Profession of Passionist Vows {Sister Cecilia Maria}

Sister Cecilia Maria wears the white veil of a novice in the chapel cloister at St. Joseph Passionist Monastery, KY

Thirteen hours of travel (4 driving; half in a rental car from Tennessee to Kentucky) brought me my hotel in Owensboro at about midnight.  Twelve hours later I was on my way to St. Joseph Monastery, arriving early for the 1:30 Mass of Religious Profession for my friend Sister Cecilia Maria.

Following the Liturgy of the Word, including an exceptional homily by Father Rodger Hunter Hall, the Rite of Religious Profession began as Bishop Medley called Sister Cecilia’s name.  She stepped forward for the examination, “In your desire to follow Christ Crucified more perfectly, are you resolved to cherish in your heart a loving and grateful remembrance of the mystery of the Passion, and to express it in your life, observing consecrated chastity for the sake of the kingdom, embracing voluntary poverty, offering to God the gift of your obedience, and observing enclosure?”   

To this examination, Sister Cecilia replied, “I am so resolved.”

Sister Cecilia Maria responds to the examination by Bishop Medley as the Rite of Religious Profession begins.

Bishop Medley led the congregation in solemn prayers for God’s grace for Sister Cecilia Maria, after which she made her profession of vows.  Sister spoke her vows with great conviction, kneeling before her Superior, Mother Catherine Marie, seated at the foot of the altar. As Prioress of the Passionist Nuns at St. Joseph Monastery, Mother appeared jubilant and deeply peaceful, tenderly speaking her acceptance of Sister Cecilia’s vows with such love.

Mother Catherine Marie receives Sister Cecilia Maria's profession of vows. 

Sister Cecilia Maria receives her new black veil from Mother Catherine Marie.

Newly professed as a Passionist Nun, Sister Cecilia Maria received a black veil and Passionist ring, signifying her marriage to Christ Crucified.  The Passionist sign was placed on her habit over her heart as a constant reminder of her Divine Spouse and the sorrows of His holy Mother.  A crown of thorns set upon her head and a simple cross positioned on her back, Bishop Medley bid her to be faithful to her vows and to follow Christ in humility, obedience and self-denial.  Together with her sisters, she sang “Veni, Sponsa Christi” (Come Spouse of Christ), a love song.   

The Lord of lords holds your life in His embrace.  The King of kings fills your soul with His own grace…

Sister's new black veil proclaims that she belongs entirely to Christ.

Sister appeared in that moment as a living icon on fire with divine love.

Through tears of joy I photographed these moments as best I could without moving from my pew or causing too much distraction.

Wearing a crown of thorns as a reminder to follow Christ in humility, obedience and self-denial, Sister prepares to receive Holy Communion at her Mass of Religious Profession on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple.

The cloistered sisters’ heavenly liturgy and simple, holy music, with sung Latin responses (Sister Cecilia’s preference), created a slightly surreal ambiance at Mass.  A baptismal ‘river’ runs the entire length of the center isle of the monastery chapel ~ holy water breaking the ground to mark the nuns' enclosure.  At the presentation of the gifts, the sisters processed on one side of the holy river and Sister Cecilia’s mom and grandma processed on the opposite side of the isle.  Sister Cecilia crossed out of the enclosure within the sanctuary at the sign of peace, at which time her parents, grandmother, and close friends approached her for an embrace.  

Bishop Medley incenses the gifts and the altar, at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer.

Holy water flows through the center isle of the monastery chapel.

Gustav Holst’s “O God Beyond All Praising,” the recessional march and closing hymn, played expertly by Sister Cecilia Maria's younger sister, Whitney, on violin, happened to be the same song to which their parents had recessed on their wedding day. How fitting that their daughter’s wedding song would voice theirs:   

And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still; to marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways, and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.

St. Joseph Monastery {Kentucky Day 1}



Sister Cecilia Maria sews her new veil in preparation for her first vows as a Passionist Nun {photo from Nuns' Blog}

It's not every day one of you friends enters religious life...but today is one of those days!
Sister Cecilia Maria will take her first vows today as a Passionist Nun, and by the Grace of God, I am able to attend the Holy Mass at St. Joseph Monastery in Whitesville, Kentucky.  It's in a few hours, and I can't wait! I packed my camera, but may or may not be able to photograph during the actual Mass.  Time will tell.

A grueling day of travel yesterday, made possible with points accumulated on a well used VISA card, a gift of Marriott points from my well-traveled (and very generous) in-laws, and by my husband taking time off work to shuttle the boys to serve First Friday Mass and on other activities, brought me safely to my destination.  A well written and mind-blowing book, The Harbinger, by Jonathan Cahn, kept me occupied and gave great food for thought...

Dinner with a highly recommended book ~ a must read!



Travel essentials, packed per high security requirements



Hotel lobby ~ with full groundhog coverage 

to be continued...

Keep Marching {40 years = 55 million dead}

...and so does the mainstream media, in lies of omission and lies of commission

2013 marks 40 years of the legal killing of the unborn in our country.  Although the media fails to report the March for Life in our state capitol or our national capitol, it's real!  Members of our family were present at both marches (again) this year to witness for life.

Washington State March for Life, January 22, 2013, Olympia, WA

Departing Bellingham at 6AM and embarking on a 3+ hour drive, we arrived at the Mass for Life, held in the gym at St. Martin's University in Lacey.  Celebrated by Archbishop Sartain, concelebrated by dozens of priests, the Mass was offered for the unborn.  Our prayers for the healing of our culture, for the conversion of pro abortion politicians, and for healing for each person hurt by abortion were lifted up in the Mass.

We cannot accept the killing of the unborn. 
We will not accept the killing of the elderly. 

Andrew St. Hilaire, co founder of the Anti-Choice Project

The ongoing sacrifice of abortion, claiming the lives of 3,500 children each DAY in the US must be stopped.  One day's March for Life each year wasn't designed to be the only coordinated pro-life effort, but at this giant rally we alert our legislators with our numbers and join in prayer for the conversion of our killing country.

March for Life in Washington, DC, led by students from the University of Notre Dame, one of whom was our son, Zachary  {photo from LifeSiteNews.com}

Our commitment to protecting life from conception to natural death includes ongoing prayers and acts of penance offered for the end to abortion and for conversion and repentance for all involved in this holocaust.

 Prayer warrior and former pastor, Father Marion, in his Benedictine habit after the Mass for Life at St. Martin's University, visited briefly with a few of us before heading back to his cell at the monastery.

Photo sent by Zachary of the inside of St. Agnes Church, Washington, DC, where Father Jenkins celebrated a Mass for Life for the 600+ Notre Dame students who traveled to DC for the March for Life

Champions for Life, these McEntee sisters and their families and others faithfully carry on the Washington March for Life started by their parents Dick and Kathy McEntee (+).

Thanks for the gift of life, Mom! Thanks for Marching for Life!

Heavenly Birthday

My nephew Weston crowns me with the traditional {outlandish} hat at my birthday party January 5th.

Born on the fifth day of January, I was reborn through the waters of baptism on January 28, at St. Agnes Catholic Church in San Francisco, California, on the feast of St. Peter Nolasco, and the secondary feast of St. Agnes.  While the annual family celebrations surrounding my birthday are always festive and fun, the spiritual meaning of this day, my baptism day, have become more important to me with each passing year. 

By God's divine providence, my future spouse, Timothy, was also baptized on January 28, 1968, thousands of miles away at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Seattle, Washington ~ the same place our firstborn son, Zachary, would be baptized on January 28 (1995).  We specifically chose this date for Zachary's baptism for sentimental reasons, ignorant of the Church's teaching encouraging parents to seek baptism for their children within the first few weeks of birth. 

The new Church Calendar, introduced around 1970 following the Second Vatican Council, moved the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas from March 9 to January 28, so our baptism anniversary now shares the feast of a truly amazing, holy, and brilliant theologian from the thirteenth century.  We place ourselves under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas, and ask his intercession, remembering fondly our (brief) visit to the place of his elementary education, the Benedictine Monastery of Monte Cassino, Italy.

I received quite the heaven-sent birthday gift on the occasion of my 45th birthday a few weeks ago, a Douay-Rheims Bible originally given to my father-in-law, Cliff, by his parents on the occasion of his 35th birthday in 1976.  The inscription in Grandpa Tony's handwriting, laments the fact that "In this modern age it has been perfectly possible for a person to have the best Catholic religious training without ever reading a single page of the Bible... (but) it is good to retain and read Sacred Scripture."

Interestingly, this heirloom family Bible was not actually the gift Cliff and Billie originally planned to give me.  In fact their gift giving plans changed quite suddenly when Cliff found this Bible perched on top of the box where the intended birthday gift was stored inside their safe.  "Cliff was pale when he came upstairs holding the Bible," said Billie, "he said THIS is what we are giving Bridget for her birthday."  Unable to explain how the Bible, safely stored and nearly forgotten, appeared on top of an often accessed box in the safe, Cliff took it as a sign that this Bible should be mine.

Cliff explains finding the heirloom Bible in the safe.

Upon opening the package and discovering the Douay-Rheims Bible, I was overjoyed and slightly incredulous ~ before hearing Cliff tell of how it came to be my gift.  Unknown to everyone, the Douay-Rheims Bible has been perched on my (top secret) wish list for a few years.  Ever since Zachary taught me about this translation of the Bible a few years ago, I have nursed a silent hope that someday I would own a copy.  By God's grace, that day came on the occasion of my 45th birthday, and for this gift I shall be eternally grateful to Cliff and Billie, to Cliff's parents Tony and Toni, and to divine providence for placing this Bible in my possession.

Grateful for the precious gift of family gathering, with Bethany, Billie, Grandma O'D, Mom, (me) and Violet

Joseph, Zachary and Peter with Great Grandma and Grandma, visiting to celebrate my birthday; a few days before Zachary's return to the University of Notre Dame for the start of his second semester.

My gift from the boys and Tim: the promise of 100 family Rosaries, cleverly wrapped in a puzzle of parts.

In all the excitement of my birthday celebrations, we had neglected to check the mail.  The following day, I received a handmade card from a cherished priest, shedding even more grace upon what had been a very memorable and phenomenal birthday.  "I'll be praying and offering Mass for you and your intentions on your birthday...as well as a rosary for you....Happy Birthday."  The icing on my heavenly birthday cake, this tremendous gift gave me yet another reason to praise God for His abundant mercy and endless love.