St. Joseph is one who truly loves and is a father to all. Tomorrow, on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, we will see Mary-Grace clothed in our Benedictine habit, which carries the witness of one who is seeking to serve God as a soul after His own heart. Hear the words we will pray before she receives the various parts of her monastic attire: [Regarding the habit] Bless this religious habit by which your handmaid who will wear it, desires to express her readiness to serve you with undivided devotion. [Regarding the belt]: Grant to your handmaid who will wear it, the grace to always keep in mind the chains of your son who was obedient unto death, in order to set us free. Remember, St. Joseph was ever obedient to the messengers God sent. Always. Quick and fast. [Regarding the scapular]: Bless this scapular which your handmaid will wear as a sign of her conversion, not living according to her own desires and pressures, but walking according to the judgment and will of another. For did not St. Joseph have to do a complete U-turn when he intended to divorce Mary because she was found with child? He was so gentle and compliant to God’s will. His obedience was without delay, for he held nothing dearer than God. There was no hesitation, or lukewarmness, grumbling, or complaining. In fact, he didn’t say a word. He simply did all that God had asked. [Regarding the veil]: …as a sign of the religious state, so that she may be blessed, spotless, and holy, and recognized as consecrated to God. We belong to Him. We are His. Would you want to be anything else? It is the greatest gift and St. Joseph recognized what it meant to belong to God. He was ever chaste, he was pure, and don’t think he didn’t fight for it. Therefore, he is the guardian of virgins. Let us too be as faithful, humble, holy, and pure of heart as St. Joseph, and may you, Mary-Grace, have forever his loving protection. Remember what he did on earth is what he’s doing in heaven. He protected the Holy Family. He protects what is holy. Let us all be a part of that.

To read the responses of our “Sisters in Formation” to a series of interview questions for a recent Denver Catholic Article, click here

The Immaculate Conception has a lot to do with hope.  Hope, biblically, is a confident expectation and trust in God and His promises.  You will find the word “hope” everywhere in the scriptures.  For God has boundless hope in His creation.  After the fall of man in the garden of Eden, God immediately began the process of restoring man to an even greater glory.  And it was in the immaculate conception of Mary that man began to shine once again with its original beauty, with the perfection that God intended from the beginning.  In Mary, God burst forth with His hope for mankind.  You and I are also part of His hope.  Do you know how much hope He has in you?  As nuns, we sing the “Suscipe” chant when we make vows: “Uphold me, O Lord, and I shall live.  Do not disappoint me in my hope.”  Well, think of turning the “Suscipe” around, and God singing it to you!  “Uphold Me, and I will live in you.  Do not disappoint Me in My hope.”  Can you imagine that?  Can you imagine God saying that to us? 

Mother Maria-Michael and Sister Clare

Mary did not say, “Be it done to me according to Your word” only once, but throughout her whole life.  It should be the same with us.  Even when things are difficult, we have to be able to say with confidence, “Be it done unto me according to Your word.”  Because by our response is how we are transformed into that perfection; and God is staring at us full of hope, saying, “Come on!”  He wants that for us.  He wants that purity.  He wants that love that He intended for man. 

So Clare, today you will be clothed in the garments of one who lives for God, under the guidance of our Holy Father Saint Benedict.  You are putting on what you are hoping for.  Your hope is not alone – we join you in that hope; and heaven, too, is full of hope.  May the habit you will wear remind you of the words of our Blessed Mother, “Be it done unto me according to Your word.”  Your novitiate has a beginning in time, as the immaculate conception of Mary did.  May she guide you through the novitiate, and may God’s hope for your life color every day, and be filled with the breeze of Eden that says, “He is coming.”  And I hope that we all experience this breeze, as when the Holy Spirit comes powerfully into our lives.  Remember that it was a relationship that was lost in Eden; it was a love that was lost.  God expects a different response from us, so that we might reverse the effects of the fall by turning to Him, and continually pursuing that loving relationship.  The next time you feel a soft breeze on your face, think of God coming quickly to see you.  And be ready to respond with love.