A Love That Will Need All The Love You Can Give

So I had my meeting with the Mother Abbess of the Poor Clare Monastery! I won't go into alot of detail, but we talked about finding vocational direction- which, for me, will take quite some time. I also confessed to her that I'm infatuated with the Poor Clares (well, if you can't tell from this blog!) and she agreed with me that I probably am- but she told me that it was alright. What really matters is the feeling that remains when the infatuation period is over- just like with an actual person! Overall, she is a wonderfully wise lady and gave me very sound spiritual advice. We gave each other an "air hug" when the meeting was over!

So the night after that I received sound advice from a Benedictine Lady Abbess in the form of a song! Well, I didn't personally talk to a Benedictine Abbess, but I was watching The Sound of Music, which features an Abbey of wonderful Benedictine nuns in Austria. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the story, but the scene that had the greatest impact on me was when Maria returns to the Abbey in the second half of the film out of her fear of her growing feelings for the Captain. The Mother Abbess senses her discomfort and advises her to return to the Von Trapp house and pursue the man she loves. She tells this to Maria in the form of a song called Climb Ev'ry Mountain, which has alot to say about pursuing any vocation. The lyrics are below, and my favorite line of the song is highlighted below:

MOTHER ABBESS:

Climb every mountain
Search high and low
Follow every byway
Every path you know

Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
Till you find your dream

A dream that will need
All the love you can give
Every day of your life
For as long as you live

Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
Till you find your dream

A dream that will need
All the love you can give
Every day of your life
For as long as you live

Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
Till you find your dream!

Advent News from the Monastery!

After finishing up my last and toughest final exam, I couldn't have received a better reward- my wonderful Sisters at the Bethlehem Poor Clare Monastery in Barhamsville, Virginia wrote me a beautiful Christmas card and sent me their newsletter!

In their newsletter, they mentioned that in August, about a dozen girls went on a "nun run" and stayed in their guest quarters. If any of ya'll happen to be reading this blog, please contact me at chiara1194@yahoo.com! I'd really love to hear all about your visit!

The Poor Clares are doing well, too! I'm greatly anticipating my potential first-time meeting with the Mother Abbess at that monastery next week. I hope that it comes to pass (there are issues with my parents that prevent it- they're not very hot on contemplative life, like alot of people) so please pray for me!

Tying the Knot Poor Clare Style

The "wedding" of St. Clare

Since I'm a Senior this year, of course alot of girls around me are engaged (yep, even at Notre Dame!). Anyone who talks to me about the subject of weddings immediately draws out of me this fact: If I eventually get married, I will donate my wedding gown to the nearest Poor Clare Colletines monastery for their postulants to use at their investiture. Yes, that's right....when Poor Clare postulants profess their first vows, they wear wedding dresses before cutting their hair and changing into their habits. Why do they do this? Because it's what St. Clare did....on March 19th (my birthday!) 1212, she ran away to St. Francis at the Portiuncola at St. Mary of the Angels Church in Assisi decked out in wedding regalia. Since then, it's been a long standing tradition for Poor Clare Colletines to do the same...just short of having to run away from their Dads' houses! Mother Mary Francis of the PCC monastery in Roswell, New Mexico has some nice thoughts on the subject:

"A monastic investiture ceremony, when a young girl is formally engaged to a Lover who is the most beautiful of the sons of man, contains the essence of romance...Now it was Kathy's (the postulant) investiture day, and when the community gathered at the foot of the dormitory stairs that morning, it was no familiar black skirted figure whom Mother led down to us, but a Princess."

I believe the only other Order who does this is the Carmelites. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong?

Anyway, in Right to be Merry, the comprehensive book on the life of the Poor Clares Colletines, Mother Mary Francis says that they welcome earthly brides' donation of their wedding gowns. Immediately after reading this, I vowed to myself that when I am married, I will be sure to do this!

I've Got a Really Bad "Habit" of Doodling...

Poor Clare Colletines Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration

Nashville Dominicans Benedictines Discalced Carmelites

Reading Up on St. Clare...

Trying to form a good reading list for this Advent Season, but don't know where to look? Well check out this website which has some great (and rather esoteric, I might add) books/pamphlets on our Santa Chiara! The prices are also something that a Franciscan-fan would appreciate!

The Franciscan Crown

Happy Immaculate Conception, everyone!

Tonight at ND, I finally consecrated myself to the Virgin in a mass held by Maximillian Kolbe's Knights of the Immaculatta. It was a beautiful mass- a Franciscan priest here on campus at ND gave it in Latin!

Afterwards, I trekked through the snow to my beautiful Mendoza College of Business Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, where I prayed the Franciscan Crown. What is the Franciscan Crown, anyway?

Well, in the 15th Century there lived a wealthy young man who loved to give a statue of Mary a wreath of flowers. When he entered the Franciscan novitiate, he didn't have any more money with which to buy the flowers for the statue, and he became despondent. At one point, he was even questioning his own vocation and began to cry. Miraculously, Our Lady appeared to the young man and asked him, "why are you crying?" He told her it was because he no longer could give her the flowers, an act which gave him much spiritual fulfillment.

Thus, Our Lady told the young man, "Do not be sad and cast down because you are no longer permitted to place wreaths of flowers on my statue. I will teach you to change this pious practice into one that will be far more pleasing to me and far more meritorious for your soul. In place of the flowers that soon wither and cannot always be found, you can weave for me a crown from the flowers of your prayers that will always remain fresh and are always available. Recite one Our Father and ten Hail Marys while recalling the seven joys I experienced. If you recite these prayers as I have directed, rest assured, dear son, you will weave for me a most beautiful and acceptable crown and will merit for yourself innumerable graces."

The novice began at once to pray as directed. Meanwhile, the novice master entered and saw an angel weaving a wreath of roses and after every tenth rose he inserted a golden lily. When the wreath was finished, he placed it on the youth's head.

The master then commanded the youth to tell him what he had been doing; and the novice explained he had been saying the rosary as the Blessed Virgin had instructed him to do.
As a result, the custom of reciting this crown of seven Our Fathers and 72 Hail Marys, in honor of the 72 years which our Lady lived on earth, became widespread.