Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Diamond Jubilee”
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 …
We share this little post as part of our continuing Christmas spirit so people not living in monasteries and who might be suffering Christmas withdrawal due to the world declaring the Incarnation “over” on December 26th can linger in thanksgiving a little longer. We keep our creches up until the Feast of the Presentation, February 2nd even though Ordinary Time …
For many years at our Heart of Mary Priory in Lake Villa, IL the foyer was graced by a little handmade miniature southwest style adobe mission church. Built by a talented friend and benefactor it was used as a donation box next to the votive candle stands. Delightful in its details, the stucco was uneven, bells hung atop the roof …
We have had quite an end to Advent and a start to the Christmas season by ‘returning to Bethlehem’. While we were spared any truly life threatening issues from the great arctic blast that devastated parts of the U.S., we did enjoy circumstances that were both occasions of humor and trial. There were multiple opportunities to thank God ‘for everything’; …
Bet you never guessed something like that would be included in our list of “memories”! Since we had a little “septic scare” on Christmas Eve, we thought this would be a great time to share this archive photo. As we’ve explained to numerous plumbers, tradesmen, construction workers, contractors, and benefactors over the years monasteries and plumbing challenges go “hand …
Father Gerald reunites with his brother after Guadalcanal. We share a snapshot of a page from the archives of an article in The Cambridge Chronicle-Sun from World War II telling the story of Chaplain Captain Gerald Fitzgerald reuniting with his brother Staff Sergeant Edward (Ned) Fitzgerald after three years apart.