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Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa
Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa
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Blog

Friendship with God

7/28/2017

 
There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship. ~ St. Thomas Aquinas
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Friendship is the basis of authentic deeper relationships, including the spousal relationship of a Sister with her Spouse. A woman called by God into spousal union with Him is first called to develop a sincere and affectionate friendship with Him. One does not simply wake up one morning and tell God that you are ready to be His bride - the espousals follows upon the maturation of affectionate, trusting friendship with the God Who Is Love.
St Thomas Aquinas gives us some characteristics of true friendship. First, he states that friendship consists in a mutual affection founded on a communication of goods. In the natural order, a friendship may be based on friends sharing of common interests, while in the supernatural order, this deep relationship is based on the communication of the persons involved. Every baptized Christian is called to render love for Love. Jesus has given the soul His All - He has given His life, labors, merits, His very self for all eternity in a loving plan for our happiness and salvation. In return, we are drawn by a tender attachment to surrender our all - our heart, affections, plans, desires, abilities, and selves to Him in an exchange by which we are the winners!
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St. Thomas continues by stating that for friendship to be perfect, one friend must make all his happiness consist in living with the other. Jesus has amply fulfilled this by the love gift of His very self in the Eucharist, remaining for all time hidden in the tabernacle, His delight is to be with the children of men. Contemplating such a gift, the soul is moved to reply, one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. We desire and choose to leave our heart on the altar with our Eucharistic Love, allowing Him to form us in His image, bearing Him with us when we come and go about our duties, finding our happiness in being united with Him. 
Further, the last of St. Thomas' conditions for authentic friendship is to share, by the deepest sympathy, every pleasure and affliction of the one we love, and have but one heart with him. Christ took our human heart in the Incarnation and made Himself one Heart with us. The heart is the seat of the will, the will the source of love because it is by the movement of the will that one chooses the good of the other, ideally for the other's own sake. Jesus chose our creation, our salvation, and desires our eternal happiness. He has in becoming man taken on all our interests. He feels our sorrows and joys more keenly than we do ourselves and desires that we be united with Him in will that we may take His interests to heart and feel His joys and sorrows as our own.
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Our Lord desires a life of friendship with each of us. He desires to give Himself and to receive us in return,
​to be with us always and to have us with Him always, to share our interests and to have us share His. When this relationship has been well developed and fostered in prayer, for as St. Teresa tells us prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God, He invites some souls to deepen this friendship into a spousal love where this exchange is ratified by vow and expressed in a life of loving contemplation and service as consecrated brides of Christ.
I am all Thine - give me Thy Heart in return!
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​Most Holy Trinity, blessed and the source of all blessedness, bless your sons and daughters
​whom you have called to praise the greatness of your love, your merciful goodness and your beauty...we pray to you for all consecrated persons. Fill their hearts with the deep certainty of having been chosen to love, to praise and to serve. Enable them to savor your friendship, fill them with your joy and consolation, help them to overcome moments of difficulty and to rise up again with trust after they have fallen; make them mirrors of the divine beauty. Give them the courage to face the challenges of our time and the grace to bring to all mankind the goodness and loving kindness of our Savior Jesus Christ." ~ Vita Consecrata, 111

BBQ

7/25/2017

 
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Summer Summons

7/24/2017

 
Through obedience they [consecrated religious] find their deepest configuration to Christ
in the most fundamental expression of His union with the Father in fulfilling His Father's will:
​"I always do what pleases Him" (Jn. 8:29). It is especially through obedience that Christ Himself offers to religious the experience of full Christian freedom.
​~ Essential Elements

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It is in obedience to God that we discover our most profound personal freedom. Each summer presents a unique opportunity for the Sisters to rediscover this profound truth as they are sent out in obedience to fulfill a variety of apostolic missions that are unique to the summer season. The first two weeks of July included excursions to Washington and Oregon as well as well as several events within our diocese, all opportunities to bear witness to Christ and bring those we encounter closer to Him through His Mother.
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Early in the month, several Sisters had the opportunity to assist at Camp 12, the Diocesan camp for students in the 7-9th grades. In continuity with the diocesan efforts to commemorate this 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, the camp was focused on the message of Our Lady, allowing the Sisters to share our Marian charism in a particular way.
At the same time, several other Sisters were sent to participate in the Ignite Your Torch Youth Conference in Lacey, WA, an excellent Catholic conference for high school youth that engages enthusiastic religious men and women from all over the country to share the faith with the conference attendees through a variety of talks, small groups, communal prayer, meals and recreation. The conference generally invites one religious brother or sister or diocesan priest for every 10 attendees so that the young people have plenty of opportunities to ask questions and become familiar with the different vocations. The conference is always centered on the Eucharist and the Sacraments with a strong Marian dimension, but this year the theme of the conference specifically highlighted the message of Our Lady at Fatima and our Sisters' presentations were able to include aspects of the message. One Sister spoke on the value of redemptive suffering while another team of Sisters was able to share about sacramentals and the valuable place they hold in our spiritual lives. The Sisters utilized their experience with sacred music to join with other religious and staff to assist in making the conference prayers and liturgies beautiful and reverent for the glory of God.
Photos by Ignite Your Torch Staff
Each summer for the past four years, the Sisters have been blessed to spend a day with the young ladies attending the Little Flowers Girl's Camp. This year, the theme of the camp was "The Great Hot Air Balloon Race" to Fatima for the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady, so the Sisters spent the day presenting the message of Fatima and its importance in our lives today. They were also able to join Father, the campers and staff for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and a wonderful lunch.
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Several of the Sisters were privileged to join Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Archbishops Alexander Sample and Salvatore Cordileone, our own dear Bishop, Bishop Robert Vasa, and other chant and liturgy experts for a three day immersion in sacred liturgy and Gregorian chant. This year's theme was "The Voice of the Bridegroom" and focused on the liturgy, Church history, and the role of Gregorian chant in the Church. The conference was intellectually, spiritually, and liturgically enriching and our Bishop gave an excellent conference on "The Heart of the Liturgy".
Picture gallery link here
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The Sisters listening to Bishop Vasa speak 
Perhaps the most exciting adventure for the younger Sisters was Magnificat Days, a series of catechetical days for the youth of Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Fort Bragg. The Sisters were again privileged to share the story and message of Fatima with their students through catechetical presentations, music, activities, and prayer.
Full picture gallery of Magnificat days here
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
Mary, Queen of Religious, pray for us!
Mary, Model of Catechists, pray for us!

Perpetual Vows

7/16/2017

 
"By immersing yourselves in the Paschal Mystery of the Redeemer through the consecration of the religious vows, you desire, through the love of total giving, to fill your souls and your bodies with the spirit of sacrifice..." ~ St. John Paul II
Thanks to our dear friend and talented photographer, Gina Lopez of Urban Pilgrim Photography, a gallery of professional photos of Sr. Maria Faustina's Perpetual Profession of Vows is now available here.

We are very grateful to Fr. Raul Lemus who allowed us to use his parish church for the Profession Mass. It was a disappointment to not be able to use our beautiful Cathedral (which was closed due to the almost finished renovation project), but we thank Fr. Lemus and the good people of St. Joseph Parish who welcomed us so warmly.
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Professional Photo Gallery here. ​
Religious profession creates a new bond between the person and the One and Triune God,
in Jesus Christ. This bond develops on the foundation of the original bond that is contained in the Sacrament of Baptism. Religious profession "is deeply rooted in baptismal consecration and is
a fuller expression of it." In this way religious profession... becomes a new consecration: the consecration and giving of the human person to God, loved above all else. The commitment undertaken by means of the vows to practice the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience... is the expression of a total consecration to God and, at the same time, the means that leads to its achievement. This is also the source of the manner proper to consecrated persons of bearing witness and of exercising the apostolate. And yet it is necessary to seek the roots of that conscious and free consecration and of the subsequent giving of self to God as His possession in Baptism, the sacrament that leads us to the Paschal Mystery as the apex and center
of the Redemption accomplished by Christ. ~ Redemptionis Donum, 7

You're Invited!

7/16/2017

 
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Bishop Robert Vasa &
the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa

Invite you to our 6th annual 
barbecue


When: Sunday, July 30, 2017

​at 3pm


Where: The Smith Family Ranch
5390 Washington Street
​Napa, CA 94558
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The favor of your reply is requested by July 20, 2017. 
Please call Carole Duncan at 707-944-9540
​ or send an email to dincan@aol.com for Reservations and or Raffle tickets.
Join us for a fun-filled afternoon ​of fellowship featuring:
  • Barbecue Tri-Tip or Chicken
  • Chili, Salads, and all the trimmings
  • Fine Napa Valley Wines
  • Great Desserts
  • Sparkling conversation
  • Elegant surroundings
  • Games for the Children/petting zoo
  • Raffle Items from the Sisters
  • Raffle (Courtesy of Ignatius Press)
  • Instant Wine Cellar Raffle
    • (3 cases of the finest Napa Valley Wines)
    • $25 per ticket or 5 tickets for $100
  • Cost in advance is $50 per person and $90 per family
  • Cost at the door is $60 per person and $110 per family
​
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The Sisters serving food at the BBQ in 2016
We continue to grow! Please join us in praising God for His blessings
and in helping to raise much needed funds for our community.
​Please invite Family and Friends.
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BBQ 2016

The Eucharist: Heart of the Ecclesial Life

7/10/2017

0 Comments

 
"The Eucharist is the inexhaustible source of fidelity to the Gospel..." ~ St. John Paul II
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"I would like to urge​ all men and women religious to establish an ever more profound communion with Christ by sharing daily in the sacrament which makes him present, in the sacrifice which actualizes the gift of his love on Golgotha, the banquet which nourishes and sustains God's pilgrim people. 'By its very nature', as the Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata affirms, 'the Eucharist is at the center of the consecrated life, both for individuals and communities' (VC 95)....
"The Eucharist is the inexhaustible source of fidelity to the Gospel, for in this sacrament, the heart of ecclesial life, the deep identification and total conformation with Christ to which consecrated persons are called, is completely fulfilled.
'In the Eucharist all forms of prayer come together, the Word of God is proclaimed and received, relationships with God, with brothers and sisters, with all men and women are challenged. It is the Sacrament of filiation, of communion and of mission. The Eucharist, the Sacrament of unity with Christ, is at the same time the Sacrament of Church unity and community unity for the consecrated person' (SA 26)....
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"Brothers and Sisters, let us penetrate the mystery of the Eucharist guided by the Blessed Virgin Mary and following her example! May Mary, Woman of the Eucharist, help all who are called to special intimacy with Christ to participate diligently in Holy Mass and obtain for them the gift of prompt obedience, faithful poverty and fruitful virginity; may she make them holy disciples of Christ in the Eucharist."
~St. John Paul II
​(excerpts from his address to religious February 2, 2005)
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​Mary, Mother of the Eucharist,
Pray for us!

​
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament,
Pray for us!


Mary, Queen, Mother,
​and Model of the Religious Life,
Pray for us!


0 Comments

Contemplation

7/3/2017

 
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Monthly Devotion: Most Precious Blood of Jesus

7/1/2017

 
"For this is my blood of the new testament, which stall be shed form many unto remission of sins."
​ ~ Matthew 26:28

​O precious Blood of Jesus, infinite price paid for the redemption of sinful mankind. O Divine Blood, drink and laver of our souls, standing between us and the Father pleading mercy. 

With all my heart I adore You, sweet Lord, and offer reparation for the insults, outrages and ingratitude, which You continuously receive from human beings, especially those who dare blaspheme the Divine Blood You shed for us.
​
Bless this Blood of Infinite value. Bless the fire of Jesus’ Love who shed it to the last drop for us. Where would I be if not for this Divine Blood that redeemed me? Indeed, Lord, I have drawn if from You to the last drop. What love! Thank You for this saving balm! 
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May every heart, every tongue, now and forever, praise and thank this priceless balm, this saving Blood, this fountain of crimson Mercy welling up from the fountain of infinite Love. Amen.
​
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