On the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our dear Sister Imelda Marie of the Resurrection made her first profession as a Nun of the Order of Preachers. The ceremony took place during the Eucharistic celebration presided by Fr. Guy Rivard OP, vicar of Queen of Peace Monastery and in the presence of members of her immediate family. After the proclamation of the Gospel the prioress asked Sister Imelda Marie; “What do you seek?” and she responded, “God’s mercy and yours”. After Fr. Guy’s homely, Sr. Imelda Marie joyously pronounced her profession of vows for three years. Please pray for sister as she continues to follow Jesus in Dominican monastic life for the next three years.
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.
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.
