For the Sacred Heart

As we celebrate today the solemnity of the Sacred Heart, it is our great joy to share with you the good news of the vestition of Sr. Mary Joseph of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus! She received the Dominican habit this morning and began her novitiate. This next step of formation lasts two years, and is a time of deeper formation in prayer, study and personal growth. As Jesus says in the words of the Gospel acclamation today, “take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29). The gentle yoke of Dominican monastic life can take some getting used to at first (now where do those pins go?) but it is a life of great joy and peace for those who are called in this way.

 

We would just also like to let you know that our Summer 2022 newsletter is now available online, in English and French.

 

Finally, our sisters have been hard at work in the soap workshop over the past few months (and the rest of us have volunteered our noses to test their experiments). We're happy to announce a new "Summer Collection" of soap that will be available July 1 through our online store. You can find out more, and preview the collection, on our handmade soap page.

As the summer begins, may you and your loved ones dwell safely in the love of God. We are praying for you, and hope these days of sunshine bring you joy, rest and peace.

 
Sr. Marie Thomas Lawrie
"See, I make all things new."
 
 

As we celebrate the feast of the Ascension, reflecting on the past six weeks of Easter calls to mind a verse from the Book of Revelation: “See, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). With a relatively late celebration of the Paschal mysteries this year, our feasting of the Resurrection directly coincided with the return of spring to the Upper Squamish Valley. Indoors, we celebrated the Easter liturgy (generously sprinkled with Alleluias), reflected on the beautiful readings of the season, and rejoiced in the new bouquets of seasonal flowers honouring the altar each week. Outdoors, the garden was planted, the trees unfurled their leafs, and the forest was filled once more with songbirds great and small. They have yet to be caught on camera, but this spring around the monastery seems to be graced with a wider variety of forest birds than usual, with Western tanagers and house finches spotted alongside our resident towhees, Steller’s Jays, hermit thrushes and robins. Although the unusually cold weather has put a bit of a damper on the garden, the wild plants rose to the occasion in ways both big (wild dogwood blooming just behind the monastery) and small (diminutive fairy slipper orchids hidden by our creek). In the end, the garden joined the celebration as well with a hard-won first crop of asparagus grown and harvested by one of our novices.

As we enter into a week of retreat in preparation for Pentecost, we wanted to share a few of these moments with you. You are in our hearts and prayers as we join Mary and the apostles in the upper room (Acts 1:13-14) in joyful expectation. We pray that the Holy Spirit will bring you joy and peace this season, and in the summer months to come.

 
 
Sr. Marie Thomas Lawrie
The Presentation of the Lord
 
 

A blessed feast of the Presentation of the Lord to you all, and a very happy World Day of Consecrated Life! Our celebration of the Eucharist on this feast begins with a blessing of candles to illuminate our chapel over the next year. As we sing and praise God, we gave thanks for the gift of Christ, our light, who has come to meet His people. The stories of Simeon and Anna in the Gospel of the Day remind us that hope is at the centre of our lives through our baptism and as consecrated women—the hope that our eyes truly will “see the salvation” that God offers “in the presence of all peoples.” (Lk 2:31). We are reminded that Joseph and Mary react to this unexpected encounter, not with fear or irritation, but with the gift of wonder, as the Jerusalem version of the Bible translates this passage. This year, as we processed into the chapel singing after the blessing of the candles, the snow was just beginning to fall.

Here are a few photographs of our celebration today. May we all wonder at God’s presence among us, and be alert to the unexpected moments to encounter Christ, in prayer and in the faces of our brothers and sisters. We continue to carry you and our world in our prayers this day, and always. God bless.

 
 
Sr. Marie Thomas Lawrie