Then come to the First Friday Mass at 7PM, Friday December 6, 2013 at 7PM, at Visitation Monastery’s Sacred Heart Chapel, where Father Peter Gillen will explain the enthronement of the Sacred Heart in your home and consecration of your family to Jesus’ Heart.
Pray with the Visitation Sisters and learn about joining the Guard of Honor/Hour of Presence of the Sacred Heart.
Literature will also be provided so you can learn more about the Love of Jesus’ Heart for YOU!
Like spokes converging around a sacred circle, the flight and land paths of four women from Idaho, Tennessee, Upper New York State and New York City discerning a vocation met in the oasis of prayer of the Visitation Monastery of Brooklyn this past week.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus called them together to speak to their individual hearts in secret while the Sisters shared key elements essential to living the Visitandine monastic life.
The unique beauty of each woman’s soul shone a special light throughout our community, in conversation and in silence, in prayer and in recreation.
Gathering as a group to support each other’s journey, or before the Lord in peaceful Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, they reflected the depths of Christian discipleship and reminded all of us that truly, Jesus lives in each one and each one “lives Jesus”.
The Visitation Sisters of Brooklyn thank you with all their hearts for your witness of faith and for spending those precious hours with us.
May God bless each of you with special grace as you continue to discern His Holy Will in your lives.
God be praised!
This past week an amazing Sister of St.Joseph, Sister Nora Ashe, was called home to God through a tragic car accident.
Sister Nora was a part of our Visitation family, even though she was a member of another religious congregation. Sister Nora served as the Principal of our Visitation Academy from 1988-1990, three school academic years.
May she rest in eternal peace!
Here is her reflection from the 1988 Visitation Academy Yearbook:
This past week we welcomed four women discerning their monastic vocations.
Arriving from different parts of our city, state as well as the New England area each woman brought a prayer-filled and expectant heart to the contemplative experience of the Brooklyn Visitation.
A vocational discernment retreat always includes prayer as a priority, and the retreatant is invited to sit in the choir stalls with the Sisters, learning the unique chant tones of the American Visitation.
Her pew for Holy Mass is hers alone for the entire retreat and her place of meditation, if so desired. The spacious grounds outdoors also feed the soul with “Brooklyn beauty” and many a retreatant will spend several hours listening to God in contemplative quiet there, punctuated on occasion by car horns and the gleeful sounds of our young pupils at recess after lunch.
The discernment is a shared journey and several conferences with the Formation Directress will be part of the days at Visitation.
Light work, such as in the refectory or sacristy gives the general sense of monastic labor and an opportunity to work alongside a novice or Professed Sister. A classroom visit is also a possibility if the retreatant has the desire to see how the Sisters lead the children in their faith lives and instruct them in religion.
As opportunity warrants, the vocational discerner may also be welcomed to a novitiate class with the Sisters in formation.
Vocational retreatants are also invited to recreation and can participate in the board games or watch the Sisters do handcrafts- of course if they bring some along retreatants can do that as well.
At the end of the discernment retreat the Superior may offer a conference and then all of us continue in prayer as we ask for grace and light to know God’s Will for the retreatant’s future path, and possible return!
The sunlight is beginning to fade and as the clock approaches 4PM, the Sacristan-Sister silently enters the sanctuary to prepare for the highlight of this evening, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
She lights the candles, prepares the incense and brings out the golden monstrance as the assigned Sister prays in readiness to expose the Most Holy Sacrament.
Other Sisters have gathered in the choir and sing the hymn for Exposition and the following forty minutes count many intimate conversations between Our Lord and the Sisters. The Superior begins the Rosary before evening prayer, five decades dedicated to a special intention for that day. Evening prayer is chanted facing Him Exposed in the Monstrance as the sun sinks further into the horizon outside.
After this extended prayer time, a silent supper with spiritual reading follows.
Then, recreation! In our Assembly Room, the entire community rejoices with one another, speaking, doing hand crafts, and on selected days, playing board games. Laughter flows out into the corridor as we share incidents from our lives.
Obedience calls us back to the Presence of God, always among us, and we share prayer requests and announcements after the Superior gives her carefully pondered directives and news.
Night prayer follows, with an examination of conscience.The lights dim as we sing our joy to Our Blessed Mother and address St. Michael for protection.
Silently we return to the dormitories for the night’s rest. St. Francis de Sales’ Directory provides specific guidelines for this time of the day as well:
“While undressing, they should keep their mind attentive as much as possible to the point to be taken for meditation.
In bed they ought to remember that Our Lord and saints used to sleep on the cold ground, and how much they are obliged to love and serve him, since his gentle goodness provides for their slightest comforts in such a fatherly way. Lying there, they should picture to themselves that one day they will be like this in the grave and ask God to assist them at the hour of death. Let them act as if they were seeing Our Lord with their own eyes, for he really sees them in this action as well as in any other.They should always try to fall asleep with some good thought.
If they awaken during the night, they will stir up their heart immediately with these words:At midnight someone shouted: The groom is here! Come out and greet him. (Matthew 25:6)
From the view of the darkness around them, they will turn to a consideration of the darkness of their own soul and of all sinners and offer this prayer:O Lord, since your merciful heart made you come down from heaven to earth to visit us, please enlighten those who lie prostrate in the darkness of ignorance and in the shadow of eternal death; if it be your will , guide them also into the path of interior peace.(Luke :78-79)
At times they will turn to their God, their Savior, and say You neither slumber nor sleep, you who guard the Israel of our souls(Psalm 121:7)”
Soon morning will arrive and another day with the Lord Jesus will begin, for the GLORY OF GOD!
Tuesday September 24th is the 158th anniversary of the foundation of the Visitation Monastery in Brooklyn, New York!
It all began in 1855.
It was the recreation hour in the Monastery of the Visitation of Baltimore during that summer. The Sisters were discussing the subject of novenas, and one remarked that she had never heard of one being made for the “Pure Glory of God.” It was decided that a novena for this laudable intention should begin at once.
A few days later an unexpected caller appeared, accompanied by his beloved Archbishop Francis Patrick Kenrick. It was the Most Reverend John Loughlin, the first Bishop of Brooklyn. The see of Brooklyn had been separated from the Archdiocese of New York only two years before, but the zealous Bishop had already brought several groups of religious to the Diocese. The Bishop wanted a foundation of the Visitation to do for his diocese what the Visitation Academies in Georgetown and Baltimore were doing for the young women there, educating them in the arts and sciences and most especially in the practice of their Catholic faith. Generous Catholics provided lodging while the first residence for the Order in Brooklyn was being made suitable for occupancy. The first Monastery was subsequently established on Lawrence Street, and the Foundation date is celebrated on September 24th.
This building proved inadequate for the dual purposes of school and convent. So, a second residence was chosen at the corner of Pearl and Johnson Streets while a search continued for a more perfect location.
Eventually, the community settled in a building on Clinton Avenue. The new locality provided greater freedom, ample space and better facilities for the students, but its distance from the old site made access by former students more difficult. Soon, large apartment houses were being built on the property surrounding the Monastery, and this affected the contemplative atmosphere of the life of the Sisters. Later, the Sisters’ health began to fail and some younger members contracted tuberculosis.
Consequently, a new site was sought and found in an unpopulated section of Brooklyn, called Bay Ridge. The new property consisted of about seven acres of land and two buildings. The Sisters admired the location, with its excellent landscaped gardens and fine trees, all of which were enhanced by a magnificent view of the Narrows, Upper New York Bay, Staten Island, and the New Jersey coast.
As the buildings were vacant for eight years, and had been previously used as a public institution, many repairs had to be made. In 1903 the Sisters took possession of the property, and this is where the Sisters of the Visitation of Brooklyn remain today.
With the help of generous benefactors, the Sisters had a beautiful chapel constructed which has served both the public, the Academy and the Sisters needs. Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this chapel has enhanced the spiritual lives of many with daily Mass and an annual novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In 1922, an enclosure wall was built and it has withstood the test of time. A lake in the center of the landscaped property is home to ducks, herons, and schools of fish, and boating for both children and nuns is an occasional exercise.
Throughout the years, the Sisters have lived a full monastic horarium with prayer as the center of their lives. Today, the Sisters share the fruit of their prayer life by teaching religion to the students while lay teachers focus on the academic subjects.
Currently the community has fifteen members, three of whom are in formation, and several candidates making vocational discernment retreats.
Living for the Glory of God, the Visitation Sisters remain open to God’s surprises, gifts and gentle leadings into the future.
The tower bell is ringing the Angelus as we Sisters slowly proceed towards the refectory for the main meal at noon, where we recite the Angelus in unison as well as prayers before meals.
During the weekdays, except on major holidays or Feasts, we eat in silence for half of the mealtime as we listen to spiritual reading by one of the Sisters, nourishing our souls and spirits. We listen to an excerpt of our Constitutions, a biblical reflection on the daily Mass readings and then a longer excerpt from the book that the Superior has chosen. Recently we completed the new book St Francis de Sales, Life and Spirit by Fr Joe Boenzi SDB which was filled with enlightening information and very well written.http://www.dspt.edu/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=598&ViewID=7b97f7ed-8e5e-4120-848f-a8b4987d588f&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=778&PageID=544
After the morning of silence and this spiritual input, we also then have time to speak with one another at the second half of the noon meal, reflecting on what we have just heard read and other table conversation, bonding us closer as a community and serving as our afternoon recreation period.
Daytime prayer follows after the cleanup which extends our recreation a little.
Already half a day spent consciously in the Lord’s presence has passed.Before daytime prayer we review the morning, making a short examen of conscience and savoring the thought of the anticipated afternoon with Him.
Then we enter into the afternoon silence. The hours weave around our charges and spiritual exercises; perhaps a little rest, a half hour of spiritual reading or lectio divina from Scripture of a spiritual book; a contemplative walk in our terraced gardens, perhaps a letter written, morning chores completed, or a special devotion prayed.
At 3 Pm several Sisters who are devoted to the Divine Mercy gather in choir to pray the Chaplet.
The novitiate meets for its class, which is varied and currently includes Scripture, the writings of our Founders, study of the Divine Office and the Sacred Heart devotion. This is another opportunity for the novitiate to share their spiritual insights and yearnings among themselves and for guidance by the formator. Becoming a Vistandine is a graced process and the gentle assurance of the Professed Sisters support each one. Our classes are informal but depthful.
After class our souls meet the Lord in an intense way as we expose the Blessed Sacrament for Adoration. This heart to heart encounter is healing and transformative in a unique way to each one of us. It is a special custom of the Brooklyn Visitation Monastery since Sept. 11, 2001, when we gathered to intensify our prayer life after the tragedy of that day.
We include praying the Rosary together during the adoration period, which is optional prayer time yet attended by most Sisters. Evening Prayer follows.
Next: Evening and Night
A Visitandine’s day flows in the grace and Providence of God, as moment to moment she lovingly remains united to the depths of Christ’s Heart in all she does.
Each change of occupation is directed by an intention. The Spiritual Directory states:
They who wish to thrive and advance in the way of Our Lord should, at the beginning of their actions, both exterior and interior, ask for his grace and offer to his divine Goodness all the good they will do. In this way they will be prepared to bear with peace and serenity all the pain and suffering they will encounter as coming from the fatherly hand of our good God and Savior. His most holy intention is to have them merit by such means in order to reward them afterwards out of the abundance of his love.
They should not neglect this practice in matters which are small and seemingly insignificant, nor even if they are engaged in those things which are agreeable and in complete conformity with their own will and needs, such as drinking, eating, resting, recreating and similar actions. By following the advice of the Apostle, everything they do will be done in God’s name to please him alone.
After breakfast, the Visitation Sister of Brooklyn begins the work that she has received through obedience from the Superior and/or Novice Directress, putting all into the Hands of the Lord.
Calmly and serenely with prayer in her heart she goes to the location of her “charge”. That may mean simply remaining in the refectory to spend the morning clearing the breakfast tables and cleaning the area, stocking up on food items and all that goes into keeping it suitable for dining.
The spiritual element of this manual task underlies all she does. Eachtable washed can be united to the intentions for every restaurant worker’s soul, for example. Or she can unite with the Blessed Virgin in spirit who did many a household task in her lifetime at Nazareth.
Another special employment is sacristy work. This precious charge of handling the Sacred Vessels, preparing vestments for Mass, and cleaning the Chapel and Choir close to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is surrounded by His tangible Presence within a deep silence.
A Sister may also be sent to the laundry, to wash all the cloths from various parts of the Monastery.
She may be involved in financial department, or other forms of clerical work, or in the library.
The needs of the Sisters in the Infirmary are paramount and a compassionate Sister may be privileged to spend time assisting the Sisters there, preparing medications and consoling or praying with Sisters no longer able to attend the Liturgy of the Hours daily.
Gardening is a treasured employment, which is usually done after the main charge is completed.
These examples are only a few of the ways a Sister may spend her morning in the Monastery.
A Sister who is qualified may spend part of her morning in Visitation Academy, our elementary school, sharing her faith and teaching religion with the precious souls of young girls from Nursery through 8th grade, preparing the next generation to know, love and serve Our Lord.
Of course, Sister does not keep “silence” while in the Academy!
Soon, the time will approach for gathering in the choir again, at 1130AM, for the Office of Readings. When the Monastery’s tower bell rings 12 times, the Sisters promptly obey the voice of the Lord and go to the choir. The bell, ringing out over the neighborhood of Bay Ridge, reminds people who are attentive that the Sisters are praying and that they too can cast their souls into God.
The Sisters, coming from every direction in the Monastery, form two rows on either side in the choir and alternately recite the holy psalms. The readings are taken from Scripture and Saints’ spiritual writings . They feed the soul just before the dinner at Noon, which will nourish the body.
Next: Afternoon in the Monastery
We are beginning a short series in which we will share the spirituality, prayer and responsibilities in the day of a life of a Visitation Sister. We hope it gives you a glimpse of the beauty of a soul called by and dedicated to the Lord, and the precious uniqueness of the Visitation way of life.
The Visitation Order was founded across the ocean in Savoy, now Annecy, France in 1610 and a foundation was made in Brooklyn in 1855, the Monastery nestling into the borough as a precious pearl . Today this pearl glows with prayer within the City of New York, still hidden from many, but discovered by some.
Early Morning
5/5:30AM
Perhaps the sun has not yet crossed the horizon, if it is winter,
or maybe it is joyfully breaking through the clouds bordering the not too distant Verrazano Bridge, if it is summer.
Whatever the season, it is time for the Visitandine to awake, and as our Spiritual Directory says, “First of all on awakening, the Sisters are to direct their minds completely to God by some holy thought such as the following:
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that on the last day I will rise again. My God, grant that this be to eternal glory; this hope rests in my inmost being (Job 19:25-26).
They will make these holy aspirations or others which the Holy Spirit may suggest, for she has freedom to follow his inspirations.
They will make the morning exercise, adoring Our Lord from the depths of their being and thanking him for all his benefits. In union with the loving offering which the Savior made of himself to his eternal Father on the tree of the cross, they will offer him their heart, it’s affections and resolutions, and their whole being, and beg for his help and blessing. They will greet our Lady and ask for her blessing, as well as that of their guardian angel and holy patrons. If they wish, they may say the Our Father. All this should be done quickly and briefly.
As they begin to dress, they will make the sign of the cross and say:
Cover me, Lord, with the cloak of innocence and the robe of love. My God, do not let me appear before you stripped of good works. “
The Visitation novices, the formator, the Superior and other Sisters make their way downstairs
to the choir of our Sacred Heart Chapel, to spend an hour in silent meditation before Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. What happens there between the Sisters’ soul and God? That is their secret.
She may use the Holy Scriptures to meditate especially on that day’s Mass readings, but eventually she will be drawn as our Foundress, St Jane de Chantal said, into the prayer of simple unity. St Jane Said, I clearly recognize that our Lord leads nearly all the Daughters of the Visitation to the prayer of simple unity, and simple abiding in the presence of God, by an entire abandonment of themselves to His holy will, and to the care of Divine Providence.
Morning prayer with the entire community follows morning meditation.Here we chant the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours, to a chant composed by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, especially for the Visitation Order in the USA.
The Sister raises her soul to God and with that is also raised the world, special intentions, the Diocese of Brooklyn and the frenetic world of NYC, especially those traveling to work on the subway and bus.
Does a New Yorker ascending to his employment in a rapidly rising elevator in a skyscraper or business office realize that a Sister is praying for him or her? Perhaps not, but she does so, day after day.
Our Spiritual Directory advises us :”It is especially recommended that they show simplicity and readiness in praying the Liturgy of the Hours. Each time they begin, they should place themselves in the presence of God and, in imitation of St. Bernard, ask themselves what they are about to do.
Before beginning the Liturgy of the Hours, they will stir up in themselves similar affections. Then, after the act of adoration, they will offer this action to our Lady and Mother and for the salvation of all creation. When they say:
O God, come to my assistance,
they should think that Our Lord answers:
Be attentive to my love.
In order to maintain the proper respect and attention, they should consider from time to time what an honor and privilege it is for them to perform here on earth the same role the angels and saints fulfill in heaven, and that they are praising the same Lord whose majesty makes the highest seraphim tremble.”
Holy Mass follows.
We are blessed to be served by priests of our local parish, St. Patrick’s of Bay Ridge, as well as the Pastor of Sacred Heart/St Stephen in Carroll Gardens and the Redemptorist priests.
And in the sacrifice the Sister offers herself completely to God the Father every day.
Saint Francis de Sales, our Founder, said of Holy Mass that it is the soul of all devotion.
After her deep thanksgiving after Holy Communion, the Sisters bow and greet one another as they exit the choir to go to breakfast with the words God be praised and Good morning dear Sister
And make their way promptly to the Refectory . Breakfast is eaten in silence, so as to continue the interior discourse with the Lord, who grants strength and grace for the day ahead.
Our Directory suggests, “They should not go to the refectory merely to eat, but to obey God and to take part in a community exercise.
If some tend to be too particular or too eager in eating, they should, upon entering the refectory, make a firm resolution and invoke the grace and help of Our Lord to courageously exercise self-control.
They should never leave the table without having denied themselves in some way. Nevertheless, they ought to eat without hesitation or objection any foods given them for their well-being. With a spirit of indifference they are to accept from the hand of the Lord what they like as well as what they do not like, be it food or anything else.”
Fortified in body, soul and spirit, the Visitation Nun is ready for the day ahead!
Next: Morning Work
You mean there’s a Monastery in Brooklyn!??!!
This is often the tone of the delighted surprise we hear from those first discovering us.
We also have responded to perplexity and amazement: You take a subway to a Monastery?
Yes, there is a Monastery of the Visitation in Brooklyn, New York, with a view of the Manhattan skyscrapers, Verrazano Bridge, New York Harbor, East River and the new Freedom Tower.
Nestled among seven acres of a cloistered garden, the Visitation Sisters intercede for the world immediately beyond, the rest of New York City, as well as for all persons in our contemporary, often frenetic world.
How do you begin to decide whether you might have a call to prayer with us here?
First, come and meet us!
With a phone call or e mail, we will set up an appointment to chat with you in our Parlor.
If God continues to draw you, we will ask for a letter from a spiritual director or Pastor and invite you to your first retreat with us.
This may be a day of recollection, an overnight weekend retreat, or a week long stay.
As you work with your spiritual guide, the Formation Directress will set up additional retreat experiences as you discern your vocation.
When you are ready you may want to make a longer live-in retreat for up to a month.
You will become more familiar with our Founders, Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal, our spirituality and our central devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
As you finalize your employment decisions and prepare to enter the Monastery to give yourself as a Spouse of Christ, the Sisters will be praying for you and explaining all the little details necessary for entrance into the Brooklyn Monastery.
May Jesus bless your journey! Call us at 718 745 5151 for an appointment or retreat experience, or e mail VAMonastery@aol.com