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Third Sunday of Advent

\”The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.\” 
(Isaiah 35:1-6a)

The Third Sunday of Advent is often called \”Gaudete Sunday\” because the first word of the entrance antiphon for this Mass is \”Rejoice\” (\”Gaudete\” in Latin). It would be the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe if it were not a Sunday in Advent, so there are multiple reasons for rejoicing today. It is also a day in which the Mass readings speak to us of patience. Isaiah\’s beautiful vision given above is a future event, not a commentary on the present time. The passage from the letter of James is even more specific, giving particular directions on how to wait in patience for the coming of the Lord.  Although we are halfway through Advent, it is hard to wait in patience for Christmas.  Still, we rejoice today, knowing that Jesus has come into our world as our Savior, knowing that He will come again in glory on the last day. Until that great day, we wait patiently!

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary–not the conception of Jesus, but of Mary herself, conceived just as we all are but without original sin.  

 

\”The feast of our Lady\’s Immaculate Conception is the promise and the earnest of Christmas Day; our salvation is already in the bud. As the first green shoot heralds the approach of spring, in a world that is frost-bound and seems dead, so in a world of great sinfulness and of utter despair that spotless conception heralds the restoration of man\’s innocence. As the shoot gives unfailing promise of the flower which is to spring from it, the Immaculate Conception gives unfailing promise of the Virgin Birth.\” –Msgr. Ronald A. Knox

Second Sunday of Advent

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, \”Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!\” (Matthew 3:1)

This second Sunday of Advent begins a focus on St. John the Baptist as the Forerunner. His purpose is to call people to repentance before the coming of Jesus Christ. That\’s his complete responsibility! Simply to point out the way to Christ and call people\’s attention to the fact that He is coming. It\’s the people\’s responsibility to hear his word and act on it, changing their lives for the better through repentance.  John is a great model of the humility we all need as we continue our journey through this Advent season. For–who knows?–God may be calling you to point the way of the Lord to someone, to many people, perhaps without even realizing it.

Christmas Letter Time!

It\’s time for our annual Christmas letter to go out! Our Christmas letter–like all our mailings–is still done \”in house\” (except for the printing). It is designed and then readied for mailing entirely by nuns. As usual, the entire community pitched in to get the work done quickly. Many hands DO make light work!

We tried a new method of sealing this year, using stickers instead of envelopes. 
Working hard…

…and enjoying each other\’s company!

If you are not currently receiving our mailings, including our newsletter, \”Monastery Bells\”,  please consider doing so! It\’s free!  Just send us an email with your \”snail mail\” address, and we will put you on our list. Our next mailing will probably be in February!
(NOTE: we do not give out the names and addresses of people on our mailing list to anyone. This information is used only for mailing our newsletters.)

First Sunday of Advent

The Advent wreath in our chapel
Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed…(Romans 13:11)
Advent is here! In less than a month we will celebrate Jesus\’ coming into the world. This Advent finds us in a world filled with war and rumors of war. Let us make peace in our world a major theme of our prayers this Advent season as we wait in joyful hope and expectation for the coming of our Lord, the Prince of Peace.
Because of my brothers and friends, I will say, \”Peace be within you!\” 
Because of the house of the Lord, our God, I will pray for your good.
(Psalm 122)

Christ the King and Pro Orantibus Day

Today we celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King…

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, \”Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!\” But the other rebuked him, saying, \”Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.\” And he said, \”Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.\” And he said to him, \”Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.\”
(Lk 23:39-43)

…and also Pro Orantibus Day, a day of prayer for the cloistered religious life.

 
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in our chapel
Pro Orantibus day (a day for \”those who pray\”–cloistered religious) is celebrated on the memorial of the Presentation of Mary in the temple, November 21–a day that recalls Mary\’s dedication to God.

St. Ambrose commented on the passage above from Luke, saying, \”The Lord always grants us more than what we ask for. The thief merely asked to be remembered, but the Lord said: \’Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.\’ The essence of life is to live with Jesus Christ. And where Jesus Christ is, there is his Reign to be found.\” This seems to sum up the happy coincidence of the solemnity of Christ the King and the day designated by the Pope as \”Pro Orantibus\” both falling on November 21 this year. If the essence of life is to live with Jesus Christ, our King, how fortunate are we cloistered religious who spend our whole lives in Christ\’s service, praying, interceding, and praising him day and night in his churches and chapels throughout the world! And we are fortunate–and happy! It is absolutely true that Christ gives everything, even more than what we ask for, and takes nothing away. He is the King of all Kings, the One to whom we have pledged our lives.

We invite all young women to consider their vocation to the cloistered life–and maybe to our monastery! Please go to our website for more information about our vocation and our joy-filled life at the heart of the Church and the Order of Preachers.

\”It is worthwhile living for his kingdom–and dying for it.\” –Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn, O.P.