August 2020

by Sr. Mary Emmadona Lee | Aug 5, 2020 | Newsletter

Our 100th anniversary! That’s quite a milestone! When Mother Mary Teresa Tallon began our community in New York City on August 15, 1920, she began with only three members. The seed grew and spread, and besides our “community in heaven” rejoicing there with our foundress, we now have convents in New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona, the Philippines and Nigeria. Only God knows how many thousands and thousands and thousands of persons have been brought back to Him, and learned to love Him, by Parish Visitors over the years!

One of the Sisters recently made a cutout of our foundress. Our centenary celebrations originally planned for August 15 and 16 have been postponed for now because of the pandemic, but our anniversary will be very special nevertheless!

During the pandemic we have continued to reach out to people in whatever way we could, as our last few newsletters told—phone, email, May devotions, zoom, and so on. Our Pentecost novena is now on our website; you can access it there. We also had a livestreamed Holy Hour for Corpus Christi, praying for all the continents of the world. Hopefully before long everything will be more normal. First Communions, though delayed, took place recently, and more will be held in the fall. Here are a few photos.

What a privilege to instruct others in the faith, and especially to prepare children for First Communion!

Two of our junior professed Sisters, Sr. Alina Marie and Sr. Marie Meaghan, moved to our Bronx convent to begin their new apostolates.

Here they are pictured with Sr. Mylene Rosemarie at the convent.

Our annual eight-day retreat was in early July. Retreat is always a beautiful time of many graces from the Lord, as well as a preparation for the year ahead. I’ll share with you this quote from our retreat master:

We are brides of Christ.
We serve Jesus for those who do not.
We worship Him for those who do not.
We are pure for those who are not.
We are brides of Christ.

A few years ago Sr. Maria Leah was recorded singing “I Am Your Bride” for a youth conference. You can listen to it on this link:

I’ll close with a quote from our foundress about her inspiration to begin our community:

“God revealed to me clearly, at Holy Mass…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.”

Please thank God along with us for Servant of God Mother Mary Teresa Tallon and for the foundation of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate! And, if God is nudging you in this direction, be not afraid! Come!

In Jesus,

Sister Dolores Marie

May 2020

by Sr. Mary Emmadona Lee | May 18, 2020 | Newsletter

Our Blessed Mother, whom we all love so dearly, gets very special honor in May, with spring flowers, May crownings, and other devotions.

At our motherhouse we had a May crowning on Mothers’ Day. It was planned to be outdoors at our grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, but the very chilly weather (one inch of snow the day before!) moved the crowning indoors.

Our oldest Sister, Sr. Mary Elise, who will be 100 years old this year, was the crown bearer, while our youngest postulant, Sally, was the crowner. Each Sister placed a flower before Our Lady. We then completed the ceremony with hymns and our Parish Visitor consecration to Mary.

Our juniorate Sisters (those in temporary vows) had planned a marshmallow roast especially for the older Sisters for Mothers’ Day. Again, the chilly weather moved it indoors, and we roasted the marshmallows on the stove! Changes of plans are a standing joke with us!

We were also privileged this year to begin the month of Mary with the reconsecration to Mary of the United States and Canada, by the bishops of all the dioceses. It had to be done individually by each diocese because of the pandemic. What a beautiful tribute to Our Lady!.

During this pandemic our apostolate has to change temporarily, of course. Some of the Sisters have been able to keep in touch with the students in their religion classes by phone calls, email, postal mail, or sometimes zoom. First Communions and Confirmations are unfortunately delayed.

A number of the Sisters at Marycrest phoned all the parishioners of one of the large local parishes, asking the people how they were doing. These calls were very much appreciated.

At the same parish the Sisters in formation helped with bringing the statue of Our Lady to the homes of the delayed First Communion children. Keeping social distance, the children—many in their First Communion clothing—joined the priest and Sisters in a decade of the rosary and a hymn in front of their homes.
Hopefully it won’t be too long before we can safely resume parish visitations, in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd seeking those who need the Lord, and instructing children and others in the faith, in person. Meanwhile, we do all we can, and our prayers and sacrifices go where we cannot!

As our Parish Visitor Constitutions reminds us, Mary, especially in her Visitation to Elizabeth, is a model for our contemplative-missionary vocation. The Sisters are to walk in spirit with Mary, contemplating the greatness of the Lord and imitating her example of charity and zeal.

We have been having livestreamed Masses, and at one of the homilies the priest shared this:

God is more powerful than Wifi. Stay connected to Him!
The signal is always strong.
It’s always reliable, it’s always on, and it’s free!
The password is L O V E.

God bless you and guide you in your discernment of His will!

In Jesus,

Sr. Dolores Marie

Easter Blessings from Our Family to Yours

by Sr. Dolores Marie | Apr 16, 2020 | Newsletter

During these difficult days, may we find strength, courage, and hope in our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
The PVMI Formation Sisters would like to encourage you with our heartfelt prayers and support.
In solidarity, we unite our prayers to yours. Let us remain steadfast in faith and find comfort in Jesus, our Merciful Savior.

By His Cross, Jesus triumphed over the grave.
Let us place our trust in Him, Who will lead us to victory.
We are praying for you and with you!

“The priest is at the service of the community. He is also sustained by his community. He needs the specific contribution of the laity not only for the organization and administration of the community, but also for faith and charity, a certain osmosis exists between the faith of the priest and that of the other faithful. Christian families and fervent communities have often assisted their priests in times of crisis.” (“The Priest Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community,” Congregation for the Clergy, 16)

On St. Valentine’s Day, we were blessed to visit the Shrine of St. John Neumann in PA, and pray before his incorrupt body. A priest gave each of us a personal blessing with a first class relic, to remind us of God’s great love and to remain faithful until the end.
We are so grateful for our priests who bring us the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and have a deeper appreciation for them, especially during this challenging time. In the words of St. John Paul II: “There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist.” Let us pray for our spiritual fathers who heroically spend themselves to bring us the bread of life.

Greetings in the Risen Lord!
Alleluia, HE conquered death! With confidence in Jesus Christ, I greet you in this joyous and triumphant season of Easter! Recently, we have been disoriented with global suffering with the COVID-19… Fear, pain, suffering, and dying. Our Sisters have been storming heaven with their heartfelt prayers for all of you.
Let us not JUST look at this misery of the world in despair, but LOOK UPON HIM who will travel with you as He did with the two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-35) and share with you with His presence in the Scriptures and in your daily prayers as never before. May the Risen Jesus be your constant help and strength!
By Sr. Mary Beata, Postulant/Novice Director

A Message of Hope
Our Lord is our refuge, He is our strength
Staying united in prayer will take us to great lengths
It is faith that we desperately need, in this time of distress
God, in His merciful love, will surely deliver us from this mess
Though we may not understand His mysterious ways
Let us fix our eyes on Him, every moment of our days
He who is faithful, will redeem us with His love
So let us trust in Him and look to Him above
Be assured that the PVMI Sisters are praying for you
It is the only and best thing we can possibly do
Be not afraid, Jesus Christ is our triumphant light
His power will lead us to victory in this fight
By Sally Yu, Postulant

“Queen of peace, the world is most disturbed. Queen of Heaven and earth come to the aid of thy children. Make us
worthy of such a Mother. Mother of Mercy, hear us, help us. Keep us near thee, get us divine peace for Jesus’ sake.”
–Mother Mary Teresa Tallon, Servant of God,
PVMI Foundress

Sacred Heart of the Good Shepherd in front of the PVMI Motherhouse

Re-membering
Remember—I created you because I love you.
Remember—I brought you to this desert to speak tenderly to you.
Remember—I died so that you may live forever.
Remember—I am your Savior, Healer, Protector, and King.
Remember—you are not alone; I am always with you.
Remember—those you love are infinitely more dear to Me than you can imagine.
Remember—though you feel isolated, My Church is one Body, united in Me.
Remember—through your Spiritual Communion and Adoration
you are aiding in the redemption of the world.
Remember—I Am your Father, Friend, and Guide.
Remember—My Sacred Eucharistic Heart thirsts for you more than you thirst for Me.
Remember—to console Me for all of those who do not know, trust in, or love Me.
Remember—I am your Good Shepherd Who searches for you always,
waiting to hold you in My arms.
Remember—as you weep for those who have died, I weep with you.
Remember—I redeemed you so that you will spend eternity with Me.
Remember—though the world is passing through Calvary, you will see the Victory.
Remember—My desire is to love you as I re-member, re-create this broken world.
Remember—to let Me love you, to re-create you.
By Mary Beth Bracy, Postulant

March 2020

by Sr. Dolores Marie | Mar 27, 2020 | Newsletter

God’s peace be with you, in these unusual days which God has allowed the world to experience. We hope you and your loved ones are safe.

We hope many people will be brought closer to the Lord during this time, realizing their great need for Him.

We have been praying much against the coronavirus. A few days ago we had a procession throughout Marycrest, asking Our Lady’s help and sprinkling holy water in all the areas.

Saint Joseph is also a very special friend and protector of our community, and on his feast day, March 19, we had another procession, carrying his picture, reciting the litany of Saint Joseph, singing, and sharing our petitions.

We are also praying twice daily, as Pope Francis has asked, his prayer to the Mother of Divine Love. You may like to do the same:

Mother of Divine Love, you, salvation of your people, know what we need. We are certain that you will provide, so that, as you did at Cana of Galilee, joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.

Dear Heavenly Mother, help us to live these difficult days filled with hope, with renewed unity, with a true spirit of obedience to what is required of us, with the certainty that after this trial we may arrive at the blessed and glorious hour of the Resurrection.

This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our foundation, and in very early March (before the virus spread) several Parish Visitors made a pilgrimage to various sites in New York City which are a part of our community’s history. Come with us as we review our pilgrimage. While walking with us, ask the intercession of our foundress, Servant of God Mother Mary Teresa Tallon, for your vocation.

When Mother Mary Teresa Tallon arrived from Utica, New York by railroad to New York City, she then took the subway to West 72nd Street. We also traveled by subway to the West 72nd Street station. Arriving there, we headed to Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church on West 71st Street.

In the early days of our community, before we had daily Mass in our convent, the Sisters walked the two blocks to Blessed Sacrament Church each day. We were glad to be able to have Mass in this beautiful church and to pray for our community. The pastor, Father David Nolan, recognized us as Parish Visitors and reminded us that one of our Parish Visitor Sisters had encouraged him, many years ago, to become a priest!

We walked the two blocks to the house which was the convent of our August 15, 1920 foundation, 328 West 71st Street. We prayed there for the community and talked informally with some of the passersby. Unexpectedly we were invited inside the building as well. This building is now being used as offices for a school. What a privilege to visit the “cradle of our community”!

Between these two sites we happened to pass a very tiny public park, not much wider than a driveway! We had brought our lunches, and it was the perfect place to stop and have lunch.

We then walked to West 61st Street to get as close as we could to the site where
St. Paul’s parish convent had been, where Mother Foundress, on January 25, 1908 at Mass, received the fullness of the inspiration to begin our community. We couldn’t get to the exact site, as a college is using the property now. At this site also we prayed for our community.

After that we walked the block or so to the large St. Paul the Apostle Church, where Mother Foundress would have gone for so many First Communions and other occasions.

This painting in St. Paul the Apostle Church could apply to Mother Foundress. She certainly “kept the faith” through many trials and difficulties. We praise God for the foundation of this community one hundred years ago.

Everywhere we went, people were extraordinarily friendly–smiling, talking, asking or promising prayers, giving us seats on the subway. We arrived home tired but happy to have the privilege of this special pilgrimage. May the graces of this pilgrimage extend to our whole community and to all of you who are reading this!

May God bless you now and always!

In Jesus,

Sister Dolores Marie

February 2020

by Sr. Dolores Marie | Feb 1, 2020 | Newsletter

Our 100th anniversary year has begun! Alleluia!
One hundred years ago, on August 15, 1920, the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate began in New York City.

New York City? How did a country girl end up founding a community in New York City? In the hustle and bustle of the city the Holy Spirit inspired our foundress, Mother Mary Teresa Tallon, to begin the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate. How did this happen?

Mother Mary Teresa, then Julia Teresa Tallon, grew up in the vicinity of Waterville, New York. A typical farm girl of that day, she attended school at the local one-room schoolhouse. Even at an early age she was concerned that others live and love their faith, and she informally taught the children of the families who came to the farm to help with the harvest. Although she knew no Sisters, she knew from an early age that she wanted to give herself to God.

When she was 17, Julia and her younger sister began working in a dressmaking factory in Utica, New York. While in Utica she attended daily Mass, which she had been unable to do in Waterville, and she became involved in church activities. At the age of 19 she was finally able to make plans to enter the convent, despite her mother’s opposition. She then became a teaching Sister, working in Indiana and California before being assigned to New York City.

During a retreat in California she realized that God was leading her to a deeper prayer life. She continued her deep prayerfulness even in the midst of her duties in New York City as a teacher in a Catholic school and director of a large Sunday school program. However, despite the good work she was doing, her heart went out to the many people all around her who were untouched by the Church.

The Church, the Catholic school, and the Sunday school program reached many people, but there were so many, many other Catholics who were never reached by God’s saving word. She knew that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, longed for these people, too.

She saw that many children who should have been learning their faith never came to religious instructions; others came and dropped out and were never seen again. Families found numerous excuses for not going to Mass and for not having their children baptized and brought up in the faith. Young people became involved in illicit pleasures. The list could go on and on. They needed Jesus in their lives.

Does all this sound familiar? Yes, all these things were going on even then, while the Sacred Heart of the Good Shepherd longed for these souls to return to Him, these precious souls for whom He had shed His blood.

The children, especially, tugged at her heart. So many children of supposedly Catholic families were growing up like pagans, knowing little or nothing of their heritage of faith and of God’s deep love for them. How could she help them?

She realized that someone would have to go out to these people to encourage them in their faith, to help them to know and love the Lord. They needed missionaries, even though they lived perhaps within a stone’s throw of the Church!

At Mass, on January 25, 1908, it became clear to her that God wanted her to begin a new religious community dedicated to deeper prayer, to outreach to those in need of Him, and to instructing people in their faith. Her efforts to begin a new community met with many difficulties.

Finally, on August 15, 1920, the feast of Mary’s Assumption, in New York City, the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate came into being.

Since 1920 we have spread out to other cities and states and into the Philippines and Nigeria as well.

The Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate have always kept to these ideals of a deep prayer life combined with outreach to and religious instruction of those in need of the Lord—we are contemplative-missionaries!

As Mother Mary Teresa Tallon said, the greater our contemplative communion with God, the more zealous we will be as missionaries.

Not having institutions, we are free to work directly with the people, in grass-roots contact, finding
those in need and helping them in the spirit of the Sacred Heart of the Good Shepherd—especially the neglectful Catholics and the poor. While our first concern is their spiritual need, we do not neglect the material needs and other needs of the people.

We find our strength in the Eucharist, and this is also the greatest gift we have to offer to the people—helping them to return to, or to begin to receive, Jesus in the Eucharist.

Mary, too, gives us a model for our contemplative-missionary vocation in her visitation to Elizabeth after receiving the angel’s wonderful message that she was to be the Mother of God. Mary shows us that prayerfully pondering the Word in one’s heart as a contemplative and visiting someone in need definitely can go together!

Our love of the Church, our simple and friendly approach to people, and our simple community life are other traits of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate.

There were many people in need of the Lord in the early 1900’s, but I’m sure you can imagine how many more there are these days!

They need someone to go to them, to help them, to tell them about their Lord. What about you? Is He nudging you to do this?

If you are feeling His nudge and wondering if the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate might be where God wants you, email me or give me a call. We can get better acquainted and arrange for you to visit us and meet us first hand.

God bless you and guide you as you continue to discern His will for your life!

In Jesus,
Sister Dolores Marie

December 2019 Newsletter

by Sr. Dolores Marie | Dec 8, 2019 | Newsletter