We are always excited to bring you a new edition of our newsletter, “From the Foot of the Cross.” However, this time we are particularly eager, because of the BIG NEWS we’re sharing about our Cherish the Flame Campaign!
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Posts by CP Novitiate
While most people would not phrase it so bluntly, this assumption lies at the root of many critiques of contemplative life. After all, isn’t it like being on a “perpetual retreat,” detached from the cares of the world, dreamily unconcerned about anything but one’s own growth in holiness?
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Thanks to a number of generous friends and family, our flower gardens are particularly vibrant this year with donated blooms! We thought you might enjoy a “walking tour” of some of our monastery’s natural beauty this time of year.
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It’s that time of year again — the great solemnity of Corpus Christi is this Sunday! As always, we will be holding our 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration here at the monastery from Sunday through Tuesday. We would love it if you could join us in honoring our Sacramental Lord!
Read More“Are you sure you want to enter a monastery? You have so much to offer the Church and the world!”
“How could someone as beautiful and intelligent as yourself want to lock yourself away for life?”
“What a waste!”
“I have strong confidence in God that He will pour the gifts of the Holy Spirit into your heart with greater fullness at the coming solemnity of Pentecost.”
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Today begins the Great Novena of Pentecost, where we unite ourselves to Mary and the Apostles as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. You can join us in our nine days of imploring Christ to send “the Promise of the Father” upon His Church!
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In the homily he delivered for our May Vespers service, Deacon Bruce beautifully explored the life of St. Gemma and the lessons she teaches us about the “Gospel of suffering,” to use St. John Paul II’s term. Why do good people suffer? How can a good God allow all the suffering in our world? What is the connection between our suffering and that of Jesus?
Read MoreThis third “nun myth” is more than just a myth — it can actually be one of the Devil’s insidious ways of blocking a religious vocation! Like many other misconceptions, it seems quite reasonable at first glance: the religious life, especially the cloistered contemplative life, is a very high calling, and it would seem that only those who have reached a considerable degree of holiness should even be allowed to consider such a vocation.
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To all mothers …
Like Jesus the Good Shepherd, you are called to guide and nurture those under your care — whether as a physical or as a spiritual mother, or both. THANK YOU for saying “yes” to your call!
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The great “feast of feasts” was two weeks ago today … but the celebration is far from over! Holy Mother Church wants to make sure her children prolong the observance of Easter, and so the liturgies during these 50 days of joy are replete with that victorious Resurrection cry: Alleluia!
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One of the most striking parts of the Easter Vigil liturgy is the blessing of the “new fire.” The orange flames leaping into the dark sky are a vivid image of the power of the Resurrection, by which Christ, the Light of the World, shatters the darkness of our sin and death.
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Speak, Mary, declaring
What thou sawest wayfaring:
”The tomb of Christ, Who is living,
The glory of Jesus’ Resurrection!”
Now that His heart is opened and His hands with wounds are lit,
There is no cross of our living where His body will not fit,
There is no sin of ours for which He has not a wound.
Joseph, you are our brother - as friend to whom we speak in times of darkness and uncertainty … as model to whom we turn for inspiration when tempted and discouraged … as guide who will support our faith and fidelity in our faltering steps as disciples of Jesus.
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You want rosaries? / I got twenty! / But who cares? / No big deal / I want more …
I wanna be where the sisters are / I wanna see, wanna see ‘em praying …
Our dear Mother Catherine Marie recently returned to Italy after spending several months at her “old Kentucky home”. However, we didn’t want to let her “slip away” quietly! Thus, the day before Mother was to leave, we organized a special event in her honor: a monastery talent show!
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Like the rest of the world, we are shocked and saddened by the tragic news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine … As Passionist contemplatives, we are responding by intensifying our intercession for both countries, begging our Crucified Lord to restore peace and prevent an escalation of this conflict.
Read More“I don’t know … you just don’t seem like the ‘nun type.’ You’re so outgoing! Isn’t it the quiet, shy, pious girls that usually enter a cloister?” This very common myth sounds at first like a “no-brainer.” It seems quite reasonable to assume that those who are called to a life of silence, solitude, and prayer would all be introverts.
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Even though the discerners on our recent vocation retreat hailed from different parts of the country and brought different life experiences to the weekend, they quickly bonded through a shared love of Jesus Christ and desire to discover His Will for their lives.
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