D~is for....

Detachment

Am I excessively concerned about my good name, so much so that I become greatly annoyed by the slightest criticism? 

To whom or what am I attached, and how can I succeed in breaking this detachment?

If God should ask me to give up any article I possess, or friendship I enjoy, or occupation which pleases me, would I, for love of Him, surrender it?

Spiritual Gem Selections Grand Central Annex New York, N.Y.

C~is for...

Chastity

Would Our Lord bless each one of my friendships in the degree in which it exists?

Am I sound in my attitued toward holy chastity ~ free on the one hand from scrupulosity and on the other from carelessness?

Is all my external conduct consonant with holy chastity?

What steps am I making to acquire greater chastity of heart?

Spiritual Gem Selections Grand Central Annex New York, N.Y

B~is for...

Benevolence

Do I wish well to all ~to those who have been kind to me and to those who have not? 

If I am not well disposed towards some, am I trying to better my attitude towards them?

Am I sensitive to the faults of others and indifferent to their virtues?


Spiritual Gem Selections Grand Central Annex New York, N.Y.

Conversion to Vocation ~ from a Nun at St. Emma part 7

Yes, You......

Now, after hobbling back to my room, I sat there with my foot up wrapped in ice. The chair was positioned so that you could look at the crucifix on the wall.
I just started to laugh and no I had not taken any pain meds at this point.
I just kept looking at the crucifix and thinking is this the place that God wanted me. Then I would laugh some more.

That same peace came over me again as when I first thought about becoming a religious sister.

But I couldn't tell anyone at this point, after all I had just finished my teaching degree and was a lot more in debt.

I just thought that this situation was funny and out of my control, because if God wanted me here then He would have to work some wonders to make it happen.

And He did...

Happy Name Day Mother Mary Anne

May God continue to bless you in all that you do.

We give thanks to God for the blessing that you have been to this community!

Your Daughters in Christ. 

A~ is for...

Acceptance of Grace

May procession 2013 

Am I living a life which God's grace is the principal moving force?

Am I alert to perceive the inspirations of grace in my soul?

Do I take seriously the obligation of striving toward perfection?

Spiritual Gem Selections Grand Central Annex New York, N.Y.

Monastic Immersion Experiences

Is Jesus Calling you to follow Him as a Benedictine nun at St. Emma Monastery?

Have you been wondering if you have a monastic vocation?

Do you want to experience the ore et labora of our monastery?

Do you desire a closer look?

Do you want to share our life for a few days but without a commitment to enter on your side?

Single Catholic women, between the ages 16-38, are invited to join us at various times throughout the year to experience our Benedictine monastic life for themselves.

We host several “formal” Monastic Immersion Experiences each year, please see the schedule below for our upcoming dates.  Additionally, individuals are welcome to come for informal Immersion Experiences as their schedules permit.

During these visits, vocation guests have the opportunity to explore the possibility that Jesus Christ might be inviting them to follow Him more closely through a monastic vocation with our community.

Participants take part in our daily schedule of prayer – the daily Eucharist and The Liturgy of the Hours – and in our work in the monastery, in caring for guests and in our gift and book shop.  Recreational time together belongs also to the monastic day.

Time is also provided to spend in silence, reading and reflecting.  Talks with Mother Prioress and the vocation director also offered.  The Monastic Immersion Experiences normally begins with arrival in the afternoon on the opening day and closes after lunch on the closing day.  For those desiring a longer time, arrangements can be made.

Please contact Sr. Mary Clare at 724-610-7586 or email vocations@stemma.org for additional information or to register or an upcoming Monastic Immersion Experience.

Upcoming Monastic Immersion Experiences

Thanksgiving Weekend - 

November 29-December 1, 2013

New Years - January 3-5, 2014

Besides these weekends, you are welcome to come for an informal Immersion Experience at a time that is convenient for you; please let us know about your desire to visit.

Some thoughts shared with us from a participant in one of our Immersion Experiences

The first three days I spent on the Monastic Immersion Experience, all I could think was:  Is this it?  Is this where I’m called?  I found myself growing frustrated and resentful.  Why don’t they give me time to think?!

Kneeling before Him in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, it hit me:  This is a Monastic Immersion Experience.  If you want time to think, go on a silent retreat!

I have seven days here, I thought.  I’m here to experience monastic life the way it really is.  If I’m going to really have that experience, I need to have it in my heart, too.  I will have plenty of time to reflect on the experience from a discernment perspective once I get home.  For now, just live in the moment.

Why is it important to wait on the Lord?  Because I cannot possibly know where I am called by my own power.  Real discernment is too complex to “figure out” on my own.  Once I had seen monastic life from the inside, I understood why you can’t approach discernment as if it were a hunt for the right college.  You have to chill out, and wait on Him.

But like pretty much every other discerner, I want to know where I will be in one year, five years, twenty-five years…  That day before Our Lord at St. Emma’s, I realized that my desire to know — especially to know NOW — is a desire for control.  I want control over my life.  I want to know because the predictability will give me a sense of peace and comfort.  But in having control, I fail to hand my life over to Him.  In finding my peace and comfort in my own power, I fail to find it in Him.

After that hour in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, things got much better.  I felt instantly less frustrated, drained, and impatient.  In fact, I started to have a pretty good time.

When I got home, I was not the same discerner that I was.  These wonderful women gave me a place to stay, three meals a day, an opportunity to learn to pray the Divine Office, great conversation, some wonderful spiritual direction, and loads and loads of love.  But much more importantly, they blessed me with an experience that taught me to wait for Him, and in so doing, they gave me peace.    - JES

Fiat Days , Harrisburg Diocese PA

Vocation retreat for young women, who are keeping their hearts open to the possibility religious life. 

This event was wonderful and all of the young women where very prayerful and willing to ask questions, and the best of all they making connections with the different religious communities.

God bless all who participated in this retreat.

  

Conversion to Vocation ~ from a Nun at St. Emma part 6

I spent the first part of the week walking and praying. They were having their first Auction /Flea Market. I made the “mistake” of asking if they needed any help. I seemed to kind of fit in with them. I observed how they interacted both in prayer and at work. The day of the Auction I was asked to be at the welcome tent, I had only been there for 4 days at this point, did I mention that I was lost a lot of the time and they wanted me to direct other people....

The Lord works in strange ways. 

This was the first week that I was with out an ankle air cast, I thought that this time of rest and prayer would also help my ankle. I was walking up to the welcome tent carring a hot dog and drink when my ankle slipped off of the sidewalk...yes the same ankle. I hobbled back to my room with an ice pack. Just to let you know I didn't spill a thing.