Pentecost 2017

I love this painting depicting the moment that the Holy Spirit descended in flames of fire on the disciples at the feast of Holy Pentecost.  There is such dynamism; truly a worthy representation of the action of a divine Person upon a receptive humanity!  Each of the disciples has his or her own unique response to the fulfillment of Christ’s promise of power.  Our Lady is there at the epicenter, again giving birth, now to the infant Church, the Mystical Body of Jesus.  The Apostles are in various states of ecstasy, some gazing upward at the hovering Dove, some looking at her as the Mediatrix of this blessed event.  Then there are two women:  one upward gazing, the other looking at the Mother.  This woman’s face is full of peaceful contemplation.  She is so close to Mary that she seems to share her mystery.

We sometimes forget about the women, even though the Scriptures clearly tell us that they were there with Mary and the Apostles and received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as did the men.  Perhaps we neglect them because nothing more is said of them.  The Apostles threw open the doors of the upper room where they had been and rushed out to preach to the people gathered outside.  But the women remain hidden with their Mother.  It was not their mission to go preaching, but their vocation was no less essential to the newborn Church.  They remained at the hearth, there to faithfully tend the fire enkindled by the Holy Spirit in prayerful pondering, in adoring love.

Scientists tell us that as soon as a child is conceived in the womb, the first thing that happens is differentiation.  The newly fertilized cell quickly divides into many cells and each begins to assume its own function while remaining united in one body.  So it was that as soon as the Church, Christ’s Mystical Body came into existence, the members soon discovered their own place.  As it was in the beginning, it is now and ever shall be:  for the Poor Clare, her place is at the side of Our Lady, Spouse of the Holy Spirit.  We share in her mission to tend the fire of God’s love at the hearth of the Church so that those called to govern and preach may be enflamed and enlightened by divine power, strengthened and sustained by our sacrifice and prayer.

On May 13^th we celebrated the 100^th anniversary of Our Lady’s apparition at Fatima.  Having two statues of her, we shared one with our friends in the public chapel and the novitiate decorated the other in the back of our monastic choir. 

  As you can see, they exercised all their youthful creativity, braving inclement weather and other obstacles to obtain the required flowers.  Another member was added to their number, bringing our novitiate up to seven.  Three more are scheduled to enter this year.  Their common workroom is becoming cramped, so we are making plans to enlarge it.  If anyone would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to a worthy cause…visit our website: http://www.poor-clares.org/ContactInformation.php

Just so you know, we will be taking a break for awhile from posting on our blog and putting more emphasis on our website.  Check there for updates and pictures of coming events.  June 15th our Postulant Kathryn will be invested with our Holy Habit!  God bless all our good readers.  We keep you all in our prayers!