Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Diamond Jubilee”
The subtitle for this post could be, “Not all archive treasures stay in the archives.” This is about one relic we keep in the Sacristy and use for the Stations of the Cross. But it is also an archive item as it once hung on the wall of our Founder’s office. This small framed and fading photo shows its location. …
Before his death in 1969, our Founder, Father Gerald, recorded his reminisces of his then 25 year old active apostolate to sanctify priests and how he had begun his work of priests helping priests. We have some vinyl records (but no record player) in the archives of these recordings that were titled, Gather Up The Fragments Lest They Be Lost. …
We share a photo of Mother Dolorosa, one of the pioneering Handmaids from the early years, on the occasion of her 100th birthday. Mother John Paul is presenting her with a large card during a very festive birthday party. She resoundingly answered, with gratitude, whenever asked how it felt to be 100, “WONDERFUL!” Her age and health may have taken …
We aren’t sure just how much Italian our Founder learned in amid travels and work in Rome but the archives show us a moment of an Italian lesson. We also don’t know how his Boston accent came through in italiano. But we are confident, given his absolute love and loyalty to the Church, that he enjoyed the Eternal City.
Many people are familiar with that post holiday syndrome, especially after Christmas, of having put on a few pounds. Websites are no exception. Our IT experts, working with our hosting service, delicately raised the issue of too many photos, too much memory use for images, and we promised to stick to a better diet after some purging. Alas, archive photos …
Perhaps, unless one is upgrading or repairing a kitchen, your photo albums don’t have kitchen photos in them. It’s more likely someone was capturing who was in the kitchen, rather than the room itself. We’ve taken a few over the years and find ourselves amazed at two extremes: how much can be done by one Handmaid in one kitchen, and …
Our Founder, Father Gerald, was an entirely Eucharistic priest. He intended his spiritual daughters to live in community together focused and centered on the the Source and Summit of our Faith: Jesus Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. Mass, benediction, and eucharistic adoration aren’t just staples; they are absolute necessities in our life. We echo the early martyrs of …
What is the sound of music like in a monastery and how has it changed over the last 75 years? Well, since the start Handmaids have been making ‘a joyful noise for the Lord’. In addition to whatever voices they had, our first pioneering Sisters had a pump organ. Women who came to the community, if they were musicians …
Yes. For those who think its forbidden for nuns to enjoy proper levity and re-creation we want to clarify that the religious life is not without humor, fun, and games. When you give your life to God, he does not intend a life lived in union with him to be one of drudgery but one of deep joy. Joy that …
With the Feast of the Presentation on February 2nd, and the day set aside as the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, we end the last trimmings of the Christmas season by putting away our creches. In doing so we share one last glimpse of Christmas past with this tiny ornament that has graced our Christmas trees and niches …
When it comes to Christmas, every nook and cranny can be filled with holiday decor that might be packed up come Ordinary Time but the creches can stay up through February 2nd. This late December photo from 2006 was taken at the Heart of Mary Priory in Lake Villa, IL. Sister Rose Anne stands next to a crib display by …
It’s an old photograph from 1956 but we can sense the care and creativity our Handmaid pioneering Sisters took to create a little Christmas corner at Cor Jesu. The tree looks to be real. A large statue of Mary, robed in green, looking down at a swaddled Christ child at her feet. To the left might be a small votive …