Is God calling YOU to join us?

New Year greetings from the monastery! We are in the midst of National Vocation Awareness Week here in the U.S.A. praying for all men and women to fulfill their God-given destinies. Here in the monastery we are quite aware of our need for new members. We are working hard at making Passionist life known and understood, especially through our website, blog and newsletter, plus our vocation dvd and commercial aired on EWTN.

Help make our life more known

• share our blog address with your friends and family

• tell young women who are discerning a religious vocation to contact us

• pray for those women whom God is calling right now - they they will hear and respond with a generous "Here I am Lord; I come to do YOUR will!

• any other ideas???

Last week brought us the joy of welcoming Ruth for a week-long live-in and Erin for an overnight visit.

RuthandErinvisitJan2012

Mass this morning was offered for the intention of an increase of members to our monasteries of Passionist Nuns in the U.S.

novitiateJan2012blog

Hmm...seems there should be more women in this photo... how about YOU?

This afternoon the novitiate celebrated the feast of our Novice Directress, Sr. Mary Veronica.

SMVteatime2012blog

Here we are observing the tea flower expand in the hot water

We had a lovely tea party and closed with the inspiring Christmas hymn, In the Bleak Midwinter,  led by Sr. Cecilia Maria on the Appalachian Dulcimer. Quite comforting for a cold snowy day.

And in 12 days (but who's counting?!) our aspirant Anne will begin the aspirancy program! (a three month live-in)  Yea!  Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

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In closing I wish to share with you this excellent article from the blog of Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, Texas:

Henri David Thoreau’s observation that “most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them, ”  might well be applied to the unrealized vocations to the priesthood or religious life.

God’s call is like a song that may easily go unheard amidst the clatter and chaos of today’s world where we are constantly lured by the siren songs of materialism and self-gratification. Sacrifice, service to God and the world, and commitment are not valued by our society the way they have been in the past.

It is up to those of us who recognize such values to work to instill them in our children and those whom we mentor. We do not do so by talking about sacrifice and service to God, we do so by demonstrating those values in our own lives.

Most priests and religious will tell you how the example of an individual or a group of people was influential in leading them to their vocation.

We as priests must demonstrate the joy of serving Jesus through his people, his Body, the Church. As parents and teachers we must strive to “tune them in” to God’s song in their hearts.

During National Vocation Awareness Week beginning January 9, we are not only reminded of the need for priests and religious, but of the richness of lives of service and commitment to God and the community. We are also reminded of our individual obligation to nurture vocations in our children and to support the vocations of our priests and religious.

Promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life is not solely the job of the Diocesan Vocations Office, but the responsibility of each one of us.

As the old saying goes: “If not now, when? If not you, who?”