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St. Francis' Love of Neighbor
On October 4th we will celebrate the Solemnity of our Holy Father St. Francis. In order to prepare for this great celebration, during these next few weeks I have been sharing a series of reflections...
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Sarah on Retreat
Blessed Feast of our Father St. Francis! It is a beautifully sunny autumn day in Virginia, a truly wonderful day to sing the praises of God for His creation in the spirit of our Seraphic Father....
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Dear Sarah, in the future you will be called....
Sister Veronica Mary of the Wounds of Christ! Our new novice's patroness is a Capuchin Poor Clare who was greatly devoted to the Passion of Christ and who herself bore His wounds by a mystical grace.
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Pictures of Sr. Veronica taken by her Family
Find more pictures of our beautiful new novice by visiting this blog administered now by her family:Seeking Perfect Joy
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More Pictures of New Novice Sister Veronica
It is wonderful seeing another white veiled novice running around barefoot in our monastery! She is doing quite well learning the ins and outs of wearing the Holy Habit. Here are a few more pictures...
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Organ-izing Postulants and a Nun Run
Ever since our Postulant Sarah became novice Sister Veronica Mary, Phoenixhas been our one and only postulant. That is until last Wednesday on the feast of the great contemplative St. Teresa of Avila,...
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Poor Clare Fall Garden Update
Autumn comes slowly to our neck of Virginia, so while some areas in the north or the mountainous west are ablaze with end of season color, we are careful to note our individual trees beginning to show...
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Halloween Poor Clare Style
All Hallow’s Eve, better known as Halloween, is kept by us Poor Clares as a penance vigil day in preparation for the great Solemnity of All Saints. But a few days ago, Mother Abbess and the novitiate...
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Our Postulant Phoenix has a twin sister, Cheyenne. She has made application to join us! Here is her latest Youtube video on her vocation:
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Sister Veronica Reflects on Her Investiture
After a novice's investiture ceremony, she writes a letter to some of our monasteries to share her thoughts on this big day in her life. Here is an excerpt from Sister Veronica's letter:The feast of...
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Sunset Blue
Unlike many people, I do not have a favorite color, though in accordance with my choleric personality, I do tend to lean toward the warm tones of yellow, orange and red. Dramatic sunsets that blaze...
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Worthy is the Lamb!
Blessed First Sunday of Advent which also happens to be the very last day of November! During the last week of the liturgical year we have been daily fed at Holy Mass with readings from the book of...
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St. Nickolas Novitiate Workshop
One of the great things about being a Franciscan is that our charism includes in its spiritual genes a childlike simplicity. Such is evident in our yearly celebration of the feast of St. Nicholas....
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Before Her True Image
Advent is always a Marian season, but never more so than in the week we celebrate two of her great feasts. Last Monday we contemplated our Immaculate Mother, patroness of our Country, our Poor Clare...
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Pre-Christmas at Bethlehem Monastery
Poor Clares do not decorate for Christmas until the very last minute, or just about! On Saturday, the novitiate went out with wheel barrows, clippers and saws to cut our evergreens for Decorating Day,...
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Christmas at Bethlehem Monastery of Poor Clares 2014
Here are some Christmas Scenes from around Bethlehem MonasteryOur Choir SanctuaryNativity Scene in Our Cloister CourtyardNativity Scene in our Monastic RefectoryStairwell DecorationsLooking into the...
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Together again: Cheyenne Joins her Twin Sister Phoenix in the Cloister
Aspirant Cheyenne and Postulant Phoenixwith their parents and two sisters“They came to offer in sacrifice a pair of turtle doves…”This verse, taken from the story of the presentation of the Lord in the...
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To End the Christmas Season---A Poor Clare Christmas Story
On Holy Innocents Day (a special novitiate feastday in the octave of Christmas) the Circus Minimus of BethlehemMonastery presented a one act play named “A Broken Destiny”, written by Novice Sister...
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Aspirant Cheyenne
Our new aspirant Cheyenne is all of two weeks old, going on three! She pretty much knows where she is going and what she is doing, but sometimes still needs a little help from her big sisters. Her...
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Crystal Rain
Coming from New England, I am always amazed at Virginia's weather although I have lived here since entering our monastery over thirty years ago. Winter in the Old Dominion is particularly fascinating....
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