J.M. + J.T.

A Letter from Mother

Dear Friends of Mary in her Auxiliary,

Greetings for the New Year! Despite the early winter sunsets, we can see the light of Christ glowing brightly in our hearts. The Holy Family – Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – beckon to us to join them in simplifying our lives and turning to God afresh. Spiritually, we can be in the calm of that quiet house in Nazareth where they lived, even in the midst of the hectic events of our daily lives…

Our Christmas season was merry indeed, with our traditional Posadas novena leading up to Christmas Eve, and then a full two weeks of celebration, even with a light snowfall on the birthday of Saint Therese, January 2nd. This allowed us to play at making “snow sculptures” and do a bit of sledding. The recent snowstorm has quite outdone that modest white dusting, but then, it fit with Saint Therese’s “little way.” We can only hope that each one of you had a joyful time during your holidays too.

Your help to our community is evident. We are very grateful for your generosity and assistance! Two new members will be joining us this year, please God, so your help is far-reaching indeed! Thank you for enabling us to carry on God’s work. Since you belong to Our Lady’s Auxiliary, and she is the spouse of Saint Joseph, in a certain sense, you belong to him too; you are all “Josephs” to us, humble helpers who look after us. We cannot thank you enough. We promise you our prayers and remembrance in our daily Mass as a sign of our gratitude.

- Mother Mary Bethany and Sisters

Auxiliary News

Prayer on the Mountain
We will be gathering again at the Monastery for three Prayer on the Mountain events this year. The focus of the talks will be different ways to pray. All events start at 11:00 AM with a talk for one hour, followed by prayer, and then a pot luck salad bar.

The events are FREE, and if you can bring a salad to share, we have a refrigerator to keep them cold. We meet in the St. John Villa below the monastery. Register by email: carmelitehelpers@gmail.com

March 4: Lillian Kelly, OCDS, Carmelite Spirituality
April 22: Father Art Wehr, SJ, Ignatian Spirituality
May 13**: Deacon Mark Van Hook, St. Rose Church, Prayer and Sacramentals

** May 13 is the 100th Anniversary of the first of Our Blessed Mother’s Apparitions! Please check the internet for the indulgences associated with this important feast day, and consider coming up to the Monastery for Mass that morning.

Quilt-Making Opportunity
Last year some of us had a lot of fun making that beautiful quilt which we raffled off at the luncheon. We are planning another quilt-making project! Pat Boynton is going to be the contact person, so if you can help us make the quilt please call or email her. We need ironers and cutters as well as sewers. We will bring our sewing machines to the St. John Villa at the Monastery on Wednesdays. Call Pat to volunteer or to get more information. It’s a great way to make new friends!

This Year’s Luncheon
Save the date! This year’s luncheon will be held on October 7, 2017, at St. Joseph’s Hall in Auburn. Mark your calendars for this event! Last year was such a beautiful success, all because of you and your friends. Please join us again this year. Tickets will be on sale this summer.

Board Meeting
We have formed a board in anticipation of moving toward forming an incorporation. The board met on January 13 at St. Joseph’s in Auburn. Topics for discussion included the application for the 501C3 status. This is a complicated process, and we decided that we are not ready to tackle it yet. If any of you are well-versed in tax-exempt law and would like to help us in taking the steps necessary, would you kindly contact me at our Gmail account?

Our next board meeting will be on March 4, after the 8:00 Mass, and before the Prayer on the Mountain event later that morning. We will meet in the Caretaker’s house. All are welcome. We will start the planning for the Luncheon!

Wow! A Website!
It’s not ready yet, but it’s in production. By the next newsletter it should be up and running! The website will be where we can upload photos from our events, keep a file of all our newsletters, and keep everyone up-to-date on the events at the Monastery.

Women’s Day of Faith
St. Mel’s is hosting a special day of prayer at their hall on Sunrise and Sunset in Fair Oaks. On February 11 from 8:00 – 3:15. The guest speaker is nationally known Catholic mom Kelly Wahlquist. All women ages 14-104 are invited. Get information at www.stmelwomensretreat.com.

Prayers Needed
Several members of our community have asked for prayer lately, and I have heard from others who are sick or suffering. If you would like the Sisters to pray for your special intention, please let us know. But I think it would be nice to also join together as community to pray for one another.

To that end, I hope to have a prayer request link on the new website, so that you can enter your prayer request right there. Before that happens, however, I would suggest that we all add on a simple prayer to our regular daily prayers. Here is a sample prayer:

Dearest Mother in Heaven,
As your humble children, we, the members of M.A.R.Y., ask your favor and help for all our body, our sisters and brothers in the Carmelite Auxiliary. Please hear the prayers we send to you today, and look with favor on our littleness as we lay our burdens, needs, and requests at your feet. We trust in your care, and we thank you for appealing to your Son on our behalf. We ask this through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Carmelite Saints
For your reading pleasure, you may want to pick up a book about St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. To the right is an icon of St. Mary of Jesus Crucified. Her story is very interesting! Or you can look up St. Teresa of the Andes. These are all fascinating Carmelite saints! Get to know them. You can alsoread about the life of Carmelite Sister Cecilia Marie of the Holy Face. You can Google her; she passed away recently but had led a very holy life in South America.

And of course you can include our own beloved and extraordinary Mother Christine in your prayers!

Women’s Cursillo
Finally, a shameless plug for the upcoming women’s Cursillo at the end of April. If you would like to go deeper in your faith journey, you can look into Cursillo, which means a little course. Cursillo is a weekend short course in our Catholic faith. Find out more at www.sacramentocursillo.org.

Sincerely,

Patty MacEgan
Carmelite Auxiliary

P.S. Please visit our sponsors, Easter’s Catholic Books and Gifts, Leatherby’s Ice Cream Parlor, Pottery World, and Advantage Printers in Auburn.

Newsletter #10 - The Holy Family