News Blog page 12
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24.2.21.
The sun is out & today has all the promise of spring being just
around the corner; after all these past challenging months we need
this hope to look forward to. The roses in the cloister courtyard
were heavily pruned in late autumn & it was thought that they might
not survive so strenuous a chop; prayers have been whispered over
them that the new life within might burst forth. After some-what
anxious days/weeks, behold the new shoots are proudly there, green,
healthy, fresh & strong.
This is for us, during these Lenten weeks, a parable showing us that
pruning within ourselves, painful, challenging but necessary, will
enable new life to spring forth if we are courageous enough. |
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14.2.21.
We are in the season of 'Shrove-tide', the week preceding Ash
Wednesday & Lent. The word comes from the meaning of Carnival & in
some countries traditionally this is the time of carnival, of having
a last fling before the rigours of six weeks of Lent. Someone wrote
it is a time to give ourselves 'licence in the ways of frolic & good
cheer'! For us here at the monastery there are days of extra
recreation & fun, with pancake-making & tossing on Pancake Tuesday!
In the 16th century, the Church, in order to make reparation for all
the excesses of carnival, instituted special days of prayer, & a
Plenary indulgence was granted by Pope Benedict XIV in 1747 to all
who prayed at this time before the Blessed Sacrament exposed. We too
unite in these special times of prayer for the first three days of
Lent.
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7.2.21.
While some of you wake up to blizzards & thick snow this is what we
were gifted with the other morning.
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26.1.21.
On the feast of our Holy Founder our dear Sr Mary Christine was
called into the eternal presence of God. Sister was 88 years old
with 62 years of religious profession. Originally from Ireland, she
trained as a nurse before entering our monastery of Roselands; they
later relocated to Partridge Green & when that monastery closed
Sister & the remaining sisters fused with our Waldron community.
Sister was cared for in a nearby nursing home in her last few years
where she was much loved. She offered her many sufferings to Jesus
crucified to whom she had a great devotion. May she rest in peace.
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23.1.21.
Feast of St Francis de Sales
Tomorrow we celebrate in joy with our sisters all over the world the
feast of our Holy Founder, St Francis de Sales. We give thanks for
our vocation within the church, we ask Holy Founder to bless our
communities that we may each 'Live Jesus' where He has called us to
be & to enfold within that calling all those who journey with us in
faith & love. A very Happy Feastday to you all.
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'In truth our little congregation is the
work of the Hearts of Jesus & Mary. By dying the Saviour has
brought us to birth by opening his Sacred Heart.' |
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15.1.21.
Today we began the Novena to Our Holy Founder, St Francis de Sales,
in preparation for his feast on January 24th. We meet & recite the
Litany to him each morning. The Reliquary reflects the altar of St
Francis de Sales in our monastery church in Rue Royale, Annecy,
where our sisters reunited after the French Revolution. They moved
to their present location at the beginning of the 20th century. Join
us in the Novena. For
the litany of St Francis de Sales click on one of the
pictures.
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12.1.21.
As we begin this New Year & enter into the 'ordinary' time of the
church's calendar, we realise that today nothing is ordinary! We are
living in quite extraordinary times. As we carry the Lord in our
hearts we can still hear His invitation . . . click on picture |
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7.1.21.
This morning we have had news that at least 26 of the 30+ sisters
from out 1st Monastery of Madrid are very ill with the Covid 19
virus. Many are hospitalised & in ITU. We are beseeching our Spainsh
Sister Martyrs of that monastery, to intercede for them that they
may return to good health. Please join us in prayer.
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6.1.21.
Just a thought on this feast of the Magi; what do you think Joseph &
Mary did with the gold they received? Any ideas? |
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6.1.21.
Yesterday morning our dear Sr Paul Mary, Superior of our former
monastery of Stamullen, Ireland, died peacefully in St Francis
Nursing Home, Dundalk, where she had been cared for with great
devotion for a number of years. Sister's funeral mass will be on
Friday January 8th, she will be buried in our cemetery in Stamullen.
May she rest in peace in God's eternal love. |
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1.1.21.
Our Lady Mother of God
'I said to the man who stood
at the gate of the year:
'Give me a light that I may
tread safely into the unknown.'
And he replied:
'Go out into the darkness & put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light,
& safer than a known way.' |
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Keep us good Lord
under the shadow of your mercy
in this time
of uncertainty & distress.
Sustain & support
the
anxious & fearful,
lift up all who are brought low,
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can
separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus Our Lord.
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28.12.20.
A sharing of our Christmas days for you. The first pictures are of a
beautiful Advent Calendar gifted by our dear Inge, we pressed out &
put the relevant cut-outs in place each day. Also Christmas day was
the 94th birthday of our dear Sr Paul Miryam so we enjoyed a double
celebration.
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click on picture
& turn sound up |
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25.12.20.
In this rather 'different' year we come to wish you the many
blessings of this beautiful season. May the Christ Child bring you
hope & peace of heart, may you keep safe & well & may you look to
the future with joy.
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