March 2020 Vocation E-Newsletter

laudare, benedicere, praedicare TO PRAISE, TO BLESS, TO PREACH

March 2020

"Looking to Jesus"

- Hebrews 12:2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Saint Joseph and the Christ Child by Guido Reni. 1640. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas.

What is a Spiritual Communion?

Recommended Reading: Nine Days to Welcome Peace

by Fr. Jacques Philippe

Recent Travels Saint Spotlight and Community Devotion Highlight: St. Joseph

What is a Spiritual Communion?

At Pope Francis's weekly Angelus Address on March 15, he noted that when "We find ourselves living more or less isolated, we are invited to rediscover and reflect further on the value of communion, which unites all the members of the Church." He went on to describe how this union is "nourished in prayer, and also in spiritual communion with the Eucharist, a greatly recommended practice when it’s not possible to receive the Sacrament."

Spiritual communion has been a long-standing practice in the Church, but is sometimes today forgotten about. Saint Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiae, explained that there are two ways of receiving the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist "namely, spiritually and sacramentally." He then defined spiritual communion as that which "comprises the desire or yearning for receiving this sacrament" (III, Q. 80, Art. 11, co.). Thus, when we are not able to receive the sacraments, we should still strive to set time apart in our day to pray, read the Scriptures, and make spiritual communions, which we can do as often as we like.

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

- Written by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Ideas About How to Make a Spiritual Communion at Home Find a quiet place and light a candle.

Read the daily Mass readings and spend time reflecting on them.

Make an Act of Spiritual Communion, either by praying the prayer written by St. Alphonsus Liguori or using your own words Invite your family to pray with you

Other Helpful Resources Link to the Daily Mass Readings Link to a free online access to The Magnificat Link to Forty Days of Devotion and links to a free video series: Metanoia: A Journey With Christ Into Conversion

Visit to Oklahoma February 19-25

Sister Peter Marie and Sister Bernadette Marie were invited to come to the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to help with a Middle School Retreat, Refocus on the Great Commission. Over 400 students and their teachers came to the retreat from across the diocese on March 21. While in Oklahoma, the sisters were also able to visit the three Catholic High Schools and three different Universities as well as help with a Young Adult Retreat, Refocus on the Summit, and enjoy a Sweets with the Sisters event with many girls and teenagers at St. Monica's parish in Edmond. It was a blessing for the sisters to meet so many wonderful people in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma.

Right: Middle School Students from across the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City pray in Adoration at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as part of the Middle School Retreat.

Below: Sister Bernadette Marie (left) and Sister Peter Marie (right) pose for photos with middle students from St. John Nepomuk Catholic School in Yukon, Oklahoma who attended the retreat.

Visit to Oklahoma cont.

February 19-25

Above: Sister Peter Marie gives a talk on prayer during a Knoblock Night at Saint John's Catholic Student Center at Oklahoma State University on February 20. Following the talk, the students and sisters enjoyed a time of prayer together in the chapel.

The sisters also enjoyed meeting many students and FOCUS Missionaries at Oklahoma State University.

Visit to Oklahoma cont.

On February 22, the sisters assisted with a Young Adult Retreat, Refocus on the Summit, which was held at St. Monica's Parish in Edmond, Oklahoma. Sister Peter Marie gave a talk entitled: “All the Way to Heaven is Heaven: St. Catherine of Siena for Today” and Sister Bernadette Marie gave a talk entitled: “I See the Beauty of Your Grace: the Life and Example of Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo.”

Below: The sisters pose for a photo with some of the women who attended the Young Adult Retreat.

Left: The sisters were invited by Father Alexander Kroll and Erin Snow who serve the students at the University of Central Oklahoma to help with an afternoon of recollection and to enjoy the weekly Sunday Supper with their students.

Afterwards, all joined in praying Night Prayers with the sisters.

Community Devotions

Devotion to Saint Joseph

"St. Joseph, Provider, came to the assistance of the heavily pressed community in every emergency. …Confidence in Mary Immaculate and St. Joseph were well founded. …Their protection had been a beacon of light seen in the darkest hour."

(Mother Frances Walsh, Annals of St. Cecilia Convent, 1860-1881)

The above quotation, taken from the earliest history of our Congregation, speaks of a devotion to and confidence in St. Joseph that has expanded and flourished since the foundation of our community. As provider for the Holy Family, St. Joseph has never ceased to provide for our St. Cecilia Dominican family. Invoked as Guardian of Virgins, St. Joseph has maintained a strong paternal presence in the lives of our sisters. Extolled as a model of obedience, fidelity, chastity, prudence, humility and patience, St. Joseph provides an example worthy of imitation for us as religious women, as he does for all members of the Church.

Prayer to Saint Joseph Prayed daily during Noon Prayers in our Community

As a reminder and representation of St. Joseph's powerful patronage, a statue of St. Joseph was prominently placed in the niche atop the 1888 building overlooking Nashville to the west.

Leader: O glorious Saint Joseph, All: faithful follower of Jesus Christ, to you do we raise our hearts and hands, to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign heart of Jesus all the helps and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death and the special favor we now implore. (pause for intention) Leader: O guardian of the Word Incarnate, All: we feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Leader: O glorious Saint Joseph, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ, and for the glory of his name, All: Hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.

Leader: Let us pray All: O glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for us pure, humble and charitable minds, and perfect resignation to the divine will. Be our guide, father, and model through life, that we may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Above article reprinted from: https://www.nashvilledominican.org/prayer/additional-community-devotions/devotion-to-st-joseph/

Saints Devoted to Saint Joseph

Saint André Bessette “I am nothing. Only a tool in the hands of providence; a lowly instrument at the service of St. Joseph” "When you invoke St. Joseph, you don’t have to say much. Say, ‘If you were in my place, St. Joseph, what would you do? Well, pray for this on my behalf.’ "

Saint John Paul II "May St. Joseph become for all of us an exceptional teacher in the service of Christ's saving mission, a mission which is the responsibility of each and every member of the Church: husbands and wives, parents, those who live by the work of their hands or by any other kind of work, those called to the contemplative life and those called to the apostolate."

- Redemptoris Custos, 32

Saint Teresa of Avila "I took for my advocate and lord the glorious St. Joseph and commended myself earnestly to him... I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant... I wish I could persuade everyone to be devoted to this glorious saint, for I have great experience of the blessings which he can obtain from God. - St. Teresa Of Avila's Autobiography, Chapter 6

Recommended Reading Nine Days to Welcome Peace By: Father Jacques Philippe

Peace of heart is not only a blessing but also a necessary condition for the growth of our spiritual lives. How do we not only find peace but then keep it? Step by step, in a period of nine days, Fr. Jacques Philippe describes how to welcome this inner peace in all areas of our existence. He shows us how to rest in the deep resonance of God’s holy peace amidst the highs and lows, ease and struggles of everyday life. Allow your heart to be guided by Fr. Jacques toward a more peaceful existence that penetrates every area of your life and calls you to a deeper relationship with the Lord.

- Taken from the back cover of the book

"If our hearts are inhabited by peace and trust, we will lean on the Lord, and we will find all the right responses to our difficulties. We will find constructive solutions, decisions guided by love for the questions that confront us. On the other hand, if we let worry and fear invade our hearts, we risk reacting poorly to the events facing us..."

Click on the photo above to purchase this book.

- Taken from the First Day's Mediation: The Urgency of Interior Peace