Category Archives: Women’s Communities

Women's Communities

Sisters Speak Out on the HHS Mandate

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The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church are an IRL Affiliate Community who besides professing the typical vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, profess a fourth vow to perform works of charity.  They operate nursing homes, elementary schools, a boarding high school, food pantry and shelter, wherever there is a need to  serve God’s people.

On their website, they have a beautiful write up re: the HHS mandate and why they cannot support it. Here is just a small excerpt:

We joyfully serve the poor and are deeply concerned about the need for universal healthcare for all Americans, rich or poor, working or unemployed, young or aged. We are, nevertheless, firm in our conviction that no law, even one purportedly aimed at the “common good,” can be seen as “good legislation” if it opposes the moral law, requires persons of faith to betray their consciences, and is in flagrant violation of the freedom of religion clause of the Constitution of the United States….We ask all who cherish the freedom of religion given to us by the Constitution, and who stand in opposition to a federal mandate to provide insurance that covers most forms of contraception, to join the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church in earnestly beseeching Almighty God, Source and Protector of all created life that He will inspire our legislative and executive leaders to reverse this onerous decision that threatens the very soul of our nation.
Praised be Jesus Christ.

For the full writeup, click here.

Women's Communities

The Fruit of Silence

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The latest issue (6/17/12) of Our Sunday Visitor cites a study whose findings indicate that nearly a quarter of millennial Catholics will leave the Church by age 24. The study also states that a majority of them believe in abortion rights and same-sex “marriage.”

In the midst of these gloomy findings, however, are the stories of 6 young, committed Catholics evangelists, each doing it in his or her own way. I highlight here the story of one of them: Sr. Evangeline Suprenant, OP, from the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist, because she is the daughter of one of our Advisory Board members, Leon Suprenant.  Sr. Evangeline (now age 24) entered religious life immediately after high school. Why wait, she said, when the call was so clear?

Here is her beautiful advice to young women discerning a vocation. “I recommend cultivating a spirit of silence. Go to daily Mass as often as possible and sit in the presence of the Eucharist. Get to know Christ. Develop a friendship with him. Also make sure you know your Faith, who you are, and the truth about the world around you. In the end, it comes down to what Blessed John Paul II said: ‘Be not afraid.’ When you’re looking in a perfectly open way, with no fear, to fall in love with God and enter whatever vocation he calls you to, he’ll lead you to it. He’s already placed the call on your heart. You just have to listen for it. It really is that simple.”

Women's Communities

The Hidden Life of Ephesus

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On April 15, 2012, 4 novices of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, professed for the first time their vows of stability, obedience and conversion of life. Sr. Assumpta of Jesus Christ the King, Sr. Jean-Marie of the Merciful Love of God, Sr. Columba of Jesus Crucified and Sr. Philomena of the Sacred Wounds of Our Lord form part of this young community that was founded under the aegis of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in 1995. In March 2006, they moved to the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri.

Their Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus takes it name from the city of Ephesus where, according to Tradition, Our Lady lived and perhaps died (though some believe that may have happened in Jerusalem).  Having received a call to emulate Our Lady in her final, hidden years, they offer their lives in prayer and sacrifice for priests. The entire 150 psalms with their hymns are chanted throughout the week and they use the 1962 Monastic Office, with its traditional Gregorian Chant, in Latin.

In addition to recording some beautiful CD’s of sacred music, the sisters also sell altar cloths, vestments, and sacred linens.

Men's communities, Women's Communities

Work of Angels

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This year commemorates the 850th anniversary of the death of St. Theotonius (1082-1162), co-founder of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, a new IRL Affiliate Community. The Order was founded in 1131 and violently suppressed in 1934 by the government of Portugal. The restoration of the Order was undertaken in 1977 by members of the spiritual movement called Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (Work of the Holy Angels). They were granted the privilege to introduce into the Order a “special devotion to the holy angels according to the tradition of the Church.”

In 1958, Pope Pius XII said that our lives are surrounded by the holy angels: “Each one of us, even the poorest of the poor, has angels watching over him. The angels are glorious, pure and splendid, but they have been given to us as companions along the way of life. They have the task of watching over you all, so that you do not stray away from Christ, your Lord.”

Archbishop Allen Vigneron has appointed the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (Grotto) and the Adoration chapel of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, both in Detroit, as places where a plenary indulgence may be gained to mark this special year honoring the saint (February 18, 2012 to February 18, 2013).  The church of Mary, Mother of Mercy in Carrollton, Ohio, will be an additional location where the indulgence may be gained. The relics of the Saint from the original monastery of Coimbra, Portugal, will be on a tour of all the houses of the Order throughout the world. They will be in Detroit from September 10 to 22, 2012.

 

Women's Communities

You Are Forever a Spouse of Christ

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May 31, 2012, was the solemn profession day for two Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of St. Walburga. St. Benedict says in his rule, “Let him who is to be received make in the oratory, in the presence of all, a promise of stability, conversion of manners and obedience before God and his saints. This petition is to be written in his own hand.” The two sisters, Sr. Lioba and Sr. Maria-Gertrude,  followed their spiritual father, Saint Benedict, by doing just that.

Mother had an interesting insight into what it means for a Bride of Christ to die to self.  She said, “You have embraced the very heart of what John the Baptist has said, ‘He must increase, I must decrease.’ If a nun’s deaths do not make her more alive to God, she is still living in the Old Testament, she will not be very good news to the world; but you are good news to the world. You have embraced the Paschal Mystery.”

The Abbey is the newest IRL Affiliate Community. Located in the Archdiocese of Denver, they were founded in 1935 from the Abbey of St. Erentrud in Austria. In addition to participation in the daily Eucharist, spiritual reading and liturgical prayer, they also run a gift shop and retreat house.

 

News, Women's Communities

The Alma Sisters: A Vision of the Religious Woman

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Excerpt from the Alma Sisters website. Well worth reading the complete article!

We, the physicians and future physicians of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan, met on June 2, 2012, to articulate the vision of the call and contribution of religious women in the redemptive healing ministry of the Church. We also addressed statements issued by the Leadership Conference of Woman Religious (LCWR),various news agencies, and other organizations which have created confusion, polarization, and false representations about the beliefs, activities, and priorities of a significant number of women religious in the United States.

As religious women, our whole life is based in faith. Apart from faith, religious life has no meaning. The doctrinal assessment from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) regarding the LCWR is in the language of faith. The responses of opposition are being expressed using the language of politics. There is no basis for authentic dialogue between these two languages. The language of faith is rooted in Jesus Christ, His life and His mission, as well as the magisterial teaching of the Church. In addition, the language of faith does not contradict reason, but elevates it and secures its integrity. The language of politics arises from the social marketplace. The Sisters who use political language in their responses to the magisterial Church reflect the poverty of their education and formation in the faith.

…We praise the generosity and service of religious women who have gone before us. We see great hope for the future of religious life within the Church and for a continuation of its health care mission in the service of all people. This hope lies in remaining within the deposit of faith and the hierarchical structure of the Church. We cannot separate ourselves from sacred Tradition or claim to advance beyond the Church. There will be new expressions of the faith to meet the needs of this present day, but these will be contained within and directed by the Magisterium of the Church. As Saint Augustine exclaims, “O Beauty, ever ancient, ever new!”

Women's Communities

IHM Sisters of Wichita are Growing!

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In the mail today, we received a brief note saying that the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Wichita have obtained 80 acres of land on which to build a house of formation for their novitiate and for those discerning a vocation to religious life. The sisters ask that we join them in renewing our consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and place ourselves, our families, our friends and all our works under her protection. How about doing that today, when we honor the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary? Here is a Solemn Act of Consecration from the EWTN website.

The community, an IRL Affiliate, was founded in 1848 by Fr. Joachim Masmitjá for the purpose of rebuilding society through the education of young women.  In 1979, the community in Wichita became autonomous, a new community with a long history. How wonderful to hear of a community that is growing and planning for the future with the eyes of Faith. Check out their video on YouTube for a glimpse of their life.

Women's Communities

For Greater Glory

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It’s one thing to dispassionately watch a movie. It’s another thing to relive and experience your community’s frightful past while watching it.

On August 1, 1926, Mexico stopped all religious practices. No marriages, no ordinations, no masses. Priests were killed, the most famous being the martyr, Bl. Miguel Pro. Religious freedom gone. The Carmelites of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an IRL Affiliate Community founded by Ven. Mother Luisita, were forced to conduct their work in secret. Some were put in jail. Many sisters were hidden by families willing to risk their lives for the Faith. Mother Luisita came to California in 1927, kissing the ground of a country that protected religious freedom. May we not take it for granted!

Mother’s work became established in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In 1929 she returned to Mexico and continued the work she had begun there, as well as guiding, visiting and directing the sisters in California. She spent the remainder of her life in hiding, ill and living in extreme poverty. The specific charism of Mother Luisita blends contemplation and apostolic works in loving service of the Church and lives on today.

At the invitation of Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, 75 Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart attended the premiere of For Greater Glory which recounts the struggle of the Cristeros, courageous defenders of Jesus Christ,  who fought for religious freedom in Mexico during this time.

The sisters said, “It all became real for us. The Blood. The torture. The injustice of it all. Above all, the faith of the people. What faith!”

Vivo Cristo Rey!

News, Women's Communities

Women Religious

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There is an interesting article in The National Catholic Register regarding the history behind The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) doctrinal assessment.

A little background: The Vatican established the LCWR in the 1950’s (originally named the Conference of Major Superiors of Women in the United States). In the 1980s those religious communities that did not share the political and religious views of the LCWR petitioned the Holy See to allow them to form their own association. This was finally done when the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) was established in 1992.

The IRL Affiliate Communities are part of the CMSWR. Go to our website to see a list of our communities.

According to the article:

The average age of the members of LCWR communities is 73 and increasing, while their numbers fall. Meanwhile, what of the CMSWR? They represent 20% of all the women religious in the U.S., more than 11,000 sisters, but they are young, with an average age of 35 and falling, and they are growing fast. They are happy to state their fidelity to the magisterium of the Church, to pray together as the central focus of their lives, to work together in community apostolates, to wear recognizable religious habits and, above all, to promote and protect their consecration to Christ as the source and goal of the Church’s life.

 

Men's communities, Saints, Women's Communities

Feast of St. Norbert

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

The five ends of the Norbertines are:

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

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

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

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

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

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