News Archives
New Novice Writes Home — Silence Is the Language of God
(January 25th, 2012)
The following is a letter from a fictional novice of the Poor Clare Colettine Nuns in Rockford, IL.
Dear Mom, Dad, and all!
Peace and Blessings! God reward you for the family news. Now to give another glimpse of my life here at the monastery. One great joy I want to share is that I’m becoming a polyglot! I’m learning a new language. A second language in the cloister? Yes, because silence is the language of God and you may recall that silence was not my predominant virtue! Here in our cloister it is an essential part of our union with Him. I pray someday it will become my best language!
Hard to Learn
Silence is also the language of love, another reason to become most fluent in it. I think the interior silence is the hardest to learn. Memories, images and thoughts tend to crowd in and occupy the mind. It takes practice not to pay undue attention to them and really focus on the present moment with full attention, intention and deliberation. So much to learn! Soon we will enter the great silence of Lent. More about that another time! How are the dogs, and that troublesome cat next door? Love and miss you, but we are one in heart and prayer!
Sincerely,
Sister Mary Neophilus
To learn more, go to the website of the Corpus Christi Monastery of the Poor Clare Colettines in Rockford, IL and read, “A Life of Prayer and Worship.”
Salesian Spirituality Is Strong and Growing Among Visitation Sisters
(January 9th, 2012)
As Visitation Sisters around the world look forward to the feast of St. Francis de Sales Jan 24, the sisters in the United States say that the spirituality crafted by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal remains strong and shows signs of growth.
That’s true, judged by web visits to the Sisters’ new Second Federation website, begun last February. Visits have increased to 650 per month, and the website has posted a steady stream of articles on Salesian spirituality, while explaining little-known devotions and facts in the lives of the two founders, St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal.
This spirituality is suited for both those living in the world, and for contemplative life, such as that of sisters living in the Visitation’s cloistered communities. The 1999 Vatican instruction Verbi Sponsa states, “. . . Just as in the upper room, Mary in her heart, with her prayerful presence, watched over the origins of the Church, so too now the Church’s journey is entrusted to the loving heart and praying hands of cloistered nuns” (No. 4).
Growth in Africa and Other Areas
The Order, formally known as the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, was founded in 1610 by Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane Frances de Chantal in Annecy, in eastern France. The Order spread from France throughout Europe and beyond. Today the group numbers approximately 2,500 Sisters in more than 150 monasteries throughout the world. They are growing in Africa; there is a monastery in Korea, and in South and Central America the houses continue to expand.
For more information on the Visitation and its spirituality for religious and laity, visit the Second Federation of the Visitation. Learn also about cloistered Visitation communities, such as the Toledo, OH Visitation.
Spotlight on the Saints: St. John of the Cross —
Mystic Doctor and Carmelite Reformer
(December 14th, 2011)
John was raised in an orphanage in Spain. He longed for solitude and the opportunity to be one with God in prayer. As a young man John worked as a carpenter, a painter and a nurse assistant in a hospital where developed a great love for the poor and the sick. He sometimes felt that he was in the presence of Jesus when he was tending the patients. But, John wanted to become even closer to God. He became a Carmelite friar when he was almost twenty years old.John was disappointed that the Carmelites no longer lived by the strict Rule that they were known for. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun who became a famous saint and Doctor of the Church, told John that she had been given permission to begin convents based on the original Rule. She asked John to join her in this work.
Reforms Not Accepted
Teresa and John’s reforms meet with anger and resistance. Some friars did not like the changes John suggested. They imprisoned John in a dark and dirty cell. It was in those terrible conditions that he wrote some of his most beautiful poetry and mystical writings.
Even though John lived many years ago, from 1541 to 1591, his spiritual legacy is still read today by people who want to grow in their relationship with the Lord. One of John’s most famous sayings is, “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”
Rockford Poor Clares Wish Their Former Chaplain Well as New Bishop of Bismarck
(November 18th, 2011)
The Poor Clares of Rockford, IL have had a spiritual bond with the Diocese of Bismarck, N.D., that goes back a few years. That bond increased dramatically Oct. 19, when their former chaplain, Msgr. David D. Kagan, Vicar General of the Rockford Diocese, was announced the bishop-elect of Bismarck.
There is a story behind this. Several years ago the vocation director of the Bismarck diocese asked the sisters for prayers for all of the seminarians. The Poor Clares have been ever mindful of that commitment, and now one of Rockford’s own priests will be their shepherd. The sisters report that it was delightful to spend an hour with Bishop-Elect Kagan in their visiting parlor, learning all about his new diocese. A fellow “worker” at the Chancery, border-collie Dash (whose duty it was to keep the geese off the chancery grounds) will accompany the bishop-elect to North Dakota.
Spiritually Adopting the Diocese
“At least he will enjoy the snow,” comments Msgr. Kagan. There is a wonderful presence of religious men and women in the Bismarck diocese. However, since a cloistered contemplative group is not present there, the Poor Clares are spiritually adopting the Bismarck Diocese along with its new bishop!
The desire of St. Clare — that her sisters support the Mystical Body — is alive in this century.
Read the Poor Clare articles on this website.
For more information, visit the Rockford Poor Clares.
Purity and Penance are the Symbols in Black and White for the New Dominican Sister in Marbury, AL
(November 8th, 2011)
At the Dominican Monastery of St. Jude in Marbury, AL, postulant Sister JulieAnna exchanged the black dress of a postulant for the glowing white habit of a Dominican Novice. In a simple ceremony on September 8, the Nativity of Our Lady, Sister received the habit and a new name. She is now Sister Mary Philomena of the Crucified Christ, O.P.
During the ceremony, Prioress Mother Mary Joseph, O.P., spoke of the symbolism of the Dominican habit. The white garments represent purity, while the black signify penance. The scapular was given to the Order by Our Lady as a mark of her protection. Finally, the rosary hung from the belt also has special symbolic value as the nuns’ “sword” to snatch souls from hell through their life of prayer.
Contemplative Dominicans Founded First
St. Dominic founded the contemplative Dominican Nuns first, before the preaching Friars, because he knew that the active apostolate is only made fruitful by prayer. It is this vision of St. Dominic that Sister Mary Philomena will continue to study and live during the coming two years of her Novitiate.
The Dominican Nuns at Marbury dedicate their hidden lives of prayer and penance to the salvation of souls, especially through the Divine Office chanted in Latin and English, Eucharistic Adoration, Marian Consecration and Perpetual Rosary.
Learn more about the Sisters’ charism at www.StJudeMonastery.org.
Pope Stresses the Need for Silence and Solitude
to Discover Life’s Essentials
(November 4th, 2011)
Endless news, noise and crowds have made people afraid of silence and solitude, which are essential for finding God’s love and love for others, Pope Benedict XVI said during an October 9 visit to the Carthusian monastery in Serra San Bruno in Calabria.
Progress in communications and transportation has made life more comfortable, as well as more “agitated, sometimes frantic,” the Holy Father said, especially in cities, where there is a constant din, even all night.
Immersed in a Virtual World
Young people seem to want to fill every moment with music and video, and there is a growing risk that people are more immersed in a virtual world rather than in reality because of the constant stream of “audiovisual messages that accompany their lives from morning to night,” Benedict noted.
Monasteries remind people of the need for silent reflection, which lets people delve into the apparent emptiness of solitude and experience real fullness, that is, God’s presence and true reality, the Pope reflected.
By spending time alone in quiet prayer, people find life’s essentials and unity with others, he said.
Read complete story at Catholic News Service.
Life of English Cloistered Nuns Captured on Video
(October 7th, 2011)
A former fashion and beauty photographer has released a 90-minute documentary on the life of Benedictine contemplatives.
“Tyburn Convent Gloria Deo” brings viewers within the cloisters of the order’s nine monasteries, starting with the motherhouse in England, and ranging through Oceania and South America.
The order was established in 1903 near Marble Arch, London. It is thus at the site where dozens of English martyrs were killed during the Protestant Reformation.
Michael Luke Davies created the work. He and Mother Xavier McMonagle, the mother-general of the Tyburn Nuns, presented the documentary last Thursday.
“I was moved to tears many times by the beauty of what I was filming,” Davies said. “For me, it exceeded my expectations of what I could film. It was an incredible experience I shall never forget for the rest of my life. The things I have seen and the moments I have shared with these beautiful religious people I will keep with me forever.”
The Tyburn Nuns, Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre are an order of cloistered contemplative Benedictine nuns. The aim of the congregation is to glorify the Most Blessed Trinity, finding practical expression in daily Mass, the choral celebration of the Divine Office, perpetual adoration, and in daily prayer for the Holy Father, the Church, the country and for the entire human family.
Read entire story on Zenit.org
To request copies of the “Tyburn Convent Gloria Deo,” contact Mother Hildegarde by sending an email to admin@tyburnconvent.org.uk, or order online through the website of the Tyburn Nuns.
Two Jubilees and Funeral Mark the Year for Poor Clares of Rockford, IL
(October 3rd, 2011)
For the Poor Clare Colettine Nuns of Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford, IL, this year has been one of experiencing the words of St. Clare: “Great is the grace of our vocation.” The community witnessed the arrival of a postulant, the celebration of a Silver (25 years) and a Golden (50 years) Jubilarian, and the death of another sister.
The entrance of a postulant, which this year occurred on June 12, vividly reminds each sister of the beginning of her own Poor Clare journey. Then, when a sister makes her solemn profession, part of her formula of vows is, “during the whole time of my life.”
A nun celebrating her Jubilee years rejoices to proclaim her thanksgiving for the call of Jesus, a thanksgiving which echoes in the hearts of each and every sister. This year, one sister celebrated her golden jubilee of 50 years, on May 11, and another her silver, of 25 years, on June 19.
Finally, the gaze turns toward the final journey, a journey which this year, on March 16, included military honors for one sister, a veteran who served in the U.S. Army before entering. The promise of “during the whole time of my life” blossomed for her into eternal life!
Read more on the website of the Poor Clares Nuns of Corpus Christi Monastery.
Carthusian Monks to Receive Papal Visit
(September 30th, 2011)
As part of Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit to the Calabria Region of Italy this month, he will visit the famous Carthusian monastery of San Bruno. The Pope will celebrate vespers and deliver a homily in the church of the Carthusian monastery of Serra San Bruno, after which he will meet the monastic community and visit a cell and the infirmary of the monastery.
Among the monastic religious families, Carthusians live in greater solitude. The monks and the nuns of the Order, while living separately in their own monasteries, share the same rule and follow a unique model in the person of their founder, Saint Bruno (c. 1030–1101).
The Carthusian monk does not live alone, as the monastery is a community. Nevertheless, he will pass the greater part of his life in his cell where he prays, works, takes his meals, and sleeps. During the course of the week, he only leaves three times a days for the Liturgy of the Hours and communal Mass: in the middle of the night, the Night Office, the morning Eucharist and Vespers towards the night.
The Carthusian can be a cloistered monk or a brother, two different ways of living the same vocation of solitude. This solitude is not lived for its own sake, but as a privileged means of attaining intimacy with God.
View a first-time documentary video on the St. Bruno Carthusian monastery in Italy.
Santa Barbara Poor Clares Celebrate Two Jubilees
(September 26th, 2011)
With the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on the horizon — Oct. 4 — we should also remember St. Clare, who, under the inspiration and guidance of Francis, founded the Poor Clares in the thirteenth century.
The Poor Clares of Santa Barbara, CA certainly held the ideals of their founders close to their hearts as they celebrated two jubilees this summer. In June Sr. Miguel Jose celebrated her silver jubilee of 25 years, which was followed in July with the golden jubilee of 50 years celebrated Sr. Chiara Marie. The community also received a new postulant in August.
As contemplatives, Poor Clare nuns observe the Gospel life lived within the bounds of papal enclosure. To the three ordinary vows of religion: obedience, poverty and chastity, the Poor Clare nun adds a fourth vow of enclosure.
These Poor Clares follow the Colettine observance which includes: bare feet, mendicancy, perpetual fast, strict enclosure, traditional habit, and night rising for the Liturgy of the Hours.
For more information, go to the website of the Poor Clares of Santa Barbara.