Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Buildings and Grounds”
We lift up prayers of thanksgiving that we were again spared substantial tree damage during a recent windstorm. The same system that split this tree and barely missed Our Lady of Guadalupe House also caused damage throughout Tennessee, even an EF-2 tornado in Knoxville. As we continue cleaning up we are grateful for all the help we have received and …
Our Novice Mistress has the novices, and any discerning guests, learning about the spiritual benefits of gardening as well as culinary should the harvest be abundant enough. But on a strictly spiritual level sunflowers are good models for us. Jeremias Drexelius wrote The Heliotropium, or Conformity of the Human Will to the Divine around 1630. The sunflower that follows the …
The Knights are at it again! Under the generous organization of Knight Ron Henry (Holy Ghost Council) an entire crew of eager Knights from Holy Trinity parish in Jefferson City arrived with tools and a healthy reserve of sweat equity to spread out new mulch over 9 different garden bed areas. They tackled about 34 cubic yards of new black …
They say to go to Saint Joseph when in great need. We have been praying his Litany daily for some time now for the intention of successfully fundraising, then building and completing, a needed addition to our monastery: Holy Family Building. This annex, which would attach directly to our largest building, would allow all Handmaids to live, work, and pray …
We long ago had to declare defeat in our War Against The Squirrels and replace the outside stairs leading to the cells adjacent to Mater Dei. They have resisted the squirrels teeth, although some squirrels, perhaps to spite the loss of the wood staircase, have a regular penchant for visiting when Gertrude lets them. Actually she has been seen chasing chipmunks …
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 …
We share an archive treasure from the more recent past from our arrival in New Market. A Church built upon rock. Cor Jesu Monastery was originally a large lodge in the woods. Before building it, the previous owners had core samples drilled to assess the construction site for suitability. In limestone country it’s understandable that you don’t want to build …
As an Easter gift, a benefactor made possible the night lighting of our gates, call box, and most especially the wooden Crosses now draped in white. It helps with security and visitors finding the call box but also allows the Cross to be seen at quite a distance even in the dark. Fiat Lux! Let There Be Light! We are …
God blessed us with very fine weather during the last weeks of October and, on a warm and windy day, we took advantage of the conditions to pray the Stations of the Cross together in the Mary, Mother of Priests Tribute Garden. The perimeter of this first phase of the garden is ringed with 14 traditional Stations of the Cross …
We recently shared a post on what a typical monastery Christmas is like. But what was it really like this year? It was a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!!! That’s a shout-able event. Why? Because it was a rare event experienced maybe only once every 10-15 years or more…a White Christmas of 5 to 7 inches of snow that meant no Midnight Mass, …
Thank you for the prayers! The leak was found. The water is back on and the well is producing.