Christmas Memories 2022
The Christmas Season may have officially ended with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, but the joy of Our Lord’s birth never passes away. We wanted to share with you some photos of our community Christmas celebrations — as well as some community updates!
Good St. Joseph
Our spiritual father welcomed holiday visitors to our monastery with a beautiful display of Christmas lights, thanks to the hard work of Christie and the Retreat House staff.
Visit With Fr. Lou
We had a wonderful time during our annual Christmas visit with our chaplain, Father Lou. He and the nuns exchanged gifts — and a few jokes!
Christmas Carolers
Two local families banded together to bring a little extra Christmas cheer to friends around town — including us!
Festive Evenings
During the Christmas season, the recreation room is decorated to the nines — and sometimes a nun will try to “blend in” with the décor …
Popular Gifts
Aspirant Hannah and Sr. Mary Elizabeth show off one of our favorite Christmas gifts, purchased through the generosity of a benefactor: a two-volume biography of Pope Benedict XVI. There is already a “waitlist” to read it!
(In the background, you can also see two nuns trying out the exercise equipment generously donated to us by Sr. Maria Faustina’s family!)
Feathered Visitors
There was a great stir one day during the Christmas Octave when a Sister spotted a whole flock of Cedar Waxwings in our pear tree! The cheery little birds remained “snacking” for a long time, while admiring nuns wielded the binoculars and camera.
Snow Day
Sr. Frances Marie’s family gifted us with a fantastic new sled this Christmas — and just a couple of weeks later, the Lord gave us some snow to test it out. The verdict? it’s a “keeper!”
Community Blessings
We were delighted to have our beloved Mother Catherine Marie (center) home with us throughout the season!
In addition, our two aspirants and a live-in discernment visitor were also able to join us at various points throughout the Octave and Epiphanytide, adding to the joy of community life.
Please keep Aspirant Hannah (in top row of above photo) in your prayers in a special way as she comes for a two-month stay with us Feb-April. God willing, she will enter as a Postulant at the end of May!
Several people have also been asking about Postulant Abbey, who has not been present in photos lately. After a very graced and formative time with our community, she has discerned that she is not called to Passionist life, and thus she left the monastery in 2021. Please continue to pray for her as she explores the beautiful plan God has for her life as a Catholic woman in the world!