by Sr. Dolores Marie | Apr 19, 2021 | Newsletter
Just what is a Parish Visitor? What is she like?
She may be short or tall, young or not so young.
She may have light hair or dark, light skin or darker skin.
She may be slender or not so slender; she may be exuberant or quiet.
She may come from the East, the Midwest, the West, or overseas.
She might enjoy singing, or the beauties of nature, or a good book. She likes a good laugh and a good game at recreation.
She might live at our convent in the Bronx, in Pennsylvania or Arizona, at our motherhouse in New York, or in the Philippines, or in Nigeria.
The important thing is, she is a woman of God.
A prayerful woman, who has given herself totally to Him.
A woman who feels for God’s people—especially those who have strayed from Him.
And who feels for His children—especially the spiritually neglected ones who never learned about Him, who are starved for Him and don’t know it.
She feels for them, goes out to help them, prays and sacrifices for them.
She loves her vows of chastity, poverty, obedience; she loves her Sisters in community wherever they may be.
She is inspired by our foundress, Servant of God Mother Mary Teresa Tallon.
She loves the Church, the Eucharist, the Sacred Heart of the Good Shepherd, Our Blessed Mother, and Saint Joseph.
This is a Parish Visitor!
Many blessings from Our Risen Lord to all of you!
Holy Week and Easter at Marycrest, our motherhouse, were especially beautiful this year. We had all the Holy Week and Easter ceremonies! What a comparison to last year when we only had livestreaming.
Above shows a Sister in adoration at our repository on Holy Thursday.
At the Easter Vigil, our Pascal Candle, surrounded
by Easter flowers, proclaimed Our Risen Savior!
We had some fun, too. During the Easter octave, our novices gave an ice cream party to the Sisters, complete with an Easter bunny!
Preparing to serve the ice cream.
Yum!
The novices also planned a game evening and a “carnival” event.
As our foundress told us, “God expects us to pray well, to work faithfully, and to play cheerfully.”
May God’s guidance be with you as you as you continue to discern His will for your life. Feel free to email me. If you’d like to plan a phone chat to get better acquainted, just let me know. Our prayers are with you all!
In Jesus Our Risen Lord,
Sister Dolores Marie
by Sr. Dolores Marie | Jan 25, 2021 | Events
We rejoice with Sr. Mary Anthonia Okpikuma, who made her final vows on this day. To give oneself to God forever–what a beautiful offering! Besides the crown of roses and the crucifix ring, the mission crucifix received at final vows is a sign of our perpetual dedication, that we will be a “willing holocaust for the redemption of the most abandoned souls.” May God’s grace and strength be with Sr. Mary Anthonia forever!
by Sr. Dolores Marie | Jan 25, 2021 | Events
On January 25th we remember with gratitude the fullness of the inspiration to found the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate given to Mother Mary Teresa Tallon, then Sister Mary Berchmans, a Sister of the Holy Cross, on this day in 1908:
“God revealed to me clearly, at Holy Mass, in the chapel at 143 W. 61st Street, New York City, on January 25, 1908, the feast of the conversion of St. Paul, what it was He wanted. I must establish an Institute where women would be trained to greater spiritual perfection and, being formed in the contemplative spirit, go out in search of the lost lambs and bring them back to the fold by means of Christian instruction. I saw God’s will clearly and received strong assurances of His powerful protection. Jesus offered Himself as security for the work, and promised to supply by His infinite perfection, the lack on my part.”
This year we were privileged to have Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrate Mass with us on that day, with Bishop Gerardo Colacicco and Rev. Stephen Ries as concelebrants.
by Sr. Dolores Marie | Jan 10, 2021 | Newsletter
A happy and blessed new year 2021—all 365 days of it!
Advent and Christmas this year have been quite unusual for everyone, and here at Marycrest, our motherhouse, it was very unusual. COVID hit us! From the youngest to the oldest, most of the Sisters caught it, as well as most of our employees. In fact, our oldest Sister, Sr. Mary Elise, celebrated her 100th birthday while in quarantine! Everybody had ice cream in her honor, even the ones quarantined in their rooms. Three Sisters had to be hospitalized for COVID, some had it very mild (as I did), and some were in between.
The few Sisters who tested negative did much extra work, as well as decorating the Christmas tree and putting up other decorations. We were without Mass for two weeks; we didn’t want the priests to catch it. The Sisters who were up and around participated in the Mass by livestream, and the ones in quarantine were brought Holy Communion to their rooms.
Many friends brought us food, hand sanitizer, etc. One of our Bronx Sisters as well as our Pennsylvania Sisters were able to come to Marycrest to help out, and the Sisters of Life cared for night duty in our infirmary until our aides could return. (We helped the Sisters of Life in the beginning of their foundation, and now they were glad to return the favor.)
Those who had the virus ended their quarantine on Christmas morning, though a few Sisters still are a bit weak.
Our apostolate has, of course, been limited by the pandemic, but the Sisters are doing all they can by zoom, phone calls, and so on. Some religion classes are still being held in person, with masks and social distancing. Here is Sr. Alina Marie, of our Bronx convent, teaching Bible history through the Advent Jesse tree.
On January 4 our postulant became a novice. She received her habit and while veil, as well as our Constitutions and the Spiritual Directory of our foundress, and is now called Sister Debra Marie.
Recently the novitiate hosted a belated Epiphany party for all the Sisters, complete with the Three Kings and a marshmallow roast! It was great to have a fun evening together after so much sickness!
In the world, the pandemic continues. In this pandemic, people still need God. In fact, they need Him more than ever! And, God is still calling young men and women to give themselves to Him, to love and serve Him and His people.
The pandemic shouldn’t stop discernment. Discernment is not just making a decision, choosing what seems best for me, and so on; it’s trying to know what God wants for me.
This is not always easy. Many other things vie for our attention. We need prayer and silence to know what He is telling us. Before the Blessed Sacrament is the ideal place to pray, but you can pray anywhere where you can be quiet and undisturbed.
God will not fail you if you are sincerely trying to know His will. A prayer I found helpful in my own discernment was, “God give me the grace to know Your will, and the courage to do it!” These are two steps. Once we discern what God is showing us, we need courage to go ahead! And, who is the source of courage but God!
May God’s guidance and graces be with you! If you’d like to know more about the Parish Visitors, just contact me by email or phone. God bless you!
In Jesus,
Sister Dolores Marie
by Sr. Dolores Marie | Jan 4, 2021 | Events
Postulant Debra Comins, from Cleveland, New York, today began her novitiate, and is now called Sister Debra Marie. Please pray with us for her and for all our Sisters, as well as for many more good, holy vocations to the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate.
