Tag: Tyler diocese

A Celebration of Consecrated Life

This year, the Monastery of the Infant Jesus hosted the Tyler diocese World Day of Consecrated Life.

Bishop Gregory Kelly officiated at Mass.

Religious women from different congregations from all over the diocese came to visit. Some of them were old friends and some were new arrivals to the diocese.

After Mass, we all met in the parlor to introduce ourselves and explain to each other about our own congregations. There are so many ways religious women serve the Lord. Since we’re cloistered, we don’t often get to see our sister religious, so it was wonderful to be able to host them on this special day.

Sr. Mary Regina’s Funeral

As our chaplain, Fr. Ian, reminded us, a death in the monastery is always bittersweet. We mourn the loss of our sister, and yet we rejoice that she has gone home to God. In the spirit of hope and expectation, we celebrated Sr. Mary Regina’s funeral on Tuesday. The bishop of our diocese of Tyler, TX, Bishop Joseph Strickland, was on hand as main celebrant and he was joined by Fr. Ian our chaplain, Fr. Tom Edelen, and Fr. Ron Foshage, M.S.

We are fortunate to have our own cemetery within our enclosure, and that is where Sister was laid to rest. After the funeral, we met briefly with Bishop Strickland in the community room. The rest of the day was spent in much-needed rest (most of us had spent time throughout the night in vigil with Sister’s body) and ended with a circle recreation at night, as we all reminisced about Sr. Mary Regina, remembering her many talents and good qualities, the things she did as part of our community, and her steadfast devotion to prayer, especially in the last years of her life. May you rest in peace, Sister Mary Regina!