On July 1, the Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth welcomed retreatants for a day-long retreat focused on the spirituality of St. Benedict and St. Ignatius.
On June 5, the monthly meeting of the Rosary Society of the Church of the Assumption in Roselle Park, New Jersey, featured a talk by Sister Marlene Milasus.
On Thursday, Feb. 2, The Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth hosted “A Deeper Dive Into Groundhog Day,” a morning “mini-retreat” at St. Walburga Monastery in Elizabeth, N.J.
Two new retreats have been added to our retreat calendar. Prepping For Pentecost takes place on May 25 and Spirituality for the Summer Solstice takes place on June 22.
“I knew there was only one Order I could be associated with, and that was the Benedictines” recalls Jeanne Mindingall, an Oblate (lay associate) of St Walburga Monastery. Another oblate, Paul Schryba, says that “the Rule of Benedict provides some wonderful guidelines…for simplifying one’s life from clutter and ways of acting that aren’t helpful to experience the peace and presence of God.”
I have come to believe that being a Vocation Director is like being a farmer. A farmer sows seeds in his field and waits and prays that the seeds will take root in their own time and sprout. The farmer has to let go of control and wait patiently for the harvest. So, too, Vo/news-and-events#advancedcation Directors.
When I do a talk on the liturgy, and especially on Eucharist or on the Church year, I usually begin by asking the participants to reflect silently for a few minutes on some significant turning point in their lives. I don’t ask them to share their turning points, but I do ask them to consider that a real turning point has three qualities: 1) it takes you irrevocably from an old life to a new life; 2) it grows as time passes, taking on new and deeper meaning; 3) it can be celebrated over and over, perhaps publicly, always personally, even if the celebration is simply the memory that “on this day…..(fill in the blank) happened.”
Most people have had to re-think every aspect of pandemic life, and this has certainly happened in the Sisters’ spirituality ministry. St. Walburga Monastery has long hosted retreats and other programs which have been happy occasions as new relationships are forged and new experiences gained through interactions between the monastic community and the guests.
This year Sister Ruth Rohr celebrates her 75th anniversary of entrance and Sister Diane Marie Kestler celebrates her 25th anniversary of religious profession. On January 30, to celebrate World Day of Consecrated Life, the Archdiocese of Newark recognized sisters who have special anniversaries from all communities in the Archdiocese at a live-streamed Mass.