Walking the Way of the Cross with Christ is one of the most beautiful devotions of the Lenten season. Each Friday afternoon, the sisters gather in the convent garden to make the Stations of the Cross together. We take turns selecting the set of Stations reflected upon, enriching our communal prayer by sharing our favorite meditations. Below are a few excerpts:

Traditionally, Ember days are three days of special prayer and penance offered to God by the Church in thanksgiving for the graces of the previous season and imploring Him for an increase of grace for the new season. They occur four times a year, corresponding to the four natural changes of season. From antiquity, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday have been observed by Christians as days of fast and penance - Wednesday to compassionate Christ in His betrayal, Friday to honor the death of Christ, and Saturday to join with Our Sorrowful Mother in waiting for the Resurrection. The Ember days are observed the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the third week of Advent, the first week of Lent, the week after Pentecost, and mid-September. Pope St. Leo the Great considered the Ember days to be of Apostolic origin. A few links for further reading about Ember days here, here, and here.

​We might think of the Ember days as our quarterly spiritual check-ups, a time to ask ourselves, "How is my spiritual life really doing? Is there something that I should be doing that I am not? Or something that I am doing, but need to renew my effort and intention?" As the spring Ember days fall in Lent, a period already devoted to prayer and penance, we might find it helpful to spend these days reflecting on why we are disciplining ourselves: to enter more fully into union with Christ, our Crucified Savior. In keeping with the tradition of the Church, the sisters observe these days as days of abstinence and special prayer. Prayer for priests (our specialty!) is particularly encouraged because Ember Saturdays were customarily days for the conferral of Holy Orders. ​

​Lent, the season of 'bright sadness' as the Eastern tradition calls it, has begun. The Liturgy of the Church on the First Sunday of Lent focuses on the temptation of Christ in the desert in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Latin Rite. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this mystery of Christ's life:

Today is the first of the Lenten Ember days. These seasonal days of penance and abstinence help us to remember to thank God for the graces we have received and to implore further graces for the new season. Let us pray particularly that this Lent we may receive the grace to perfectly fulfill the Father's will.