Category Archives: Women’s Communities

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

Letter from Cardinal Ouellet to the Poor Clares of Assisi

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Letter from Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, to Mother Clare Agnese Acquadro, Abbess of the Protomonastery of the Poor Clares of Assisi.

Dear Mother Agnes, you phoned me about the coronavirus pandemic. It was the time when Pope Francis asked families in involuntary isolation that their hearts go beyond the home. Cor ad cor loquitur. We helped each other to respond in faith and you begged me to write a few words to your nuns.

I do this willingly out of friendship, but above all in the name of Jesus who one day called you to voluntary isolation out of love. Are you not blessed because you walk with Him to the heart of the pilgrim Church, opening your soul more and more to the secrets of His Heart? It is sometimes thought that you have fled the world to rejoice peacefully in God’s friendship. Current events free us from this partial vision. In fact, at a time when, despite the heroism of men and women working in health care, so many families suffer the illness and death of their loved ones in solitude, without being able to accompany them or give them the final farewell, you, contemplatives of the Crucified One, are at their bedside, you to whom the Spirit enlarges the heart to the most hidden frontiers of suffering humanity.

Dear Mother Agnes, the pandemic which confines us in our house is your hour, the hour of contemplative life which brings humanity and the Church back to God, to the essentials of faith, prayer and communion in the Spirit. You, brides of the immolated Lamb, bow maternally over those dying during the day and those struggling with despair during the night, and invoke on every pain and every death the consolation of Hope which does not disappoint. Your discreet and widespread presence, carried by the Breath of the Risen One and the fragrance of His nuptial Love, is a balm of tenderness and peace on the wounds of all brothers and sisters in humanity.

How is this possible? This question is asked by a generation paralyzed by the globalization of indifference and blinded by the cult of Mammon. Yet, in the great test of today, each conscience is questioned by this planetary arrest which resembles a universal Lent. The fear of uncontrollable contagion, the collapse of financial stock exchanges and social paralysis force us to open ourselves to more essential questions. One day, the Virgin of Nazareth, astonished by the Angel’s Annunciation, asked a question that was vital for the whole of humanity: How will this happen, since I know not man? The divine answer, unheard of, came down from heaven: The Holy Spirit will descend upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with his shadow. This response inaugurates the last stage of God’s plan, his marriage to his creature in Jesus Christ, He who raises his created bride to the highest peaks of Love.

This dream was that of divine Wisdom at the origins of creation, when the Spirit hovered over the primordial waters, preparing the Garden of Eden for the happiness of the human family. The Lord created me as the beginning of his activity, before all his work, at the origin. When the abysses did not exist, I was generated (Pr 8:22,24). Wisdom was not at all upset by the madness of humanity, she was able to lead it back from its bewilderment with the madness of Jesus’ Love until death on the Cross. For this reason, God exalted him and gave him the name which is above all names, so that in his Name we too might share in the prerogatives of his creative and redeeming love.

Dear nuns and contemplative souls who guard the hope of our threatened land, the Love of the Redeemer who married you, this Love without frontiers and without limits in the freedom of the Spirit, allows you to fly high and far like messenger doves of Peace and Hope. The Love that has been charged with our sorrows and our errors, that was made sin in our favor (2 Cor 5:21) and that has overcome evil, death and Hell with its obedience, this immolated and victorious Love leads you with it in its race towards the most suffering victims of its mystical body.

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), destined for the hell of Auschwitz, one day expressed it this way: Do you hear the moans of the wounded on the battlefields? Do you hear the rales of dying people’s agony? Do the moaning, thirst and pain of men move your heart? Do you wish to be near them, to help them, to comfort them and to heal their deepest wounds?

Embrace Christ. If you are united to him with the nuptial bond, his blood will flow in your veins, his blood that heals, redeems, sanctifies and saves. Joined to him you will be present in all places of pain and hope”. (Ave Crux, Spes unica, September 14, 1939).

In the days of that horrible tribulation, Etty Hillesum, another sacrificed Jew, in ecstasy by a joy wholly Christian because of a fascinating intimate discovery, tenderly held her God to help Him, because she felt Him wounded by an unspeakable hatred.

It is true that we are not all chosen souls, the weight of error weighs down our wings of compassion, but is not our contemplative life wrapped up in Mary’s immaculate offering, indissolubly united to the Easter sacrifice of her divine Son? What is the point, then, of mourning heavily for our sins? Let us forget our misery and have eyes only for this infinitely fruitful Covenant of which we bear joyful witness to the world. Because of the voluntary isolation of our souls hidden in the cracks of the rock, are we not the Church-Bride dedicated to the worship of the Bridegroom God, representing the whole of humanity, ardently awaiting his return like the sentinels of dawn?

Dear contemplatives of the Lord’s Passion, you find in this suffering of Love all humanity and all divinity united in one flesh. You are lovingly present to God and in God to all creation which He carries in His sovereign hand. In love, you move the stars, you move the mountains, you irrigate the earth with subterranean and purifying living waters, you turn the hearts of Angels and men towards peace in history, you embellish the Church with flowers and tasty fruits, in short, you cheer the Heart of the Holy Trinity with your resonant praise to the Glory of his Love.

Since you are in the front line of the Church in all the battles of the Spirit, we, priests and laity grappling with the urgent needs of the field hospital, lift our eyes to the light that shines on the Tabor of your cloisters. We stand in the plain supported by your listening to Jesus and your arms raised to heaven. Your life illuminates our life and makes us more alive from this divine Life to be given to the beggars of this world. Be blessed and thanked by Him whose intimacy fills every desire and even more so. Take care of us in your prayer, together with the Successor of Peter who implores you to assist him always and above all in this hour of the pandemic.

Dear Mother Agnes, in this unprecedented time of Lent and hope, I remain united and grateful to you for your call, glad of this deeper communion which rekindles our hope in the Risen Christ. Glory to God, Thanks be to you, Peace on this Earth in the midst of its tribulation!

 

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Passionist Tri-Centennial Jubilee Icon

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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

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News, Vocations, Women's Communities

Franciscan Sisters and Cistercian Nuns Offer Lenten Discernment of Spirits Retreat – March 14th

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What a marvelous idea –  to have two religious communities host a Come & See Retreat. The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and Cistercian Nuns are offering a silent Discernment of Spirits Retreat on March 14, 2020.  You can experience both active and cloistered  religious life at one event.

Franciscan Sister Jacqueline Spaniola, OSF, leads the retreat day.  St. Ignatius’ inspired and practical discernment process will be introduced and reflective time provided to pray through the material.

The Sisters and the Nuns will be available for conversation and questions about their active and contemplative religious life. Join them for the tranquility of Valley of Our Lady Monastery near Prairie du Sac, WI.


For more information or to register, please click here. Call or text Sister Julie Ann at 920-323-9632.

 

Women's Communities

Congregation of Norbertine Sisters – New Affiliate!

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The IRL welcomes our newest Affiliate Community—the Congregation of Norbertine Sisters in Wilmington, California. They are the newest branch on the Norbertine Order which lives according to the age-old inspiration of St. Norbert (1080-1134) and the Rule of St. Augustine.

The community was founded by the General House of the Congregation of Norbertine Sisters in Slovakia.  The Congregation was originally established in 1902 in the Czech Republic by Rev. Vojtech Frejka, a Norbertine Father from the Abbey of Strahov in Prague, to renew the Norbertine way of life in the region.

In 2006, Rev. Thomas Nelson, O.Praem., from St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County, California, spoke with the Norbertine Sisters’ Superior General, Mother Hermana, about establishing a new community of active Norbertine sisters in the USA.  In 2011, three sisters from Slovakia responded to that invitation and came to Wilmington, California to live in the convent belonging to SS. Peter and Paul Parish.

In 2019, the growing community of 10 (with 2 candidates) expanded to a second convent at St. John the Baptist parish in Costa Mesa. The focus is on the formation of new vocations. With God’s blessing, this “new branch” will bear fruits of love, peace and joy, and will become a home where vocations bloom!

Their life is centered on daily Mass, praying the Divine Office, and Eucharistic Holy Hour.  They strive for unity of mind and heart which overflows into a love that embraces all people.  They humbly implore the Virgin Mary to teach them to be completely devoted to God and to serve His people with total dedication.

As Norbertines, they are not bound to any specific apostolate, but in the spirit of St. Norbert, are “prepared for every good work.”  Currently, they operate the Poverty Program which provides food and clothing for over 700 families, teach religious education to children and adults, staff the parish bookstore, and work in the sacristy.  In the spirit of St. Norbert, the Congregation has sought to maintain a balance between liturgical prayer, zeal for souls, and contemplation.

For more information, visit: https://www.congregationofnorbertinesisters.org/

Email: norbertinesrscm@gmail.com

 

News, Women's Communities

Lovers of the Holy Cross Celebrate 350th Anniversary

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The Lovers of the Holy Cross opened a Jubilee Year of celebration on September 14, 2019, with a Mass at Christ Cathedral in Orange, California, commemorating the 350th anniversary of their founding.  Founded in Vietnam in 1670 by Bishop Pierre Marie Lambert de la Motte, a French missionary, the congregation has faithfully endured despite experiencing a turbulent history of persecutions, wars and religious suppression.

On September 9, 1659, Pope Alexander VII signed the edict Super Cathedram establishing two apostolic dioceses in Vietnam, appointing Bishop Lambert to be Apostolic Vicar of South Vietnam.  This event marked the birth of the Vietnamese Catholic Church.   He received the vows of the first two Lovers of the Holy Cross in 1670.

In the ensuring years, the congregation went through a painful history of bloody martyrdom, where convents were destroyed, sisters dispersed and others killed for their faith. Today, they number 30 congregations in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and the U.S., with over six thousand sisters serving the people of God.

The Lovers of the Holy Cross of Los Angeles, one of the autonomous and independent congregations that are part of the family, was established in 1992. Ministering in the Los Angeles area, they have 66 professed sisters, four novices, seven postulants and seven candidates in eight communities.

The spirituality of the Lovers of the Holy Cross is embodied in their love for Jesus Christ Crucified, believing that “in my flesh, I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of His body, which is the Church.” (Col 1:24)

“Since the beginning,” said Sr. Grace Duc Le, Superior General, “our spiritual patrimony continues to inspire us to offer ourselves generously in serving the poor and homeless in shelters and on the streets, assisting the sick and lonely, and teaching the youth faith and morals.  May we passionately do everything for the sake of glorifying God and for the salvation of souls!”

For more information, please visit: www.lhcla.org

News, Women's Communities

Carmelites of the Divine Heart of Jesus Open New Residential Home for Women

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Last Fall, the Carmelites of the Divine Heart of Jesus opened a new residence  for women with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. This is a new apostolate for the sisters, who previously ran a boys home on the site that began as an orphanage back in 1916. The building can house 15 independent and ambulatory women in beautiful apartments designed to give the women their independence while building community though the common eating area, work assignments and spiritual nourishment.

As parents age, their desire to find a safe and nurturing home for a daughter or son with special needs becomes a worrying issue. They are looking for a place where their loved one will be safe, happy, busy and spiritually nourished. This home addresses that concern and then some with activities, religious education, daily Mass, beautiful accommodations, and a community spirit, all under the watchful and loving care of the sisters whose convent is located on the same grounds.

They also plan on opening a Formation and Enrichment Center in the Fall for men and women with IDD, offering a wide range of programs and activities for adults seeking to grow to their fullest potential. Many thanks to Fr. Al Veik, OFM Cap., Sr. M. Rose Therese, Carmel DCJ, and Teresa for their warm welcome.

Please visit their website for more information or email:  srrosetherese.stjo@gmail.com

The charism of their Foundress, Mother Maria Teresa of St. Joseph, was to put the CONTEMPLATIVE spirit of Carmel into the ACTIVE SERVICE of the direct apostolate, aggregated with the First Order of Discalced Carmelites…. A gift to the Church and the world and a new branch on the Ancient Tree.

 

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Cistercian Sisters Monastery Campaign

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The Cistercian nuns of Our Lady of the Valley Monastery in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, are in the midst of a building campaign for a new monastery.  Arriving in 1957 from Germany to the newly formed Diocese of Madison, the sister currently live in what was intended to be temporary housing.  As you can see from the picture, the monastery, while quaint, it is not adequate for the 22 sisters currently residing there and has needed a lot of maintenance recently to keep it inhabitable.

As you can also see from the building plans, a monastery such as this rising up from the beautiful rolling hills of central Wisconsin will be a glorious reminder to all who pass by that there are women within who have dedicated their lives to prayer and penance for the Church and the world.

“Dwelling in the very heart of the Church, the Sisters offer their lives to God in a hidden oblation of self,” said Bishop Donald Hying of Madison. “We will never know this side of heaven the blessings and graces we have all received through the life and prayer of our beloved Cistercian nuns!”

The completed monastery complex will include a chapel for nuns and guests; quarters and parking for guests; living, working and other liturgical and ceremonial spaces for the nuns; an altar bread production building, garage and various outbuildings.

For more information, contact: Sister Bede, Valley of Our Lady, E11096 Yanke Drive, Prairie du Sac, WI, 53578 or email: nmfund@valleyofourlady.org.

 

 

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Visitation Sisters Celebrate Jubilee Year for the 100th Anniversary of the Canonization of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

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On May 13, 2020, the Order of the Visitation we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM. To celebrate this occasion, they obtained from the Apostolic Penitentiary of Rome the grace of a Jubilee Year for all of the monasteries of the Order of the Visitation and the grace of a plenary indulgence to all those who pass through the doors of their Monastery chapels.

The year will open on October 16, 2019 and will close on October 17, 2020.

The usual conditions of a plenary indulgence apply:

  • To be in a state of grace
  • To go to Confession and to receive Holy Communion within 20 days preceding or following
  • To pray for the intentions of the Holy Father

… on the following dates:

  • October 16, 2019 Feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM
  • January 24, 2020 Solemnity of St. Francis de Sales
  • May 13, 2020 100th Anniversary of the Canonization of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM
  • May 31, 2020 Solemnity of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary
  • June 19, 2020 Solemnity of the Sacred Heart
  • August 12, 2020 Solemnity of St. Jane de Chantal
  • October 16, 2020 Feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM
  • Monthly First Fridays

A video was produced by VocationPromotion.com explaining the timeless significance of the messages of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary in support of this Jubilee Year.

When requesting this grace from the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Visitation nuns  expressed the reason for this Jubilee as follows:

“ [. . .] Desiring to be renewed (in the mission received by our Holy Order of the Visitation), so that the love of the Heart of Jesus might further shine forth over the world, we have thought that the grace of a Jubilee Year, with the possibility of a plenary indulgence, could also allow the numerous faithful who frequent the chapels of our monasteries to intimately experience the love of the Heart of Jesus, and to render him ‘love for love’ according to the desire that he himself had expressed to Saint Margaret Mary.

There are four Visitation Monasteries that are Affiliates of the IRL located in:

Snellville, Georgia

 

 

 

 

 

Tyringham, Massachusets

 

 

 

 

 

Toledo, Ohio

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile, Alabama

 

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Dominican Monastery in Marbury, Alabama, Celebrates 75th Jubilee

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This year, the Dominican nuns of the Monastery of St. Jude in Marbury, Alabama, are celebrating their 75th anniversary. 

How it began is truly divinely inspired…

In the 1930’s, Mother Mary of Jesus, the prioress of the cloistered Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary in Catonsville, Maryland, saw as in a vision a race riot, with a crowd of angry people with clubs in hand engaged in a violent struggle. Then the scene changed and the same mob knelt in prayer, each one with a rosary in hand. On the hill in the distance there was a monastery with Sisters of all races praying the rosary with arms outstretched before the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Mary of Jesus felt that God was indicating His desire that there should be an interracial community where any young Catholic woman called to live the cloistered, contemplative life would be welcome. Mother Mary of Jesus died on November 18, 1939, having confided her “dream,” as she called it, to Mother Mary Dominic.

When a young woman was denied entrance to Catonsville because of her race, the time seemed right. Mother Mary Dominic and Mother Mary of the Child Jesus obtained permission to write bishops around the country. Mutual friends put them in touch with Bishop Thomas J. Toolen of Mobile, Alabama. He extended a kind welcome and introduced them to Fr. Purcell, who had long desired a monastery of Contemplative Sisters at the City of St. Jude.

Aspirants came and tried their vocation and in time the first two young women persevered to make Perpetual Vows, June 13, 1950. As more Sisters were received, the little house began to bulge at the seams. Dreams and plans for a “real monastery” were discussed and put away for a future day. To ease the strain of limited space, the Sisters installed a folding stairway to the attic. On Archbishop Toolen’s next visit, he was shown their achievement and asked again for permission to build. Archbishop considered a moment, looked at Mother Mary Dominic with a twinkle in his eye and said, “Yes Mother, go ahead. If the Sisters can help, you will save a lot on expenses.” On January 1, 1953, the bulldozer arrived to begin construction. On October 28, 1953, the Sisters moved into the new half-built monastery, which was completed over the ensuing years as funds allowed, forming the simple yet cherished building they have today.

Sheltered within the cloister walls, the Sisters were already living the harmony and equality before God and man that were so hotly contested in society during the 1960’s. Young women continued to be drawn to give their lives to God; in the monastery, no racial tensions arose to mar the focus on love of God and of the Sisters. When Mother Mary Dominic went to her eternal reward on July 20, 1966, she knew that her life’s work had been an offering acceptable to God. Today, they continue to give their lives to God for the salvation of souls, grateful that the community is no longer unique in admitting young women of any race.

As the tumult of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s rocked both society and the Church, the cloister at Marbury represented an oasis of stability and tradition to the young women who entered during this time. Until her death on June 2, 1980, Mother Mary of the Child Jesus wisely protected the community from disturbances and ensured that the Sisters received authentic Catholic teaching.

The community was founded as a monastery of cloistered contemplative Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary, a branch of the Dominican family specifically dedicated to honoring Our Lady and interceding for souls through the perpetual recitation of the Rosary. From the beginning, the Mother Foundresses had desired to continue their life of Rosary devotion more closely united to the Dominican Order as papally enclosed nuns. With a new edition of the Church’s canon law and the need for updated Constitutions, the time seemed ripe. On August 15, 1995, all the Sisters in the community joyfully pronounced their Solemn Profession as Nuns of the Order of Preachers.

Hour after hour, the Sisters succeed each other praying the Rosary, for Mary’s honor and in intercession for the needs of the world. Our Mothers bequeathed to us a tender love for Our Lady, in our Dominican spirit, as we live out Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary.

Please visit their website for more information!

(Information gleaned from their 75th Jubilee Newsletter)

Women's Communities

The Norbertine Sisters of Wilmington, California

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People are very familiar with the Norbertine men of St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado California and the cloistered Norbertine Canonesses of Tehachapi California.  Lesser known are the active Norbertine Sisters who came to Wilmington, California in 2011, sent by the General House of the Congregation of Norbertine Sisters in Slovakia.

This Congregation was originally founded in 1902 in the Czech Republic by Fr. Vojtech Frejka, a Norbertine Father from the abbey of Strahov in Prague, to renew the Norbertine way of life in the region. Since cloistered religious life had been suppressed in Czechoslovakia, the first three novices were sent to a Norbertine convent in Poland for their formation. They were instructed by their novice mistress, Sister (later-Mother) Michaela Andrusikiewicz, who would become the first superior of the new Congregation and is considered their co-foundress.

In the spirit of St. Norbert, the sisters have no specific apostolate but are prepared for every good work.  Their life is centered around daily Mass, praying the divine office, and a Eucharistic holy hour. They humbly implore the Virgin Mary to teach them to be completely devoted to God and to serve His people with total dedication.

In Wilmington, they help needy families by operating a poverty program, teach at SS. Peter and Paul school, work in the bookstore, help in the sacristy, and teach Catechism and Confirmation classes.

At their convent, which is also their formation house, there are three Sisters from Slovakia: Sr. Adriana Gacikova, S.Praem., Sr. Roberta Sprlakova, S.Praem., and Sr. Benedikta Hornikova, S.Praem., with five women in formation.

For young women, the sisters have regular Days of Recollection and a monthly Holy Hour. For more information, visit: www.CongregationofNorbertineSisters.org

email: norbertinesrswilm@gmail.com