Newsletter

+Peace and blessings

Our dear Friends,          
            “Totality” has been in the news quite a bit this year, as anticipation of the solar eclipse built to a climax across the nation. Although the many eclipse-related articles used the word in its specific astronomical meaning, “totality” also accurately describes the goal to which all Franciscans aspire: living (as the dictionary puts it) “to the highest degree possible”, giving “the whole of something”; and that “something” is our very selves. Geographically speaking, we weren’t in the path of totality for the eclipse, but we do have family members and friends who were willing to travel hundreds of miles to get there. And now as we gaze back over the past year – a feat which doesn’t require special glasses! – we can see that it’s always worth going many an extra mile to get into the path of spiritual totality. Having come to the monastery to give God our “all”, we know from daily experience that walking the path of totality day by day is the only way to achieve that goal.
            Even before the excitement about the eclipse began, Brother Sun had already featured prominently in our community’s attention last AUGUST, when another eclipse (or at least a few clouds) would have been a welcome sight. The days of 100+ degree temperatures followed one another without respite, and the days stretched into weeks, resulting in a record-breaking heat wave. Mother Abbess got to experience an even rarer and more memorable heat wave during the days of her federal visitation in our Chicago daughterhouse, where she was a given a very “warm welcome” indeed, and not only by our loved sisters. During her brief visit, the heat index rose higher than it had for decades – resulting in a most satisfyingly eyebrow-raising story to tell once she returned home.  But even that summer’s heat couldn’t match the flame of love already kindled within our hearts, for Mother had announced on July 14 the glad tidings that our Sister Antonia’s first profession would take place on November 1. Our elder novice’s smile became even more radiant than usual after that, and together with her, we joyously began remote preparations for her wedding day on the feast of All Saints. 
            Beginnings in the Poor Clare life are marked by the desire for a totality in giving, while the ending of every Poor Clare’s earthly journey is a radiant witness to what that totality looks like. In SEPTEMBER our focus was on our beloved Sister Mary Juanita of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who had patiently suffered from leukemia for many years, and was now approaching the threshold of her ultimate journey to our heavenly homeland. The entire community was present around her bed in the infirmary when her Bridegroom finally came to gather her totally into His waiting arms on the afternoon of September 22, just as we completed the Divine Mercy chaplet and the prayers for the dying. It was truly a “moment of totality” to be held to the heart. Since Sister Juanita had always cherished a special love for astronomy, we feel certain that our all-loving Lord soon granted her a special view of the universe from the “other side”. At least, the tiny smile that appeared on her face shortly after she drew her final breath gave us a hint that she was already experiencing something far more stunning than any view of the heavens that can be had here on earth.
            The unexpected and sorrowful events of OCTOBER 7 and the resultant conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza served to focus our prayers on the Holy Land and the people suffering so greatly in the ever-escalating situation.  Thankful for the safety and peace we still enjoy in our own nation, we sent Mother Abbess off with great trust in God’s protection on her travels, this time to our sister-house in Kokomo, Indiana, the latest stop on Mother’s list of federal visitations. Our sisters there outdid themselves on the last day of her stay, with a surprise anticipatory celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of our Roswell foundation. Besides delighting us through their ingenious love and gifts, they also gave us plenty of ideas for how to celebrate Kokomo’s own seventy-fifth anniversary in return, just a few years from now!
            The month of NOVEMBER opened gloriously with the first profession of Sister Maria Antonia of the Holy Wounds of Jesus. The Most Reverend Peter Baldacchino, bishop of our diocese of Las Cruces, was principal celebrant at the Holy Mass on All Saints’ Day and officiated at the profession of vows. Father Daniel Cardó, Sister’s former pastor, arrived from Denver less than twenty-four hours before and had to leave just as quickly afterward; but his fatherly presence was greatly appreciated as Sister Antonia pronounced her vows and received the black veil of a spouse of Christ. Our communal joy was further augmented by happy preparations for the great day of our seventy-fifth anniversary of foundation, which was to follow so soon afterward on November 13. As we thanked God for all the Poor Clares whose whole-hearted fidelity and love had laid the foundation for our little farmhouse monastery in 1948, it was especially beautiful to have a brand-new junior sister to ensure that the original vision of our foundresses will live on. His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, a long-time friend of our community, celebrated the magnificent Mass of Jubilee; the chapel was certainly packed to “totality”, and the long line of visitors after the Mass kept us greeting friends for nearly an hour and a half that morning. The presence of friends who had traveled from sundry distant points of the country simply to express their gratitude for our life was a great joy for our community. Cardinal Burke himself graciously spent three days with us, gifting us with spiritual conferences, answering our many questions, and even taking a tour of the garden. His Eminence’s 75^th birthday year coincided with our 75^th anniversary year, so we seized the opportunity to celebrate both occasions during these days. The depth of our love and esteem for our dear Cardinal cannot be expressed fully, but we tried our little best with a table of homemade gifts and even a homemade birthday cupcake (topped with a “7” and a “5” candle) much to his surprise and our delight.
            After so much festivity, there was a special joy in welcoming the hush of liturgical Advent at the beginning of DECEMBER. This year marked the 800^th anniversary of that Christmas when our Holy Father Francis wanted to “see it as it really was”, creating on Mount Greccio what was to become known as the forerunner of the familiar present-day Christmas crèche. The Order of Friars Minor had opportunely petitioned the Holy See for a plenary indulgence for anyone who might visit a Franciscan chapel and manger scene during the period between December 8, 2023, and February 2, 2024, and this prompted us to erect our own manger scene a little ahead of time this year, so that we would have the opportunity to take “total” advantage of this great gift of Holy Mother Church. 
            One beautiful aspect of monastic life is our ability to celebrate in its totality the entire Christmas season. While much of the world calls Christmas “finished” before the completion of the octave, we were just getting warmed up for the Christmastide celebration of the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus on JANUARY 3. Not only is this beautiful feast the “name day” of Our Lord, this year it also marked fifty years of totally-given Poor Clare living by our Mother Mary Angela of the Holy Name of Jesus, who received her name along with the holy habit on January 3, 1974. The golden glow of the day held promise of more golden festivities in the near future, as Mother’s fiftieth anniversary of religious profession will occur in 2025. 
            Two of our sisters experienced “totality” in a different way this spring, embarking on the adventure of total knee replacement surgery. With our first sister heading to the hospital in FEBRUARY, the rest of the community needed to adjust itself to fill her charges during her rehabilitation, while also rearranging other responsibilities so that no one had too much to carry. “O carry one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ,” sings one of our antiphons, and it became the theme song of a Lent spent striving for totality in community-mindedness and generous service. 
            Just to make life even more interesting than usual, another long-awaited replacement – that of the “totality” of our choir hall flooring – commenced in MARCH. Anyone uninitiated in the floor plan of our monastic home might not grasp right away how crucial this one hall is to our daily routine. After not having access to the hall for over a week, we ourselves understand that a little more fully now! This hall, connecting choir to refectory, is our one-and-only processional route for our daily repasts, and there is no other way to access the refectory without going upstairs and downstairs again – a feat no longer possible for several of our elders. However, some practical and creative ingenuity produced a solution. Fortunately, a number of years ago we had an outdoor ramp installed around the perimeter of our Santa Chiara wing to create handicap access to the building. The weather so graciously remained accommodating, and every day we were able to make our way serenely to the refectory by means of this alternative outdoor route. The workmen thoughtfully laid cardboards each evening on top of the otherwise-impassable torn-up choir hall floor, so we were able to go to Holy Mass as usual every morning undeterred and safe from the elements. Despite several large and time-consuming setbacks in the work, the new flooring was finished in totality before Holy Week began, and we thanked God for a job well done and the gift of patience preserved intact throughout!
            Before we knew it, the time had come for the APRIL solar eclipse, and even our glimpse of about 90% totality gave us the “100% totality” of wonder which is our Franciscan birthright. Mother reworked the schedule (knowing that, in the light of such an exciting occurrence, our main meal of the day could certainly wait) so that we could all watch the most dramatic moments of the eclipse together. Donning the solar sunglasses which Mother Vicaress had carefully stashed away after the previous eclipse, we watched in amazement as the moon, created by our wondrous God to be exactly the right size and exactly the right distance from the earth, slowly covered the sun. Our hearts, already drawn heavenward, were simultaneously marveling that on this year’s liturgical calendar, the transferred feast of the Annunciation had “lined up” just as perfectly with the day of the solar eclipse. Many prayers of thanksgiving filled our hearts as we looked up at the sky and thought upon Our Lady and the Son whom she bore for our salvation. 
            “Totality” is best understood when we gaze upon the Blessed Sacrament, where the perfect fullness of love and divine self-giving are forever present. As pilgrims across the country embarked on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage on MAY 18, our hearts and prayers traveled with them, accompanying our Eucharistic Lord on his journey toward the National Eucharistic Congress to be held in Indianapolis in July. Both JUNE and JULY will find us accompanying our Mother Abbess once again in prayer as she journeys to California for two more visitations, but she will be home again in time for our AUGUST novena to our Mother St. Clare – and by then, the “totality” of our community will have increased by one, after the entrance of Aspirant Maria on June 22. 
            We would like to invite you to join us each night of the novena, either at home via livestream https://youtube.com/@poorclares-roswell or in our public chapel, beginning at 7:30 pm MDT each evening August 2-10. This year we will be blessed with the presence of Fr. Jeremiah Shryock, C.F.R., who will lead the novena prayers and conduct Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. As an extra grace and gift for our seventy-fifth anniversary of foundation, the Holy See has given our Bishop Peter Baldacchino the privilege of bestowing a special papal blessing for our jubilee on all who attend the Mass he will offer here on the first day of the novena, August 2. The Apostolic Penitentiary also granted the immense gift of a plenary indulgence to all who visit our chapel any day of our jubilee year, until November 13, 2024 (or who, unable to do so, desire to gain the plenary indulgence and offer their prayers and sacrifices for that intention). We hope and pray that you, our dear Friends, will take full advantage of these tremendous gifts from the spiritual patrimony of Holy Mother Church, so loved and esteemed by our Holy Father Francis and Holy Mother Clare. As we celebrate her feast on August 11 in this diamond jubilee year of our foundation, may the totality of her ideal find its fullest expression in our lives, as we ever look upward towards that heavenly homeland which we have been promised by the Bridegroom of our hearts.
 
  Gratefully and devotedly, in our Mother St. Clare,                 Your Poor Clare SIsters