Perhaps that is what you have been wondering if you have been visiting In the Shadow of His Wings the past couple of weeks.  Yes, Sponsa Christi and the rest of the Sisters are still here - and alive and well!

    Now, to that promise I made you 2 weeks ago to share some of the "goings on" here at the monastery.

    On the Solemnity of All Saints, Saturday, November 1st, (the first day of the month devoted to the Holy Souls) we had Eucharistic adoration in the morning and then after lunch dishes and "saluting the angels" (more about that in a future post!) we gathered to process to our cemetery and pray for our deceased sisters who have gone before us, especially remembering our dear Sister Mary Bernadette. It was a beautiful day as you can see.

    We have really enjoyed the fall weather. Some of us Sisters look forward to this time of the year as it is great for hiking all over our woods...the brush has died down after a couple of hard frosts, the ticks are gone and hopefully most of the spiders and other creatures that love to slither on the ground or find a hiding place in one's veil!

    The novitiate is doing well. They are enjoying their many classes in various areas of spirituality (Liturgy, personality, Catechism, etc.) Sister John Mary finished her monastic decorum class with the postulants and now they have begun a scripture course that will include Dr. Scott Hahn's Bible Study "Genesis to Jesus". All are excited about diving into all the books of the Bible and get a deeper grasp of the narrative thread of salvation history that runs through the whole Bible.  Kudos and heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Hahn and all the staff at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology for writing these wonderful Bible studies and making them available to the public without cost! It is our prayer that the Lord bless you temporally and spiritually.

    Finally, as I write this post our community is entering into a 4 day retreat (Mon - Thurs) in preparation for the devotional renewal of our vows during 6:30 a.m. Mass on Friday, November 21st. This is the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Feast ranks of that of Solemnity in our monastery (even down to eating meat, having dessert, and putting out the candy cart on a Friday!) Our Founder held this feast very dear to his heart and named the first monastery ("retreat") for men and the first monastery for the Nuns after this great Feast of our Lady. This is also the day that the universal Church sets aside to pray for cloistered communities throughout the world. It is called Pro Orantibus Day - "for those who pray".

   Well, I must now go now. Please do keep us in prayer during our retreat!