Corpus Christi, Dominus Est!

We have much to share, beginning with a new format to our online version of our newsletter! This should load faster and allows us to include more material than we are able in the printable version. Let us know what you think.

This year is no ordinary celebration of Corpus Christi but the culmination of three years of Eucharistic Revival in the United States. We will be joining the National Eucharistic Congress in spirit in our hours of Eucharistic adoration.

A blue Marian monstrance showing the consecrated Host in the Luna surrounded in latin characters: Ecce Panis Angelorum Factus Cibus Viatorum with the hands of a Priest elevating the host and a Chalice of the Lord's Precious Blood on the sides.

***Visit these websites to learn more about the Eucharistic Revival, the four special Eucharistic processions running across the United States, and the National Congress in Indianapolis.***

We thank Archbishop Shelton Fabre of the Archdiocese of Louisville KY for his oversight and prayerful care while the Catholic Church in East Tennessee awaited the selection of its next pastor.

Great News! The Diocese of Knoxville has a new shepherd! Pope Francis selected Bishop-Elect Mark Beckman of the Diocese of Nashville to become the fourth bishop of Knoxville.

He will be installed on July 26th 2024.

**Religious Sisters of Mercy in Knoxville enjoyed a day of retreat at Cor Jesu Monastery in November.**

Scenes from the Christmas Season

The January Snow Storm and Big Freeze

In January we had between 6 and 9 inches of snow, rare enough, but followed by a deep freeze that stranded us without Mass for nine days due to impassable roads. The intense cold brought the phenomena of “diamond dust” – ice crystals forming in clear air and glimmering as they reflect sunlight – for the second time since we moved to Tennessee. It was very cold. We made the best of it, dressed warm and enjoyed sledding. Father Downey gifted us with more sleds for next year. Thank you!

Many Christmas Blessings and Gifts

The Christmas Matching Gift campaign, thanks to a very generous donor, allowed us to finally repair the roof on our largest building, Cor Jesu Monastery. Log cabins in wet climates need extra TLC and our mud room ramp also needed some help. We are indebted to one and all (all y’all) for every contribution, be it food, wish list items, etc. The time and talents given to us help us, they help priests, and ultimately they help the Church and the world. You remain firmly in our prayers.

We were blessed to receive an ancient Coptic lamp reminding us of Christians as lights in the world, even amid persecution.

Lent, Holy Week, and Easter Scenes

FIRST VOWS!

Sister Maria Crucis of Saint Joseph professed her vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience on April 10th, 2024. Father Michael Cummins, delegate for Archbishop Shelton Fabre, and Father Randy Stice celebrated the Mass of Religious Profession. For the first time, the Mass of Religious Profession took place in Cor Jesu Monastery building as it has more space for the ceremony, priests, and the community.

Sister Angela Rose’s vocation story was featured in the Institute on Religious Life’s Spring magazine discussing her conversion to Catholicism, her medical missionary work as an eye surgeon with travels around the globe before the Lord called her, more permanently, before his Eucharistic throne for priests as a Handmaid of the Precious Blood.

Our Sister Guadalupe works with the archives and treats the community to periodic displays so the present generation can learn about the pioneering Handmaids who went before us.

Amazing Aurora!

Just as our hardcopy newsletter was being finalized for printing and distribution, our Lord dazzled much of the world with some unbelievable aurora borealis for our neck of the woods. And this for the second time this year. The heavens continue to declare the glory of God.