As I have mentioned in my Blog entry of December 18: "Nativity Set" that we have so many Christmas Cribs in the house, I would like to give you a short tour. Some of them are in the work rooms of the Sisters. Some are improvised and self-assembled, made out of old Christmas cards, some where [...]
It's Christmas! The excitement and joy is felt the whole day of December 24. In the evening, at 7:45, our Crib procession began in the Founders' room, where we all gathered together. Three SVD priests came: Fr. Herman Puhl, the main celebrant, Fr. Tony Pates and Fr. Renato Gnata, both members of the Arnold Janssen Spirituality [...]
We had today a taste of Polish Christmas tradition. After our "Agape" after the midnight Mass, while four of us were still lingering by the crib in the corridor, our Polish Sisters passed by with a wagon full of goodies. They invited us to join them. Curious to know what they were, we followed them [...]
Our Sisters are very busy today putting last finishing touches on our Nativity set. There are several places in the house where we put up our nativity set. Well, surely, one set could be enough, but we can't have enough of Christmas either! We celebrate our Lord's birthday only once a year and we want to [...]
Today, December 8, 2015, Pope Francis pushes open the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, formally launching the Holy Year of Mercy, at the Vatican. During his homily, he highlighted the primacy of grace. “Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of creatures,” Pope Francis said. “But the promised triumph [...]
We start today the Advent Season, the beginning of a new Liturgical Church Year. Advent means "coming," a word that connotes "waiting." It is a season of expectant waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in the "flesh" - for his birth. We await his coming in the flesh, we await also his second coming in glory! [...]
We celebrated this morning the Renewal of Vows of Sr. Mary Amata for the 5th time. As always, everytime we celebrate profession of vows, whether it be a renewal, a first vow or a jubilee, it gives me a feeling of awe and wonder, and of deep gratitude to God for the gift of religious vocation [...]
Today we join in spirit our Sisters in Bad Driburg, Germany, as they joyfully celebrate the Nameday and, at the same time, the Silver Jubilee of Religious Profession of our Superior General, Mother Mary Elizabeth. With Mother, we thank God for calling her to our Congregation and for giving her the beautiful, though heavy responsibility, [...]
Today, a hundred years ago, we started solemnly the service of perpetual adoration. Our Co-foundress, Mother Mary Michael, had done her best to secure permission for perpetual exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from the bishop of Roermond, and finally, on November 6, 1915, we gratefully received it. What joy our Sisters then must have felt by [...]
We've just had Holy Mass this morning with our Auxilliary Bishop Everhard de Jong as main celebrant, concelebrated by Dean Fr. Jos Spee and our parish priest Fr. John Dautzenberg, gratefully commemorating our Congregation's 100th year service of perpetual adoration. On November 6, 1915, the Diocesan Bishop of Roermond, Msgr. L. J. H. A. Schrijnen, [...]
