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Thank you Lord, for 250 Years of Freedom!
It is a big year for the United States. We celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence and wonder if its supposed to be the semiquincentennial, the bisesquicentennial, the sestercentennial, or just the quarter millennium. Most seem to be leaning towards “250th”. (By the way, all of the above are accurate words to indicate 250 years.) What does that matter in the bimillennial Church whose Founder, Jesus Christ, changed time itself? It is now A.D. 2026. That’s the Year of our Lord 2026. The very calendars we use without thought are still linked to the Incarnation of our Lord.
What could 250 years of a new country matter? In the Christian West, it matters very much. A short, readable pamphlet by Servant of God John A. Hardon, S.J. The Catholic Discovery of America looks at Columbus’ expedition as one of evangelism rather than pure conquest. Christianity, as Catholicism, arrived in the New World long before the Mayflower. Yet even with the pilgrims’ story, fleeing from religious persecution, we see at a glance why a small time of 250 years matters a great deal to the entire world.
America, for all its faults and failings and yes, ugliness at times, really has become a land of hope and freedom for so many. They are still coming. The tired, the hungry, the poor, the persecuted. Is there any other land quite like America in the world with its natural resources and gifts and its unique spiritual gifts – the chance to be free to pursue the true, the good, and the beautiful?
We are free to believe or not to. That is an amazing reality not shared by many nations on this planet. True freedom is being free to do what we ought. This acknowledges not just an objective truth but the One who is Truth itself. In this land, we have a right and obligation to do that. It’s marvelous.
What better way to thank God for these blessings than the consecration of the United States of America to the Sacred Heart on June 11, 2026? May it bear much good fruit.
Christmas and Winter Blessing
The new year brought the arrival of Aspirant Hannah seeking to discern whether God had in mind to call her to the enclosed, contemplative life. We are always most earnest not for an increase in simply Handmaid numbers but for a true discernment of God’s will for each candidate. As such we rejoice over each soul who discerns God’s will rather than focus on who does or does not remain. It’s a win win for both the community and the woman when our Lord more clearly reveals where he wants that person to grow closer to him. In joy and peace Hannah embarks on the next phase of her walk with Jesus as she returns to her family and we share that joy and peace knowing she is truly seeking his will and will continue to do so. Please pray for her and all our Sisters in formation. None of us really ever stop being ‘novices’ in the Lord’s vineyard, we learn new things about God and ourselves each day as we discern his will in each moment.
Christmas Community Photo by our tree. We had a new challenge this Christmas in that, having moved our Mass Chapel to what was our Chapter Room we lost a prime spot for our nine foot tree. And the nearby power outlets for its bulbs. Instead in the new arrangement, we carefully moved a power cord from above in the library office straight down into the top of the tree to provide electricity. [We happen to have a cat who neither climbs nor sleeps in Christmas trees so this is pretty safe.]
Holy Week and Easter
May Crowning
We got in a little over our heads on Mother’s Day. Well actually a little on Mary’s head. Actually, make that four heads. We were so wanting to honor Mary as our Mother on Mother’s Day that we had FOUR May Crownings – something we haven’t done here before.
Mary, the first Handmaid of the Lord, is our Mother. She is everyone’s Mother as Jesus intended on the Cross. May is considered her month devotionally and it just made sense to honor her this way on Mother’s Day. So we made a whole day of it starting not long after a foggy sunrise in the Mary Mother of Priests Garden and crowning her statue that faces east while singing Marian hymns.
Later, we crowned two other indoor statues, one in our Chapel to be moved to a dormitory area later. Another larger one in the refectory. And finally at the completion of the day, crowning Our Lady of Fatima in the Mater Dei Oratory.
We can never say enough to honor Mary says Saint Bernard. Likewise, we can never crown her Queen of our hearts too often as she is not only the first Handmaid of the Lord but also his most perfect disciple.
CORPUS CHRISTI
We were blessed to have Father Randy Stice come for the Mass and Procession. Though we were lacking in an abundance of rose petals we were not lacking in the Blessed Sacrament. A further gift of that day was watching Pope Leo XIV celebrate this most wonderful of Solemnities in Madrid with 1.2 million people.
Nuns and Cats Having Fun
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- Joy in Learning to Cut Out and Sew Corporals for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
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- A gift set of dominoes means we need to learn how to play
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- Sister enjoys a rare morning rainbow
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- Gertrude
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- Creative fun to elevate foot while working – nothing stops prayer and work
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- Gunther
Yup – More Repairs and stuff
We’ve lost count of just what needed TLC or TR (total replacement) since our Christmas newsletter. It ranges from our well pump, well head, well pressure valve, electric running to the well, ballast tanks, hot water heaters, drainage systems, downspouts, multiple sink leaks (we refrain from counting other bathroom related appointments) road grading, pressure washing, wood rot replacement, a deck extension, a second fire escape, gate repairs, and a separate sacristy entrance. This doesn’t count IT related repairs and repurposing. This year we learned the squirrels, never satisfied with eating our houses, have spread news to the ground hogs that it was great for filing down their teeth. A Mom and baby ground hog were both caught in the act eating the deck boards. It seems wood just in front of doors has a special fascination for both species. We hope one day to crack the code on manufacturing a type of concrete steel-reinforced rebar WOOD that will help curb their addiction.
Knights of Columbus from Holy Trinity Parish felt we needed a happy distraction from repairs and arranged for free natural mulch to be delivered by the Xylem Tree Care of Jefferson City and it will be spread by volunteer Knights later this Summer. We thank them for the kind gift and the hard work!
Father Bede Aboh our new chaplain
Our Dear Priests
We welcome our new Chaplain Father Bede Aboh even as we thank a thousand times over the priests who have brought us the Sacraments these last few years and continue to support us: Fathers Stice, Iurochkin, Cano, Velez, Dinh, O’Toole, Orr, Cummins, Iorio and many others. Our gratitude and our prayers for all your needs before the Monstrance!