Sacred Stones, Sacred Stories

Sister Rita Clair (left), volunteer Sarah and Sister Cathleen Marie attended the Church of Ascension’s annual Marketplace held in Overland Park, Kan., and sold handcrafted soaps and lotions from Monastery Creations.

This is a wonderful way our Sisters can meet and greet our customers! You can also shop online at www.MonasteryCreations.com….but it doesn’t smell as good.

Photo credit: Kate Hodel/MO Source Link

St. Benedict instructs us to follow a life filled with Ora et Labora, Work and Prayer. Handcrafting products for Monastery Creations is a large part of that, so we are always grateful for extra hands, especially at our smallest community, San Benito Monastery in Dayton, Wyo.

Recently, Jane Medved and her sister, Susann, helped Sisters Hope and Regina label 320 jars of arnica salve.

Arnica is a flower that is only found in the mountains. Sister Hope and Jean and Jim McCabe helped pick the flowers on a Sunday afternoon. On the following Thursday, Sister Hope, Sister Josetta, Barbara Ransbottom and Jean picked hundreds more!

Arnica is used for pain and inflammation. Sister Hope handcrafts it into salve, each year increasing production. You can learn more about this wonderful product here.

Sister Dawn serves as a General Councilor for our Congregation, is the director of development and also heads our correspondence department.

When she’s not doing all of those things – or in prayer – she enjoys being crafty. And not just being creative but doing so in a way that helps keep our beautiful earth green.

We are thrilled to introduce her line of Faerie Flowers!

These cute little things can be magnets, adorable hair clips or window hangers to catch the sunlight on a beautiful day.

And want to know a secret? These beautiful pieces are handcrafted from recycled plastic soda bottles!

If you find your way to our monastery in Clyde, Mo., you’ll find them in the gift shop. As always, you can find all sorts of wonderful items made by monastic hands at our online shop, Monastery Creations. Handcrafted soaps, lotions, scrubs, salves, religious books, greeting cards and much more!

Sister Rita (left) visits with Sister Laurentia in our altar bread department

This week, the Small Business Administration is hosting National Small Business Week with a conference in Washington, D.C. to recognize and support all those who help make America great!

First and foremost, we are monastics with a distinct dedication to the Eucharist and offer the world our ministry of prayer. In order to do that effectively, we employ several works that support our contemplative life.

Our vow of conversatio (which predates the more recognizable vow of poverty) includes a commitment to embrace all of monastic life as a path to holiness and conversion. This includes poverty and a simplicity of life. So, no, we’re not striving to become Donald Trump. But we still need to provide a roof over our heads and food for our table.

Prayerfully Popped: Corn from the Cloister

Like most monastic orders, we are not funded by local dioceses. Instead, we persevere through sound business planning and common sense. We routinely laugh, “Marketing budget? What marketing budget?” when advertising representatives suggest multi-thousand-dollar campaigns. Instead we rely on quality goods and great customer service to brand our businesses.

ScriptSure Ink and Toner

As a small business, we also strive to support our fellow monastics. We offer wholesale altar bread services to many religious orders so they too may sell a quality product tied to their charism, enabling them to keep their doors open during these trying times.

Monastery Creations, handcrafted soaps, lotions and salves

Whether you’re buying altar breads, handcrafted salves and soap with a drop of holy water, gourmet popcorn, recycled ink/toner cartridges or liturgical vestments, your purchase directly supports our Sisters and their monastic goals.

Liturgical Vestments and Linens

So please join us in celebrating all small businesses this week and throughout the year!

Planning a wedding and looking for that special gift to share with friends and family to honor your magical day?

Let Sister Cathleen Marie create a personalized and unique gift for you! These beautifully packaged favors can be personalized with your name and wedding colors.

Choose the fragrance of your soap, which includes all-natural ingredients and even a drop of holy water and prayer to bless your new life together.

Learn more at our online shop, Monastery Creations.

It is with sincere gratitude we thank all those who purchase gifts we make – you help support our life of prayer for you and for the world.

Sister Cathleen Marie (aka the Soap Sister) delights in the wonderful smells with which her handcrafted soaps fill the air.

If you’re looking for a sweet gift for someone special, please visit us at www.monasterycreations.com. We have several types of handcrafted soaps, lotions and salves in tons of pleasing scents for men and women. Looking for something really special? Check out Sister Cathleen Marie’s soaps that include a drop of holy water.

Several of our Sisters who make handcrafted gifts have been very busy this holiday season! That includes our San Benito Sisters in Dayton, Wyo., and Sister Cathleen Marie in Clyde, Mo. Many thanks to our volunteers who help prepare the gifts for delivery.

Gift boxes are very popular, in several sizes, offering a variety of items.

As always, all our gifts are made by monastic hands while we pray for those who use them. Thank you for helping us celebrate this very special time in our monastery and welcoming us into your homes and hearts.

After the devastating storm last month, casualties included the soap molds Sister Cathleen Marie uses for Monastery Scents handcrafted soap. Hail blew out the shop windows and left the molds covered with shattered glass and water.

A friend connected Sister Cathleen Marie with John Monjar, a woodworker in nearby Maryville, Mo. John was a blessing! He donated his time and materials to make new molds for Sister Cathleen Marie!

Sister Cathleen Marie admires the new soap molds crafted and donated by a local woodworker after hers were damaged in the storm.

Sister Cathleen Marie only needed 20, but John made 30! So she’s busy creating new shelving for the extra molds.

We are so grateful to John for his craftsmanship and compassion. We are so very blessed! Read more about Sister Cathleen Marie’s thoughts on the storm and of John’s gift by clicking here.

Sister Cathleen Marie demonstrates the hot process of soapmaking

On Monday, Sister Cathleen Marie and Sister Judy, the force behind Monastery Scents, hosted a group interested in learning about the soapmaking process.

The group of nine men, women and one child arrived with Betsy Keenan and Brian Terrell, oblates and friends of the Clyde, Missouri, community, who have been hosting a craft retreat at their Catholic Worker community in Iowa.

Sister Cathleen Marie, who uses industrial vats and mixers for her own soapmaking, demonstrated the process on a lesser scale in order to show how retreatants can copy the methods on their own by using common household appliances.

They spent the day learning the differences between cold and hot process soapmaking, types of fragrances and ingredients that are used, how Sister Cathleen Marie began making handcrafted soap 10 years ago and the story behind her addition of holy water to each batch.

Sister Judy demonstrated how she makes the shea butter lotion.

Betsy Keenan remarked how excited the retreatants were to learn about the process of making handcrafted soap. She asked them, “Are you empowered to make your own soap?” Several nodded “yes” with excitement. They left with samples of lotions and soaps, hopefully inspired to create their own in the near future. We had such a great time sharing this ministry!

Sister Rita (left) and Sister Cathleen Marie at the Good Shepherd Festival

Our Sister Rita and Sister Cathleen Marie had a great day yesterday at  the “Shoppers Showcase” hosted by the Good Shepherd parish in Shawnee, Kansas.

Thanks to everyone! What a delight it was also to see good friends.

To learn more about the products sold at the festival, please check our online store at http://www.monasterycreations.com/.

Find something special for the one you love

Looking for something a little different than the usual flowers and chocolate?

Check out these lovely Valentine’s Day gifts made by our San Benito Sisters! Choose from soaps, luxurious lotions, lip balm, candles, peppermint foot lotion and Grandma salve for burns and cuts (great for those who spend a lot of time in the kitchen).

For more information or to order a gift, please click here.