Sacred Stones, Sacred Stories

Welcome to our Sacred Stones, Sacred Stories blog site. Through it we hope to post updates on our monastery renovation project so you can follow its progress from beginning to end.

Click here to read Sr. Pat’s welcome

News of our chapel being open is making its way around the neighborhood. This past Sunday we had about 10 friends and neighbors join us for Eucharist.  As one stated, “It is so good to be back here. We have missed you.”

The guests bless our new entry way as they make their way to the antique highboy to sign the guestbook and then walk the few steps to our Adoration Chapel.

The desk behind these two friends was specially crafted by local Amish folks. Thanks to the generosity of our friends and employees, it is now in place and ready to be put to use. Our hope is that you can join us one of these days too.

Many thanks to the University of Arizona for its recent feature on our new gourmet popcorn business, Prayerfully Popped.

We are overjoyed that our partnership with the University’s business students has allowed us to serve as mentors in helping them develop their professional careers. In turn, they bless us with their enthusiasm and intelligence.

This beautiful vestment was inspired by our Sister Carmela, whose lovely icon of the Good Shepherd graces the back.

This was lovingly handcrafted for a priest in Illinois. Learn more about our vestments department and all the many types of liturgical items we make by visiting us online here.

Not only did we turn the calendar to a new year, but we also have new carpeting in several places where the glass from the storm in August made it unsafe to keep the old.

The new is speckled with bits of color.  With our new roofs, new siding and new windows, things are looking up.  We lift up our voices to praise God for all the blessings.

It was our honor to be a part of the Fourth Degree Exemplification* of the Knights of Columbus held Jan. 13-15 in Tucson, Ariz.

These dear friends included information about our Congregation in their convention program and invited our Tucson Sisters to speak at the Knights of Columbus Ladies Luncheon. Sister Patricia shared about our new gourmet popcorn venture, Prayerfully Popped, and Sister Lupita shared about our life.

As always, we thank the Lord for the friendship of these wonderful friends!

*The Fourth Degree is the visible, patriotic arm of the Knights of Columbus. The emblem is done in the colors of the U.S. flag and stresses the principle of the 4th degree, patriotism.

Two old window frames have been given new life in our entry way. The window frames are now niches in which statues of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica stand, guiding us and all our guests into the chapel.

The niches are framed out in wood detail and are light from above. The niches add beauty to this space and shows St. Benedict with his cup, raven and crosier…

…while St. Scholastica has The Rule and her crosier. A dove is perched on her arm.

A crosier is a symbol of monastic authority as each was an abbot and abbess respectively. The cup, raven, Rule and dove are significant to the story of Saints Benedict and Scholastica. Do you know their story?

When life gives you oranges….you make juice!

Twenty-five members of the Knights of Columbus and their families joined our Tucson, Ariz., Sisters last week for the annual picking and juicing of the oranges collected from our orchard. The KOC has been assisting us with the harvest for about the past seven years.

This year’s freeze made the crop smaller than usual, but we still had plenty to share with the monks at St. David’s, the Trappistine Sisters in Sonoita, Casa Maria and the Knights of Columbus.

We are grateful to God’s bountiful blessings!

When someone makes the sign of the cross it lets everyone know that they are Christian, more accurately, that they are Catholic.

Crosses on buildings are seen as signs of belief in Christ and are usually atop places of worship.

Our monastery has several crosses, but we were recently gifted with one more for the roof over the new entry! It is a lovely gift from four companies who worked with us on our renovation project.

We are grateful for the thoughtfulness and generosity of Hercules Construction Management, Straka Johnson, Architects and Conlon Construction Company and Design Engineers. May those who seek Christ find their way to our door and be welcomed.

20+C+M+B+12

These symbols, representing the Epiphany, were written on several door jambs last night as we walked the halls of our monastery and sought God’s blessings on the sacred spaces and our doings in the rooms.

The chapel, refectory, our guest spaces and offices, the new entry way, the kitchen and our formation area, our bedrooms and recreation areas and our chapter room were all blessed in this old ritual using blessed chalk, then holy water and finally incense.

The C, M and B originally represented the three wise men who followed the star and came seeking the Child Jesus. Today these letters represent Christ, Monastery and Blessed. The 20 and 12 represent the year, encapsulating the blessing.

Each Epiphany we repeat the ritual. Some doors hold the remains of several years’ markings; this year some door jambs are being marked for the first time.