On January 18th, plaid shirts and straw hats could once again be seen around St. Joseph’s … that’s right, our monastic hillbilly band, Transluminous Obscurity, is back! What’s more, we were able to debut a couple of new members: Dill Emma and Miss Kris! (You might know them better as Aspirants Emma and Kristin Marie …)
Read More“In the sacred books, the Father Who is in Heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it remains the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and perennial source of the spiritual life.”
Read MoreMany a young woman who is feeling the call to religious life has struggled with the thought of giving up marriage and children. Very often she feels torn between a deep desire to belong to God and an equally deep desire to be a wife and mother. Can the two possibly be reconciled?
Read MoreWhile the shepherds received a direct and unambiguous revelation from the mouths of angels, the Wise Men were led only by a mysterious star. The shepherds knew exactly where to find Jesus in the cave at Bethlehem; the Magi at first sought the “newborn King of the Jews” in the great city of Jerusalem, where one would expect to find an earthly ruler.
Read More“O Jesus,
Life of my life,
Joy of my soul,
God of my heart,
receive my heart as an altar …”
Are we really in the Christmas season already?? 2022 has flown by, and we already find ourselves starting the fourth year of our Cherish the Flame fundraising and building project. Despite all the obstacles posed by the pandemic, inflation, supply-chain issues, and more, the Lord has continued to bless this endeavor in marvelous ways.
Read MoreO great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord,
lying in a manger!
He is coming! This refrain re-echoes in the Church’s liturgy throughout the Advent season, but during this final week before Christmas, the expectant Bride of Christ redoubles her enthusiastic expectation. The readings for this Sunday focused in a special way on the First Coming of Christ – the Incarnation – and how God prepared the way for His Son to enter into human history.
Read MoreWith the Christmas season coming around, worry about this “Nun Myth” may be on the mind of many parents and family members of cloistered religious. While most people are making plans to travel home for the holidays, the families of nuns know that they will always be missing one member around the table.
Read MoreA picture is worth a thousand words, isn’t it? From November 25-27, the Lord blessed us with the company of nine young women interested in exploring Passionist life! This unusually large group brought an extra infusion of joy and enthusiasm as we shared prayer, reflection, and recreation with them.
Read MoreWith everything going on with the Cherish the Flame project, it’s been over a year since we sent out a newsletter dedicated to community updates! However, that’s not to say it’s been an uneventful 13 months …
Read MoreOn November 8th, we held a community celebration in honor of our Silver Jubilarian, Mother John Mary. In accordance with venerable tradition, a group of Sisters had spent the past few weeks (and months!) laboring over a very special performance for the “nun of the day” …
Read MoreToday Holy Mother Church begins a new liturgical year as she always does: crying, “Come, Lord Jesus!” We pray that this Advent season will be a time of deep renewal for you in your own walk with the Lord.
Read MoreWe have received a number of questions about terms we have used in speaking about our Cherish the Flame building project — and we’re not surprised, since many of them are words that are rarely heard outside a monastic context! We hope this fun little “glossary” will help to fill in the blanks.
Read MoreDear blog followers and friends, we ask your prayers as we enter into our annual 4-day retreat! We join the worldwide community of Passionist Nuns in preparing for the renewal of our five vows on November 21st, the Feast of the Presentation of Mary.
Read MoreLast Friday marked the 70th anniversary of the martyrdom of Bl. Eugene Bossilkov, CP. In honor of the occasion, the Passionist General Secretary sent out a wonderful reflection on the life of this saintly Bishop, whom we are proud to have as part of our Congregation.
Read MoreHave you ever wondered why religious life is not a Sacrament? The reason is simple: the Sacraments are signs of the Heavenly kingdom, while consecration is the reality of Heavenly life, begun here on earth. As such, while all the Sacraments will ultimately pass away, religious life will endure even in Heaven – because there, every soul is totally consecrated to God!
Read MoreHas it really been an entire year since our Sr. Miriam Esther of the Sacred Heart made her first vows?? The calendar insists that it is so, but we can hardly believe it — the beautiful occasion is still very fresh in our memories. In honor of Sister’s first anniversary, we hope you enjoy a full video of her Profession Mass!
Read More… Most excitingly, the steel “skeleton” for the archways was installed a few weeks ago, giving us a clearer picture of what the finished product will look like. It is thrilling to see our dream taking shape before our eyes, and we are beyond grateful to all those who continue to make this project possible by their time, talent, treasure, and prayers!
Read MoreThe cool autumn weather has brought beautiful fall colors here to Western Kentucky — just in time for our weekend vocation visitors to enjoy! From October 7-9, we welcomed three young women to our monastery for one of our semiannual discernment retreats
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