Monastery of St. Clare

Transcription

1 Monastery of St. Clare Fall 2016 May almighty God bless you. May God look upon you with mercy and give you peace. Dear Each of You, This autumn season can t help but remind us of the many reasons we have to be grateful. Thanksgiving Day helps us focus on gratitude, but in essence each day is potential for a heartfelt Thank you. I suppose I begin this letter with the theme of gratitude because my heart can hardly hold the thanks I feel for my recent experience of pilgrimage. Some of you know that our good friend Fr. Tom Hartle, OFM raised enough money to take a group of Poor Clares on a two week pilgrimage to Italy. Any Clare across the US who was interested in going put her name in the hat, and I was among the six chosen. Even though a couple of TR sisters also had their names in the hat, they didn t begrudge me the opportunity. In fact I felt their joyful support and that of all my sisters while I was in Italy. Sister Carolyn praying at one of the Holy Doors on pilgrimage. Being the Year of Mercy, we focused on that beautiful gift of God all along the journey and went through every Holy Door we could find in Rome, Assisi, Florence, Padua and Venice. I ve been asked over and over since my return what was my favorite part, but I can t seem to pick just one. I would however like to share with you my experience of the first Holy Door we entered in St. Mary Major in Rome. The bronze larger than life door features Christ on the Cross, but instead of his hands being nailed in the traditional form, they are off the cross and reaching down to each pilgrim who passes by. When I stood facing that door with my hands firmly in the shiny (from being touched), bronze hands of Christ, I felt God s gift of mercy fill me. I didn t want to move, and found myself back in that holy spot twice more before we left Rome. My prayer each day since is for the grace to incarnate that gift of mercy so each one with whom I come into contact may experience God s awesome merciful gift. I could go on and on, but since there isn t room here let me just M o n a s t e r y o f S t. C l a r e, 3 7 M c C a u l e y R d., T r a v e l e r s R e s t S C w w w. p o o r c l a r e s c. c o m

2 say that among the many highlights of the pilgrimage was our daily Eucharist, each in a different holy spot. As our small group of seven gathered around the altar with Fr. Tom celebrating, we experienced anew that Eucharist means thanksgiving. It was in that spirit that I felt united with my sisters back home, with our loved ones who have gone before us, and with each of you. Many of you are able to join us for our Eucharistic celebrations on the weekend. My prayer is that you and your family will also be able to celebrate with us at our Mass at 11:30 AM on Thanksgiving Day and/or our Christmas Eve Mass at 4:30 PM. Another event to keep in mind is our Healing Service on Sunday, December 11. If you are able, please join us as we pray together for God s embrace of healing wherever it is needed in our world. Whether or not you are able to be with us physically for these upcoming events, know that you are definitely part of our celebration as we thank God especially for you. With a grateful heart, Discerning A Call To Franciscan Contemplative Life? Here s Your Opportunity! A Discernment Weekend for Single Catholic Women ages who are seeking a contemplative vocation in the footsteps of Saints Clare and Francis When: December 2-4, 2016 Where: Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare, Travelers Rest, SC (La Foresta Retreat House) Interested? Contact Sr. Sharon e: sharon@poorclaresc.com t: P a g e 2 M o n a s t e r y o f S t. C l a r e, 3 7 M c C a u l e y R d., T r a v e l e r s R e s t S C w w w. p o o r c l a r e s c. c o m

3 Milestones of a Fifty Year Journey Sister Nancy celebrates 50 years as a Franciscan! Entrance Day into the Allegany Franciscans Sister Nancy with her family September 8, 1965 Reception Day July 1966 God wooed a young, idealistic, naive college sophomore and captivated her heart (as only God can do!) and she fell crazy in love and started on a journey that was more than she could ask or imagine... Sr. Nancy With Sr. Chris Treichel First Profession, July 1968 With her sister Karen Solemn Profession, April 19, 1997 Jubilee Day October 2, all I can say is: I have done only what I ought to have done. And I look forward to what s more because with God there is always more. Sr. Nancy M o n a s t e r y o f S t. C l a r e, 3 7 M c C a u l e y R d., T r a v e l e r s R e s t S C w w w. p o o r c l a r e s c. c o m P a g e 3

4 In Loving Memory Sister Mary Clare Sekine, osc Entered this world: December 27, 1924 Entrance into the Poor Clares: November 21, 1948 First Profession: June 3, 1952 Solemn Profession: May 15, 1958 Joined the Greenville Poor Clares: June 20, 1971 Called Home: June 21, 2016 Sister Mary Clare on the day of her reception in Tokyo, Japan. Go forward securely, joyfully and swiftly St. Clare During November the Poor Clare Sisters will be praying for our deceased sisters, friends and benefactors. We would like to include your loved ones. YOUR NAME: Please remember in your prayers: In life and in death we belong to God. 1Cor. 3:22 _ Advent Healing Prayer Service Sunday, December 11, 2016 YOUR NAME: Please pray for healing for: M o n a s t e r y o f S t. C l a r e, 3 7 M c C a u l e y R d., T r a v e l e r s R e s t S C w w w. p o o r c l a r e s c. c o m P a g e 4

5 Christmas Presents I had gone home to help my father clear out our home of 40 years and prepare it for sale. It was a big job. This particular day I had gone up to the attic and began work on a closet where Christmas things were stored. I had already packed up the boxes of Christmas tree lights and ornaments. Now I came to a mysterious box marked in my mother s careful script Christmas presents. What was this? The only way to find out was to open the box. Inside I discovered treasures of Christmas past. There was the dishtowel I had handhemmed with stitches so large that at the first washing the whole thing would have unraveled. My mother had wisely never tried that; she had just carefully preserved it. And then there were the plaster book ends I had made in grade school. The bottoms were so uneven that even a light pamphlet would have caused the whole thing to crash to the floor. Again, my mother had not tried the experiment. She had just as lovingly packed the item away. And so it is with us. Christmas presents: what we give to God. Our small efforts at beginning over again. Our desire to do better than the day before which fades before noon. The good intentions that never seem to take on reality. Our Lenten resolutions that don t last till mid Lent. God accepts them all, values them all, counts them as treasured presents. Treasured because we are! Sr. Marie Beha OSC This year Sr.Marie will have the grace of celebrating her 90th Christmas! Solar Array Installation Update It's FINALLY coming to life! On September 20 th Hannah Solar's crew began the difficult job of digging a trench to connect the parking area where the canopy will be to the location where the transformer will be; this was quite a challenge when they met rock! Simultaneously T&D Grading began the site preparation necessary to move part of the curb in the parking area; again they ran into rock! Then by mid October Hannah Solar began the installation of the solar panels. We hope to be up and running by the end of November. We are grateful to our many friends who have contributed to this project. We see this as a small step and a witness to the urgent need for all of us to do what we can to be better stewards of our Mother Earth who generates life for all of us. We have harmed her irreparably and we need to begin to replenish what we have squandered. Ours will be a 117kW AC (the maximum allowed by current regulations) solar canopy array over part of our parking lot, which will provide clean renewable energy to the monastery and save us at least $10,000/yr in electricity costs. M o n a s t e r y o f S t. C l a r e, 3 7 M c C a u l e y R d., T r a v e l e r s R e s t S C w w w. p o o r c l a r e s c. c o m P a g e 5

6 Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare 37 McCauley Road Travelers Rest, SC Non Profit US Postage PAID Travelers Rest, SC Permit 102 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Upcoming Events EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION ADVENT HEALING PRAYER SERVICE EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION Thanksgiving Day Sunday Evening December 11 Christmas Eve Vigil Mass Thursday, November 24 11:30 AM Friars Presiding Adoration (Optional) 4:00 PM Evening Prayer 4:30 PM Saturday, December 24 4:30 PM Msgr. Leigh Lehocky