For the Newsletter:
Dear, Friends, Family, and Benefactors,
Greetings in St. Benedict!
At long last, we have arrived to a little piece of “heaven on earth” to undertake the “experiment” of founding a contemplative Benedictine convent for the Catholic Resistance. It is here, in the beautiful hills of Columbia, that we will spend our first months of formation, far from the noise of the world, and where the beauty of our Creator is reflected all around us.
Our journey here was not without crosses, some of them very heavy, but we welcome and rejoice in them as a sign that the devil hates this work which has for its only aim to glorify God by consoling the Heart of Mary. Fr. Raphael, in a sermon preached upon our arrival, reminded us that if we spend our entire lives drying one tear from Our Lady’s eyes, it would be a life well spent indeed.
For now, we are two in number, but our third Sister is on her way from the UK to join us even as we pen these lines. A fourth aspirant plans to visit us in November, and three young ladies in the United States await our return, God willing, with the intent to discern the Benedictine vocation. Deo Gratias!
These first days have been busy mostly with becoming adjusted to the climate, the customs, and the land, while also preparing class materials and setting up the convent. On September 10th, Marie Pilant, who comes to us from Nevada, entered as a postulant. On September the 15th, one of our number will exchange the habit of a Benedictine Oblate for a Benedictine novice, God willing. This will be a day of great joy for our little community, and we hope to share photos with you in our next newsletter.
In close, we cannot leave you without commenting on the great spirit of charity and sacrifice with which we were welcomed here by our spiritual father and his monks, the Benedictines of San Jose. They have spared themselves in nothing in order to see to our care. By October, God willing, they will be 6 in number, with other young men discerning to join in the future.
We call upon you, our dear friends in Christ, to keep us in your prayers, that we may be faithful to our vocations, consoling Our Lady in her solitude, and offering ourselves as victims in reparation for the sins of mankind, constantly outraging and wounding the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We encourage each of you, in whatever your vocation may be, to join us in union of prayer through devotion to Our Lady of Solitude, which has been translated and can be found on the monastery blog. May God bless each of you and may Our Lady keep you close to her Immaculate Heart.
With a constant remembrance in our prayers,
Sr. Mary Magdalene of the Sorrowful Mother OSB and the Benedictine Sisters
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Postulants’ Corner
Dear beloved friends and benefactors,
Deo Gratias!
We’ve made it to beautiful Columbia and Our Beloved Lord, Jesus, has wasted no time in testing vocations, and always in His most merciful and loving manner. You know how it is when you want to present a gift to your mother. Only the best of what’s available will do!
Every morning, we all wake up ready to do better for Jesus and Mary, and every sermon sets us on fire while teaching us how to do so. Then, we’re immediately reminded just how weak we are!
For example, one day, while passionately zealous, we prepared to eat a meal one of our dear friends made for us and, like the newborn babies we are, we almost screamed when the fish we were looking at looked back! All of our zeal was tested at that moment! How much work our dear Lord has to do with us! This is why, like the little ones we are, we go to Our Lady of Solitude where, in her sweet, generous, motherly way, she’ll accept even our offering of being scared of a fish for her consolation. The meal was delicious, by the way!
In the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
The Postulants
