Christmas Day Celebrations!

Christmas Greetings!

Christmas celebrations began with the divine.  Our Lauds and Mass rang with joyful choirs.  While our morning prayer was open to all, the sisters were only joined by our chaplains.  However, our Christmas Mass filled many more of the Chapel pews with a celebration of diversity.  To the delight of all, the student sisters from Tanzania lead the procession at the offering of the gifts. Music filled with rhythmic drums played over the speakers as they danced before the gifts with khanga cloth from home tucked over their habits.  The celebration of God's Divine welcome continued as we stepped forward at the reception of the Eucharist.  The sisters began the line in variations of white, black, and red for the season.  Then our guests and visitors stepped forward; the young and old, those in Sunday best and blue jeans, the carefully-coiffed and those with green hair, little girls with brand-new sparkly Christmas clothes and their more somber grandparents. It was a wonderful celebration.

After our Christmas brunch, the monastery seemed strangely quiet in the afternoon.  A number of the sisters changed into their 'festive' Christmas best, located 'official' identification, bundled up, and carpooled caravan style down to the Federal Prison on the other side of town.  The sisters have celebrated a Christmas Mass with the men of the Federal Prison for many years.  Sister Musician-Liturgist sometimes plays at their regular Masses and coordinated a group of the residents to play the bells for the Mass with the Sisters.  Every year the little chapel space is packed for the Mass; it is a sacred time to share our welcoming the Lord into our lives and reminding them of our prayerful support of their conversion.  The hope we seek to share with the residents echos Pope Benedict the XVI's Christmas Message:

"If we believe". Here we see the power of faith! God has done everything; he has done the impossible: he was made flesh. His all-powerful love has accomplished something which surpasses all human understanding: the Infinite has become a child, has entered the human family...Yes, there is a good earth, a healthy earth, an earth freed of all selfishness and all lack of openness. In this world there is a good soil which God has prepared, that he might come to dwell among us. A dwelling place for his presence in the world. This good earth exists, and today too, in 2012, from this earth truth has sprung up! Consequently, there is hope in the world, a hope in which we can trust, even at the most difficult times and in the most difficult situations. Truth has sprung up, bringing kindness, justice and peace.

The afternoon was also time for our family Christmas party! All the sisters gathered in the Chapter room for treats, music, and laughter.  The party began with treats and a mix of Christmas Carols and songs.  The music ended with a rousing rendition of the "12 Days of Christmas"; except this year, we also had different signs for each table to wave during our part of the '12'.  Next the prioress shared the community gift, a book by the Abbot Primate (head Benedictine monk).  Finally, Sister Elves delivered the sisters' gifts from the generous members of St. Mary Church...the room filled with exclamations of joy and laughter.  Sisters continued comparing the family photos and cards that were included with many of the gifts and began to compose their 'thank yous' and 'promises of prayer' as we picked up the Chapter Room and prepared for evening Vespers.

We will continue to keep you in prayer throughout this Christmas Season!

Christmas Blessings,

Christmas Eve Events...

Greetings,

The monastery has been bustling with activity during this ONE DAY between the last Sunday of Advent and Christmas Day.  After Lauds, Mass, and breakfast, the preparations for the next day's festivities began.  The sisters divided into groups of merry elves to get all the work done.

Sister Sacristan and Sister Subprioress making final
poinsettia placement decisions while preparing Chapel.

The sisters decorating the Chapel had 'double duty' since the Advent Wreath and purple banners needed to be taken down before the white and gold Christmas banners and poinsettias could bedeck the sanctuary and pillars.  A few sisters artfully arranged a few dozen red and white poinsettias around the base of some simple evergreen trees that flank either side of our high altar while others continued to cart them in from their 'cool' storage.  Sisters with great balance tiptoed on the pews to lift down the purple and hang banners of gold with white.  Sister Sacristan was also quite busy; moving from candle to candle with new pillars and votives, refilling the little oil dedication candles, and positioning highlights of golden material around the Christmas candles.

Sisters home from mission join in the joyful work of
playing 'elf' and preparing the Christmas gifts.

 Another sister collected all the Advent table decorations from the dinning room and carried away its Advent Wreath as well.  In their place, the tables were brightened up with white table cloths, season placemats, and rose bowls filled with mini-bouquets of red and white; a Christmas Nativity scene was also displayed in the center of the dinning room.  The cooks and bakers, gift wrappers and musicians were all bustling about the monastery all morning long.  And two merry little elves carted special gifts from St. Mary Church from a small meeting room to the Chapter room where other elves were lighting the tall Christmas tree.

Bishop Martin Marty Chapel
as Christmas Vespers begins



Tonight, we will share our traditional meal of oyster stew, potato soup, and cherry pie.  Then with the quiet of December winter all around, we sing "Silent Night" with our candles lit as we statio two by two to the front of chapel and then to our pews.  The Chapel stays semi-lit with our candles as the cantor choir sings the Christmas Proclamation! This Christmas Vigil Vespers builds our anticipation the glory of our Christmas celebration tomorrow.

May Christmas Blessings be Yours,

Advent Reminders...

Greetings,

Advent reminders can be found all throughout the monastery, even these last days of preparation before Christmas.  Our Chapel is still swathed in purple simplicity with the wreath standing vigil until our Christmas Eve Vespers tomorrow night.  The widow of our Chapel gathering space still bears the message to wait in hope and anticipation.  Another Advent wreath still stands central to our monastery dinning room.  These symbols of our faith are the reminders that are expected and obvious.  However, the Advent message pervades all corners of our life at the monastery...

These chalk boards are mounted to the wall near the entrance to each floor of our bedroom area (a.k.a. dormitory).  The sisters of 4th Floor have had a gentle Advent reminder this year.  That in all ways and in all places we are to 'Prepare the way...".  The simple drawing is reminiscent of Isaiah's prophecy that "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill made low; the rugged land shall be a plain, the rough country, a broad valley (40: 3-4).  As we walked by this Advent reminder on the way to Vespers on this final Sunday in Advent, we were reminded that there was still time to prepare, still work to be done to make ready the way of our Lord. 

Blessings,

O Emmanuel

Our chapel window depicting the Nativity.

O Emmanuel, our holy King and Giver of the Law,
the expectation of the nations,
their longed for Redeemer
and Savior:
O come, come soon to save us,
our Lord God-With-Us!

O King

Our chapel window depicting Christ the King.

O King of Nations,

you for whom all lands are longing, you are the holy cornerstone who bind together all God's people:

O come, come
and save humankind,
whom you formed
from the dust of the earth.

A Social Network Christmas

Grettings,

Ever wondered how the Infancy Narratives of Jesus' birth would be shared with all the social media we use today?  Take a moment ponder and pray as we prepare for the Coming of Our Savior!

O Dayspring

O Rising Sun,
the splendor of eternal light
and brilliant sun of justice,
O come
and with your holy light,
shine on us
who sit in darkness
and in death's shadow!