O Root of Jesse

O Root of Jesse,

who stands as a sign of the people,

before whom kings shall be silent,

to whom all nations shall pray,

O come, come Lord to freee us,

and delay no longer!

O Adonai

O Adonai,

and leader of the house of Israel,

who appeared in a burning bush to Moses

and gave him the Law on Mount Sinai,

O come, come Lord and redeem us
with your strong arm outstretched!

O Wisdom



Artwork by...
The Benedictine Sisters of Turvey Abbey



Greetings,

Today, we begin a week of reflecting on Christ's coming in a deeper way with His many titles from the Old Testament. Each morning a new title is placed in the "O Antiphon" wreath that hangs in a central corridor of the monastery; and Each evening we chant the praises of His name in the O Antiphon to the Magnifcat Canticle.

O Wisdom of God,

Who came forth from the mouth of the Most High,

reaching from beginning to end,

and with great power yet gentleness

you set all creation in order:

O Come, come Lord

and teach us the way of Wisdom!

Gaudete! Rejoice!

Greetings,

The purples of Advent recollection and pinks of Advent rejoicing fill not only our chapel and hallways, but all of nature seems to be celebrating the season with beautiful sunrises and sunsets blazing the sky with Advent joy.  The readings from today's Gaudete celebration fittingly express our Advent joy and anticipation illustrated in our sisters' photos...

Sister Mary Kay found our monastery's emblem filled with Advent color
on her way to Laud's one winter morning a few years ago.

 "Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!" Zephaniah 3: 14


Another Sister Photobug captured this moment of sunset with the
Advent colors from the sky filling the waters of the Missouri River.

Cry out with joy and gladness:
for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
Cry out with joy and gladness:
for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 12: 2-3

Blessings and Rejoice!

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

"O holy Dwelling Place of God.  O holy Temple of the Word. 
O holy Mary, holy Mother of God!" ~ Lauds Antiphon.



The Immaculate Conception by Monastery Icons

"Hail, bright star of the ocean, God's own gracious mother, Virgin ever sinless, take our supplication, to your Son, our Savior.  Surely he will hear you." ~ Vespers Responsory

One Jolly Monastery Tradition

Greetings,

The quiet of our simple Wednesday supper was interrupted with a joyful chorus of "Jolly old Saint Nicholas, lean your ear this way; Don't you tell a single soul what I'm going to say!"  Saint Nicholas himself came into our monastery refectory on the eve of his feast with two helpers to visit with the sisters and share his gifts of apples and oranges as well as chocolates and candies. As Saint Nicholas visited around the dinning room, he teased the sisters about eating all their spinach (the vegetable for supper that night) or they might get coal instead.  Saint Nicholas also visited our elders in the care center in their dinning room as his helpers and our staff sang and joined in the fun.  All of the sisters received a special blessing from our ancient bishop and legend.


Sister Sub-Prioress, Father Chaplain, and Postulant Peggy
with all Saint Nicholas' goodies for the sisters!

Our monastery has been celebrating the visit of Saint Nicholas for over 70 years! With our Swiss roots and many early sisters from Germany or German Ancestry, this festive celebration of generosity, hospitality, and child-like awe is a natural and joy-filled expression of our Advent waiting for the Lord's coming.  Our saint's visit began with with singing and laughter; and after he left, the sisters continued to visit  about their Saint Nicholas memories.  Over those 70 years, Saint Nicholas has been played by new novices and junior sisters, monastery and college chaplains, but the earliest memories were of Sister Georgia who died in 1968.  She would come to evening recreation, all dressed up with apples and oranges for all the sisters who then joined in with welcoming, song, and laughter...only to be quickly quieted at the bell for Compline. 

As this tradition continues to welcome and bless, new members and guests to the monastery are initiated into this celebration of our heritage.  This year on the eve of Saint Nicholas; Sister 5th Grade Teacher had invited a few of her students for a visit to the monastery.  They loved the 'surprise' visit by the saint and couldn't wait to go home and back to school and tell the tale of their monastery guest!

Blessings and Happy Advent,

Happy New Year!

Greetings,

The season of Advent ushers in our new Church year.  At the monastery, the season is welcomed with new color and greenery in the Chapel and prayer spaces, with extended silence in our mornings, and with a deeper awareness of God's presence among us.  While the Rule of Benedict has much to say on the season of Lent, Advent wasn't yet part of the Church's Tradition and celebration during Benedict's lifetime.  However, we infer many of the Saint Benedict's recommendations from Chapter 49 to this season: to pray more, to read and reflect, and prepare ourselves for the celebration of the Christ's Incarnation and His triumphant return.

This autumn was filled with many events which gave us the opportunity to share our blessings.  The Monastery Gift Shop (and the whole monastery) hosted our 6th annual "Holiday Fair" on October 27th.  Throughout the year, sisters prepared the best crafts of crocheting, quilting and sewing; beaded dozens of rosaries, bracelets, and jewelry; Father Monk brought down breads and soaps from his monastery while Sister Baker whiped up batches of her own treats and poured candles to boot!  It was an amazing variety that spread throughout the monastery's front parlours and hallways, and between 9:30 am and their afternoon closing, the sisters had sold...
542 various loaves of bread!
122 plates of other baked and candied goods!
81 bags of homemade 'Nun-Better' noodles
573 jars of jam, jelly, pickles, and salad dressing from the monastery kitchen and cookers!
1054 handmade items from the sisters crafting, sewing, beading, and other artistic gifts!The proceeds from this one day of wild and wonderful sales goes to support the international sisters who live with us while studying at Mount Marty College.  This is one way we strive to share our gift and blessing of education with others.

The sisters also shared our gift and blessing of bounty in preparation for Thanksgiving.  The monastery has continued the tradition of opening our kitchen and assisting the local 'Banquet' in preparing a feast for others.  The ovens were filled with dozens of turkeys that were later pulled apart by Sister Volunteers while others cut bunches (what must have felt like tons) of celery, onion, and breads to make the dressing for the feast.  By the time the Banquet representatives came with their van, our contributions to the city's Banquet were all wrapped up and ready to go.  Several sisters also shared in serving the meal and eating with the guests, but the preparation allows so many more sisters to reach out to bless those they may never know.

We will keep you and your Advent in our prayers and hope that blessings and opportunities to bless will be abundant in your new Church year.

Blessings,