Things here at Our Lady of Solitude have been quite busy! So this is a “catch-up” blog, reaching as far back as May! My heavens! – where has the time gone?!?!
May Crowning: May Crowning is always such a beautiful day and this year was no exception. Some of our local Tonopah children brought “flowers of the rarest and blossoms the fairest” to Our Sweet Mother.
Notre Dame Prep: Fr. John Parks brought a wonderful group of students from Notre Dame Prep to spend the day at Our Lady of Solitude. They enjoyed a talk by Sr. John-Mark as well as time for prayer and to enjoy the silence and solitude! Seeing these faith-filled young ladies instills such hope in our hearts! “The Church is alive and the Church is young!”
Rogation Days: Each year around the Feast of the Ascension, we celebrate 3 days of communal prayer (known as Rogation Days), complete with procession around the grounds and prayers for a fruitful harvest and protection.
Communal Retreat: We were blessed to have Fr. Mariusz Koch, CFR preach our canonical retreat this year. He is a long-time and much loved friend to our community. As an added bonus, we were able to renew our vows (as is our custom on Trinity Sunday) right in the midst of our retreat. We are so grateful for those days of spiritual renewal and grace.
Fare Thee Well, Friend: Sr. Augusta Mary discerned that she was not called to live our contemplative way of life. She returned to her home in early June. Please keep her in your prayers during this time of transition.
Corpus Christi: The great Solemnity of Corpus Christi is one of the “big” feast days for our Order – we are totally dedicated to Eucharistic Adoration. Our simple procession was simply beautiful…”Ecce Panis Angelorum…”
6 Month Mark: As of June 12, Sr. John-Mark Maria reached the 6 month count down before her Perpetual Profession of Holy Vows, which is scheduled for Dec. 12, 2016, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We are so excited and happy for Sister as she nears this beautiful day of life-long commitment to our Beloved Lord Jesus Christ. Let us support her with our prayers as the Lord makes her soul ready for Himself!
Priest Week: A big part of our intercessory prayer is for priests – as is the custom in our Order. We recently inaugurated a Priest Week Intercession Prayer Board that is placed outside our in-house Adoration Chapel. Every Saturday we place the names of all those priests who have asked for our prayers through the course of the week – and we intercede for them, by name, for the coming week. If you would like to ask prayers for a specific priest (or if you are a priest who would like to ask prayers for a specific intention/time), please let us know via this online form.
Yes, so much has happened these past months for you all, love to hear all the updates and keeping Sr. John Mark in my prayers while she takes this journey.
Sorry to hear about Sr. Augusta, God has another journey for her, whatever she does she will always be in our prayers and thoughts, just as you all are always.
I love the picture of you and the furball just sitting and enjoying God’s world such peace and contentment in that picture. I love sitting sitting in my yard with my pets and thinking about things, things don’t seem so bad when I go back into the house.
MJ
We were both very sad to hear that Sr. Augusta Mary left – she seemed so happy! We met her and feel a special bond with her and are hoping she is ok. We will most definately pray for her.
Bruce and Mary
I am so sad to hear that Sr. Augusta left. I know it is very hard I’m sure for her and you too. May God Bless her and you all abundantly. I was in the convent and left too. Those were really BLESSED days in my life, that I will never, ever forget. I learned a great deal, still say the Divine office, and still love being Catholic. I sure will pray for all of you and special prayers for Sr. Augusta. Our Lord has a special plan for all of us!
Good wishes and Blessings to the Nuns.
We also are saddened to learn Sr. Augusta left. Her smile was always so bright.
You nuns know better than we lay people about this whole process, but how did she go through 4 years before this discernment? However, God please bless her for pursuing this call and now she is seeking another.
Many prayers for Sr. Augusta. ♥ May God bless her as she continues to seek His will!
There is a wonderful ministry called Leonie’s Longing that helps women who have left religious life. They’ve been a great help and support to me since I left the convent a few years ago. Their website is http://www.leonieslonging.org/
I highly recommend checking it out, and passing along the information to Sr. Augusta if possible.
Whose West Highland White Terrier (Westie) is sitting on sister’s lap? Are the nuns allowed to have pets? If so, I think that is wonderful.