In His Merciful Heart,

Transcription

1 Spring 2016 Dear Family, Friends, and Benefactors, Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Juda and Benjamin... and every one whose spirit God had raised up, to go up to build the temple of the Lord, which was in Jerusalem. (Esdras 1:5) Warmest Pentecost greetings to you from your Sisters at Ephesus! We are gratefully living out our Benedictine vocations, thanks to the mercy of God and the goodness of all of you, who faithfully support our growing community in our temporal needs. We have been the beneficiaries of great graces these past months, as two more from our ranks pronounced their Solemn Vows, and the recent building projects were completed. Our hearts are filled with deep gratitude for these prominent blessings among the many we receive each day. We now turn our attention to the next urgent need - our church - which will be the crowning jewel of this little monastery. Our architect, William Heyer, has drawn a sketch of the interior, and one glance is enough to fan the flames of our ardent desire to now build this permanent temple for God s glory. Saint Joseph! May you quickly turn this simple sketch into a glorious and beautiful structure in which the brides of your Son may love, praise, and adore almighty God for years to come. Welcome additions! Sr. Margaret Mary says the new Dairy makes the Priory a butter place with palatial space fit for a Dairy Queen,. A hearty welcome to our new candidate, Maryam-Thomas, from Canada. Now we wait for two more visas! Above: Amidst a flurry of activity during a working recreation and with such a variety of attire, Mother Cecilia gathered Sisters for an impromptu picture! Left: Final edits for Adoration at Ephesus May we remain prayerfully united with one another~ In His Merciful Heart, Left: Our hardworking volunteers enjoy a meal in our new guest dining room. Right: Sr. Judith Marie leads the cows from the pasture to the shed for milking.

2 PHASE II is complete! Thanks to the generosity of so many, we were able to pay the $1.8 million needed for all of these projects without taking out a loan! Chapter Room and Dairy, with statio behind St. John s Retreat House for priests Guest wing with dining room, parlor, gift shop and restroom And now, we begin again! Since Saint Joseph fulfilled his role as fundraiser so marvelously for these projects, we decided to retain his services for Phase III: our monastic church!

3 Lenten Lectures To begin our Triduum, Fr. Charles Ryan fssp gave a presentation with a life-size replica of the Shroud of Turin. Dale Ahlquist passed on G.K. Chesterton s wit and wisdom to the Sisters, while Christopher Check (left) gave an illuminating conference on the Galileo controversy. Tenebræ The blessing of the new fire. A continuation of Mary s Fortitude from The Virtues of Mary by Fr. L. Lanzoni It is a grievous error to sorrow keenly, but her sorrow imagine that Mary s life was was lightened by entire conformity to God s holy will. Though one of quiet repose and tranquil contemplation, whereas she was free from the incentive in reality she was continually being put to the proof by essential to human nature, but to sin, she had the passions sorrow and by unspeakable they were subject to her will sufferings which were all the and were all pervaded by the greater because they were dominant passion of the saints, interior, secret, known to God which is the love of God. Hence alone and worthy of a magnanimous soul. The poverty of the Mary to be prefigured by the the Holy Fathers have deemed crib, the flight into Egypt, the valiant woman described sword of Simeon s prophecy, contempt from the of womanhood in Holy Writ, a type Nazarenes, persecution rarely found, or from the Jews, and rather, found in finally Gethsemani, Mary alone. the Prætorium, Calvary, all these show us as it were the tissue of Mary s life. It was a life of martyrdom. The unchanging calmness with which she bravely sustained afflictions so many and so grievous, is the proof of her complete self-command. Mary felt The Gloria of the Easter Vigil Our first snowy Salve Festa Dies procession!

4 Our professional fundraiser: St. Joseph! Our monastic church can only be transformed from this sketch on paper to a noble stone edifice with your generous assistance! ALL of the donations we receive will go directly to the building fund! We hope to raise $1.5 million before the start of 2017! Estimated cost: $3.5 million Please generously help to build our church so we might not incur any debt! The only compensation he demands is that we place still more confidence in his loving solicitude for us, as he is the guardian of virgins. We count on the goodness and charity of you, our benefactors, to be the executors of this great heavenly patron! We pray ardently to St. Joseph that those who have the means to give a larger gift will be inspired to do so! Whatever you can give, every offering will be as stones laid before the Lord.

5 Bishop Johnston addresses the professed and their families. The funeral bell tolls while the Sisters lie prostrate beneath the pall and the litany of the saints is sung, symbolizing their death to self and to the world. Sr. Judith Marie and Sr. Mary Josefa recite their vow formulæ and present their charts to Bishop Finn and Bishop Johnston. The charts are placed beneath the corporal for the remainder of Mass. The Sisters chant: I am the handmaid of Christ. therefore I wish to show myself as a person of servitude. My Lord Jesus Christ hath betrothed me as His Spouse and hath adorned me as His bride with a crown. Holy Communion received by intinction. We are grateful to Bishop Robert Finn, Bishop James Johnston, Fr. Mark Withoos and assisting Fraternity of St. Peter priests Fr. Brancich, Fr. McCambridge and Fr. Ferguson (organist) to our servers from Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, and brothers from St. Louis Abbey, and hosting Pastor Fr. Evan Harkins. Jesus, I trust in You! Mother Cecilia embraces her daughters.

6 ear Saint Joseph, please help us build our church!