Sacred Stones, Sacred Stories

If you live in or will be visiting near our Tucson, Arizona, monastery, please consider joining our Sisters this holiday season.

 

Monday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve

8 a.m. – Lauds

9 a.m. – Eucharist

Noon – Day Hour

7 p.m. – Solemn Vespers

Tuesday, Dec. 25, Christmas Day

8 a.m. – Lauds

9 a.m. – Eucharist

12:15 p.m. – Day Hour

5:30 p.m. – Vespers

Wednesday, Dec. 26, St. Stephen

8 a.m. – Lauds

9 a.m. – Eucharist

Noon – Day Hour

5:30 p.m. – Vespers

Thursday, Dec. 27, St. John the Evangelist

7:30 a.m. – Lauds

Noon – Day Hour

5 p.m. – Eucharist

7 p.m. – Vespers

Friday, Dec. 28, Holy Innocents

7:30 a.m. – Lauds (No Vigils)

Noon – Day Hour

5 p.m. – Eucharist

7 p.m. – Vespers

Saturday, Dec. 29, Octave of Christmas

7 a.m. – Lauds

8 a.m. – Eucharist

Noon – Day Hour

5:30 p.m. – Vespers

Sunday, Dec. 30, Holy Family

8 a.m. – Lauds

9 a.m. – Eucharist

Noon – Day Hour

6 p.m. – Vespers

Monday, Dec. 31, Renewal Day

8 a.m. – Lauds

9 a.m. – Eucharist, Adoration until Holy Hour

5 p.m. – First Vespers of Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

7 p.m. Holy Hour New Year’s Eve

For more information about these events, please contact our Tucson Sisters at (520) 325-6401 or Sister Lupita at barajasosb@gmail.com. For directions to our Tucson monastery, please visit us online.

 

 

Our Sister decorators did a lovely job in decorating for our celebration of Christ’s birth.

The chapel’s altar was aglow in red and gold, and pine branches surrounded red candles along the tops of our choir stalls.

 

The monastery itself took on a holiday flavor as some pieces of a Christmas past or a new gift was set up and decorated.

 

It all is a lovely sight to behold as we celebrate in grand style the coming of Our Savior.  We pray you celebrate God’s gift of Love Incarnate with your loved ones, and may we all pray for peace, the peace that God inaugurated more than 2,000 years ago.

The Birth of Christ as told in Luke 2

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Wishing you and your family great joy, safe travels, time with friends and with Christ.

Forty-five years ago, our dear Sister Dolores penned this Christmas reflection, which appeared in an issue of Spirit&Life magazine. Its beautiful sentiment remains true to this day.

My love shall never leave you… (Is. 54:10)

It will soon be Christmas, Lord, and I’m not ready!

Every year it comes too quickly and I want to say: slow down.

Why is each Christmas so elusive?

When I was a child I used to dream that I’d missed it, missed Your birthday, and I’d wake up crying.

I still feel that way sometimes: that I’m missing what Christmas really means.

But do any of us really understand? Can we?

You are the eternal Son of the eternal Father.

And without losing Your eternity, you are also the Son of Mary, born in time.

You are one of us forever.

You weren’t loaned to us by a grudging God who quickly snatched You back to His heaven.

You were given to us by a prodigal Father who wants His heaven full of children.

In the Old Testament this Father spoke to us in different ways.

The prophets spoke His message with a fire that still burns in the pages of Scripture.

But in You the Father has spoken His last word, his final, irrevocable word.

In You He has said all He has to say.

He has said to a world that is cold and dark and hungry and poor: I love you. I will always be with you.

The Father has given You to us to prove His age-old love.

He has given You to us so that we can know Him – know Him by heart.

You came to us a tiny child: You, the infinite God.

Wherever You wanted to go then, Mary’s arms had to carry You.

Whatever You needed then, her love had to provide.

And that was the pattern of Your whole life.

You accepted all our limitations.

You were as confined, as tired, as bothered, as neglected and as unappreciated as we often find ourselves to be.

You didn’t change these things. You accepted them.

All of You: body and soul, mind and heart, was engaged in the adventure of life.

And in that life You are God’s answer to the doubts that sometimes grip us when we think of all the evil and misery in the world.

You are His continued ‘Yes’ to His creation.

In You He says that He has not made a mistake with us!

That He will never give us up.

Because in You we are forever His own.

You have come into our world.

You have accepted its conditions.

As one of us You conquered in Your failure.

And You gave us the power to conquer even in failure and suffering, mostly in failure and suffering.

You are ours, for You have never left us.

The child in the stable, the man on the cross, the Lord in high heaven.

They are the same. They are Yourself.

You came the first time as savior.

You always come as savior.

Then, come, Lord Jesus!

Come, even though I’m not ready, even though I don’t understand.

Come this Christmas, come to save us.

Come, light the candles in our hearts, the candles that never burn out.

Because of the renovations to our Clyde monastery and the space and parking constrictions that brings, we will not host a public Christmas Eve Mass this year.

We will keep all in our prayers and hope to see you in 2011 after the renovations are completed!