Tag Archives: Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa

News

Magdala Apostolate for Religious Sisters: A Testimonial from the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa

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The Magdala Apostolate is an outreach project of the Institute of Catholic Culture and is dedicated to providing sound doctrinal formation—both initial and ongoing—for women religious and novices, in accord with the Church’s call for a new evangelization. Each term, they offer free, online, semester-long courses in the faith to any religious sister or community who applies. 

Here is a testimonial from the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa who believe that this program provides their Sisters with orthodox, faithful and profound spiritual and academic formation that would be hard to obtain elsewhere.

“…Unity through charity, and pursuit of truth through learning”

As the Constitutions of the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa are based upon the ancient Rule of St. Augustine, we are devoted to living according the above motto. In this “pursuit of truth through learning”, the Magdala Apostolate of the Institute of Catholic Culture has come to our unparalleled assistance.  In the decade since our founding we have been blessed with many beautiful vocations to our congregation, and as such our Mother House, Mater Dei Convent, is home to Sisters in every level of formation and profession. Mater Dei serves as Novitiate, House of Studies and Apostolic House all in one. Through courses offered through the Magdala Apostolate, formation is available for all our Sisters and their varying needs. As an individual and in community, our Sisters have benefited from the Magdala Apostolate from postulancy unto perpetual profession and beyond.

In the Postulate and Novitiate, the Philosophy, Scripture and Catechesis available through the Magdala Apostolate have constituted a foundational aspect of our formation program. The immense support that the Magdala Apostolate education provides for the Sisters’ ministries becomes all the more evident after profession when the Sisters, often teaching in some capacity, have a classroom of eager eyes, looking to them for the truth of History, Philosophy, Art, and—most importantly—the Faith.  Having been intellectually fortified for the task by the Magdala Apostolate, our Sisters are better equipped to meet this need.  Many Sisters have found the courses so helpful in this regard, that they will seek the opportunity to continue their education with the Magdala Apostolate through classes and recordings long after the profession of vows. Not only does the Magdala Apostolate provide edification for our Sisters intellectually but also spiritually. The many courses and special lectures on the liturgical year, lives of the saints, and spirituality have been utilized by the Sisters, as individuals and as a community, to expand our minds and hearts with the love and knowledge of God.

In sum, the Magdala Apostolate has enabled us to provide our Sisters with orthodox, faithful and profound spiritual and academic formation at a level that would be nigh impossible to receive without it. The ability to learn from our convent home, to enroll in courses that best suit our personal and community needs, and to know better and better through these courses the Lord who is the Lord of all truth so that we may, faithful to our charism, better impart “…the beauty goodness and truth of the Catholic Faith…”. With much gratitude to the generous benefactors of the Magdala Apostolate, and to all that labor with this wonderful branch of the Institute of Catholic Culture, we wholeheartedly pray that this apostolate grow, with Our Lord’s help, forming the minds and hearts of Religious so that we may in turn form the souls of those to whom we minister.

Registration for the Spring 2023 semester will close on Monday, January 9, 2023. The following is a list of courses:  

HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSECRATED LIFE II—Mother Maria Regina van den Berg

THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES—Mark Wunsch, Ph.D. 

NICAEAN AND POST-NICAEAN FATHERS—John Pepino, Ph.D. 

INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT—Ximena DeBroeck, Ph.D. 

SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY—Rev. David Anderson 

BIBLICAL APOLOGETICS
—Rev. Sebastian Carnazzo, Ph.D. 

 In addition to their classes specifically for religious sisters, the Institute of Catholic Culture also offers courses online available for all in people seeking to learn more about the Faith, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. Here is one for the Spring semester: 

CATHOLIC POLITICAL THOUGHT 101—Chad Pecknold, Ph.D. 

 Religious sisters may register here: magdalaapostolate.org

News, Women's Communities

Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa Acquire Former Ursuline Property

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On this Feast day of St. Angela Merici, the Ursuline Sisters, who have served in the Diocese of Santa Rosa for more than 130 years, announced the sale of their property at 400 Angela Drive in Santa Rosa, California, to the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa.

After careful, sometimes painful discernment, the Ursuline Sisters determined that they are no longer able to carry on their ministries from this location. Three years ago, the property and buildings suffered severe damage from a wildfire. It took the Ursulines three years to repair the damage.

Recently, they decided to sell the convent, as well as the adjacent property, to the Marian Sisters.  The Ursulines expressed their deepest gratitude to all the people who have supported them and graced their halls and grounds. “We are truly blessed. It is our desire that the Marian Sisters enjoy the property and make it their home for many years to come.”

The Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa were established in 2012 and have grown readily since then. They serve in Catholic schools, the Chancery, and Parish offices, and do catechetical instruction, retreat talks, youth events, liturgical music, and sacristy care.

“We are honored to work with the Ursuline Sisters through this transition,” Reverend Mother Teresa Christe, MSSR, stated, “and we look forward to continuing to use this property for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. The acquisition of the property is a big step in deepening our roots in this community.” The Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa hope to establish residence at Ursula Hall Spring 2021.

From the  Marian Sisters’ Blog:

As a result of the 2017 fires, the Sisters have worked hard to repair the grounds and bring the convent to a safe condition.
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It has been an honor to work with the Ursuline Sisters through this transition. The Ursuline’s have given so much to the community of Santa Rosa, and we pray that our religious family may be able to do the same. The acquisition of the property is a big step in deepening our roots and allowing us the room to grow, as many women are answering God’s call to religious life and wishing to join us.

We ask for your prayers in this transition, so that we – through the intercession of Our Lady, St. Joseph, and St. Angela Merici – may give Our Lord a place where He is loved and served above all else.

For more information about the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa, visit www.mariansisters.com.

(Article adapted from the Ursuline Sisters Press Release)

Saints

The Patroness of Santa Rosa

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St. Rose of Lima, St. Joseph Cathedral, Macon, Georgia
St. Rose of Lima, St. Joseph Cathedral, Macon, Georgia

The President of the IRL is Most Rev. Robert Vasa, Bishop of Santa Rosa. A relatively new community of sisters founded in the diocese is called the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa. Who or what is Santa Rosa? It is none other than St. Rose of Lima, patroness of the Americas and of the Diocese of Santa Rosa!

We recently celebrated the Feast Day of St. Rose of Lima on August 23rd but her traditional Feast Day was August 30th, so we can honor her life in between both dates with this little interesting history.

St. Rose of Lima was born in Lima, Peru, April 20th, 1586, the first canonized saint of the New World. Though very beautiful, she did what she could to appear unattractive to men for she had taken a vow of virginity at a young age. In 1597, she was confirmed by the Archbishop of Lima, Turibius de Mongrovejo (d. 1606, canonized 1726). Like St. Catherine of Siena, she became a Third Order Dominican. Her life of prayer and penance and dedication to the poor was carried out from the family home for her parents did not want her to enter a convent. She died in 1617 and was canonized in 1671.

On St. Rose’s feast day in 1828, a priest was celebrating Mass on a creek bank near the site now occupied by St. Eugene Cathedral in Santa Rosa, California. A group of Native Americans watched from a distance so Father Juan went over and explained the Faith to them and the necessity of baptism. A young girl stepped forward and asked to be baptized. She received the name of Rosa, hence the rivlet and the area got their names. There is a plaque commemorating the event on a path along the creek.

St. Rose of Lima, pray for the diocese and the Marian Sisters, that they may be people of dedication to prayer and to selfless service to those in need.

“Apart from the Cross,

there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.”

— St. Rose of Lima

Women's Communities

Giving God the Whole Tree: An Image of Religious Life

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marian srsAn interview with Mother Teresa Christe of the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa is featured in the most recent issue of the The Catholic World Report. Recognized as an Association of the Faithful in 2012, the Marian Sisters were invited to the Diocese of Santa Rosa by Bishop Robert Vasa, the President of the IRL. The four sisters will welcome three new postulants on February 2, 2014.

In reading Mother’s testimony of their lives, you can truly see the hand of God at work for our time! What a model for evangelization! The ministries they are involved in, their impact on their students, the witness of their religious lives, all point to the value religious life has today in our broken culture. Their goal is to teach people the Catholic faith, emphasizing its beauty and goodness and eternal vision.

That’s one the problems, Mother says, about society today. “The culture previously had a greater sense of God’s presence, and saw life on earth as a temporary time before going to heaven. In the 1960s, …people thought they should get the most out of their lives here, and material goods increased in their importance.  Devastation followed, and many broken families have resulted.”

Regarding communities with a more “liberal” perspective, Mother observes: “As Bishop Vasa has said, theirs is not a religious life but an apostolic one.  They don’t live in common, they have their own bank accounts…they have the elements of the single life rather than the religious one.”

The Marian Sisters begin their early day with an hour of Eucharistic adoration and the Divine Office.  They are a bridge between tradition and today, participating in the Mass celebrated in both forms of the Roman Rite. Mother says, “Ours is a structured religious life, which works for four or 400 sisters.  Our vision is to faithfully and lovingly live our lives.”

Here is her beautiful and vivid description of religious life:

I went on a high school retreat, and listened to a priest speaking on vocations.  He said that we were all like a tree, which bears fruit from the use of our time, talent, and treasure.  As we grow into adulthood, we give to God from that tree.

However, if you are called to religious life, you give God the whole tree.  He gets to plant it where he wants, and pick from it what he wants.  The whole tree belongs to him.  Some are called to give that whole tree. 

To see the entire interview, click here.

 

News, Women's Communities

BBQ With the Marian Sisters

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For those of you who like to support new and growing communities that are faithful to Magisterium of the Catholic Church, here is your opportunity!

The Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa are hosting, with Bishop Robert Vasa, a barbeque in very elegant surroundings on June 30, 2013, at the Smith Family Ranch in Napa, California. The purpose of the event is to support their growing community and share in the joy of their new vocations.

For those nearby, come share in the delicious meal, fine Napa wines and a raffle courtesy of Ignatius Press. For more information or to make reservations for the BBQ, contact Carole Duncan at (707)944-9540 or email dincan@aol.com.

As Marian Sisters we are animated by a desire to magnify Jesus Christ in and through our lives of consecration to Mary. We strive to communicate the beauty, goodness and truth of the Catholic Faith through our works of joyful evangelization while living the fullness of the Church’s liturgical life.

News, Women's Communities

The Best Version of Yourself

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The IRL is please to have Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa as our President and in the latest issue of the National Catholic Register, they are highlighting a community that he canonically established in his diocese: the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa.

The sisters describe themselves as Ecclesial, Eucharistic and Marian. They celebrate the sacred liturgy in both the Extraordinary and Ordinary form. The sister’s mission is intercessory prayer and the communication of the truth, beauty and goodness of the Catholic faith. They teach CCD, RCIA, and Confirmation classes and work in the Chancery office amongst other things.

Mother Teresa Christe was originally part of a traditionalist community but the example and inspiration of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Bishop (William ) Skylstad of Spokane drew her and 14 others into full communion with the Church. They wear a habit as a visible sign and witness of their consecration to Jesus. It is blue and white to symbolize Mary’s role in the mystery of salvation.

Because the sisters are growing and needed more space, they are now residing in the former bishop’s residence, renamed  Regina Pacis Convent. They are now welcoming potential candidates (and there is a lot of interest!) called to their way of life to “come-and-see” weekends.

Regarding her vocation, Mother says, “I thought it would entail sacrifice and be unhappy. What surprised me was happiness. If you follow your vocation, you will be the best version of yourself.”