You may have noticed the array of construction equipment on our grounds and heard stories from the Sisters about their excavation of the parking lot and drainage retention pond.  Along with the expert excavator Robert, our founding Sisters operated much of the construction equipment during the first years of building. Sister Marianna, seen below on the “wacky-packy” as she compacted the dam, also drove the dump truck pictured above, while Sister Mary John Paul operated the Bantam and other equipment.

These machines served us well for several years’ excavation. Now, many years later, they have found a new home! Our friend Zach (pictured below) has been working to get them up and running.

We bid them a nostalgic farewell…

…and they are seen below, already hard at work for Zach!

An enormous blessing both for ourselves and the faith community at large during COVID has been the virtual launch of a popular parish program called ChristLife. ChristLife was founded in the early 90s by Dave Nodar with the mission of evangelizing “in our own backyard.” It is a small-group relational program geared at transforming adults into disciples and making people stronger in their faith by discussing the person of Jesus Christ and why He deeply matters in each of our lives.

Originally an in-person-only gathering, like many other such endeavors, COVID dramatically changed the scope of ChristLife through its Zoom pilot program this past summer. Both ChristLife and its Zoom participants discovered the abundant fruit of encouraging Catholics to connect from all over the world to share their faith, build each other up, and discuss ways to witness and bring others to Jesus. ChristLife is split into 3 separate online sessions: Discovering Christ, Following Christ, and Sharing Christ, that each build upon each other.

ChristLife is unique because the content is geared toward meeting people exactly where they are at. Although it is a heavily Catholic program, faithful to the Magisterium, it focuses on the fundamental soil that we need to live out our faith and witness to others through deepening our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Small groups get together online each week to watch a simple teaching or witness of the faith and then answer questions that really help you examine why you believe, where you’ve been in your relationship with Jesus, and how the power of Christ can continue to transform you, so you can more deeply follow Him and share Him with others. ChristLife will meet you and feed you wherever you are on the journey.

Several of our families, friends, and retreatants have joined Casa Maria for our first online-hosted session of ChristLife this Fall, and many have found it life-changing and a place where we can share the faith and find support. As Christians, we are meant to accompany each other on the journey to heaven, and we are thankful for ChristLife as a means of doing so, especially during the recent difficulties in our times. If you would like more information on ChristLife, or when it might be possible to join the Sisters on this faith journey, please contact us or visit https://christlife.org for more information.

“Planting Day” is one of our favorite things about Fall!  It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to our Summer flowers every year, but wonderful to praise God in new and beautiful parts of His Creation.

One of the Sisters shared, “When I look at each little pansy, with its painted face and ‘open arms’, I like to think, ‘when God made that flower, He knew that I would see it and that it would brighten my day today.’  And that thought can help when it seems like the world is full of troubles, because God sees everything and He loves us so much, that not even a little flower is outside His Providence for me.”

We hope the beauty of nature at Casa Maria, whether you’re here or just seeing it in photos, will brighten your day, too!

This year we are experimenting with planting a winter garden in a raised bed, and can’t wait to reap the harvest!

Please join us in praying a Novena to Our Lady of Victory for our Nation and that the upcoming presidential election will progress according to God’s Holy Will:

Lord, have mercy on us, Christ, have mercy on us,
Lord, have mercy on us, Christ, hear us, Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Our Lady of Victory, Pray for us.

Victorious daughter of the Father, “     ”
Victorious Mother of the Son,
Victorious Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
Victorious servant of the Holy Trinity
Victorious in your Immaculate Conception,

Victorious in crushing the serpent’s head,
Victorious over all the children of Adam,
Victorious over all enemies,
Victorious in your response to the Angel Gabriel,
Victorious in your wedding to St. Joseph,
Victorious in the birth of Christ,

Victorious in the flight to Egypt,
Victorious in your exile,
Victorious in your home at Nazareth,
Victorious in finding Christ in the temple,
Victorious in the mission of your Son,
Victorious in His passion and death,

Victorious in His Resurrection and Ascension,
Victorious in the Coming of the Holy Spirit,
Victorious in your sorrows and joys,
Victorious in your glorious Assumption,
Victorious in the angels who remained faithful,
Victorious in the happiness of the saints,

Victorious in the message of the prophets,
Victorious in the testimony of the patriarchs,
Victorious in the zeal of the apostles,
Victorious in the witness of the evangelists,
Victorious in the wisdom of the doctors,
Victorious in the deeds of the confessors,

Victorious in the triumph of all holy women,
Victorious in the faithfulness of the martyrs,
Victorious in your powerful intercession,
Victorious under your many titles,
Victorious at the moment of death,

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Pray for us, blessed Lady of Victory. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: O Victorious Lady! Thou who has ever such powerful influence with Thy Divine Son, in conquering the hardest of hearts, intercede for those for whom we pray, that their hearts being softened by the rays of Divine Grace, they may return to the unity of the true Faith, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 Vouchsafe that I may praise you, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against your enemies!

Our Lady of Victory, Pray for us!

Setting up for streaming Morning Prayer

Dear Family and Friends,

During these strange times, God has seen fit to expand our apostolate in an unexpected way. As we had to cancel all of our in-person retreats for the spring and summer, we began offering these retreats virtually. Although it is not the same as coming to a retreat in person, it has still born abundant fruit and reached many people that could not otherwise have attended our retreats.

The virtual retreats match our in-person schedule as closely as possible. They include video conferences which can be watched at a scheduled time with the group, or on your own time, a zoom meeting with the sisters and live Q&A session with the retreat master, and live-streamed Divine Office, Rosary, and Divine Mercy Chaplet with the sisters.

Sister Rita Marie is still giving book recommendations and answering tough questions during “Sister Servant Sharing”, now via zoom!

We have been blessed to have people attend from all over the United States and beyond, including Canada and several European countries! Elements of our virtual retreats, such as our recording of the Holy Rosary, have reached individuals who are homebound, in recovery facilities, or otherwise unable to come to Casa Maria, even aside from COVID.

The retreats have been on a number of topics, including prayer, growing in virtue, making good decisions, and understanding the end times. We are so grateful to our Retreat Masters for making the effort to record conferences and be available for Question and Answer periods, tackling a lot of technological challenges in the process.  By the grace of God, we hope to continue offering virtual retreats in the future for all those who, because of the coronavirus or any other reason, cannot attend a retreat at Casa Maria in person.

Sisters join the retreatants for the Divine Mercy Chaplet

Check our schedule to see which retreats are going to be streamed, even after we are back in action in person!  (With the permission of the retreat masters, some of these past retreats are still available to listen to, upon request here.)

God Bless You!

Here are some kind responses from our retreatants who attended virtually:

“What a super great retreat you organized!  …I enjoyed everything; and of course Father’s talks were so powerful.”

“What a wonderful retreat!  It was so spiritually nourishing and uplifting.  I am very grateful for all those who worked so hard to make this happen and that I could attend virtually.”

“I am deeply grateful for the gift of this retreat.  Thank you for hosting this life-changing experience!”