ADVENT 2011 -A SEASON OF HOPE- And a Dedication in memory of Vincent Cannuli

Vincent M. Cannuli HAMILTON - Vincent M. Cannuli, 64, of Hamilton, NJ, passed away into God's loving care on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, at home, with his loving family at his side.

We thank Vincent for his work on our website- all done through his generosity. May God reward Vincent's kindness to us.

Carol of Hope

Text by William Gay

Each winter as the year grows older,

We grow older too.

the chill sets in a little colder,

The verities we knew

seem shaken and untrue.

When race and class cry out for treason,

when sirens call for war,

they over shout the voice of reason,

and scream till we ignore

All we held dear before.

Yet I believe beyond believing,

that life can spring from death;

that growth can flower from our grieving;

That we can catch our breath

And turn transfixed by faith.

So even as the sun is turning.

to journey to the north,

The living flame in secret burning,

Can kindle on the earth,

and bring God's love to birth.

O Child of ecstasy and sorrows,

O Prince of Peace and pain,

Brighten today's world by tomorrow's,

Renew our lives again;

Lord Jesus, come and reign!

From Isaiah chapter 40 verse 11:

Like a Shepherd, he will care for his flock,

gathering the lambs in his arms,

hugging them as he carries them,

leading the nursing ewes to good pasture.

Translation The Message.

Our good Shepherd prepares the time, waiting to gather us during this Advent time.

We thank God for His many blessings.

Giving Thanks for all Our Gifts

For the beauty of the earth,

For the glory of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies

Lord of all to You we raise

This our gift of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,

brother, sister, parent child

Friends on earth and

Friends above

For all gentle thoughts and mild.

This our gift of grateful praise

Conrad Kocher 1786-1872 Adapt by William H. Monk 1823-1899

Sister Donna celebrated her 25th Anniversary of Entrance to our Poor Clare Form of Life. Thank you, Sister Donna and may God bless you always.

Father Andrew Reitz OFM, a Holy Name Friar, celebrated Mass and had dinner with us .
We thank him for his continued kindness to us . Sister Donna was grateful too for his presence
and for the whole day.

We thank Sister Donna for the gift that she is to our community.
God be with you, Sister Donna, now and always.

We are put on the earth a little space that we may learn to bear the beams of love.

William Blake

The Trees around the Monastery are slowly changing. The Trees show their Splendor

These pictures were taken before the October 29th snowfall

Poor Clares Celebrate the Transitus of the Death of St. Francis of Assisi -800 years ago

Father Peter Cebulka celebrated Mass for us on the Feast of Saint Francis and joined in a festive meal with us

In a simple but beautiful Prayer Service, we here at the Monastery, celebrated quietly the memorial of the death of St. Francis.

We included you in our thoughts, prayers and our hearts.

Happy Feast of Saint Francis.

Sister Miriam celebrated her 50th year of entrance to the Poor Clare way of life, September 24,1961-2011

The contemplative life, which St. Clare of Assisi loved with all her heart,

inspired Sister Miriam

as a young woman to follow her example. Day after day Sister Miriam and those like her,

surrender their will in little things and help to change the world, though unseen by anyone.

Thank you, Sister Miriam ,for your witness to Gospel Values and congratulations from all your Sisters.

Continued quotes on Gertrude von le Fort's book The Eternal woman

Christ does not emerge in a struggle against the cross but on the cross just as love always is triumphant in surrender.

Our weakness is our only strength and our surrender to God's will our only victory.

Surrender to God is the only absolute power with which the creature is endowed and to bring about our salvation all we have to contribute is our readiness to give ourselves absolutely and completely.

Pride or surrender is the tremendous alternative.

Gertrud von le Fort Baroness Gertrude von Lefort (1876–1971) is the author of over 20 books (poems, novels and short stories), honorary Doctor of Theology and «the greatest contemporary transcendent poet». Her works are appreciated for their breath-taking profoundness and virtuosity, beauty and actuality of her ideas, and for the sophisticated refinement of the form. Hermann Hesse, who evaluated her talent, proposed her as a candidate for the Nobel Prize.

Von le Fort was born in Westphalia, Germany, and studied at the Universities of Heidelberg and Berlin. A Protestant of Huguenot descent, von le Fort converted early to Catholicism.

Her novel Die Letze am Schafott (The Last or Song at the Scaffold), by far her most famous work, was the basis for Dialogues of the Carmelites. Set during the time........... of the French Revolution, the von le Fort novel tells the story of a troubled, frightened, and strange girl, Blanche de la Force, who has lived in fear from the moment of her birth. To overcome her affliction, she decides to become a nun of Carmel. Little does she know that she is no safer from fear at this convent than in the secular world.

The character of Blanche was von le Fort’s creation, but the other nuns in the story historical figures. Notice the similarity of "von le Fort" to "de la Force." This was no coincidence: much of Gertrud von le Fort’s inspiration for her novel came from her own experiences during World War II and her hatred of Nazism.

She recorded the origin of her 1931 novel: " The point of departure for my creation was not primarily the destiny of the sixteen Carmelites of Compiègne but the figure of the young Blanche. In a historic sense she never lived, but she received the breath of life from my internal spirit, and she cannot be detached from the origin, which is hers. Born in the profound horror of a time darkened by the signs of destiny, this figure arose before me in some way as the embodiment of the mortal agony of an era going totally to its ruin."

Thoughts and quotes from the book:

Forward: Gertrude von Le Fort addresses the topic of the role of woman in the Salvation of the world which is the battlefield between good and veil, life and death.

Since the Garden of Eden the Evil one and the woman have been in the arena.

We have to look on the positive place of woman and not the negative aspect of womanhood.

Her privileges:

1: Her body is not from dust but from the flesh of a human person.

2: She is called "Mother of Life."

3: That the female womb would one day be a tabernacle for the Holy One

It is Mary, the Mother of God, who teaches that receptivity-total openess to God's word-is the royal road to holiness.

To Be continued

In Memory of 9/11 . We at the Monastery join in prayer for all those who died and for those who mourn them.

Friar Mychal Judge, was the first and most famous victim of the World Trade Center attack, and we in the Franciscan Family remember him in prayer and ask him to intercede for us and the World.

We pray for the firefighters, police and first re-sponders who brought comfort the best they could.

We hold you all in prayer.

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened

Franciscorps Visits the Monastery

The Franciscorps , directed by Friars Jim and Rick visited our Monastery so that we could learn about their new ministries and for them to learn our way of life.

All the young men and women are college graduates who have given one year to the service of the Poor.

Our Faith is enriched by their witness

of commitment.

We continue to pray for them.

Capuchin Poor Clares of Wilmington, DE join us to celebrate 800 Years of Clare Heritage

We began our celebration with a prayer service followed by a delicious dinner

prepared by Sisters Fran, Etta, Nelia and Karen.

We had lively discussions at the dinner table about our way of life and everyone went away enriched by the day.

Visitors in August

Friar Frank Walter visit us from Rome.

Father Resti celebrates his 20th anniversary of Ordination to the priesthood with us. Father Peter Cebulka joined in the celebration.

Friar Steve Kluge OFM blesses the grave markers for Sisters Marge and Shirley

Friar Steve blesses the grave markers

during a prayer service in the cemetery of The Poor Clare Sisters in Chesterfield, NJ