Celebrating the Exaltation of the Cross

Greetings,

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.  A reminder that we honor and rejoice in the cross that brought us our salvation.  At the monastery we join the Church in commemorating this feast, it is a good day to spend some time in Bishop Martin Marty Chapel and our beautiful carved crucifix of Christ surrounded by detailed vines and the symbols of the four Evangelists.  Our responsorial at Lauds expresses well the joy of the Church...

For our sake, Christ bore the sins of many.
Precious the cross, and glorious the sign.
He was pierced for our offences,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Precious the cross, and glorious the sign.
Sweet the wood, sweet the nails,
sweet the burden they bore.
Precious the cross, and glorious the sign.

Have a blessed Feast Day!

"We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,

because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world." ~Lauds Antiphon.

"The cross is the power of God, the God who saves!

One and only noble tree, the tree of life and peace." ~Vespers Responsorial

Blessings,

Patriot Day 2012

Greetings,

The prayer of Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Ground Zero is a good meditation for  this commemoration of Patriot Day.

Ground Zero, New York
Sunday, 20 April 2008

O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions,
who gather today at this site,
the scene of incredible violence and pain.

We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died here—
the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers,
emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them here on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion
to bring healing to those
who, because of their presence here that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.
Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families
and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well
of those who suffered death, injury, and loss
on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Our hearts are one with theirs
as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.

~Amen

The Nativity of Mary

Greetings,

On this simple September Saturday, we gathered to celebrate the birth of Mary in prayer with the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Here are a few of the antiphons and Psalms from our office...


Our Lady of Reichenbach
from our founding monastery
in Switzerland.


~ We celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary while we worship her Son, Christ the Lord. Antiphon

~My heart overflows with noble words, to the king I address my song; my tongue is ready like the pen of a scribe.
Psalm 45
~My heart finds joy in my God; my strength is exalted in the Most High. My mouth derides my foes, for I rejoice in God's power to save. There is no other Holy One, no other Rock like our God! 1Samuel 2

~Shout for joy, O daughter Zion; sing joyfully O Jerusalem, for your God is in your midst. God will rejoice over you with gladness and renew you in love. Responsorial

We invite you to take some time to reflect on Our Lady and her model of humble love and service to others. 

Blessings,

Fair Weather

Greetings,

Labor Day was celebrated at home in the monastery.  The sisters gathered for prayer, Eucharist, and an evening meal of favorite picnic foods.  Some of the sisters on mission away from home also gathered to celebrate this remembrance of the labor by attending a state fair!

We started our tour through the Nebraska State Fair with exhibit hall filled with the arts and crafts of the state.  It ranged from the very interesting creations including a trio of guitars bedazzled in gold and silver with blue spot-lights to this triptych of quilts with a religious theme.  Each of the quilts had a Bible quote stitched into its intricate fabric work. After some time before the triptych, we came to the conclusion that the last two would do better switched around. We pondered the creativity and beauty of the our resident artists.

In another exhibit hall, there were representatives from many of the state's industries from A to Z, or from Spas to Pork and Beans!  The pork producers had some fun promoting their 'home-grown' product by designing a gigantic pig from cans of pork and beans and fenced it in with green bean cans!  Also on display were the requisite 4-H and FFA projects that ranged from baked goods to monster pumpkins! It was wonderful to see all the work of our youth from Nebraska.

 

 All throughout the fairgrounds, there were fun sights and a multitude of folk!  We wandered up and down the lanes and aisles enjoying the day.  It wasn't long in our meandering that we were recognized...our sisters who serve in the city were becoming well known.  Sr. Clarice found a few parishoners among the fair-goers and Sr. Barbara was greeted by some of the high school students.  Both were amazed at being noticed in the throng of people, but glad to share our day.

 Soon enough the day had passed and it was time to return home to their little convent house we call St. Gertrude's.  The midway lights were shining brightly in the distance, beckoning the all to come and play, but it was time to settle in and pray.  It had been a wonderful day of wonders and laughter, a day to enjoy a little rest and fun, a day to be grateful for our blessings of work, family, and fun.

Blessings,

Monastery Mystery Four Revealed

Greetings,

Our sisters dutifully held back while some interesting considerations were given via Facebook and a good guess on our blog.  The mix of metal and wood patterning reminded some of choir stalls and others of decorative church railings.  But these are combined elements of our Reservation Chapel in the Peace Chapel at the monastery. 

We hold our daily Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharistic prayer in the Peace Chapel while we celebrate feasts and Sundays in the Bishop Martin Marty Chapel.  As we gather for prayer early every morning and return too prayer again every evening, our sisters pause to reverence Christ present among us in the Reservation Chapel.  Throughout the day, sisters have the opportunity to come and sit in the cool quiet to reflect and pray.  If you find the opportunity to visit us, consider taking time in your day to rest in this prayer spot for some silent listening with God.



In the dailiness of our processing in and out of chapel, we can easily forget the work that it took to create the beautiful simplicity of this prayer space.  The Tabernacle and the stands were all designed by our Sr. Mary Kay, who now serves the monastery as procurator.  The icon of our Blessed Mother was written by an artist who at one time was also a sister of our monastery.  Even the stained glass (unseen on the right of this photo) was designed by one of our sister artists at the time the chapel was being constructed. 

Blessings,

Monastery Mystery Four

Greetings,

Monastery Mystery Four is a place! There are places in our monastery that are so ingrained in the daily of our life that we don't always recognize the beauty.  This mystery place is seen by the sisters and our retreatants and guests several times a day.  The swirls that highlight this mystery place were designed by one of our own sisters of the monastery.  The clues of location are all in the images!...If you think you have a guess as to where this is in the monastery, just drop us a note in the comments below!

 Blessings!

Celebrations of New Promise!

Greetings,

We celebrated Sr. Julie's Perpetual Profession on Saturday, July 21st!

During her novitiate, Sister had made this clay piece "Hesed".  This Old Testament term of God's loving mercy for each of us; it became the theme of her Perpetual Profession "O God, Your Faithful Love Upholds Me".  She celebrated answering this faithful love with her family, monastic sisters, and lay-folk with whom she serves.

According to Benedictine Tradition, the sister writes out the profession statement in her own hand and reads it before all the sisters in the oratory or chapel of the monastery:

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

I, Sister Julie baptized in the diocese of Peoria, Illinois

promise to God perpetually stability in this monastery,

fidelity to the monastic way of life,

and obedience according to the Rule of Saint Benedict,

the norms of the Federation of Saint Gertrude

and the living tradition of this monastery. 

I make this monastic profession before God and the saints,

before Sister Penny, prioress, and the sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery.

In witness thereof, I have written this document and

have signed it here at Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton, SD

on the 21st day of July in the year 2012.

Sr. Julie and Sr. Penny, prioress, then sign the profession statement on the altar and leave the profession document on the altar throughout the rest of the Eucharistic Celebration.  This is an important connection to the professed sister offering her life in connection with that of Christ and for the Church.



Sr. Mary Jo singing the Suscipe
after signing her transfer
documents on the altar.



Sr. Mary Jo reading her transfer
document before the Federation
President, our Prioress, and our
Formation director.



A week after celebrating the perpetual profession of Sr. Julie; our community gathered again to celebrate the perpetual transfer of Sr. Mary Jo's vow of stability to our monastery.  She commemorated God's continued love and care for her religious call with the theme "You Will Show Me the Path of Life". 





A week after Sr. Mary Jo's celebration, the community gathered to welcome a new seeker of God's love in our Benedictine life.  On Friday, August 3rd, Peggy followed our 1500-year-old-tradition, knocked on the monastery door, and was asked "What do you seek?".  She then answers the prioresses question and steps across the threshold of the monastery doors into her new life as a postulant in our community.  A sign of this new direction is the blessed Benedictine medal that the prioress gives to the postulant.

Blessings,