Fr. Ray Frias and the Capuchin Friars Visit the Monastery on February 29

Father Ray Frias, a Capuchin Friar,  brought the four young men, Anthony, John, Linnecker, and William to meet the Sisters and for them to tell us their vocation story. It was a delight to meet such fine young men and we wish them joy and perseverance in their vocation and Religious Life.

Go out into the wilderness and reflect.

The dreams of youth, nurtured by young strength and unfettered hopes, are dissipated by the light of facts as we gradually face our limitations and defects.  In the light of these limitations and defects, in view of the terrific risks we run into  teach us that a moment's choice changes , with the present held in fragile control and the next hour or the next day outside the scope of our most careful planning, there is a serious temptation to act as thoughtless children: living from moment  to moment as though we would never die, pretending that nothing really counts, feigning contentment with what our hands can grasp and hold for the moment.
We can face life when we see ourselves as children growing to Eternal Life under the eyes of a loving Father , who loves us, in a world that is wholly His.  Our prayer:

Like a child in its mother's arms so are we to You, O Lord.- by Walter Farrell OP
and Matin J. Healy STD from My Way of Life

Ash Wednesday in the Holy Land

Ash Wednesday in Cambodia

and we received our Ashes today and begin the Lenten Season remembering to pray for you and for all your needs and intentions.
May peace be in your walk with God this Holy Season.

Sister Marcy Springer SSJ, from St. Francis Retreat House in Rancocas, NJ directs our workshop on nonviiolent communication .

Francis House of Prayer serves the people of the diocese of Trenton and beyond by providing a contemplative environment for prayer, spiritual direction, retreats and programs that foster a deepening relationship with God and ongoing spiritual growth that all people may be one with God and one another.

Sister Marcella Springer, SSJ, Director Francis House of Prayer
P.O. Box 392, Rancocas, New Jersey 08073
phone: 609-877-0509
email: FHOP@verizon.net

Our Resident Poet

Sister Natalie


Fog                                                     

Fog-thick as pea soup
Straining, squinting
Creeping, crawling.
Slowly shadows appear
and then - I see!
Inner fog -
Groping, grasping
Mulling, musing
Slowly concepts
surface
And then - clarity!

Tree Women                                         

Tall Trunk
bare branches
stark silhouette

A widow in November.

Snowy satin
Frozen filigree

Wedding white
A bride in December.                                               

Full form
Leafy branches
Noisy nestlings
A mother in May.

Wrap Up from December to Febraury- Chanting the Christmas Martyrology Christmas Eve - Blessing the Christmas Trees and Creches - Friar Tom Hartle's visit - Friar Frank Walter and Friar Primo's vist on New Year's Day

Mary Oliver Reads "Mornings at Blackwater" | MariaShriver.com on Blip

Mary Oliver Reads "Mornings at Blackwater" | MariaShriver.com on Blip

Blogger: Monastery Happenings - Edit Post "St. Valentine, a Christian Martyr"

Blogger: Monastery Happenings - Edit Post "St. Valentine, a Christian Martyr"

St. Valentine, a Christian Martyr

God is love and if we abide in love God abides in us. From Where Valentine's Day Comes From Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) is the name of several martyred saints of ancient Rome. The name "Valentine", derived from valens (worthy), was popular in late antiquity .Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except his name  and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14.  It is even uncertain whether the feast of that day celebrates only one saint or more saints of the same name. For this reason this liturgical commemoration was not kept in the Catholic calendar of saints  for universal liturgical veneration as revised in 1969. But "Martyr Valentinus the Presbyter and those with him at Rome" remains in the list of saints proposed for veneration by all Catholics. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Saint Valentine the Presbyter, is celebrated on July 6,  and Hieromartyr Saint Valentine (Bishop of Interamna, Terni in Italy) is celebrated on July 30. The name "Valentine" does not occur in the earliest list of Roman martyrs,  compiled by the Chronographer of 354. The feast of St. Valentine was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among those "... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." As Gelasius implied, nothing was known, even then, about the lives of any of these martyrs. The Saint Valentine that appears in various martyrologies in connection with February 14  is described either as: • A priest in Rome • A bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) • A martyr in the Roman province of Africa. The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in the Nuremberg Chronicle, (1493); alongside the woodcut portrait of Valentine the text states that he was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II, known as Claudius Gothicus. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime . Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned;  when that didn't finish him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. Various dates are given  for the martyrdom or martyrdoms: 269, 270, or 273. May his prayers be heard on our behalf.

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Today we ask Mary to intercede for us for all our sick friends, relatives and for our deceased.

Click on the link belong to see the story of our Lady of Lourdes.

http://youtu.be/S8UhRpJRc4w

Pray at the shrine  

http://youtu.be/AZt1neFgXks

First Winter Snow-The beauty of the fields covered with snow.

Snow Day

Snow Day

By Billy Collins b. 1941 Billy Collins

Today we woke up to a revolution of snow,

its white flag waving over everything,

the landscape vanished,

not a single mouse to punctuate the blankness,

and beyond these windows

the government buildings smothered,

schools and libraries buried, the post office lost

under the noiseless drift,

the paths of trains softly blocked,

the world fallen under this falling.

In a while, I will put on some boots

and step out like someone walking in water,

and the dog will porpoise through the drifts,

and I will shake a laden branch

sending a cold shower down on us both.

But for now I am a willing prisoner in this house,

a sympathizer with the anarchic cause of snow.

I will make a pot of tea

and listen to the plastic radio on the counter,

as glad as anyone to hear the news

that the Kiddie Corner School is closed,

the Ding-Dong School, closed.

the All Aboard Children’s School, closed,

the Hi-Ho Nursery School, closed,

along with—some will be delighted to hear—

the Toadstool School, the Little School,

Little Sparrows Nursery School,

Little Stars Pre-School, Peas-and-Carrots Day School

the Tom Thumb Child Center, all closed,

and—clap your hands—the Peanuts Play School.

So this is where the children hide all day,

These are the nests where they letter and draw,

where they put on their bright miniature jackets,

all darting and climbing and sliding,

all but the few girls whispering by the fence.

And now I am listening hard

in the grandiose silence of the snow,

trying to hear what those three girls are plotting,

what riot is afoot,

which small queen is about to be brought down.