You may have wondered before, “What does a Passionist nun do during the Easter season?” After all, the Church is focused throughout these days on the glorious mystery of the Resurrection. It might seem that a Congregation devoted to promoting devotion to and grateful remembrance of the Passion is irrelevant at such a time.
Read MoreThis week’s readings, continuing the theme of light and holiness, proved particularly fruitful as we connected them with our Passionist charism.
Read MoreIn mid-September, the normally black-and-white world of our monastery got a little splash of color - we were visited by two Handmaids of the Precious Blood from New Market, TN!
Read MoreThe ‘Passion Sign’ was given to us by our Holy Founder, St. Paul of the Cross, who described how in a vision he saw Mary, the Mother of Jesus, dressed in black with a badge over her heart. He understood that he was to found a Religious Family that would be clothed in the same manner and wear that special badge. That badge developed into the ‘Passion Sign’ as we know it today.
Read MoreOur religious habit is an outward sign of our consecration to Jesus in the mystery of His Passion and death. It consists of a simple, long black tunic, pleated at the waist by a leather belt from which hangs the rosary of Our Blessed Mother. Over our hearts we wear the Passion Sign which sums up the basic elements of our Passionist spirituality. We wear a simple coif under our black veil.
Read MoreThe religious vows are to be seen as a unity. They are our marriage covenant with the Lamb, in response to His choice and call. We give ourselves to God in Jesus Christ, desiring to love Him in an undivided way. What makes us different from every other order of cloistered Nuns in the Church is what we call our “Passion Vow.”
Read MoreJust as Christ’s Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist stands at the center of the Church’s life, so too is Our Eucharistic Lord at the center of the life of our community. The Holy Eucharist is truly the source and summit of our daily life and of the interior prayer life of each of our Nuns.
Read MoreOur Blessed Mother’s continual guiding presence marked the beginnings of the Passionist Congregation. Our tradition has it that she made known to our Holy Founder, St. Paul of the Cross, the mission God had assigned to him. St. Paul of the Cross honored Mary particularly under the titles of Our Mother of Sorrows, and Our Mother of Holy Hope.
Read MoreThe Catholic Catechism says that “taking up one’s cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance.” We express this interior penance in the traditional ways of fasting, prayer and works of mercy. The first thing any Christian must “fast” from is sin. And living closely together in community provides countless opportunities to show mercy in seen and unseen ways.
Read MoreAs one officially enters the novitiate, to receive a name in the context of one’s new state in life as a person preparing for consecration to God as a religious. Religious consecration itself intensifies our baptismal consecration and unites us to the mystery and mission of the Church in a special way.
Read MoreOne of the traditional Catholic practices very dear to our hearts is the Way of the Cross. Besides the Stations of the Cross in our chapel, we have another set in a long corridor leading to the chapel. This devotion is an effective way to grow in an intimate, personal union with Our Lord, and to steep oneself in the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ and the wisdom of His Cross.
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