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:

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!

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.”

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.

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.

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!

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.

Fr. Frank Sofie was ordained on the 10^th 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.

Follow the links below to see some of Fr. Sofie’s excellent conference recordings and written materials in our bookstore.

The National Eucharistic Congress was a wonderful opportunity to experience the mutual unity and support of the members of the Body of Christ, the Church.  Seeing so many religious Sisters, priests, bishops and laity, was deeply affirming to each of us in our particular vocation.   I personally met so many old friends – and made new and surprising ones – that what stands out to me is the community of believers gathered around Jesus.  I know that I owe my faith to so many who have walked with me in my pilgrimage of faith over the years. And I am excited to “hoe my row” and work in His Vineyard with His coworkers until our glorious entry into His kingdom – Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus, Come! -Mother Louise Marie

Jesus said, “…and I when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.”  The Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis celebrated the presence of Sacrifice of Christ on the altar at Mass, with opportunities to receive the fruit of this sacrifice: Communion with Our Lord, the source of holiness and food for the journey to heaven.  There was time for acts of thanksgiving by adoring His Real Presence and receiving his blessing. Then the final commendation was to give back what we had been given, to our local Churches, our homes, and within our hearts. -Sister Rita Marie

Pictured above: Evening Adoration; Public Procession with Benediction at the Civic Monument; Perpetual Adoration at the Church of St. John that was filled each day with prayer; the stadium held 60,000 souls worshipping together.

I was so happy to be able to attend the Eucharist Congress, and to witness the faith and unity of priests, Sisters, and lay people. I was busy at our table, answering questions and sharing materials about our community, as well as attending smaller get-togethers. This experience of the Congress really uplifted me and strengthened my faith! -Sister Mary Philomena