Air Force to Carmel, fullness of Joy in His Presence

I served my country for four years, now I want to serve God with my whole being 24/7. Turning back the clock to explain a few things, I’ll begin by first sharing my earliest memories of “falling in love.” Yes, it might be hard to believe, but my first love was and still is Jesus Christ!

Way back in the first grade we were given a catechism book and on the front cover was a drawn picture of Jesus. The moment I saw that picture it was “love at first sight.” I can still see that picture in my mind, clear as day. And yes, my heart still skips a beat when I think of that picture. The other memory I had very young was going to church and when the priest would open the tabernacle, I thought, how neat it would be shrink to the size of my Barbie doll and run into the tabernacle and be locked in with Jesus!

As the years went on my heart fell more and more in love with Jesus. Not only with Him but with everyone and everything he created. How could I contain the love I experience for him except by giving back to him all he has given to me? My only desire was to give myself totally to Him because He created me in my mother’s womb and he is the one sustaining me. Since my desires were not in accord with my parents’ desires for my life, there was the difficulty. My parents wanted me to have an earthly spouse while I wanted a heavenly spouse, Jesus Christ.

Not wanting to disobey my parents, I started dating and looking into career options. During my senior year, I prayed even harder as my graduation was quickly approaching and I still did not have any definite future plans. Then one day on my way home from school, I felt an inner inspiration to drive into a parking lot unknown to me. When I looked up, there before my eyes were the four military recruiting offices.

To make a long story short, I joined the Air Force and was stationed in England near London for three years, and my last assignment was in Tennessee. Indeed I had a “way of life” in the Air Force and enjoyed my single life working an 8:00–5:00 office job in U.S.A.F. Military Pay department and traveling all over Europe. What more could a single young women want in life? Well, I can answer my own question – fullness of Joy in His presence!

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and it is Him we long for all our days on earth. My life felt complete the day I entered the enclosure, and it has been one continuous romance. The romance consists of giving of myself just as he continuously gives of Himself to me. The giving from one to another is fruitful in the spiritual children we assist in and through our prayers. What better life could there be in the world than to give oneself to God?

Seminaries, monasteries and convents should be overflowing with new members.

Hopefully this article will ignite the flame of love hidden within many young men and women to answer their calling. Will you join us in praying for this special intention? And will you also encourage vocations wherever you are?

We know God answers prayers because he surely answered my childhood prayer. There may not be a tabernacle large enough for me, but Carmel’s cloister suffices, considering Jesus and I are under the same roof day and night.

Your prayer intentions are welcome 24/7 either by mail, email or telephone. No prayer intention is too big nor too small for us because we treasure each one in our heart’s prayer. We hope to hear from you and know that we love you and thank you!

Mother Madonna, O.Carm is the Prioress of Carmel of Mary Monastery near Wahpeton. She can be reached at

(701) 642-2360,
[email protected] or
17765 78th St. S.E. Wahpeton, ND 58075.

 

“The Mercies of the Lord I will sing forever!”

Every vocation is a unique call of the Lord and each one is called differently. Unlike my Sisters in Carmel, who loved Jesus and felt the desire to belong to him from childhood, I had other plans for my life. Yet, Jesus was pouring out his mercies even from my mother's womb. This is why I am an “11^th” hour vocation. Thus my story unfolds…

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the poem “THE HOUND OF HEAVEN” by Francis Thompson, it starts out like this:

“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

I fled Him, down the arches of the years;

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears

I hid from Him, and under running laughter.…

(and ends with this stanza)
 

“Rise, clasp My hand, and come!”...

Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?

“Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,

I am He Whom thou seekest!

Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.”

Have you ever seen a hound dog pursuing and finding his prey? He gets so excited and aggressive that nothing can deter or distract him. This is where our dear Savior’s Passion enters, in my vocation – and perhaps yours. That intense, infinite love is seeking, pursuing, never giving up until he has caught his “prey” and held us next to his Sacred Heart! Oh, the precious fruits of his suffering!

Perhaps this might describe in some way my own journey in its labyrinthine ways, to Carmel. For all who knew me, I was the most unlikely candidate for the religious life. Whenever there was a pile of fun, I was usually on the top of it. Yet, as I lay in bed at night, after having a good time with nothing lacking, I felt a restlessness, an uneasiness, as if our Lord was saying to me, “well, you can have all this, but...” and he left it unfinished. This happened many times.

At this point, I happily bring in Our Lady, the “houndress” of heaven, if you will. As I look back in retrospect, I see how she was with me from the womb, protecting me from evil and guiding me without my knowing it. My family and I were in a very serious car accident in which we should all have been killed. The police said it was a miracle we were alive. We had just finished saying the rosary, a prayer to our guardian angel and an act of contrition.

Going fast forward to my senior year... We were given a holy card with a prayer to Our Lady and it was recommended that we say it each day to know our vocation in life. Since I “knew” mine was marriage, I never prayed it. But then, remorse set in. It won't hurt to pray for the right husband. So I prayed!

My friends and I started looking into colleges but the one we visited left me flat. Then in the second half of the year, we had our Senior Retreat. I steered away from any of the literature on display on the religious life. THEN, at the closing of the retreat, the priest blessed us with the Blessed Sacrament…

I cannot even begin to describe that unspeakable grace my Heavenly Father gave me. In an instant, I knew with certainty and clarity, that Jesus wanted me for his spouse. The tears just poured down. I kind of felt like St. Matthew. One gaze from Jesus and he left all immediately and followed the Lord. With my heart and soul bursting with joy, I call myself a vocation of the Blessed Sacrament!

Here it is, 64 years later and I celebrated my diamond jubilee. Be sure that when you pray to Mary, you are very explicit in your desire. I know she, too, is swelling with joy and she has given me the most perfect Divine Lover, her Beloved Son! You just cannot put anything over her!

I hope that like St. Paul, I may be an encouraging example for anyone struggling with doubts about a vocation to the priesthood, brotherhood, or religious life and fleeing from it. Pray to Mary and she will take care of it all, in unexpected ways. “Be not afraid” to give yourselves to the Blessed Trinity for the many, many needs of the Church, for Priests and for souls.

The Holy Spirit expresses his vocation “hunt” perfectly in Psalm 139:

“Where can I go to hide from your spirit?

If I rise on the wings of the dawn... even there your hand will

guide me, and your right hand will hold me fast.”
 

“GLORY TO THEE” On my knees I kiss the traces of Thine unseen Hand.”

(Akathist hymn of Thanksgiving Ikos 3)

Sister Joseph-Marie of the Child Jesus, Incarnate Wisdom, O.Carm.

A spark, a flame from the burning heart of Jesus

For a couple of months, I have been wondering what to write about since my story is quite ordinary. So, for readers of the New Earth who like ordinary stories, here goes. I was the youngest of 11 children in a “well-balanced” family, meaning I had five brothers and five sisters. By the time I came along however, my oldest siblings were either married, in the military or away from home with a job. So in my childhood memory lane, there were only five of us at home. We lived in New England, a small town in southwestern North Dakota and belonged to the faith-filled parish and school of St. Mary’s. For 12 years I was taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame from Mankato, Minn. and the priests taught religion class every day, for which I am immensely grateful. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was very strong. It instilled in me a lifelong spirituality.

In the 8th grade during a class on the married state, Our Lord “proposed” to me and invited me to become a contemplative. However, I thought, “This idea won’t last two weeks.” But it did, and I knew from then on I would enter a contemplative community. Still, I decided I was not going to live like a nun before I became one, so parties, dances, sports, and good wholesome fun with my friends were the spice of life the next four years.

I need to insert a little story here because of an important connecting link. My sister Pauline was a Maryknoll missionary in China and was imprisoned by the Communists. She and another Maryknoll sister were put in an attic with only a heap of straw and only three walls. On Christmas Eve, they were lying on their bed of straw and singing Christmas carols, when heavy footsteps came tromping up the steps and a soldier pointed his gun at them and asked “What are you doing?” “We are singing. Isn’t it nice?” Silence, then, “Yes, nice.” And he tromped back downstairs. The two Sisters were then marched a long distance under a broiling sun and enclosed in a small room with four other women and two children and were given only wormy rice to eat. After a couple months, they were expelled from China, came back to the U.S., and made a home visit. My sister asked me what I planned to do after school. I said I wanted to become a Poor Clare. She responded, “I think you would like the Carmelites better.” Since I knew nothing about either the Poor Clares or Carmelites I said, “All right, I will become a Carmelite.”

In November 1954, our pastor announced at Holy Mass that the Carmelites of Allentown, Pa., just opened a new foundation in Wahpeton. While that announcement passed over the heads of most others, it fanned the flame burning in my heart since the 8th grade.

So, my vocation story is quite ordinary, but by today’s standards of prolonged discernment, it may actually seem extraordinary. I wrote to the Carmelite Community the end of May 1955, visited in June, and entered on July 16, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Entrance procedures were simple back then. The evening before I entered, I was given a list of six religious names to choose from. There was no hesitation when I saw, “Sister Margaret Mary of the Sacred Heart.” I was the first candidate and the only one in formation for a year. Then Mother Mary Rose, prioress, said to me, “Maybe you will have a little sister sometime.” I said, “Maybe tomorrow?” The next morning the novitiate doubled its quota overnight when Sister Joseph Marie walked in the cloister door. Her entrance brought great joy to our growing Community.

What is a day in Carmel like? In our life of prayer, the Liturgy is of prime importance and dear to our hearts. We spend about four hours in joyful celebration of Holy Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, beginning with the Office of Readings at midnight, after which we retire again till 5:10 a.m. In addition, we spend two hours in personal prayer and also have a Holy Hour.

However, prayer doesn’t end when we leave the chapel. The essence of life in Carmel is living in the presence of God. We can relate to Carmelite Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection who said: “I find Our Lord in my kitchen amid the pots and pans.” We find him at our desks, sewing machine, in the laundry, and wherever he calls us to work in his presence.

Life in Carmel is beautiful, simple and joyful. Is Our Lord extending a loving invitation to you?

Sister Margaret Mary of the Sacred Heart, O.Carm.

A bird’s eye overview of 65 years

Our Carmel of Mary celebrated the 65th anniversary of its foundation in Wahpeton on Nov. 1, 2019. In 1953 Archbishop Muench (later Cardinal) and Bishop Dworschak, Auxiliary, desired to have a special Tribute to Our Blessed Mother to celebrate the Marian Year of 1954. The answer came “out of the blue.”

Patrick Flood, professor at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, received an appeal for the Indian Missions in the Fargo Diocese and got a bright idea. He knew the Carmelite Nuns in Allentown, Pa. who were searching for a suitable place to open a new foundation. He wrote to the Bishops asking if they would be interested in a Carmelite Monastery in their diocese. With great delight, they saw God’s providential answer. This would fulfill their desire for a fitting tribute for the Marian Year. Correspondence followed between the bishops and the superiors in Allentown. On Oct. 31, 1954, seven sisters with Mother Mary Rose as prioress, set out for North Dakota. On Nov. 1, Bishop Dworschak offered the first Mass for the community in the old St. Francis Hospital building in Wahpeton owned by the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minn. Meanwhile, I had been thinking I should begin looking for a Carmelite Monastery, so I could follow the desire in my heart since 8th grade. No need to search. The answer was right in Wahpeton. I wrote to the community at the end of May, visited in June, and entered July 16, 1955. The community felt that since I am from North Dakota, their roots sank a little deeper into North Dakotan soil. Since I entered soon after the sisters moved to Wahpeton, I experienced the spirit of the Allentown community and realized it was not easy for the sisters to leave their beloved first community.

Mother Mary Rose went home to the Lord a mere three years after their arrival in Wahpeton. I had the privilege of knowing her that short time. Mother Augustine then became prioress. She led us in developing our “liturgical spirit,” taught us to chant the Divine Office in Gregorian chant, and guided us through various adaptations following Vatican II. The bishops had also desired a public Marian Shrine in front of the monastery. Pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Prairies began in 1957 and have continued in August ever since. As candidates arrived, we outgrew the temporary monastery. Construction of a new monastery began 6.5 miles northwest of Wahpeton. When we moved there on Oct. 24, 1964, the community had 12 sisters. Eventually we numbered 22 sisters. A priest from San Angelo, Texas, Father Fabian Rosetti, O.Carm. phoned July 16, 1984 and expressed his desire to have a Carmelite Monastery in their diocese: “Can you make a new foundation?” Mother Augustine Marie replied “Yes, in about three years,” and plans moved forward.

Mother Augustine Marie and Sister Mary Grace, would-be superior, traveled to San Angelo and met with Bishop Michael Pfeifer and his priests. While there, they selected a building on the edge of town to serve as a temporary monastery. When the volunteers left for Texas Jan. 25, 1989, we experienced the “emptiness” of losing five sisters, but soon candidates arrived to fill the empty places, two of them from Texas. Happy exchange!

Then began another “transplanting.” One-by-one our older sisters who had come from Allentown, were called to our eternal home. We are grateful to have our cemetery here in our cloister. Our candidate from Vietnam entered the novitiate Nov. 14, 2019 and received the name Sister Theresa Marie of the Eucharist. God’s ways are amazing! We pray daily for more vocations.

Our Carmelite Charism is prayer, service in community, and serving the Church by our Apostolate of Prayer. Prayer for priests is very important in our life of prayer. We especially pray for our benefactors who support our life. Prayer requests by mail, e-mail or phone are placed before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and are taken to heart.

We love to rise at midnight for the Office of Readings, keeping watch in prayer for a needy world. After approximately an hour, we return to sleep until 5:10 a.m. to begin the day chanting Morning Prayer. The rhythm of prayer, spiritual reading, work, and recreation once a day is a very balanced and joyful life in which we strive to live in the presence of God with profound gratitude in our adoring hearts.

Sister Margaret Mary of the Sacred Heart, O.Carm.

All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God

I grew up in Maryland. My parents said to me once while visiting in Wahpeton, “When we brought our first baby home from the hospital we never thought that 22 years later we would be dropping her off at a cloister in North Dakota.” Really, my mother should not have been so surprised because she knew my cherished childhood dream of moving out west to become a pioneer on the frontier like Laura Ingalls Wilder. By the time I was a teenager, finding no way to realize such a desire at the turn of the 21^st century, I determined instead to go either to Africa or to China as a missionary. Then, when I was 19 going on 20, God himself solved my dilemma through my discovery of Carmel of Mary out on the prairie.

From the moment when my vocation became clear, I fell passionately in love with the land of North Dakota. I love the snow and the vast, open horizon. I love all the people who dwell here, those whom I have met and those whom I have yet to meet. Please do not mistake me for a naïve romantic. I know all too well that every land has its darkness and its heartrending contradictions, its tragedies and its tears; but it is these very shadows that are destined to be transformed into glory through Jesus Christ, on the Last Day, when all will be revealed.

Some of you may know that a few years ago our little Carmelite Community went through a transition as two of our Sisters, one of whom is the most beloved friend I have ever had, received a call to bring the riches of Carmelite spirituality to a different diocese further south. My experience of being left behind has been a blessed occasion for me to penetrate in new and ever deeper ways the sacred meaning of my presence here in this place as part of the Father’s magnificent plan for salvation history. I like to think of myself as living in one of the far distant four corners of the earth to which the saving power of the Holy Spirit has been extended. 

Every time that Bishop Folda has visited Carmel of Mary, I have wished that I could speak to him of what is in my heart, of my love for the Diocese of Fargo. One of my favorite things about being a cloistered nun is that one is not ordinarily transferred from place to place. My consecrated life belongs in a special way to the local Church, to the priests and people of our diocese.

There is much change, instability, and uncertainty in today’s world. All this has an impact even on the centuries old tradition of religious life. The signs of the times may require us to go, in charity and obedience, beyond our boundaries. This past October, for example, I was asked to travel to Pennsylvania to help with an event in honor of St. Therese of Lisieux. Together with 85-year-old Sister Gertrude and Sister Arlene from the Philippines, I helped to prepare over a thousand roses of many colors to be blessed and distributed to pilgrims. One day while I was there, my family from Maryland stopped by to visit just long enough to give me a chance to kiss my sister’s three month old baby and to give my niece a copy of Roxane Salonen’s charming book, The Twelve Days of Christmas in North Dakota. I was only away for a week, but it was one of the longest weeks of my life, so reluctant was I to be absent from the unique place on earth where I have promised to remain in prayer, day and night, year after year, until death.

Yes, it is good to have a place to call home, but the region where we live during our earthly life is only a sign, ephemeral and imperfect, of our heavenly home in the New Jerusalem. The hermits who lived on Mount Carmel were soon obliged to abandon the place of their origins, but they brought with them, as a living and life-giving memory, the beauty of the holy mountain, jewel of the Promised Land, symbol of the Virgin Mother of God, who has preceded us into paradise. Our Lord has told us that the meek shall inherit the land and that the Kingdom of Heaven is already in the possession of the poor in spirit.The title of our diocesan magazine is New Earth, reminding us that the new creation for which we long begins here and now. Through the Blood of our immortal King, Jesus Christ, we have been gathered into the Holy City. In hope we taste and see already the joys of our everlasting homeland. Alleluia!

Sister Veronica of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, O.Carm.