October 18, 2024 “Beauty is not an accessory…” “Beauty is not an accessory. It is a necessity that has transformative, healing, and encouraging power. It brings us to its source and makes us better without effort on our part. It is truly part of God’s order of mercy and redemption in this way.” Mandy Hain A collection of the work of artist Mandy Hain (+2023), longtime friend of our Community and sister of Sister Benedicta Marie, is now available online to view (or purchase in book form). Best known for her sacred art and classes for children, this book is a compilation of Mandy’s work over the years, including sacred art, chapel work, decorative work, portraits, sketches, studies in oil, and her classes with children. Featuring many of her finished works, this collection also includes many of her studies, giving an idea of her artistic process. Quotations for her websites and interviews are also included, communicating Mandy’s approach to art and beauty in her own words. Mandy explained her philosophy of a child’s capacity for beauty, “I believe that beauty is not an accessory to our lives, but a necessity through which we are exposed to the truth, and without it we cannot live fully in the image of the First Artist and Creator, or enjoy life in a fully human way. It is my joy to participate in exposing my students to images of light so that they may continue to recognize true beauty as they grow. I want to share with them the experience of creating beautiful images so that they know that they are able to create beautiful environments wherever they may be. I am always in amazement to see how well they understand what they see, and how creatively they are able to apply what they learn in class to make wonderful works of art. I believe that every child is an artist, because I think that art is a gift with which every person is endowed through their human nature, though it may be expressed in different ways!” After suffering with cancer for several years, Mandy entered eternal life on February 7, 2023. Her last big project was the new Christendom College Chapel of Christ the King in Front Royal, Virginia, dedicated two months after her death. Below is a short ‘Artisan Highlights’ video about this project. photo on left: Mandy shows Sister Benedicta Marie her progress during the chapel’s construction (November 2020) Sample pages from the book of Mandy’s artwork:
September 27, 2024 Sisters at the Spanish Catechesis Day Our Sisters recently participated in a Spanish catechesis day for the Diocese of Birmingham, with about four-hundred attendees. We have been working to expand the Spanish materials we sell in our bookstore, and were thrilled with this opportunity to share them with more people! Many Spanish catechists have been working with very poor resources, and are so grateful for the materials we offered. Sister Madeleine Marie was able to introduce them to Come Follow Me children’s program as well, which we are helping to make more readily available. The event was very well attended, and enthusiastically received – may it’s good work continue to bear fruit in parishes! Below, see some photos of a few special events that kept us busy throughout the summer: Spring and early summer held several retreats for young ladies… and a Confirmation RetreatThree Sisters travelled to Christendom College for the Vita Consecrata formation program available for Religious… and three Sisters travelled to Florida for FOCUS staff training… where they were able to kayak in the Gulf – great fun! And now, we’re back into full gear with the fall schedule of retreats and catechesis – please keep us in your prayers and know you are in ours!
September 11, 2024 Sister Mary Michael’s Final Profession of Vows Last First Saturday, September 7th, anticipating the feast of our Blessed Mother’s Birth, we had the joy of witnessing Sister Mary Michael’s Perpetual Profession! It was a great and joyous celebration, in which we were joined by many family and friends. Sister Mary Michael of the Incarnate Word reflected on her profession in light of Jesus’ presence among us in the Incarnation, “Perpetual vows are amazing, but it is not easy. Jesus never promised easy. He did promise the hundred fold in this life though. What is easy is to miss the fact that the greatest part of the hundred fold is simply that God became Emmanuel, meaning God-with-us. God is always with us. He is with us in the Eucharist, in the Scriptures, wherever two or three are gathered, just to name a few. And in an extraordinarily profound way that goes beyond words, God is always with me as a perpetually professed member of this religious community.” During the Entrance Procession the sisters sing the antiphon, ‘Come, Spouse of Christ, receive the crown the Lord has prepared for you!’During a Profession Mass, the parents of the Sister to be professed traditionally bring the offertory gifts to the altar, as a sign of their giving their daughter to Christ and the ChurchAt a Final Profession, the Bishop says the consecratory prayer over the Sister Four days before final vows, a friend of mine very matter of factly asked me, “Why are you doing this?” As I lay prostrate on the chapel floor that Saturday, on the eve of the Nativity of Our Lady, I realized my full answer to her is, “Because Jesus is worth it, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” In the nine days leading up to final profession, I prayed for all of your intentions, whether you were here physically or spiritually. And for myself, I prayed that God will continue to increase and I decrease, so that I may one day say, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Before her profession, the Sister prostrates during the Litany of the Saints, beseeching the prayer of the Church in Heaven and on Earth to support her in her vocation. Her scapular is put over her head, representing her death to the world. Deo Gratias! Bishop Raica gave a very inspiring homily, and we include a small portion here: The first reading from the Song of Songs notes the burning ardor of love. It is strong, it is powerful; it cannot be quenched. It does not dissipate easily. It is something which cannot be purchased but discovered as a gift already within. It reveals itself in subtle ways. Yet, it is described as “stern as death”, “relentless”, and a “blazing fire”. How amazing is this gift that, once we stumble upon it, we don’t want it to leave. Rather we become more fascinated, more curious, more attracted, more taken by love because it does not seem to have a beginning or end, but finds its source and summit, its fountain of expression in Jesus, who is love incarnate. So, this first word is “love” – not a tawdry or romanticized or maudlin version of it – but one whose power warms and purifies and is often beyond our intellectual conceptualizations. The second reading from St Paul’s letter from his letter to the Philippians reminds us that this love can only be realized when it is confirmed with faith and conformed to the heart of Christ Himself. Your mind and heart must vibrate in unison with Jesus to make a symphonic, harmonic sound. Often times, our imperfections mar the pristine tone that we were meant to create in the Lord. This short but magnificent letter suggests that we should look after the other as more important than ourselves with compassion and mercy. Only then will the note we play have the right timbre, a sweet quality and authenticity. It brings our love to life. Today, you present yourself, Sr Mary Michael – before God, before Mother Louise Marie and before the sisters of this convent – and all of us – to make your final profession. Be bold. Be strong. Rely on God’s grace and the tender encouragement of our Blessed Mother. Family and friends gathered after Mass to celebrate.
August 22, 2024 Sister Mary Thomas’ First Profession of Vows Please join us in celebrating with great joy and gratitude, Sister Mary Thomas’ First Profession of Religious Vows! Sister was blessed to take this new step in Religious Life on August 15th, the Feast of the Assumption. Many friends and family were able to be with us for the beautiful day. As she herself summarized her vocation story: My name is Sister Mary Thomas Mattingly, and I am from Kentucky. I am number 3 of 5 children. I grew up learning to love the Faith that was taught by my father, to be generous with others as exemplified by my mother, and to enjoy family time with all its craziness. I went to a Catholic school most of my life and worked in the kitchen at a Catholic nursing home that was run by Carmelite sisters all throughout high school. It was there that my vocation to the religious life became clear due to the perpetual adoration they had, daily Mass and confessions, and good priests. Their chaplain convinced me to visit Casa Maria by telling me I could skip school, and when I arrived I felt very much at home. I entered a little over a year later in January 2021. After a few years of formation, I am ready and determined to continue to give my life to Christ and see what His will has in store for me. A Sister’s First Profession is a significant step in her vocational journey, as she commits herself to the vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, as well as the Rule and Constitutions of the Community, for a limited time while her formation continues. It is with this profession of vows that the veil is changed from white to brown. Mother Mary Gabriel always spoke of our families as our “greatest benefactors”, because Christian families are the “seedbed of vocations” (Pope St John Paul II). We daily pray with gratitude for our families, that the Lord reward their sacrifices; and we welcome them into their now extended family of the Sister Servants!
August 13, 2024 Recollections of Fr. Frank Sofie from Sister Mary Michael, SsEW While the summer has been busy enough to keep us from posting regularly, we didn’t want to pass over this reflection by Sister Mary Michael, after the death of Fr. Frank Sofie, a great friend of our community. November 2022 at St. Dominic in Mobile Fr. Frank Sofie was ordained on the 10th anniversary of my own baptismal date, June 10. He was assigned to our parish and school, and one of the first things I remember he did was take a group of us fifth graders all around the church showing us the parts of the Mass, the vessels, what took place and when during the liturgy, and even quizzed us on the names of everything. We did pretty well as a group, until we stumbled over “the name for the chair that the priest sits in” during the readings. Father’s answer: “The priest’s chair.” He was pretty happy with that trick question, and decades later, I still smile whenever I see “the priest’s chair” in any church. I’ve never forgotten what it was like to be taken around the church. Father Sofie loved the Mass and the Sacraments, and it instilled in me a love for liturgical practice and the sense of mystery surrounding what we do as Catholics. The sense of the mystery has never left me. As a middle-schooler, I wanted to become a sacristan when I grew up. I think religious Sister fulfilled that dream well, and much more so. Father Sofie was a great friend of our foundress, Mother Mary Gabriel, and years later, it was a blessing to see him at Casa Maria. He gave retreats, attended Lay Dominican retreats, and even preached for us on Zoom during COVID, so that we could email our retreatants conferences filled with hope and the love of God. When Father Sofie shared with me that he had written a book on the Mass, Praying the Mass from the Pew, I immediately mentioned Casa Maria Publishing as a possibility to publish his book. It was a great privilege to participate in this project, and is a blessing to see it bear fruit and to see him continue to give others what he gave us fifth graders so many years ago. When Father’s cancer returned for the last time, he made the arrangements for his funeral – including asking us Sister Servants to sing his funeral Mass. At the end of June, we traveled to Mobile to fulfill that request, not just as a thank you for so many gifts he’s given the Archdiocese of Mobile and the universal Church. We sang his Mass not just to say goodbye, but perhaps also as a spiritual greeting to hopefully our newest intercessor. We pray for his repose, his family, and in thanksgiving for the gift of his priesthood and his spiritual Fatherhood that he gave to everyone he met. Photos property of Mobile Catholic WeekPhotos property of Mobile Catholic WeekPhotos property of Mobile Catholic WeekPhotos property of Mobile Catholic WeekPhotos property of Mobile Catholic WeekPhotos property of Mobile Catholic WeekPhotos property of Mobile Catholic WeekPhotos property of Mobile Catholic WeekPhotos property of Mobile Catholic Week Follow the links below to see some of Fr. Sofie’s excellent conference recordings and written materials in our bookstore.