Author: WalburgaBenedictines

He is Risen! Alleluia!

April 19, 2025

This year our paschal candle department, consisting of six sisters, offered various parishes and monasteries two design options, both centered on Eucharistic symbolism. Created by two of our solemnly professed Sisters, one design was centered on the theme of Christ the Vine (cf. John 15), and the other, inspired by the Azulejos tiles of Portugal, included symbols for Christ, Mary, and the Jubilee Year of Hope. These designs were painted on candles large and small by the artists in our community.

Paschal candles are used during the Easter Vigil Mass to carry the flame from the Easter fire into the church, and from which every other candle in the church is lit, as a symbol of Christ the true Light enlightening the world and dispelling the darkness of evil.  

 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.

By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

John 15: 1, 8-12

In the News/Media

March 11, 2025

Featured in the Augustine Institute’s “How to Lent” Video Series

The video crew from the Augustine Institute visited the Abbey of St. Walburga for the day and had an interview with Mother Maria-Michael about the importance of prayer for Episode 2 of their “How to Lent” series:

From Denver Catholic Online

In Other News

The Abbey of St. Walburga was one of the monasteries chosen to be included in Bishop Robert Barron’s film series “Catholicism: The Pivotal Players” in the episode on St. Benedict:

Winter at Walburga

March 4, 2025

Below is a slideshow of an assortment of photos from this winter, including the blessing of snow, the investiture of our new Novice, Sister Rosemary, our liturgy, some of our farm animals, and the creation of a cake to help raise money for St. Joseph Catholic School in Fort Collins.

2025 Calendars for Sale

February 22, 2025

Photos from the 2025 calendar

This year’s wall calendar features photos of our Abbey over the course of the past 90 years.  It notes the days of the Church’s liturgical seasons, together with days commemorated by the Order of St. Benedict, as they are observed by our community.  The cost is $13.00 (plus shipping) per calendar. 

To place an order, please send an email to aswgiftshop@gmail.com or call (970) 472-0612.

The Completion of Christmas

January 13, 2025

A reflection by our Abbess, Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB, on the conclusion of the Christmas Season

The Outdoor Nativity Scene at the Abbey of St. Walburga

In the gospel reading at Mass on Saturday in Epiphanytide, we hear that “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven” (John 3:27).  So all of those heavenly gifts that have come upon us this Christmas, we should really think of today.  We should especially give thanks for the gift of Christ, the Bridegroom.  Further on in the gospel reading from John it says, “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom” (John 3:29).  That should stop us.  That says absolutely everything.  If we just had this one sentence for the rest of our life, it would be enough—Because He has us.  Nobody can take us from Him.  Relish the fact that we belong to Him. 

On Christmas, the Bridegroom came to earth, “leaping across the hills” as the Song of Songs says, running to meet us, and peering through the lattices to make sure we’re here.  The whole imagery of the Bridegroom coming is scattered throughout the scriptures, and it makes me think that Jesus must have loved weddings so much (His first miracle was performed at a wedding in Cana!) because it reminded Him of the joy of His role as the Bridegroom for His people.  Seeing the love of a groom for his bride reminds Him of His love for His brides, and for His Bride, the Church.  No matter what, Christ never stops loving His Church as a Bride.  And we should take great joy and comfort in that.  What everybody else thinks really is so small compared to what the Bridegroom thinks and feels.  May we never despair of thinking that He loves us any less than His beloved bride.  Keep this in mind, and you can’t have a bad day: The bride has the Bridegroom.

Advent: Putting Your House in Order

December 6, 2024

A reflection by our Abbess, Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

I love reading the great prophets during Advent.  In Isaiah, we hear the story of Hezekiah and how his time to die has come, so he turns and faces the wall and prays.  It reminds me of children when they are in trouble, how they go stand in the corner, and I’m sure in one way their hearts are praying, too, “Oh God let this be over!”  But upon hearing Hezekiah’s prayer, God adds fifteen more years to his life.  The part that stands out to me in this reading, though, is when God says to him, “Put your house in order, for you are about to die” (Isaiah 38:1).

Advent is about putting your house in order, which is why the monastic life is considered a perpetual Advent – we are continually preparing ourselves to see Christ, awaiting His coming with eager expectation.  All the more so during this season of Advent.  It’s about living a life that has everything directed toward heaven.  Focus on the things which will last for all eternity.  Don’t waste your time thinking about things that don’t really matter.

When preparing our hearts for Christmas this year, and pondering what gift we are to bring the Lord, let us remember that He says in scripture, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13).  Mercy is to go beyond ourselves, to go beyond our judgments, to give room for what we don’t know.  You may have heard the saying, “Chaste as angels, proud as devils.”  Don’t justify yourself by saying that you fasted all day and so you’re fine, and then go and judge everyone all the way down the hall.  Then what have you really done?  Nothing, you’re just hungry and it hasn’t helped you a bit.  No, we should stand humbly before God.  We need to acknowledge our faults and sins.  We can’t just point fingers and say to God, “Well look at them!”, because God does, and He is looking at you, too.  If you choose to be merciful you will receive mercy (cf. Luke 6:37).  

Remember the power of blessing as one of the greatest gifts.  Sister Angelika, when she was working outside, would see a plane fly over and automatically pray for all the people in it, and ask for God to bless them.  Now that’s a big heart.  That’s how we should choose to live – thinking for the good of others.  Pray for people.  Do your part to change yourself.  Others will follow suit, and you’ll notice it.  It’s the nicest thing to have someone say, “Boy, you’re different” in a good way.  In a house where we live so close in community, it’s far more powerful to live mercifully than to fast all day.  If you can do both, well blessed are you.  But mercy is more powerful. 

Arise, all ye nobles and peasants; Mary invites all, rich and poor, just and sinners, to enter the cave of Bethlehem, to adore and to kiss the feet of her new-born Son. Go in, then, all ye devout souls; go and see the Creator of heaven and earth on a little hay, under the form of a little Infant; but so beautiful that he sheds all around rays of light. Now that he is born and is lying on the straw, the cave is no longer horrible, but is become a paradise. Let us enter; let us not be afraid.

From “The Discourse for Christmas Night,” by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Our Chapel’s 25th Anniversary

November 23, 2024

A reflection by our Abbess, Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

The Dedication of our Abbey Church, November 7, 1999

Twenty-five years have slipped by since our Chapel was completed.  The most important parts of our lives take place in this sacred place.  It is here we begin by knocking on the door at our entrance, and here we say our final “good-bye” to our beloved Sisters.

Chapter 19 of the Rule of St. Benedict talks about how we should say the Divine Office: “We must always remember, therefore, what the Prophet says: Serve the Lord with fear (Ps 2:11), and again, Sing praise wisely (Ps 46[47]:8); and, In the presence of the angels I will sing to you (Ps 137[138]:1).  Let us consider, then, how we ought to behave in the presence of God and his angels, and let us stand to sing the psalms in such a way that our minds are in harmony with our voices” (RB 19:3-5).  I love that.  We are assisting the angels!  And we have to work that our mind might be in harmony with our voices.  We know what a work of love that is.  There is no work to be preferred to this, and we should celebrate the Divine Office with joy and solemnity.  

“I rejoiced when I heard them say, ‘let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Ps 122:1).  We have access at all times to the Chapel.  So we have a reason to rejoice!  In this place, our souls come to rest in the very Presence of Jesus Christ Our Lord…And the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the conversations…What a gift.

It is in this Chapel that we give the best of ourselves.  In Psalm 37 we hear, “Once I was young, and now I am old…” (Ps 37:25).  Our Chapel watches the passage of time.  Our bodies age, but our souls only get richer.  You can feel that.  There is a certain dignity that starts growing in you.  There is no fear in ageing, because there is something beautiful happening within us.

Our Chapel is dedicated to the Mother of God.  The tapestries, which hang along the walls, tell the story of the Blessed Mother’s life.  Her most important moments are in the Chapel as well, and are united with ours.  We have her motherly intercession and her powerful intercession.  Nothing goes unnoticed by her.  And the wonderful thing is that she cares.

So let us celebrate with heartfelt gratitude and joy this day.  Every day, we receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in this Chapel.  Who could want more?  Twenty-five years ago this Abbey Church was dedicated (and believe me, that altar received a ton of oil; I remember the Archbishop spreading the oil all over with great delight…all of the corners, Monsignor Newman and Deacon Bud, they went around to all of the crosses in the Church and put oil on them while we prayed).  May it bear our hearts and souls to the heights of the heavens.  Let us sing with our minds and hearts in harmony, that this day of great blessings will see a showering of graces that we pray shall never end.  This is God’s dwelling place, and He has made it holy.  We call on His name, for scripture says: There, you will find Him.

As you sing, sing very purposefully.  The measure you put in to it is the measure you are going to get out.  There is something special in the liturgy for each person, and it is a jewel ready to be found—Find it and take care of it, because it will be given to no one else but you.  May this bring us all to holiness. 

Archbishop Chaput anointing the altar with oil

Living Lighter: Progressing in Virtue

October 7, 2024

A reflection by our Abbess, Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

 Photo by André Escaleira, Jr. / Denver Catholic

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

You see the progression of good.  Virtue is a progression.  Throughout our lives, we strive to develop virtue, we develop to be faithful, we develop love.  That’s why we take time every day to make an examination of conscience.  “Where am I going?  What am I doing?  How am I treating things?  Am I being faithful?  Am I being obedient?  Am I steadfast in the community?”  Otherwise, we might progress in the opposite direction: downhill.  “Well, I don’t want to do that today.  Maybe not tomorrow either.”  And then it becomes, “I am just not going to do that.”  We can grow in an acceptance of doing less.

In the back of my copy of St. Benedict’s Holy Rule, it has the whole rule in a nutshell.  I always go back to this and read it.  It’s a great aid to making a good examination of conscience.

1. My son, willingly receive the admonitions of a loving father and put them into efficacious practice.

2. When you begin anything good, ask God by importune prayer to perfect it for you.

3. So live so that your actions profit you eternally.

4. By a life of patient self-denial we participate in the passion of Christ, hence also in his eternal kingdom.

5. We are all one in Christ.

6. Love the works of charity.

7. Obey for the following motives: because Christ is in your lawfully appointed superiors, because you belong to the service of Christ, because punishment awaits the self-willed, because a great reward is promised to the obedient.

8. Obey in the following manner: not for servile motives, not heartily, not negligently, not with dislike, not with unbecoming words.

9. An unguarded tongue leads to sin.

10. Humility consists in avoiding sin, not loving one’s own will, obeying one’s lawful superiors for the love of God, patiently bearing hardships, acknowledging one’s faults, being content with circumstances, not esteeming oneself more than others, avoiding singularity, curbing boisterousness, being aware of forwardness in conversation, speaking well, modestly, and humbly, shaping our exterior according to the exterior of Christ.

11. Prayer to be efficacious need not be long or wordy; it should however be contrite and fervent.

12. Be ready to pray when it is time.

13. If you care not to amend your evil ways, you are not worthy to remain with Christ’s disciples.

14. Be neither sordid nor negligent.

15. Be not inordinately attached to your possessions.

16: Never murmur against authority.

17. See Christ in the sick and act accordingly; and if you are sick yourself do not grow peevish.

18. Be aware of excess in food and drink.

19. Place God’s things always first.

20: Do everything at its proper time.

21. Idleness is the enemy of the soul.

22. Spend Sunday with profit for the soul.

23. Never do anything unbecoming in Church.

24. Do not be a slave to clothing.

25. Do your work carefully, always intending the honor and glory of God.

26. Beware of ever cheating others.

27. The greater the dignity, the greater the obligation of virtue.

28. Always aim for some spiritual progress.

29. Be polite to others.

30. Read this rule frequently.

31. Confide in God for help in your occupations.

32. Gladly do favors for others and take correction in the right spirit.

33. Let your zeal always be such as leads to a good and profitable end.

34. Read diligently the Holy Scriptures, the lives of the saints, and other spiritual books.

So, this gives us something to work on every day.  There’s always something we can do a little better.  And if we start heading in the wrong direction, we can count on God to send us warnings.  God sends us encouragement.  He knows we need a touch of encouragement.  He knows what will make us laugh a little.  You can see those who can laugh at themselves, and there’s such a tenderness—There’s a tenderness of heart even towards themselves.  There’s not that harshness.  If we can laugh a little bit at ourselves, all of a sudden there’s a lightness and we aren’t so hard on others, either.  As we grow holier, we should become lighter of heart, because we forget ourselves.  The heaviest person to carry is ourselves, and so try to remember that God wills for us to grow in holiness with a smile.  We will become lighter if we let Him carry us.

Our Father

September 11, 2024

A reflection by our Abbess, Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

We know how important the Our Father is, and that we are to pray it.  Saint Benedict specifically recommends that it be prayed in the Divine Office by the Abbot because of the thorns of dissension that may arise in a community.  I think the more you pray it, the more one feels its power.  We’re to pray “Thy Kingdom come.” Just think what would happen if everyone in the world said at the same moment, “Thy Kingdom come” and meant it.  Would He come?  I would hope so. And we pray, “Thy will be done.”  Wouldn’t it be nice if what’s done on earth is done as it were in heaven? There wouldn’t be a problem anywhere.  “Give us this day our daily bread.”  All are offered the bread of life, if only they would desire to receive it.  “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  That’s telling us that no matter who you are, things are going to hurt you in life.  We’re not going to get out of it, it’s just going to happen.  Forgiveness is going to be needed.  That’s where we unite ourselves the closest to God, when we forgive, because God is the only one who can truly forgive.  We have the power to forgive by releasing it, not demanding that the evil that was done be put back on that person.  Instead, we want good for them.  By forgiving we release them.  That is a very holy thing, to not will evil when evil has been done.  It’s natural to think, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”  But what does that get us?  We would all be blind and toothless, and we know that.

Then we pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  The Church has what’s called, “deliverance prayers,” and people wonder what that means.  God says it right here in the Our Father: deliver us from evil.  That’s all it is.  We all want to be delivered from evil, and deliverance prayers are so powerful for just that purpose.

At the end of the Our Father in Matthew, we hear Jesus say, “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you” (Matt. 6:14).  What a carrot!  He just hangs that out in front of us.  Well, that’s a good reason to start forgiving others.  Because we’re assured of forgiveness.  Then He says, “But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions” (Matt. 6:15).  This warning is coming from a Father who loves us, so that we will know and do what will help us to be forgiven ourselves.  This prayer has the best advice in the whole world, so try to pray the Our Father intentionally at least once a day.  We should truly let those words penetrate us, because through doing so, we are intimately united with Christ, who gave these words to us.  And when we pray, even when we get dragged off by distractions or whatever, return.  Always return.  Return and pray with great attention.  Because have you ever talked to someone who is all over the place and not paying much attention to you?  Do you really listen to them?  But when somebody is actually staring at you and saying, “Can you do this for me?”, there’s something about their attention, their focus, that makes you want to do it for them.  They really care.  Let us try to pray like that. 

 Photo by André Escaleira, Jr. / Denver Catholic