February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation of Lord, is also the World Day for Consecrated Life. As we contemplate Mary and Joseph bringing the 40-day-old Jesus to the Temple to offer Him to God, we remember with gratitude the gift of the priestly, religious, and lay consecrated vocations in the Church. May each of us imitate Our Lord’s total dedication to the loving Will of His Father! We count on your prayers today and year-round, that we may remain faithful to the beautiful calling with which we have been blessed.

Here at St. Joseph’s, we have even more reason than usual for celebration this year: a new Postulant! On December 18th, our Aspirant Holly officially entered the monastery. We are so grateful for Holly’s “yes” to making this next big step in discerning a Passionist vocation with us. We are also deeply grateful to her parents, Bill and Sharon, as well as all her family, for their loving support of Holly and eagerness to become a part of the “extended monastery family!”

Holly will now be living full-time in the monastery, entering more deeply into human and spiritual formation under the direction of Sr. Mary Veronica. All of us — especially Postulant Hannah— are glad to have another novitiate member around! We know that we can count on your prayers for these wonderful young women whom God is sending to discern with us.

But the joy doesn’t stop there — on January 14th, we also welcomed a new young woman to our aspirancy program! Elizabeth joins our other two aspirants, Emma and Kristin Marie, in this 1-2 year journey of exploring and discerning our Passionist life more deeply. Please pray for these three courageous young women, that they may be eager to follow the Lord wherever He leads. Deo Gratias!