A Marian Life
Monastic life is a Marian life. As contemplative nuns we continually ponder the mysteries of Christ, cherishing them in our hearts. In this way we perpetuate the spiritual work and the presence of Mary in the Church: “Welcoming the Word in faith and adoring silence, we place ourselves at the service of the mystery of the Incarnation, and united to Christ Jesus in His offering of Himself to the Father, we become co-workers in the mystery of Redemption.” (Verbi sponsa, 4)
In the Upper Room
“Persevering in prayer with Mary the Mother of Jesus, the nuns ardently long for the fullness of the Holy Spirit.” This phrase of our Constitutions reminds us that, like the apostles, we are always gathered around Mary interceding for the Church. As Mother of the Church, Mary continually brings to birth new children for the mystical Body of her Son through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Ours is a share in this spiritual motherhood as we pray for the fruitfulness of the Church: in new members, in the growth in holiness of all. It is here in ‘the Upper Room’ that we become one mind and heart, mirroring the life of the Triune God.
The Holy Rosary: Gazing on the Mystery of Christ
The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. From her we learn how to keep our eyes ever fixed on the Lord; from her we learn to know His face. “In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thereafter Mary’s gaze, ever filled with adoration and wonder, would never leave him.” (St. John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 10) As we kneel daily before the Blessed Sacrament, pondering the mysteries of the rosary, our own gaze becomes filled with adoration and wonder.
“Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring his every word: She kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. The memories of Jesus, impressed upon her heart, were always with her, leading her to reflect on the various moments of her life at her Son’s side. In a way those memories were to be the “rosary” which she recited uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life.” (St. John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 11)