First Profession of Sr. Mary Joseph
 
 

Dear friends,

On the Solemnity of John the Baptist (June 24), it was our community's great joy to celebrate the first profession of Sr. Mary Joseph of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, O.P. The consecration took place within the Eucharist of the feast, which was celebrated by our chaplain, fr. Pierre Leblond O.P., and Fr. Andrew L'Heureux, sister's parish priest from Our Lady of the Mountains in Whistler. Many of her local family members were able to be present for the occasion. As she begins these three years of temporary profession, please join us in giving thanks to God for Sr. Mary Joseph's vocation, and praying for her joyful perseverance.

God bless,
your sisters of Queen of Peace Monastery

 

Profession of the vows.

Receiving the black veil of a professed nun.

“What do you seek?” “God’s mercy and yours.”

Blessing.

 
 

Rejoice!

 
Sr. Marie Thomas Lawrie
Summer Newsletter
 
 

Summer has arrived here in the Upper Squamish Valley, and so has our summer newsletter! So much has happened over the last few months, including the vestition of novice Sr. Dominica Maria and the opening of our new workshop building. In past weeks, sisters have seen bears, a cougar and elk on our property, and we are awaiting the annual arrival of the tree swallows who love to soar just outside our chapel windows.

Significantly, the beginning of summer also marks an important advance in our search for land to build retreatant accommodations and a permanent chaplain's residence outside our monastic enclosure. We cannot share too many details yet, but suitable land has become available for purchase, and we particularly ask your prayers for this intention over the next month. If you or someone you know would be able to help us financially in this project, we would deeply appreciate hearing from you at this time. As we explain in the newsletter, this next phase of development is urgently needed as our community continues to mature and receive vocations. We pray daily for all our benefactors and collaborators, both spiritual and material. 

Over the past 24 years of our monastery's presence in British Columbia, we have seen time and again how God is truly "watching over His word to bring it about" (Jer 1:12). As we prepare to celebrate our 25th anniversary of foundation next year, we place our trust in His providence once more. We continue to hold you and your loved ones in our prayers.

God bless,
your sisters at Queen of Peace Monastery

P.S. If you are a paper newsletter subscriber, the letters are mailed and should reach your physical mailbox soon. If you aren't, it's easy to sign up here. We send the letters twice a year, and promise not to share your contact information with anyone.

 

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains: from where shall come my help? My help shall come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." + Psalm 121

 
Sr. Marie Thomas Lawrie
Happy Easter!
 

The sharing of light at the Easter Vigil

“The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness shall never overcome it”
— John 1:5
 

Dear friends,

As we celebrate this beautiful feast of Christ's Resurrection, we would like to wish you a very happy Easter! As the 50 days of this Paschal season unfold, each new day brings reason to search for the holy joy and peace we are promised in Christ. Jesus's presence and victory over death might not always be immediately obvious in our lives or in our world: St. Mary Magdalen mistook the risen Lord for the cemetery's gardener (Jn 20:5), other disciples thought Him rather clueless pilgrim (Lk 24:18), and St. Paul had to reassure the early Christians that their hope in Christ was for more than "this life only" (1 Cor 15:19). Yet, as the Prologue of John proclaims, "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness shall never overcome it" (Jn 1:5). In the monastery, we place our lives on this hope and faith. As we live out the Paschal mystery through our baptism and vows, we are then able to witness to this hope for others, most particularly through our community's public celebration of the liturgy.

Our Easter Vigil this year was graced with clear and star-filled skies, and we were happy to welcome many guests for our liturgies throughout the Triduum. One young woman from the city actually camped further up the Valley in order to be near and participate more fully in our monastery's celebration of the Triduum. Such dedication, and testimonies of guests' encounters with the Lord in our chapel, offers us encouragement and hope as we continue to pray for suitable land on which to build a new guesthouse for monastic hospitality and retreatants. We hope to be able to share more on this in our upcoming summer newsletter, and ask your continued prayers for this intention.

Please be assured of our daily prayers for you and your loved ones, and for all the beautiful prayer intentions that you send to us. May the Risen Lord grant us peace in our days, and increase our confidence that His "love is stronger than death" (Song 8:6-7).  

God bless,
your sisters of Queen of Peace Monastery

 
 
Sr. Marie Thomas Lawrie