This winter, our Sisters have enjoyed some ice skating during afternoon recreation! No sooner was school out than Sisters were grabbing their skates and heading not to a rink, but the flooded (and frozen) fields in the valley and the abutting conservation land. It made for some lovely skating, as you will see below! Enjoy the video!
We are blessed to have four beautiful seasons here at our monastery! Winter (although cold) can be visually glorious. Our grounds are lovely in all seasons, but there is a special magnificence to those days when all is adorned with a fresh New England snowfall!
Our Sisters MICM Facebook page has featured some lovely photos of our life and the seasons here at the monastery over the years. We wanted to share a few here from our recent winter weather. We hope you enjoy them! Click to enlarge!
“God is an artist, and the universe is His work of art.” ~St. Thomas Aquinas
Build a Spriritual Christmas Crib in your heart to prepare for the birth of Christ!
Written by Fr. Frederic Nelson, the “Spiritual Christmas Crib” gives a practice and prayer for each day of December until Christmas. Each day is a part of the stable that you prepare by practicing the suggested exercise and reciting the prayer as often as you can throughout the day.
The Sisters love this devotion so much that we make a version you can buy for your home… but we also wanted to share each day in a video form as found below! These videos were made for Advent of 2020, and were posted originally on our facebook page.
Enjoy this perfect Advent activity with your whole family … and the Sisters too! Come Lord Jesus!
The autumn months are quickly coming to a close here in Massachusetts… but it has truly been a beautiful one! The glory of the vibrant foliage always raises our minds and hearts to God! Enjoy a few photos of the foliage from Fall 2021 here at the monastery in the photos below.
“Question the beauty of earth… question the beauty of sea… question the beauty of sky… All respond: “See, we are beautiful.” Who made them but the Beautiful One?” ~Saint Augustine
It takes a while for spring to come to New England, but when it does, it’s always worth the wait! The month of May is always the loveliest 31 days! How perfect that this flower-filled month should be dedicated to Our Lady! Our hearts and souls sing her praises whether we are arranging a May Shrine in chapel or classroom, gardening, or preparing a crown for the May Procession!
Thanks to Dan & Marian Kelly (Sister Marie-Celine’s folks) the shrine at the entrance to the convent driveway is looking beautiful! They purchased, assembled and put up this lovely lattice arbor just in time for Mary’s month! Our Lady must have been very pleased with it… they didn’t hit one rock when they dug the post holes!!! That’s almost a miracle for New England! May the Queen of the May shower Dan & Marian with many blessings!
Enjoy the Sisters’ spring photos below and be sure to visit the monastery site to see the photo gallery of May devotions!
Holy Week and Easter were absolutely beautiful here at the monastery! There are some lovely photos of the ceremonies posted on the Saint Benedict Center site.
The rich symbolisms, and chants of the Sacred Triduum in the traditional rite are unsurpassed. It is truly a soul-stirring experience to walk in the footsteps of the Man of Sorrows through Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil are brimming with expectation …and the glory of Easter morning is truly radiant! He is risen!
The week that follows is full of its own monastery traditions, as we break from school to spend time with the Risen Christ. The days of quiet peace and celebration are relished by all the Sisters. Easter Monday always features a “walk to Emmaus” …which took us to our local cemetery this year where we sang Easter songs for our dearly departed. Even the weather reflected the glory of Easter! Reading, gardening and catching up on personal projects was a great break from the daily routine. From start to finish it was one glorious Alleluia!
Enoy a look at our Holy Week, Easter and Easter Week in the photo gallery below!
On March 18, 2021, our 30+-year-old organ was removed from the choir loft of Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel and a new one was moved in! Sister Mary Clair, our organist, was there to try it out just as soon as everything was set up! The organ’s first Mass was played on the feast of Saint Joseph! What a blessing!
The richer sound and updated capabilities of the new instrument will surely add to many Masses and liturgical ceremonies for many years to come!
When the days start getting warmer and the evenings are still cold… it’s sugaring season here at the monastery!
Sister Brigid has tapped over 75 trees again this year and is busy boiling down the gallons of sap to delicious maple syrup! It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup, so it’s a big job! This year Sister is spending sugaring season in the sweetest little sugar shack!
Read all about the sugar shack that the Brothers made and our monastery maple-syrup making in the article featured on our monastery website here.
Tis the season to make a wish list… and that is just what the Sisters have done!
A giant THANK YOU to the generous donors who filled our wishlist! We are so excited to get the new items to put them to use here at the monastery for the glory of God!
This year the Sisters’ Sewing Room is wishing for:
Reliable The Board Oversized 200IB Ironing Board, $149 – Thank you, generous donor! God bless you!
Rowenta DG8624U1 Perfect Pro Station Iron, $279 – Thank you, generous donor! God bless you!
The handy-man Sisters (who do all our Convent upkeep) are wishing for:
Kobalt 10-in 15-Amp Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Corded Miter Saw, $219 – Thank you, generous donor! God bless you!
2 sets of Taps for Maple Sugaring, $29.25 each – Thank you, generous donor! God bless you!
The audio/visual Sisters are planning some great new videos and could really use:
Movo Dual Wireless Lavalier Microphone System, $177.95 – Thank you, generous donor! God bless you!
Movo Compact Shotgun Mic and Accessories, $47.95 – Thank you, generous donor! God bless you!
Neewer Aluminum Alloy Camera Tripod Monopod, $84.99 – Thank you, generous donor! God bless you!
GOD BLESS YOU!
For centuries the Catholic religious were the ones given this sacred task, and it is our privilege to continue this tradition here at Saint Benedict Center in our Saint Clare’s Host-making Room.
Presently we bake hosts for our community here at Saint Benedict Center and for a few priest friends on a regular basis.
Watch the video below for an explanation of the Host Making process.
Pretzels are traditional Lenten fare at the monastery! In this video you take a step into our kitchen and follow along as Sister Maria Faustina, MICM, cooks some up for the community! We hope you enjoy the video… and the pretzels!
Merry Little Christmas! The world moves on… but we know that the beautiful season of Christmas is still here! What a blessing it is to enjoy this feast and season of the Prince of Peace here in the pleasant calm of the monastery!
A giant “Thank You” to all the nurseries that generously donated greens to make our Chapels here a worthy place to welcome the little King of kings! Both IHM Chapel (our public monastery chapel) and Gate of Heaven Chapel (our private convent chapel) were spectacular this year!
We are so thankful, also, to all those made our festivities here so wonderful, by sending gifts, baking cookies or sending along their love with just a simple Christmas card! You are in our thoughts and prayers! May the Infant Savior bless you all!
Enjoy a few photos of the Christmas season below!
