island life- in a monastery

Mother Ruth with Mother Catarina

Our oldest nun, Mother Ruth Barry, died om Saturday August 4. It was not unexpected as she just reached her 91^st birthday. She had still been doing the community’s wash until a few months ago, and in the last weeks we saw a rapid decline. Her last words to Mother Prioress were: I want to go to the Lord. I am ready.

Mother was born in Wrens, Georgia to a tenant farmer, whose main crop was cotton. Her mother made her her own picking bag when she was four, so she could join the family in the work. Mother loved telling stories of her life on the farm. She had too many brothers and sisters to remember (for us anyway) and kept in frequent contact with her nieces and grand nieces and nephews, all of whom still live in the south. She worked for many years in New York before joining our Abbey in Connecticut in 1968.

She loved the outdoors and for years was in charge of the vegetable gardens, and was the Abbey Shepherdess. Her Cheviot sheep were her pride and joy. When she came to Shaw Island she helped me with our Cotswold sheep and kept a sharp eye on them and the llamas, even as she aged.

With Shanley

While we mourn her passing, we also rejoice that she is with the Lord in His glory.

The Shepherdess

She walks-the lady of my delight-

A shepherdess of sheep.
Her flocks are thoughts. She keeps them white;
She keeps them from the steep;
She feeds them on the fragrant height,
And folds them in for sleep.

She roams maternal hills and bright,
Dark valleys safe and deep.
Into that tender breast at night
The chastest stars may peep.
She walks-the lady of my delight-
A shepherdess of sheep.

She holds her little thoughts in sight,
Though gay they run and leap.
She is so circumspect and right;
She has her soul to keep.
She walks-the lady of my delight-
A shepherdess of sheep.

Alice Meynell

Praying- Dorina Costras (France)

Interesting article this past week which give some statistics that make the USA not as bad as it can sometimes seem. The U.S. remains a deeply religious country and the most devout of all the rich Western democracies.

Americans pray more often, are more likely to attend weekly religious services and give an importance to faith in their lives than adults in other wealthy, Western democracies, such as Canada, Australia and most European countries, according to a recent Pew Research Center study.

More than half of American adults (55%) say they pray daily, compared with 25% in Canada, 18% in Australiaand 6% in Great Britain. The average European country stands at 22%. When it comes to their prayer life Americans are more like people in many poorer, developing nations than people in richer countries. We compared to Bolivia (56%), Bangladesh(57%) and

South Africa

(52%).

Prayer before Meal- Vicente Manansula (d. 1981)

As it turns out, the U.S. is the only country out of 102 examined in the study that has higher-than-average levels of both prayer and wealth. In every other country surveyed with a gross domestic product of more than $30,000 per person, fewer than 40% of adults say they pray every day. Countries we tend to think of a very Catholic seem to have lost their roots. Once very religious Italy has a percentage of 22, Ireland less than 20, Germany has less than 10. We pray that prayer in our country continues.

Any newcomers to my Blog, may not know that I am an avid birder. For about 8 years I also had a 4-H birding group that always cleaned up at our county fair with their research projects.

News of a new study (why does it take modern people so long to figure things out?) shows that natural sounds can help relieve stress.

We all know that some noises, like TV, the radio, traffic, and even loud conversations (ever tried to read in an airport when people are yaking on their cell phone?) make it hard to concentrate. The songs of birds may make it easier. One expert thinks that birdsong relaxes people physically while stimulating them cognitively. As the body relaxes while the mind becomes alert.

In a children’s hospital in Liverpool, England, the sounds of birdsong carry along the hallways. It’s a recording of the dawn chorus from a nearby park, and the intent is to calm the anxious young patients. This hospital is one of a number of places in Europe where birdsong recordings are used to foster an uplifting and therapeutic experience.

Institutions have begun to put this logic to work. A primary school in Liverpoolplayed a soundscape of birdsong and other nature sounds after a lunch break, when students would normally be drowsy. This appeared to help them concentrate and become more alert. And birdsong is now used at SchipholAirport in Amsterdam, where a lounge plays bird sounds to help travelers relax before flights.

Researchers at the University of Exeter, the British Trust for Ornithology and the University of Queensland suggests that lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress were associated with the number of birds people could see in the afternoon. It discovered the benefits for mental health of being who were able to see birds, shrubs and trees around the home, whether people lived in urban or more leafy suburban neighborhoods.

According to the study, visual observation of nature is helpful in lowering the stress and anxiety for human beings. Daniel Cox, University of Exetersaid, "This study starts to unpick the role that some key components of nature play for our mental well-being. Birds around the home and nature in general, show great promise in preventative health care, making cities healthier, happier places to live."

Research conducted by Cox found that watching birds makes people feel relaxed and connected to nature which played a vital role in lowering down stress and anxiety levels in a person.

Therefore, not merely physical health benefits but nature in every form benefits our over-all health. Fresh oxygen, challenging treks, beautiful scenery, melodious nature sounds, etc., all contribute to your health if observed keenly.

Experts (not birders obviously) say if you’re feeling stressed out, try playing a bit of birdsong. Any birder can tell you, listen to the real thing.

I can never stress enough the effect of saints in our lives. When our youth group was here this summer I told them to look to teens their age who are up for canonization as role models. When the going gets tough, the saints are there for us!

On July 31, the Holy Father gave a homily to altar servers from across the globe.

“Do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). So St Paul told us. To give glory to God in everything we do: that is the ultimate criterion for all our words and actions. It sums up what it means to be a friend of Jesus. It shows us the way when we are unsure about the right thing to do. It helps us recognize God’s voice speaking in the depths of our conscience so that we can know his will. God’s glory is the needle of our moral compass.

St Paul also gives us another criterion: “Try to please everyone in everything, so that they may be saved. All of us are God’s children; we all have the same desires, hopes and aspirations. When some of us grow discouraged, the rest of us should try to brighten their day and cheer them up. This helps all of us to remain friends and to show the love of God and the joy of faith in our everyday lives. If we keep doing this, it will help our brothers and sisters to come to know Jesus, our one Savior and the hope of the world.

Maybe you are wondering: “Can I do this? Isn’t it too much for me?” Certainly, it is a great mission, but it is not impossible. Once again, Saint Paul encourages us: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”. We can carry out this mission by imitating Jesus, like the apostle Paul and all the saints.Let us look to the saints. They are the living Gospel, because they translated the message of Christ in their own lives. Let us imitate the saints. Let everything we do be for God’s glory and the salvation of our brothers and sisters. But be attentive and remember: follow the saints on this path. On this path of holiness there is no room for the lazy.

In the midst of the on-going scandal in our home Church, I call to attention two possible American saints. to finish off the month of August, and to give us hope, that no matter how bad things seem to be, there is always more good.

SERVANT of GOD MARY VIRGINIA MERRICK, born in Washington, DC, in 1866, was a pioneer in American Catholic social reform. At age 20, despite being paralyzed, from a fall, and confined to her bed or reclining wheelchair, she started the Christ Child Society in 1887 to provide for needy infants, children, and their families in the Washington, D.C. area. During her lifetime she grew the National Christ Child Society to 38 chapters and today it operates chapters in 43 locations with nearly 6,000 members.

If she is canonized, Mary Virginia Merrick will be one of the first U.S.-born saints in the Church and among a small number of disabled saints.

Mary Virginia was born to prominent parents Richard and Nannie Merrick. Her father was a well-known lawyer, a founder of Georgetown University Law Center, and a descendant of former Maryland Governor Leonard Calvert. The family of Nannie Merrick was well known for its success in business and its work in establishing Washington, D.C.'s first art collection, the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Mary Virginia grew up in a devoutly-Catholic environment fostered by her parents and was educated by French nurses and tutors who stressed the importance of the Catholic faith. She developed a deep faith and a love for helping others at an early age while visiting and assisting local poor and vulnerable families with her mother. She aspired to become a nun after a religious conversion experience soon after her eleventh birthday.

In her early teen years, she had a fall from a playhouse, beginning the deterioration of her health and her eventual confinement to a bed or recumbent wheelchair.

With her sisters Nanny & Margaret

As a teenager, Mary Virginia began to sew clothing for poor children from her reclining position, eventually organizing a small sewing circle to complete a layette in honor of the "Christ Child" to be given to a poor infant during the Christmas season. The following year, she encouraged a child of one her family's employees who told her he was unlikely to receive a Christmas gift to write letters to the Christ Child to request one. Thereafter, children began sending letters to the Christ Child requesting Christmas gifts, and she and her friends would fill the requests, noting them "from the Christ Child."

After her parents died suddenly when she was 18, she began conceiving the idea of the Christ Child Society envisioning an organization to serve poor children and families in the community inspired by seeing the Christ Child in every child.

The members of the original Society of 1887 consisted of her own family members and friends, growing to become fully active in distributing layettes and garments and answering Christmas letter requests in 1890. In 1891, Mary Virginia hosted 41 poor children in the D.C. countryside for two weeks. This was the beginning of the Society's Fresh Air program. A Council was formed in 1894 to consist of the supervisors of different Society committees, and a Board of Managers was established in 1902. Mary Virginia believed firmly in lay service in the Church and she founded the Christ Child Society based on that belief.

In 1900, she opened the first official Christ Child House in Washington, D.C., featuring a library and offering musical classes for children, nurse-taught classes on the care and treatment of children for underprivileged mothers and many other classes. The Christ Child Society was formally incorporated in 1903, marked with a published mission of providing improved instruction and relief for poor children in Washington, then a segregated city, "regardless of race, creed, or color."

Life Magazine- George Skadding 1951

The Society also established a Committee on Dental Work, to provide free dental care for children in the public schools of the District, with significant funding from the U.S. Congress, as well as a program providing D.C. children with medical aid, braces and orthopedic supplies. The Society later turned over its significant children’s clothing distribution duties to the then-forming Catholic Charities organization in Washington, D.C.

Mary Virginia focused the society's early work on programs in the city’s poor neighborhoods, through service to minority and immigrant families, offering English language and other skills classes and religious instruction. In 1913, Merrickcreated a "Colored Auxiliary Committee" within the society. Some historians have criticized Merrick for allowing such racial segregation, while others have praised her for giving black members a representative on the society's board and autonomy in making decisions about internal operations in a time when African-American rights were severely limited in many other aspects of life.

Even as the Society's work grew in scope, professionalism, and geographic footprint, Merrick emphasized the Society's devotion to the Incarnation as the guiding force behind its ambitions as well as its members' personal service to children.

Life Mag. George Skadding- 1951

In 1948, health concerns forced Mary Virginia to resign from her position heading the National Society, but she was still elected Honorary National President of the Society, and served in that position until her death in 1955. She spent the last 30 years of her life in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where she was cared for by her sister and three secretaries and continued to work on behalf of the Society. Near the end of her life, in 1954, she said of her life's work:"The guiding principle of the Society has always been personal service rendered for the love of the Christ Child to the least of these little ones. In developing this purpose the Society has widened and deepened its activities to meet the exigencies of its time."

On January 5, 1955, Merrick was taken to GeorgetownHospital after complaining of pain, and died there of a cerebral hemorrhage on January 10, 1955, at the age of 88. Upon her death, the Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle, predicted she would be the first U.S.-born saint in the Catholic Church.

Mary Virginia Merrick led a life of virtue, both socially and spiritually, as recognized by social reformers and members of the Catholic faith alike. Her message in support of conscience, in rejection of materialism, and in acknowledgement of human dignity remains just as relevant today as it did in the 20 century.

I was taught by sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the first of the St. Joseph nuns to come to the USA in 1836. I had two friends in the St. Joseph of Orange Order (established in Californiain 1912) , and in fact thought of joining them myself, to become a doctor and be off to their missions in the

Solomon Islands

. But the Lord later called me to a more contemplative life. Imagine my surprise when I I recently came across this fascinating story of 4 sisters who wound up fleeing the Solomons.

Four sisters of this Californiacongregation became stranded behind Japanese enemy lines during World War II. Two of the Sisters were teachers, and two were nurses. They had arrived in the Solomon Islandsin December 1940. These young women were new to missionary life, confronting an unknown culture for the first time, and did not speak the languages spoken on the various islands. Also, they had to learn how to get around the jungle. One year after they arrived, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

The Japanese quickly occupied many of the islands in the South Pacific. The sisters had been deeply involved in a village on the island of Buka. They had no idea that the Japanese wanted Buka for an airfield.

Sister Hedda Jager was the one who recorded their daily lives in journals. No matter what kind of day she was having, she always managed to record the day’s happenings.

As the Japanese got closer and closer, Sister Hedda recorded how these young religious changed from working as missionaries to being filled with "holy" terror. They made it to Bougainville where they learned how other missionaries in the Solomons had been tortured and executed.

There were Marist missionary priests on the island and, knowing what the fate of the nuns would be if captured, they managed to hide the sisters for months in the jungle. On New Year’s Eve 1942, the priests managed to get the sisters and 25 others to the beach in TeopHarbor. It was then they all learned that a submarine would be their means of rescue. (That would have finished me then and there!)

On New Year’s Day 1943, in the early morning darkness, the submarine Nautilus pulled to within 100 feet of the beach and the terrified passengers were safely taken on board and brought to safety.

Sister Hedda wrote in her journal: “You cannot put into words the feeling that one has for those of one’s own country, especially when one is miles from home and running away from the Japanese.”

When the war ended the four Sisters returned to Buka to continue their work. The last of them passed away in 1999. Lives given for their adopted people.

Sister Hedda’s journals have been published in book-form under the title Trapped in Paradise .

Included in the 300-page book are maps, photos, biographies of key individuals in the story, a glossary, and a book guide. “War Comes to Buka” by Father Joseph Lamarre, the sisters’ pastor, is also included. He provides his account of 30 months in a Japanese prison camp, describing what the sisters may have experienced had they not been rescued by submarine.

Newly named VENERABLE, TERESA FARDELLA de BLASIwas born in New York on 24 May 1867 of a noble family (the Counts and Marquis of Torrearsa) from Trapani (Sicily), Italy. In 1869 the family returned to Trapani. When Teresa was 11, her Irish mother died leaving her to be educated in a college directed by her aunt until the age of 16.

Teresa had a great desire to consecrate her life to God, but her father had already decided on her marriage to Officer Raffaele De Blasi. Teresa accepted the will of her father, trusting in God. Her husband's work commitments brought Teresa from one city to another. Despite this and never neglecting her family duties, she had a profound love for the Eucharist and love of the poor.

In 1895, in one of the many transfers of her husband, she arrived in Mantua where she started with the simple "soup of the poor". Assisted by the then Bishop Giuseppe Sarto, (later St.Pope Pius X) , she founds the religious community of the" Poor Daughters of Mary Most Holy Crowned, Perpetual Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ".

Although she was of a noble and wealthy family, she lived as the poor, trusting with particular devotion in the help of Divine Providence. The charitable projects she started, were supported by important spiritual fathers as well as by a deep friendship with Bl. Teresa Grillo Michel, also a foundress.

In the various stages of spouse, mother, foundress, widow, Teresa shortly before dying, was able to realize her dream of becoming a nun, consecrating herself as a spouse of Christ. She died in Trapanion August 26, 1957.

While she is considered an Italian saint, she was born in our own country, so we have a share in her life and holiness.

With the greatest crises in our Church’s history in the USA (see below) , it is encouraging to know that there is a massive “clean-up” and things of the past will hopefully not be any longer tolerated. As I have said in past Blogs I am encouraged by the depth of our new young priests. Many seem to have found their vocation due to hours spent in Eucharistic adoration. I would like to spent this month on some reflections of the importance of the Eucharist in our spiritual lives.

Recently Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Neb.issued a new pastoral letter in which reflects upon the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper and draws on the writings of Popes (St.) John Paul II and Benedict XVI on the Eucharist.

“Eucharistic adoration offers a powerful chance to encounter Christ’s love in silence and humility, and that experience can transform our hearts, both individually and as a Church. Love is selfless sacrifice, and sacrifice is the language of love. Love is the gift of ourselves to our beloved. And Christ made a gift of himself – He gave us His body and blood – poured Himself out for our salvation, when He conquered death by dying and rising again. Christ gave us his body and blood, as an act of love, so that we could know the love of God.”

“In the Eucharist, we are made sharers in Christ’s mission of love,” Bishop Conley continued. “In the Eucharist, we are called to make disciples of all nations, so that all people will know the freedom of life in the love of the Lord.”

This mission must be renewed daily through a deepening of love for God, and the Holy Eucharist is at the heart of this renewal, he said. “The Eucharist is at the center of every good work that the Church undertakes. In the gift of the Eucharist, Jesus has given Himself to us “so that as we follow him, we can be unified to his life, and he can be present, with us, at all times, until the end of the world.”

Bishop Conley praised Eucharistic adoration as “a particularly powerful encounter with the Lord.” The silence of adoration teaches true humility.

“As we kneel before our Creator-God, we are confronted with the power and the mystery of God’s love,. and it is from this silence and humility that we experience a deep communion and friendship with God.”

“Kneeling before Christ in the Eucharist, the hopeless find hope. The weak find strength. Captives find freedom. The afflicted find comfort. The mourning find consolation. The lonely find friendship. Sinners find mercy. Kneeling before Christ in the Eucharist, all of us find love. And love is what we are longing for,” he said. “Before Christ in Eucharist – love made visible – each one of us discovers that the enduring, satisfying, life-giving answer to the questions of our lives is Love: love poured out from Jesus, and love poured out from us into the world, as missionaries of Christ’s salvation.

Bishop Conley said he wrote the pastoral letter “because God has been impressing upon me lately how important our lives of prayer are, and especially prayer in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.”

He said in a statement: “increasing our devotion to Eucharistic adoration could be transformative in our Church – there is just no telling how much God can do.”

Eucharistic devotion is especially important in a time when technology can distract, he said. “Sitting in silence with the Lord is refreshing, life-changing, and heart-changing.”

“The truth is that sitting in silence with the Lord is necessary for a fruitful Catholic life. I want all Catholics to know that we don’t need to be afraid to spend time in silence with Jesus – that He’s waiting to love us and transform our hearts and lives.”

(Hear Bishop Barron’s comments on the scandal in the USA.. Very clear and insightful.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncMEXr60AeI

Mystery of Faith- Simeon Solomon

Mark Kirby, OSB of Silverstream Priory (Meath, Ireland) writes: The crisis that continues to shake the Church and to burden the hearts of priests with sorrow and uncertainty, requires a powerful spiritual antidote.

Our Lord is calling His priests to tarry in His presence. He invites them to abide in the radiance of His Eucharistic Face, close to His Heart. There they will recover the joy of their youth and the certainty of being loved by Christ with an everlasting love."

While these words are directed towards priests they apply to all Catholics, religious and lay. When Jesus gave us His Body He did not specify that it would only be for the clergy, but for all, and throughout our Church’s history, He has given comfort to the saints, with the mandatum to adore Him raking the graces we daily need to follow Him, in faith.

"The practice of adoration is not difficult. It is a gentle abiding in My presence, a resting in the radiance of My Eucharistic Face, a closeness to My Eucharistic Heart. Words, though sometimes helpful, are not necessary, nor are thoughts. What I seek from one who would adore Me in spirit and in truth is a heart aflame with love, a heart content to abide in My presence, silent and still, engaged only in the act of loving Me and of receiving My love. Though this is not difficult, it is, all the same, My own gift to the soul who asks for it. Ask, then, for the gift of adoration. (From In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest)

When Venerable Fulton J. Sheen was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois in 1919, he promised to make a Holy Hour each day before the Most Blessed Sacrament. In spite of a very harried schedule, he remained faithful to his promise for the entire sixty years of his priesthood.

Writing constantly, travelling the around world, speaking engagements, radio program and TV programs, heading the Missionary office of the Catholic Church, converting huge numbers of souls personally and through letters, he never missed his hour with the Lord. He said the key to his apostolic success was union with Jesus, a deep and growing friendship with Jesus in his Daily Holy Hour , that he called “The Hour of Power”.

It was during his Holy Hour that he learned to listen to the voice of Our Lord and abandon himself to the love of His Heart. He was a tireless promoter of the daily hour of Eucharistic adoration, particularly among priests. “I keep up the Holy Hour to grow more and more into His likeness... Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way as the face of Moses was transformed after his companionship with God on the mountain.”

“The Holy Hour is not a devotion; it is a sharing in the work of redemption. 'Could you not watch one hour with Me?' Not for an hour of activity did He plead, but for an hour of companionship.”

“The purpose of the Holy Hour is to encourage deep personal encounter with Christ. The holy and glorious God is constantly inviting us to come to Him, to hold converse with Him and to ask such things as we need and to experience what a blessing there is in fellowship with Him.”

In these seemingly dark days in our Church, we can take comfort that our Lord is always with us, having left us His Body and Blood, and we can follow the example of Venerable Sheen by giving a bit more of ourselves in adoration of Him we call our God. And we pray he be an intercessor for all our American Bishops.

“The Eucharist is the first missionary act of the Church. So if we want to be missionary towards a world in need of new saints and salvation, we have to be men and women of Eucharistic adoration… In adoration we receive the fire of love which enables us to share our conviction and have faith about the presence of God.” (Bishop Dominique Marie Jean Rey, Bishop of Diocese of Frejus-Toulon

France

)

Many ask, how do I spend an hour in adoration? Sitting still for so many in our modern age is not easy. We get lost in our cares and worries, and preoccupations of daily life. Believe me the saints had the same problem.

In adoration we sit at the feet of Jesus, to “chose the better portion”, and to listen to God’s words as He speaks to our heart. Remember Christ is our Lord, our friend and he is not to be feared. Speak to Him as if to someone you love, someone you want to know better.

Read the Scriptures. Pray them. Pray the rosary, meditating on the mysteries of Christ and His Mother, and even if you pause for deep reflection, this prayer will have brought you closer to dialogue with Jesus.

Sometimes, time seems to stand still, a few minutes can seem eternal. 5 minutes of sitting with Jesus is a good goal. Slowly increase your time—you’ll be amazed at how God increases your capacity to be with Him!

Everything in our world seems to attract noise. It’s so easy to go a whole day without silence. Which is why, when sitting in adoration, it can be difficult to focus. Being truly silent can seem uncomfortable and foreign to us. But that discomfort is OK, good even. It can help us to wind down and eventually fill us with peace. Allow yourself to sit in silence and to just be with Jesus. Just to sit in His presence is prayer!

In an apparition to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Jesus spoke these beautiful words: “I have a burning thirst to be honored by men in the Blessed Sacrament.” Go to adoration, even if it’s just for 5 minutes. Jesus desires to be with you, to have you gaze upon Him, as He so lovingly gazes upon you.

.The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a unique and incomparable way. He is present in a true, real and substantial way, with his Body and his Blood, with his Soul and his Divinity. In the Eucharist, therefore, there is present in a sacramental way, that is, under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine, Christ whole and entire, God and Man” (No. 282).

On September 8, the Holy Father addressed Benedictine women gathered in Rome of an International meeting. His words are something we as Benedictines strive to daily follow in our own lives.

"For your theme, you have taken an exhortation from the fifty-third chapter of the Rule of Saint Benedict: “All are to be welcomed as Christ”. This expression has given the Benedictine Order a remarkable vocation to hospitality, in obedience to those words of the Lord Jesus which are an integral part of his “rule of conduct” found in Saint Matthew’s Gospel: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me”. Today there are many people in the world who seek to reflect in their lives the tenderness, compassion, mercy and acceptance of Christ in their lives.

To them you offer the precious gift of your witness, as you are instruments of God’s tenderness to those who are in need. Your welcoming of persons of different religious traditions helps to advance with spiritual anointing ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue. For centuries, Benedictine houses have been known as places of welcome, prayer and generous hospitality. I hope that by reflecting on this theme and sharing your experiences, you may find new ways of furthering this essential work of evangelization in your various monasteries.

The motto Ora et Labora places prayer at the center of your lives. The daily celebration of Holy Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours puts you at the heart of the Church’s life. Every day, your prayer enriches, in a manner of speaking, the “breathing” of the Church. It is a prayer of praise to express the voice of all humanity and all creation. It is a prayer of thanksgiving for the countless and continued blessings of the Lord. It is a prayer of supplication for the sufferings and anxieties of the men and women of our time, especially the poor. It is a prayer of intercession for those who endure injustice, wars and violence, and see their dignity violated. You do not meet these people personally, but you are their sisters in the Faith and in the Body of Christ. The value of your prayer is incalculable, yet surely it is a most precious gift. God always hears the prayers of hearts that are humble and full of compassion.

I want to thank you for the special care you show towards the environment and for your efforts to protect the gifts of the earth, so that they can be shared by all. I know that the Benedictine nuns and sisters in the world are good administrators of God’s gifts. As women, you feel and appreciate especially the beauty and harmony of creation. Your monasteries are often found in places of great beauty where people go to pray, to find silence and to contemplate the marvels of creation. I encourage you to continue this style and service, so that God’s wonderful works can be admired and speak of him to many persons.

Your life in community bears witness to the importance of mutual love and respect. You come from different places and experiences, and each of you is different, and so the way you accept one another is the first sign you offer in a world that finds it hard to live out this value. We are all children of God and your prayer, your work, your hospitality, your generosity, all combine to reveal a communion in diversity that expresses God’s hope for our world: a unity made of peace, mutual welcome and fraternal love.

Dear Sisters, I accompany you with my prayers. You bring a precious gift to the life of the Church through your feminine witness of goodness, faith and generosity, imitating the Holy Mother of the Church, the Virgin Mary. You are icons of the Church and of our Blessed Mother: do not forget this. Icons. Who sees you, sees the Church as Mother and Mary as Mother of Christ. For this we praise the Lord and we thank you. I ask you please to pray for me and I cordially bless you and your communities, and all whom you serve in the name of Christ. "

While we are doing this Blog on Eucharistic Adoration, I found this
newly blessed who devoted her life to Christ crucified, helping many priests in their own vocation and encouraging devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist.

A personal encounter withMOTHER ALPHONSE MARIE EPPINGER inspired “conversions which were far more miraculous than the raising of the dead,” recounted her spiritual director, Father Jean-David Reichard. The nineteenth century French mystic and religious founder was beatified September 14 in her native Strasbourg after a miraculous physical healing through her intercession was confirmed.

Mother Alphonse Marie had “the gift of seeing people, what is in their souls,” wrote Abbe Glöckler, who knew Eppinger personally and later wrote her biography.

“She had a right word and advice for everyone. God gifted her with a good mind and right judgment. Many left her with the decision to change their lives and to walk the right path.”

Her special role was in the spiritual care of priests. She was able to “scrutinize human hearts” and “reveal things that were hidden,” using these spiritual gifts to advise the priests who would “visit her in abundant numbers” seeking counsel.

The eldest of eleven children, Elizabeth Eppinger, was born into a peasant family in 1814, in Niederbronn, France.

Her devotion to Christ crucified deepened through her experience of suffering through a serious illness with which she struggled intermittently throughout her life. It kept her bedridden for years at a time, prayerfully immersed in the mystery of the cross.

Her convent

It was during her illness that Mother Alphonse received her first vision of Christ and that her mystical gifts became well known.

At the request of her bishop, she founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Saviour in 1848, taking the religious name Sister Alphonse Marie.

She asked her sisters to meditate daily on the passion of Christ, and she encouraged devotion to Eucharistic adoration. In addition to their devotions, the sisters also aided the sick during epidemics, including a cholera outbreak in 1854.

Mother Alphonse Marie died in 1867. In his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis expressed gratitude for Mother Alphonsus Marie’s beatification:

“Let us thank God for this courageous and wise woman who, in suffering, in silence, and in prayer, witnessed the love of God especially to those who were sick in body and in spirit.”

One of the fun aspects of doing research for this Blog, is finding information on totally unrelated searches to the initial research. In these weeks of unrest in our Church I found this inspiring story of a very talented nun, who can give us courage in our old age! Also she belongs to a community dedicated to continuous adoration of the Eucharist where the nuns pray 24/7. Their ministry continues unbroken since 1921, when the order arrived in Cleveland.

MOTHER MARY THOMASis a nun of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration in Cleveland, Ohio. She and her sisters live in the monastery connected to the Conversion of St. Paul Shrine.

Mother Mary began painting in high school in Appleton, Wisconsin. She then studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Instituto Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico, and the DuantoAlighiereSchool in Rome. It was during her time in Rome that she felt the call to the religious life.

“I was attending the Easter Vigil Mass in the Crypt Church at St. Peter’s. Things changed when I received Holy Communion. I felt a strong religious calling connected to devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.” Mother Mary says she experienced an indescribable joy the instant she received Communion. “I felt the Lord’s presence. He just overtook my life. It was as though my whole life’s work was shown to me then.”

She resolved to devote her life to the Eucharist. When an American priest lent her a directory of religious communities in the United States, she discovered the Franciscan Nuns of the Blessed Sacrament, the former name of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (whose most famous nun is Mother Angelica of EWTN fame). The artist entered the order’s monastery near downtown Cleveland in November 1959.
Mother Mary did not miss her art during the 14 years that followed. She embraced contemplative life, its ascetic lifestyle and her duties within the cloister.

Then, one year, her community celebrated their superior’s feast day with a display of their individual arts and crafts. For the occasion, Mother Mary sketched a stained-glass window depicting the Holy Trinity. Afterwards, her superior asked her to prepare a portfolio. Ever since then, she helps support the monastery by executing commissioned works and with paintings auctioned at an annual fundraiser.

For the past decade, the 84-year-old nun estimates she spends about five hours daily, mostly working alone. She works in a chapel on an upper floor in a non-cloistered area of the shrine building, just east of downtown Cleveland.

Mother Marey says she hopes that her art can help people find God and connect more with their faith. “People are really searching today. They need God and are looking for Him. Eternal life means so much. Once you start examining Christian themes and the mysteries of our faith, trying to express those eternal values and truth is the highest form of art you can do,” she adds, noting that sometimes an icon or a work of art can help people understand the mysteries of faith.

"Jesus belongs to all of us. His love is for each and every one of us exclusively and permanently.

Her painting style is reminiscent of the Mexican muralist movement (she studied under famed Mexican Muralist David Siquieros) in which she uses vibrant colors and strong line and shape. She also does stained glass windows and designs vestments.

She certainly is an inspiration to all who think their waning years to be fruitless. Not only in her art, but in her love of the Lord does she give us hope.

“

SAINT GELTRUDE (CATERINA) COMENSOLI loved our Lord and worked tirelessly to draw others to find the peace and joy they found in His presence.

Caterina was born in 1847 the fifth of ten children. She was playful, determined, and devout, demonstrating at an early age what God was calling her to do. By the age of seven, she yearned so deeply to receive our Lord in Holy Communion that she decided to do something about it. One morning she rose early, grabbed her mother’s black shawl and quietly left the house. She walked to St. Mary’s Catholic Church for Mass. When it came time for Holy Communion, she approached the Communion rail and received her First Holy Communion.

Profoundly affected by the experience, she told of her feelings when questioned about her action. She described the “heavenly joy” of being united with Jesus and vowed her eternal love for Him. Caterina’s demeanor changed dramatically after this event as she became more prayerful and focusing her attention on Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Her true desire was to carry the Eucharist to the highest hill for all the world to see — to adore, to love, to know that Jesus is near to us and loves us. She also recognized that Jesus spent many hours alone in the tabernacle as on Holy Thursday night when the apostles could not stay awake. To address this situation, Caterina organized the Guard of Honor with the motto, “Jesus, loving You and making others love You".

At the age of 15, Caterina left her parents to join the Sisters of Charity in Brescia. Her piety, cheerfulness, and zeal led people to believe that she would do well in the convent. However, as has happened with so many saints, Caterina became ill and had to return home.

She eventually recovered, but soon had to leave home again since her parents needed help in supporting their family. Not forgetting the role of divine Providence, Caterina accepted the need for her to become a domestic servant for two persons who would play important roles in her vocation.

First she worked forFr. G.B. Rota, the pastor of Chiari, then she worked for the Countess Fé-Vitali. Both of them recognized the uncommon holiness and zeal of Caterina and supported her desire to promote the Real Presence as she became more and more devoted to Jesus in the tabernacle.

On the Feast of Corpus Christi 1876, Caterina wrote down her rules for living and followed them faithfully for the rest of her life. Two years later, with her confessor’s permission, Caterina made a formal vow of chastity. This reaffirmed the vow she made when she received her First Holy Communion.

She continued fulfilling her responsibilities as a domestic servant and in her spare time she volunteered to catechize the children of San Gervasio, Bergamo, while the Eucharist remained her primary love in life.

When the bishop of Bergamovisited the Fé-Vitali home where Caterina was working, he gave her permission to establish an institute devoted to Eucharistic adoration. When she went to Rome with the Fé- Vitalis in 1880, she met Pope Leo XIII.

Caterina quickly explained her desire to begin an institute for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. He agreed to her proposal, but asked her to also include improving the plight of young female factory workers by educating them.

Having obtained the Pope’s approval, Caterina returned to Bergamo and under the direction of the bishop and with the assistance of Fr. F. Spinelli, she and two of her friends established the Congregation of the Sacramentine Sisters of Bergamo on December 15, 1882.

Two years later the new order held its first community Hour of Eucharistic Adoration on December 15, 1884 at which time Caterina took the name Geltrude. The young women were soon tested when they had to leave their first home and the protective sponsorship of the bishop of Bergamo because of financial difficulties. With confidence in God’s love, the nuns transferred to Lodi where Msgr. Rota joyfully welcomed them, providing them a home in Lavagna di Comazzo.

With patient perseverance St. Geltrude overcame a number of challenges and after seven years, Fr. Rota, now bishop of Lodi, gave canonical recognition to the institute.. More women joined the new congregation which Mother Geltrude managed so well. Her life of prayer before Jesus nourished her life of virtue as she accepted persecutions, served the poor, and practiced mortifications. Above all she sought to obey and practice humility perfectly for love of Jesus Christ. She loved Jesus in adoration, but she also loved Him in the poor and needy.

By the turn of the century, the sisters thankfully announced that they could ensure that our Lord would be continuously adored in the Blessed Sacrament both in public and in private.

On February 18, 1903, at noon, Mother Geltrude bowed her head toward the chapel where our Lord was being adored, breathing her last. Her remains lie in a special chapel in the house of the institute that she established in Bergamo, which is attached to the church where adoration is held.

Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on April 26, 2009 and her feast is celebrated on February 18.

Franciso Guardi- Italy 1793

Our lives are transformed through frequent contact with the Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament. It is impossible to spend extended periods of time with Christ, adoring Him, thanking Him and uniting our wills to His, and not have Him change our lives. Cardinal Francis George (d. 2015)

In a conversation about the present scandal in the Church in the USA, Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Australia, told America Magazine that “until there is a genuine restoration of trust, no apology is going to land. We have to accept now restoring trust will only come over time if in fact we do the things we say we’re going to do.”

Speaking of their own scandal in Australia the Archbishop said: The dominant mood probably is a sense of bewilderment, really, because this is a crisis the like of which we haven’t faced in our history.

You may become and may have to become, like us in Australia, a smaller church—in other words: a humbler church, a purified church, a church that is able to listen and not just speak.”

Many are wondering where we go from here, in practicals. I say return to the Eucharist, that must be our focus these days. Since Vatican II there has been an emphasis on social works, so we have strayed from the essential of our faith in the Catholic Church, which is the Eucharist- Jesus giving us His Body and Blood.

I can’t believe I have not yet done a Blog on my namesakeBLESSED HILDEGARD BURJAN. She set up several organizations for the promotion of women's rights and for the rights of all workers and their families. She was even elected to the Austrian Parliament where she served until her retirement due to ill health.

She was born into a non-practicing Jewish family in 1883 in the then Prussian city of Gorlitz, and studied philosophy at the University of Zurich. In 1907 she married the Hungarian entrepreneur Alexander Burjan. Following a period of illness (severe renal colic) she discovered the Catholic faith and was baptised in 1909. She moved to Vienna where she became a member of the Austrian parliament, dedicating her political activity to serving the Gospel in support of workers and the oppressed, in keeping with the teachings of Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical "Rerum novarum".

In 1912 she founded the Association of Christian Women Home Workers, offering help to the hungry, creating a support network for families and combating child labour. In 1919 she founded the Congregation of Sisters of "Caritas Socialis". She gave birth to a daughter, against the advice of doctors who recommended an abortion for health reasons. She thirsted after justice, seeing the Face of Jesus in the poor and suffering. "We cannot help people with money and small offerings", she would say, "rather we must give them the confidence that they are capable of doing something for themselves".

She stressed the importance of women in the workplace. During World War I she defended the idea of women replacing men in factories and hailed the trend even after the war. The prelate Ignaz Seipel said that he had never met a more enthusiastic or wise politician as Burjan while Cardinal Friedrich Gustav Piffl dubbed her as "the conscience of the Parliament". In 1918 she earned a seat on the district council and became the vice-chair to the chairman of the Christian Socials Leopold Kunschak.

With her husband

Her main achievement remains the founding of a religious congregation for serving the poor and on 4 October 1919 founded the congregation titled the "Sisterhood of Caritas Socialis". The first ten women joined that October at a special Mass. In 1918 she became active in the Christian-Socials and in 1919 became one of the first female members of the Austrian Parliament; she spoke in the Parliament for the first time on 12 March 1919 and at one point filed a petition for the extension of legal rights of expectant and nursing mothers. She promoted issues such as equal wages for men and women and social protection for the working class as well as social and spiritual care for poor families. She was invited to run in the 1920 elections and was proposed as the Minister for Social Affairs but declined due to poor health.

In 1933 on her deathbed she murmured: how beautiful it will be to go to rest in God!" and then kissed a Crucifix and spoke her final words: "Dear Savior - make all men lovable so that You might love them. Enrich them with Yourself alone!

Bl. Hildegard Burjan is proof that sanctity is possible in political life. Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, archbishop of Viennaat her beatification said: She "announced the Gospel through action. Her beatification comes at a good time to highlight that action is a core issue. ... Hildegard was a convincing Christian because, without too many words, she acted. In our own time we must again learn to understand what it means to be disciples, and to this end what we need are not theories, but examples of people who speak through their actions.” This is never more true than in our present world.

Another Hildegard dear to my heart for the work she is doing to promote quality art into our Catholic churches and homes, is HILDEGARD LETBETTER.

In a recent talk to patrons of the arts the Holy Father said: Throughout history, art has been second only to life in bearing witness to the Lord. It was, and remains, a majestic road allowing us more than by words and ideas to approach the faith, because it follows the same path of faith, that of beauty. The beauty of art enriches life and creates communion, because it unites God, man and creation in a single symphony. It connects the past, the present and the future, and it attracts – in the same place and with the same gaze – different and far-off peoples.

Hildegard grew up a child without enough to eat or drink in the aftermath of World War II in Cologne, Germany. Her family received care packages from the United States. Since she was a small child she dreamed of going to America where she was sure they had enough food.

Her older brothers later studied in the U.S., staying with different households. A family from Indianavisited the Letbetters and offered to bring Hildegard to the USA, but her parents didn't have the means. The next month, a ticket from the family arrived in the mail. The year after, in 1964, she taught at DePauwUniversity in Indiana after getting an assistantship offer. She met her husband during that time, and after he served a stint in the Vietnam War, they relocated and she taught German at the University of Texas.

In 1970-71, there was an economic downturn so she and her husband went to Denver and started over. In 1987, she started her religious-gifts business in her home later opening on Main Street in Littleton in the early '90s.

From the beginning Hildegard wanted to start something special. “I went around, and I only saw items that didn't make you feel good about your faith, or were kitschy, as we say in

Germany

.” Next time she went to

Germany

, she made connections, offering to sell items from Maria Laach Abbey. They sold fast, and during the next trip, Hildegard visited other places with items she could bring to the

U.S.

Today, her store sells art from other countries such as

Poland

Italy

Austria

Ireland

and

Canada

. Hildegard has run Creator Mundifor 30 years now. It is a place where someone can not only buy religious art, but can learn about the artists from around the world creating it. Hildegard makes sure her staff are well educated in the arts!

Hildegard says she is not an artist herself but has “an eye” for it. She studied theology in Germanyand grew up inspired by experiences she had in the Cologne Cathedral around the time of World War II.

Through the years, she's seen change in how people interpret both religion and the art that comes from it. “Today, it's not about the theology, but how people live together and how you fashion your life in the spirit of Jesus.”

Driftwood Madonna from Italy

While holding dearly to our Catholic heritage, roots and traditions, Hildegard sees her missions as reaching out ecumenically.

“My hope and prayer for you is that you find your own treasure among our ever-growing and changing collection of distinctive, religious sacred art and gifts. Distinctive sacred art that is artistically beautiful, culturally authentic and biblically based, creating lasting heirlooms for your family. May our pieces stir and awaken your mind and your soul.

Hildegard visited us soon after we built our new chapel 21 years ago and was so impressed by the simplicity and beauty that she made it possible for us to obtain our stations of the cross from Maria Laach Abbey. She herself donated the 15^th station (The Resurrection), which hangs next to the Tabernacle.

Egino Weinert

Over the years I have done a Blog and used the art of Egino Weinert to illustrate other Blogs. He is one of Hildegard’s favorite artists.

"In today’s troubled world, unfortunately so often torn and damaged by selfishness and the thirst for power, art represents, perhaps even more than in the past, a universal need because it is a source of harmony and peace, and it expresses the dimension of generosity." (Pope Francis)

When I was in college in the Midwest, there was an observatory on campus. On the coldest (and I mean cold) darkest nights, one of the Jesuits would take us in and let us stargaze. This in the days when we only had seven planets (how much simpler life was, though maybe not as exciting). I have always been interested in astronomy, perhaps because I grew up near GriffithPark observatory in Los Angeles, and we had many school excursions to this wondrous place. So it was with interest that I found this article recently on another Jesuit astronomer.

ANGELO SECCHI was an Italian Jesuit and scientist from northern Italy. He dedicated his life to the study of the stars and planets, making huge advances in various branches of science. 200 years after his birth, the Vatican Observatory celebrated his life and work.

Before Angelo Secchi, the main focus of astronomers was to find out the precise location of each star and planet. Their aim was to unveil the mysteries of navigation in order to use them in daily life. Secchi had a different aim in mind. His curiosity was not roused by the question of where the planets were but rather why the planets were. Through his innovative thoughts, which went hand in hand with his new tools, he applied his knowledge to the study of stars. 200 years later, much of the work we see today, related to meteorology, astrophysics and earth sciences can be linked back to Secchi’s research.

Much of what we take for granted today is the product of Angelo Secchi’s discoveries. Secchi was part of the developing and understanding of weather patterns. He was a prime mover in producing the first weather maps.

He was a pioneer in astronomical spectroscopy, and was one of the first scientists to state authoritatively that the Sun is a star.. He invented the heliospectrograph, star spectrograph, and telespectroscope. He showed that certain absorption lines in the spectrum of the Sun were caused by absorption in the Earth's atmosphere.

Who was this man?Secchi was born in Reggio Emilia, where he studied at the Jesuit gymnasium. At the age of 16, he entered the Jesuit Order in Rome. He continued his studies at the RomanCollege, and demonstrated great scientific ability. In 1839, he was appointed tutor of mathematics and physics at the College. In 1841, he became Professor of Physics at the JesuitCollegein Loreto. In 1844, he began theological studies in Rome, and was ordained a priest on 12 September 1847. In 1848, due to the Roman Revolution, the Jesuits had to leave Rome. Fr. Secchi spent the next two years in the United Kingdom at Stonyhurst College, and the United States, where he taught for a time at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He also took his doctoral examination in theology there.

During his stay in America, he met Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury, the first Director of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington. He studied with Maury and corresponded with him for many years.

He returned to Rome in 1850. On the recommendation of his late colleague Francesco de Vico, he became head of the Observatory of the College at age 32. In 1853, under his direction, the crumbling Observatory was relocated to a new facility on top of the Sant'Ignazio Church (the chapel of the College). Secchi served as Director until his death.

His position was challenged after 1870, when the remnant of the Papal States around Rome was taken over by the Kingdom of Italy. In 1873, the College was declared property of the Italian government. When the government moved to take over the Observatory as well, Secchi protested vigorously, and threatened to leave the Observatory for one of several positions offered to him by foreign observatories. He was offered important scientific positions and political dignities by the government, but refused to pledge allegiance to the Kingdom in place of the Pope. The royal government did not dare to interfere with him, and he continued as Director.

He died in 1878 at age 59, in Rome. Had he lived longer who knows what else he would have discovered!

Father Christopher Corbally, S.J. of the Vatican observatory speaks about the link between Secchi’s innovative questions and his faith. For Secchi, science is a gift from God. Father Corbally compares this with the work done at the Vatican Observatory: enjoying this gift of God in using science to find out about the world. Adding Secchi’s work to their findings has enabled wonderful things to happen, such as predicting the weather. Some of these lessons learnt from Secchi have also affected studies regarding climate change.

Father Corbally believes there is absolutely no difference in the way religious and non-religious scientists approach their research. The tools are the same, the mathematical equations are the same, and they both try to develop observations that stem from consistent theories. The spirit with which it is done is what makes it different.

For the person of faith, it is a way to connect with the Creator, to join in with the light and the enjoyment of creation. Chapter 8 of the Book of Proverbs talks about how the Creator found joy in creation, and Father Corbally believes that Father Secchi shares this joy.

St. Paul VI

St. Oscar

On Sunday (Oct. 14) the Holy father will canonize seven new saints. Two of whom we already know are ST POPE PAUL VI (see Blog 2/7/2018) and ST OSCAR ROMERO. The others are less known to us in the USA.

ST VINCENT ROMANO was born in 1751 and ordained a priest in 1775. He had studied the writings of St. Alphonsus de Liguori and developed a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He spent his whole life as a priest in Torre del Greco and was known for his simple ways and his care for orphans. He worked to rebuild his parish, often with his bare hands, after the eruption of Mount Vesuviusin 1794. He died in December 1831 of pneumonia and was beatified by Paul VI in 1963.

St. Vincent

ST FRANCESCO SPINELLI was born in Milan in 1853 and was ordained a priest in 1875. He began his apostolate educating the poor, also serving as a seminary professor, spiritual director, and counselor for several women's religious communities. In 1882, Fr. Spinelli met (St.)Caterina Comensoli (see Blog 9/25/2018), with whom he would found the Institute of the Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. The sisters dedicated themselves to Eucharistic adoration day and night, which inspired their service to the poor and suffering.

He died in 1913. Today his institute has around 250 communities in Italy, Congo, Senegal, Cameroon, Colombia, and Argentina. Their ministries include caring for people with HIV, orphans, drug addicts, and prisoners.

St. Francesco

ST NUNZIO SULPRIZO (see Blog 12/31/2013) was born in Pescosansonesco, Italy in 1817. He lost both of his parents at age six and was brought up by an uncle who exploited him for hard labor. Fatigued and often given dangerous assignments, he developed gangrene and eventually lost his leg. Despite his tremendous suffering, he would reportedly make statements such as: “Jesus suffered a lot for me. Why should I not suffer for Him? I would die in order to convert even one sinner.”

He recovered from the gangrene and dedicated himself to helping other patients before his health deteriorated again. He died of bone cancer in 1836, when he was only 19 years old.

ST NAZARIA IGNACIA MARCH MESA was born in 1889 in Madrid, Spain, the fourth of 18 children. Growing up, her family was indifferent and sometimes even hostile to her desire to enter religious life. Eventually she led several family members back to the Church when she entered the Franciscan Third Order. Her family moved to Mexicoin 1904, and Nazarie met sisters of the Institute of Sistersof the Abandoned Elders, who inspired her to join their order. In 1915, she chose to take perpetual vows with the order in Mexico Cityand was assigned to a hospice in Oruro, Bolivia for 12 years.

St. Nazaria

Beginning in 1920, she felt a call to found a new order dedicated to missionary work. In 1925, she founded the Pontifical Crusade, later renamed the Congregation of the Missionary Crusaders of the Church, with the mission to catechize children and adults, support the work of priests, conduct missions, and to print and distribute short religious tracts. Many opposed her work, but Bl. Nazaria pressed on. Her order cared for soldiers on both sides of the 1932-35 war between Paraguay and Bolivia, and she herself survived persecutions in Spainduring the Spanish Civil war. She died in July 1943.

ST MARIA KATHARINE KASPER was born in Dembach, Germany in 1820. She attended very little school because of poor health. Despite this, she began to help the poor, the abandoned, and the sick at a young age. Her mother taught her household chores, as well as how to spin and weave fabric. After her father died when she was 21, Catherine worked the land as a farm hand for about 10 cents a day. Her helpfulness toward others attracted other women to her, and she felt a call to the religious life, but knew she needed to stay and support her mother, who was in poor health.

After her mother died, Catherine started, with the approval of the bishop of Limburg, Germany, a small house with several friends who also felt the call. In 1851 she and four other women officially took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and formed the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. Catherine, known in the religious community as Mother Mary, served five consecutive terms as superior of the house and continued to work with novices and to open houses for their order all over the world. She died of a heart attack in February 1898.

DEATH IN THE MONASTERY

USA- A NATION THAT PRAYS

BIRDS AND STRESS

WHY THE SAINTS?

GIFT FROM THE CHRIST CHILD

OUT OF PARADISE

NEW YORK BORN, ITALIAN SAINT

TRANSFORMATION IN OUR CHURCH

RESTING IN CHRIST IN A TIME OF UNREST

THE HOUR OF POWER

AN HOUR GIVEN

A CALL TO BENEDICTINE WOMEN: ORA ET LABORA

NEW SAINT FOR EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

NEVER TOO OLD TO PRAISE THE LORD

ANOTHER SAINT OF THE EUCHARIST

HE HEARS US

SAINT AND POLITICIAN

ANOTHER HILDEGARD

A MAN OF THE STARS

NEW AND OLD FRIENDS IN HEAVEN