Friday, September 12, 2008

Holy Hour for New Religious Order

BISHOP ROBERT HERMANN will hold a Holy Hour for Rosalind Moss' new religious order, Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel's Hope, at Saint George Parish in Affton (Gardenville), Missouri, on Sunday, September 14th at 5 p.m. A reception and tour of the Sisters' convent follows the Holy Hour.

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The ladies in their new postulant's habits. Full canonical establishment of the religious order will have to wait until Saint Louis gets a new Archbishop, and then they will be invested in full habits.

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The convent chapel. The convent was built in the early 1950s, and is in the Modern style. I was pleased to see that the building was made of identical materials and similar architecture as is my own house nearby. While plain, the construction quality is superb. There is also plenty of wall space for artwork. Maybe the Sisters would like some photos of area churches?

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One of the cloister's cells.

Address:
4974 Heege Road
Affton, Missouri 63123
Posted by Mark Scott Abeln at 9/12/2008 05:34:00 PM
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15 comments:

  1. Thank you for keeping us posted on this exciting new religious order. Tis grand to witness the birth of new charisms and watch them grow.
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  2. whoa! Why on earth do we need another religious order when there are a multitude that desperately need recruits......seems a little self centered to me!
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  3. Religious orders are responsible for their own recruitment. If a religious order has difficulty finding new members, then perhaps they have unrealistic expectations on the type of person they want. Or perhaps they really don't want new members.

    Rosalind's new community has hundreds of women inquiring for membership.
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  4. Come on Mark "they really don't want new members" are you serious? Perhaps you should send Rosalind over to see the Little Sisters of the Poor in North Saint Louis and ask them if they need new members. Honestly we don't need anymore cloistered sisters we need workers! If you want to see Sisters who model Christ I again encourage you to check those sisters out! Jesus didnt hide in a cell he went among the sick, they unclean, the poor, the non believers!
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  5. Puma,

    There are in fact religious orders that discourage new members, and these include some of the largest. The reformers of these orders decided that their apostolic life was best done by the laity, and they recruit only enough new members to continue the management of the order assets. Notably in schools and hospitals, the bulk of the work is now done by paid employees.

    Rosalind Moss' new religious order is an active order, which will concentrate on evangelism. I have no ability to send her anywhere, but I'm sure that she will want to get to know the wider Catholic community in our area as time goes along.

    A correspondent, who fruitlessly sought out a vocation as a Sister, was ultimately limited by the fact that many religious orders, including the Little Sisters of the Poor (whom you mentioned), have an upper age limit on new members, typically 35 or 40. Rosalind's new order has no such restriction, and indeed is finding many vocation inquiries from women who are otherwise unqualified for the religious life.

    Also, the charisms of many religious orders have been reshaped by the zeitgeist of the 1960s, which is unappealing to many contemporary young women seeking a vocation to the religious life.

    The contemplative religious life is based on the lives of Old Testament prophets, the community of Saint John the Baptist, ancient Jewish monasteries, Jesus' 40 days in the desert, as well as ancient communities of hermits from the first centuries of the Church. You may want to read Perfectae Caritatis, the decree on the adaptation and renewal of religious life from the Second Vatican Council, which reaffirms the contemplative life as honorable, "no matter how pressing the needs of the active apostolate may be".
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  6. I am so excited to see this new order in St. Louis, and pray for their success in evangelization and prayer! Thanks for the pictures... and I'm sure you know someone with pictures of beautiful churches that could get some to the sisters ;-)
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  7. In golf there are those who can quote every rule in the book but who cannot play the game.....Mark you can certainly talk the talk but do you truly walk the walk.
    I know you disagree but a couple hundred foot soldiers doing the "work" of the church in public in my opinion is better than 200 women with a mid life crisis hiding out in a cloisterd order!
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  8. Puma, I think you missed the point made earlier by Mark. The order is an "active order" The sisters will be out on the streets evangelizing about 4 hours a day (walking the walk as you put it). They have public areas of their convent where I understand they plan to teach and counsel people. I assume you are aware that Rosalind Moss is a radio host and speaker at parish retreats around the country and will continue to do so as a sister. This is anything but a shut in contemplative order. I think perhaps you should research the order prior to making such strong statements. They appear to be doing what you criticize them for not doing.
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  9. Puma, I think you missed the point made earlier by Mark. The order is "active order" The will be out on the streets evangelizing about 4 hours a day (walking the walk as you put it). They have public areas of their convent where I understand they plan to teach and counsel people. I assume you are aware that Rosalind Moss is a radio host and speaker at parish retreats around the country and will continue to do so as a sister. This is anything but a shut in contemplative order. I think perhaps you should research the order prior to making such strong statements. They appear to be doing what you criticize them for not doing!
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  10. Puma,

    Prayer is the center of Catholic life, not works. Works follow faith. Do you not believe in the power of intercessory prayer? Do you not believe in the pursuit of personal holiness? Do not contemplatives in community support one another?

    What kind of works do you propose having done, especially if they are not grounded in prayer and contemplation?
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  11. Mark, "grounded in" does not equal "exclusively".
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  12. The exclusively contemplative life goes all the way back to the beginnings of the Church and the Old Testament. The great spiritual writers, founders of religious orders, saints, and the magisterium up to our present day have greatly recommended this form of life.

    Secularists, some Protestants, and many 'practical' people disagree, but perhaps this betrays a materialistic worldview.
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  13. Oh, for goodness sakes! The whether a religious order lives or dies has to do in great part with the Holy Spirit and their obedience to His promptings. It's nonsensical to say "there shouldn't be more orders when so many are dying." Maybe some of the "dying" orders have outlived their purpose, or have NOT been obedient to the spirit and have thus quenched their own flames.

    Every age has its need. The charism of these sisters is deeply about VISIBILITY and EVANGELIZATION - both very important in an increasinly God-deaf and secular, post-modern world.

    I can't believe anyone would complain about a new religious order. So much for the Christian heart of joy and wonder!
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  14. "I know you disagree but a couple hundred foot soldiers doing the "work" of the church in public in my opinion is better than 200 women with a mid life crisis hiding out in a cloisterd order!"

    Oy. There are Marthas and there are Mary's. They both have their job. The contemplatives living the very difficult life of enclosure are not "hiding out." Their prayers support the likes of the active sisters. They're like the powerhouse of prayer that remains fenced off so that they may continue unimpeded. Sorry, Puma, but you seem to have a lot to learn about the purposes and ways of Religious life.
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  15. I don't know much about "blogs" and how they operate, but I want to congratulate Rosalind and her sisters for having the courage, etc. to establish their new order. It sounds great!We all need to be open to whatever new orders God wants established. After all, it is HIS church, He sees the overall picture and knows what He wants done and how best to do it. I'm happy for them. May many blessings come their way.
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