans Sisters T.O.R. of Penance of the Sorrowful Mother. The letters T.O.R. mean Third Order Regular which is a significant addition to their name because the founding sisters wished to live anew St. Francis’ call to the TORs to be contemplative penitents committed to prayer and works of mercy.

In a spirit of prayer, poverty and conversion as well as “Under the patronage of our Sorrowful Mother and with the Eucharist as the focal point of our daily life,” they stand with Mary at the foot of the cross, offering their lives with Christ as a holocaust of love for the salvation of souls. What a beautiful summation of their charism.

Their community’s name is a mouthful but no word is there by accident. Penance is most important for “it is penance that frees us from self-oriented preferential love and instead inclines us to give ourselves fully to love God and neighbor.” They fast on Wednesdays for the renewal of religious life and on Fridays for world peace.

They are truly taking to heart Pope Francis’ admonition to go out to the world. In addition to their more local apostolates of running a soup kitchen, engaging in campus ministry, conducting retreats, helping the poor, and visiting the sick and elderly, they also have completed recent mission trips to Ireland and Nicaragua. Their day begins with adoration at 5:30 a.m. All told, the sisters spend 3 to 5 hours in prayer each day.

tor prof crucifix
Sr. Agnes Therese kissing profession cross

Recently, they were featured in the Imagine Sisters new film, “Light of Love,” on religious life.

If you would like to see the sisters in person, come to St. Bernard’s Parish in Pittsburgh on November 16th for a 7:00 Holy Hour or St. Monica’s Parish in Beaver Falls, PA, for a December 1-3 Advent parish mission.

And on August 11th, they welcomed 5 new candidates. What a beautiful 25th anniversary gift! Check out their anniversary video as well!

News, Women's Communities

A Home on the Plains

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viet srs now
The Missionary Sisters

The third president of the IRL was Bishop Glennon P. Flavin, 7th bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska. He founded the community of the School Sisters of Christ the King amongst many other pastoral achievements. A fine biography of the bishop who died in 1995 can be found on the sister’s website.

One of the lesser known things that the bishop did was to establish the first canonical Vietnamese parish in the U.S., a haven where refugees from the Vietnam War could worship in their own language and pass on their traditions and culture to future generations.

Motherhouse in Vietnam
Motherhouse in Vietnam

It was in 1985 that the Bishop invited three sisters from the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Mercy to assist the local Vietnamese community. This community of sisters was founded in the 1950’s by Father Bernard Maria Bui Khai Hoan, CMC., in Saigon. In 1975, some of the sisters were forced to flee the country during the Communist takeover. They ended up in Australia in what they hoped would be a temporary exile. With tears they soon realized that they could not return home. God had other plans for them, far, far from home. While their Motherhouse is in Vietnam, their roots are now in U.S. soil for they were canonically established in the diocese in 1999.

Today, the sisters work in the diocese at a rehabilitation hospital, care for the bishop’s residence, teach catechism at elementary schools and provide assistance at a Vietnamese parish. They also run Little Flowers Daycare.

However, says Sr. Rosaria Hoang, “the work we are doing is not important as to whom we are. With our witnesses to the religious consecrated life, we pray and hope that the Holy Spirit will ‘tap’ on those we have a chance to interact with and draw them all closer to him.”

News, Vocations, Women's Communities

From Sea to Shining Sea

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Postulants
Postulants

On August 28, 2013, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, welcomed 19 (yes, nineteen!) young women as postulants. This follows on the heels of the announcement on July 31 that a Decree had been issued erecting their order as an Institute of Diocesan Right. Bishop Earl Boyea also approved their Constitutions. In 19 years, they have grown to 120 sisters!

When the story of the revival of religious life in America is written, one of the headliners will surely be the Dominican Sisters of Mary. Mother Assumpta Long, OP, was one of the women who was part of the IRL from the beginning and spoke out for the many sisters who increasingly felt voiceless as more “liberal” voices in religious life gained press attention. How grateful we are for her support and wisdom over the years.

Other items of interest gleaned from their latest newsletter includes the news that Sr. Mary Judith had the great joy on May 31st to attend her two (yes, 2) brothers’ diaconate ordinations. Rev. Br. Nathan Caswell, S.J.C., and Rev. Br. Joshua Caswell, S.J.C., were ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago as members of the Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius. Also, Sr. Agnes Maria experienced one of the most memorable days of her life when her little brother, Ricardo Pineda Jr., was ordained a priest forever for the Congregation of the Fathers of Mercy.

Another innovation that I wish had been in place at my Catholic College was inaugurated last year at The Catholic University of America and expanded this year. Called the Religious-in-Residence program, it is a program carried out in conjunction with Campus Ministry where the Dominican sisters minister to young women in the residence halls while pursuing graduate studies.

Mother Assumpta, Sr. Joseph Andrew with Texas sisters
Mother Assumpta & Sr. Joseph Andrew with the Texas sisters

We are also blessed in the Chicago area to have four sisters teaching at two Catholic schools. Sr. Mary Judith and Sr. Teresa Paul teach at St. Benedict the African School in Englewood. It is an all African American school in a very challenging neighborhood. Sr. Mary Magdalene and Sr. Louis Marie teach at St. Ignatius College Prep which notes among its alumni some famous politicians (boy do we need good Catholic politicians), the comedian Bob Newhart and my pastor.

Finally, on September 21, two bishops celebrated the Rite of Blessing for the new OP convent in Georgetown, Texas. It is the first permanent residence for the sisters outside of their home base of Michigan.

Mother Assumpta said: I send a strong commitment to you and everyone in Texas that we are here to stay. I can now say unequivocally: we have sunk our roots in the rich Texas soil!

May God bless them from sea to shining sea! Did I mention they are also in California, Florida, Arizona and Ohio? And Rome?

News, Women's Communities

Sisters Escape Burning Building

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card dolan fdcSomehow I missed this terrible story.

On October 12, 2013, three 19-year-old men set two fires in a Daughters of Divine Charity convent in Staten Island, New York, critically injuring one of the sisters. The three college students had spent the evening smoking marijuana and drinking before breaking into the convent, looking for something to steal. Upon leaving, one of the men set two fires: one in a first floor closet and anther in a 3rd floor bedroom.

The convent is located at St. Joseph Hill Academy on Staten Island. The fire destroyed their chapel, sacristy, archives and provincial offices.This follows on the heels of two other incidences of vandalism on the property. Fortunately, arrests have been made in this latest incident.

Thankfully, Sister Regina Gegic, F.D.C., 45, celebrating 25 years as a religious, was able to return home on Monday after a two-week stay in the hospital. Click here to see the video. Sister was injured when she jumped from a second floor window to escape the blaze, breaking three vertebrae in her back. Another sister escaped the fire unharmed.

Just one day after the fire, Cardinal Timothy Dolan was with the sisters, celebrating the mass in honor of 100 years of service in America. In addition to their education apostolate, the sisters run St. Mary’s Residence for young women in Manhattan. “Sisters, you were prolific from the very beginning,” he said. “The best is yet to come. I think our gratitude is even deeper in the shadows of what happened and it shows how fragile life is and how vulnerable we are.”

On November 7, a fundraiser will be held at Jimmy Max restaurants in the area to help raise funds to restore the convent. If you would like to make a donation, please visit their website.

May God protect them and those they serve.

 

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

Giving Their All To God

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ocd oaklandA year ago, I wrote about a new cloistered Carmelite community that was being established in the Diocese of Oakland. A daughter house of the Carmel in Valparaiso, Nebraska, the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is the only contemplative community in the Oakland diocese.

On October 1, the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, Bishop Michael Barber, S.J., of Oakland celebrated Mass with the nuns. He told them that their vocation is similar to the Beloved Disciple, Saint John, saying, “You are the ones who recline next to Christ at His breast at the table at the Last Supper, you are the ones who have that intimate place with Him, by giving your life to Him and coming into the walls of this monastery. You are the ones that people, priests and bishops come to.”

The bishop spoke from the heart for his association with the Carmelites goes way back.

When he was a little boy, his grandmother and aunts would take him to the Carmel of Cristo Rey (an IRL Affiliate community in San Francisco). There he noticed a bowl next to a statue of St. Teresa of Avila in which petitions were placed. Later, as a young man hoping to be accepted into the Jesuits, he wrote out his own petition. Twelve years later another prayer request went in, asking that his ordination to the priesthood be approved. Finally, as a chaplain going to Iraq, he asked the sisters to pray that he and his 3000 marines would be safe during the deployment. Not one of his men was killed.

In a beautiful article in The Catholic Voice, it states that the sisters normally have six lit candles on the altar during Mass. The seventh is lit when the bishop comes. What a beautiful tradition. According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 79: “On or near the altar there are to be candlesticks with lighted candles, at least two but even four, six, or, if the bishop of the diocese celebrates, seven.”

The Carmelites, said the bishop, are looking for “land on which to build a new monastery or an existing building that could be converted.” They try to be self-sufficient and simple, growing their own vegetables and raising farm animals for milk and eggs. The sisters are vegetarians.

Mother Sylvia Gemma has welcomed their first postulant with another expected within the next few months. Said the bishop: “There are women, 500 years after St. Teresa of Avila, who are still giving their all to God.”