The Sisters were very ready to break out into alleluias and celebration after a long forty days of fasting, prayer, and waiting, so on Easter Sunday the novitiate led us in a unique Easter egg scavenger hunt.
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Sister Cecilia Maria takes us to the scene of Our Lady’s seventh Sorrow: the Burial of Jesus. Though Holy Saturday is often forgotten in the rush to prepare for Easter, this is the Marian day par excellence; let us live it in a close spiritual union with her, even if our external lives are busy. Then, on the long-awaited third day, we can rejoice with the Church and with all of creation in the Resurrection of Christ!
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What could be better than celebrating the Solemnity of St. Joseph, in the Monastery of St. Joseph, during the Year of St. Joseph? The foster-father of Christ is also our beloved spiritual father, and he has provided for us in so many ways. We wanted to share with you some of the special “gifts” he gave us on and around his feast this year …
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Tomorrow, Palm Sunday, we celebrate the glory of Christ our triumphant King, Who conquered by His death on the Cross. In this week’s video, Sister Frances Marie brings us in spirit to the site of this great victory, Calvary. There we contemplate with her the Sixth Sorrow of Mary: the taking down of Jesus’ lifeless Body from the Cross. The Passionist Fathers’ Jubilaeum reflections take us into the heart of today’s unique Liturgy of the Word: the solemn reading of the Passion according to St. Mark.
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“The words, ‘God’s Will be done,’ or similar sayings, are common in the monastery. This struck me. I thought of God’s will in terms of His overall plan for my life, but the sisters saw God’s Will and surrendered to it in the smallest, concrete details of everyday life, and this amazed me.”
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Today, Sr. Cecilia Maria takes us right to the heart of that great Paschal Mystery as she discusses the fifth sorrow of Mary — the Crucifixion of Jesus. The Passionist Fathers’ Jubilaeum reflection this Sunday also focuses on the heart of our charism, the Passion of Jesus. What does Jesus Crucified mean to each of us?
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We are in the midst of our annual novena to good St. Joseph, our longtime patron and protector, and we would be remiss if we did not give him credit for his current intercession in our Cherish the Flame building campaign.
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This Laetare Sunday, as we mark the halfway point of Lent, Sister Frances Marie leads our meditation on the fourth Sorrow of Our Lady: the meeting with Jesus as He carried His Cross to Calvary. In the Jubilaeum reflection for this week, the Passionist Fathers delve into this Sunday’s Gospel — including the famous and often-quoted verse, John 3:16.
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Visitors to St. Joseph Monastery these days are greeted with trucks, cranes, scaffolding, and piles of tiles! “What is afoot?” they might ask, and the answer might come as a surprise: Cherish the Flame!
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This Saturday, we continue our journey through the Sorrows of Mary as Sr. Cecilia Maria’s speaks on the Third Sorrow: the three days’ loss of the Child Jesus in Jerusalem. We also share with you a Jubilaeum reflection by Fr. Gwen Barde, CP, on the Passionist Mission and Evangelization— an appropriate theme for this Lenten season of ongoing conversion!
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The Passionist Fathers recently released the newest issue of their publication, the Passionist International Bulletin (PIB), and we thought you might be interested in a couple of articles in particular … reflections written by our Sisters Frances Marie and Miriam Esther!
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In our next video on the Seven Sorrows of Mary, Sr. Frances Marie leads us in considering the Second Sorrow: the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt. We also continue our series of Jubilaeum Lenten reflections this week with a meditation on the Gospel for this Sunday. What lessons does the Transfiguration of Jesus hold for our lives today?
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Mid-February saw our monastery (and most of our region!) receiving a heavy coating of ice and several unusually heavy snows. So what’s a group of nuns to do? Why, make the most of it, of course! For several days, various Sisters could regularly be seen trudging up our hill with our faithful old wooden sled, or perfecting a work of snow sculpture in the courtyard.
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On this first Saturday of Lent, we share a video reflection on the First Sorrow of Mary, the Prophecy of Simeon, and the next Jubilaeum prayer guide for the First Sunday of Lent, in which we focus on solitude and temptation, as we accompany Jesus into the desert and consider the truth about ourselves.
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Lent summons us deeper into the paschal mystery of Jesus. The Lord invites us to come with Him into the desert, where He longs to speak to our hearts, where He desires to enkindle, nurture, and strengthen our love for Him in this age-old trysting place of solitude, silence, and discipline.
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God’s Word is infinitely rich, and even though we hear the same Scriptures over and over again during the 3-year Lectionary cycle, we will never exhaust their treasures. Sometimes, for instance, familiar passages suddenly come alive with new meaning when we are facing a particular challenge. This was certainly the case for us as we pondered this Sunday’s readings in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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Holy Mother Church has gifted the Passionist Congregation with special opportunities to earn a plenary indulgence during our Tricentennial Jubilee Year! Read on to find out how you can tap into this special channel of grace!
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We recently had our annual “Gaudeamus” (free day) in honor of Mother John Mary’s feast day, and it was certainly a day to remember! From a breakfast featuring pineapple-upside-down pancakes, to a skit based on a speech by Flannery O’Connor, to a long woods walk, we fit in as much “nun fun” as we possibly could.
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St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians are the earliest record of Christian men and women voluntarily foregoing marriage “for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven,” as Our Lord Himself suggested. Nearly two thousand years later, God is still calling people to this special state of life, one that is focused on becoming “holy in body and in spirit.”
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You showed me that day how to love selflessly, sacrificially, to give out of a poverty that nevertheless must give, because it loves. You reached deep into your heart and found something to give your daughter on her journey into an unknown world, something you knew would be of value to her, no matter how small it seemed at the time.
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