August 15, 2010

On this Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we also celebrate the 60^th Anniversary of vows for Mother Julianne Allen.  As most of you know she was a Sister of St. Mary of Namur and in 1990-2005 Abbot Philip Lawrence of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert appointed her as the superior of this community.  On February 2, 2005, Mother Julianne transferred her vows to the Monastery of Our Lady of the Desert.  

Her favorite quote is Be still and know that I am God, taken from Psalm 45

In simplicity and joy I have given all to God.

Please join us in congratulating Mother Julianne for her 60 years of dedication to the religious life.  A picture of Mother Julianne when she was a postulant taken in 1950.

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 10, 2010

On Tuesday, August 10, we had three abbots with us for the Middle hour of Sext and the main meal.  We welcomed Abbot Philip Lawrence, from the Monastery of Christ in the Desert (CID), in Abiquiu, NM, Abbot Anselm Atkinson, from our English/American Province, and Abbot Albert Altenähr, from the Abbey of Korelimünster in Germany.  Abbot Anselm and Abbot Albert were doing a follow-up canonical visitation at CID.    

As many of you know we belong to the Diocese of Gallup.  The newspaper for this Diocese is called, “Voice of the Southwest,” and our monastery is featured for the June/July 2010 issue on the front cover and page 12.

 July 30, 2010

Father Thomas Baxter was our Chaplain for 7 months and we are very grateful for his presence.  And, of course, we can’t leave out his dog, Barnaby.  Not only was Father available for us for Mass and the sacraments, but he was always willing to help us in so many ways!  We will miss him and please pray for him as he will be assigned to South Africa in Polokwane.

July 28, 2010

We welcomed the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, a group of Catholic women from St. Mary’s Church in Bloomfield, NM, who were here to share Mass with us;  Father Bob Mathieu and Deacon Pat Valdez also joined us.  After Mass, Sister Mary gave the ladies a tour of our monastery.  They brought food and soft drinks to share with us and we had a talking meal.  Mother Julianne also spoke to the group about our schedule in the monastic way of life.  Our guests also joined us for the Middle Hour of Sext at 1 pm.    

The Daughters of the Holy Spirit meet for spiritual fellowship and support.

The women meet twice a month on the 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday at the John Paul Room, CCD Hall.  If you are interested please call Julie Armenta at 505-330-9892.

July 22, 2010

 

Father Chrysostom Partee, ofm, is shown signing our guestbook.  Father Chrysostom was the former Pastor of the community of St. Rose of Lima Parish 1952-1963. Father celebrated Mass for us and our guests.  Father is a Franciscan and belongs to Our Lady of Guadalupe Province.

July 11, 2010

Solemnity of Our Holy Father St. Benedict of Nursia

God our Father, you made Saint Benedict an outstanding guide to teach us how to live in your service. Grant that by preferring your love to everything else, we may walk in the way of your commandments.

As we celebrate this solemnity we are very happy to announce that we have an Observer, Carmen Estrada, from Mexico City.  She arrived safely at 4 pm on July 9th and she will be with us until September. Please pray for her!

June 30, 2010

Fr. Steve Frost recent returned to us for a few days as Chaplain.  You might be interested in checking out his art work at NEPSIS.  Also a grand cook, we would like to share one of his Red Chile Enchilada recipes with you:

Corn Tortillas

Corn Oil

Red Enchilada Sauce

Grated Cheddar and Jack Cheese

Green Onions to taste mixed with cheese

Fry a tortilla in an inch of hot corn oil.  When almost hard–not too hard–dip in simmering red enchilada sauce for a minute or so.  Place on a oven proof plate, sprinkle with grated cheese and green onion mix.  Repeat 13 times.  This should produce a cake like stack.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake in 300 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Cool briefly.  Garnish with black olives and parsley or cilantro if you like.

Also, we have had to re-roof the Kitchen/Refectory.  Our crew has been doing a fantastic job, God bless them!

 June 18, 2010

St. Anthomy of Padual, through your teaching and preaching you bore witness to the loving presence of God in all of creation.  Now that you have come into the fullness of the kingdom, pray for us that our lives might also proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to all humanity.  Pray for us St. Anthony and help us become worthy of the promises of Christ.  AMEN.

Dear Friends,

Thank you for helping us reach our goal of $10,000, for the Ice Cream Social, which brings us up to $50,000, more than halfway to the needed $90,000, for the guest house.  Thanks to St. Anthony!

The Ice Cream Social was a fun event for all and over 100 people joined us to celebrate the Feast of St. Anthony.  Lori Lovato and Friends entertained us for a repertoire of lively classical tunes ending our day with a beautiful composition by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), in honor of St. Anthony of Padua, entitled “St. Anthony Chorale.”  Also, Luke Renner and his yo-yos had both young and old spell bound as he whirled those yo-yos round and round.

Thanks to those that helped us with the Silent Auction, which included Mother Julianne’s famous poppy seed wine cakes, rum cake and a South Carolina apple cake, along with Fr. Thomas Benedict’s (our Chaplain) delicious cinnamon rolls.

Congratulations to all our winners of the door prizes and raffle.  Winners were from Albuquerque, Aztec, Farmington, San Juan Pueblo, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe and as far as Riverside, California.

Once again, thank you for your support and love.  We hold you and your loved ones in our daily prayers. May St. Anthony intercede for all your needs.

Peace and Blessings from Mother Benedicta Serna and all the sisters.

June 13, 2010

Come join the fun at the Ice Cream Social

Sunday, June 13, 2010, 2-4 pm

$5.00 per ticket, children under the age of 5 are FREE

FUNDRAISER FOR A GUEST HOUSE

June 1, 2010

As most of you remember we had Mass under a tent here in Gobernador, NM, to celebrate the Solemnity of St. Benedict, on July 11, 2009, when a statue of St. Joseph which was given to us by Felix Herrera and family.  The statue was in the Santo Niño Church many years ago.  Brother Francis Martinez, a monk from the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, recently spent one week as a guest, touching up the statue including sculpturing the hands.  Besides cleaning, and repairing shattered nicks and pieces, Brother Francis took the time to rebuild and repaint.

May 15, 2010

Thanks be to God, we have survived our first winter following our move to Gobernador in August, 2009.  June 13, 2010, Feast of St. Anthony of Padua will be two years that our community officially moved to St. Rose of Lima, Blanco, NM – all this with the help of old and new friends.

Our goal for this event is to raise $10,000 for a guest house.  The total amount for this project is $90,000.  We have raised $40,000, with your help and the support of the Koch Foundation.  With much appreciation we are happy to announce a $20,000 grant which was awarded to our community for a guesthouse facility by the Koch Foundation.  The mission of the Koch Foundation is “to strengthen and propagate the Roman Catholic faith by providing grant support for a wide variety of evangelization efforts.”

Thank you for your prayers and support.  Please be assured of our daily prayers for you and your loved ones.  From Mother Benedicta Serna and Sisters

April 16, 2010

Thanks to Sister Mary’s planning and scheduling of our Plant Tree Day, we were blessed with sunny weather on April 16, 2010.  Our appreciation goes out to St.Francis School, in Lumberton, New Mexico(about 45 minutes from our monastery).  Students from the 7^th and 8^th grades volunteered for this service project accompanied by the teachers and a parent.  Of course, we could not have done all this without the expert help of Joe Carrillo and Lindsey Quam from the Chama District of the New Mexico State Forestry.  Joe and Lindsey were the teachers who let the students do a “hands-on” with the planting of 48 Austrian Pine Trees, 48 LittleLeaf Sumac, 20 Service Berry.

Advent 2009

From Mother Benedicta

….I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage. Be stout hearted and wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:13-14

 Dear Friends and Family,

Truly we have seen the goodness of the Lord in the high desert land of Gobernador through the love and kindness of so many people like you who are with us while we build the monastery. On August 29, 2009, after two years of dreaming, planning and building we made the move to the initial monastery in Gobernador, New Mexico We could not have done it without the help of our friends and neighbors from St Rose of Lima, Blanco and beyond! Thank you for joining us on this walk of faith, for giving of your time, talents and financial help.  It has been a journey of challenges, of waiting in prayer and when the doors opened ever so slightly, taking courage with apprehension and moving forward.

We hope that you enjoy the pictures and excerpts from our daily chronicles throughout this newsletter, which is our way of sharing this adventure with you. We invite you to, COME and SEE, come for a day or two of Ora et Labora (pray and work), to experience our Benedictine tradition with us.  At present we have two guest rooms available (for women only) and have begun plans for a four-bedroom guest house for both men and women. Grant requests have gone out and fund raising events are in the planning stages to begin construction of an additional guest house in the spring. The Journey of Trust continues!

During the pilgrimage of our Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Holy Land in May he encouraged the people with the words of our beloved Pope John Paul II, “Do not be afraid…be a bridge of dialogue and constructive cooperation in the building of a culture of peace to replace the present stalemate of fear, aggression and frustration. Build up your local Churches, making them workshops of dialogue, tolerance and hope, as well as solidarity and practical charity.” These words speak of Benedictine hospitality.   As Benedictines we join the peoples of the Holy Land “in being witness to the power of life of the Risen Christ that can transform even the darkest and most hopeless situation. Our world not only needs new economic and community structures, but a new ‘spiritual infrastructure’ capable of galvanizing the energies of all men and women of good will in the service of education, development and the promotion of the common good.”

Together as we “wait for the Lord,” let us take up this challenge of Pope Benedict XVI by building an oasis of peace in our troubled world as witnesses of God among us. And, may we fix our hearts to the idea that in times of doubt, instead of desolation; we go forward with courage, strength and trust. I pray that the Christmas readings of our Savior Jesus Christ bring you and your loved ones peace, joy and love, especially throughout the New Year.

Peace and Blessings, Mother Benedicta Serna, OSB, Prioress

 

NOTES FROM 2009

We are so grateful to all of you who have supported us in so many ways, i.e., providing prayers, encouragement, advice, food, building materials, labor and so many, many other things that have given us the beginnings of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Desert in Gobernador. The list of names is unending!

During the winter months of this past year we had to cut a road to the property in Gobernador, NM, contact professionals, hook up utilities, dig a water well and install a water pump. Sister Mary was busy making many phone calls and made arrangements with Homes Direct of Farmington regarding the design, plans and purchase of the new 8-cell modular building and placement of the building on the property.  Robert Florez helped to organize volunteer committees for the move to Gobernador. Mother Benedicta, Sisters Mary and Kateri also took time during the winter months to attend a development workshop with Dot Teso, Director of the Catholic People’s Foundation, Diocese of Gallup.

February 2 Presentation of the Lord – Feast – Today was the 19th anniversary of the founding of our community. At the end of February the sisters go out to check on the possibility of a water storage tank

 February 5 Sister Janice Robertson arrived from our mother house, Jamberoo Abbey in Australia. It was a good visit and she helped us with the Divine Office and also guided us through an expectation reality check. Sister Janice stayed with us until April 16 - March 19 Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary – Solemnity – Our novena of Masses ended today for the intentions of those without work, those who are struggling to support their families. With spring in the air the sisters start cooking and sending meals to the workers on the property. Mother Benedicta and Sister Mary have meetings with Ernest Valencia, to start leveling the land in Gobernador.

Leveled land before we put the modular buildings

 

 

 

May 4 – Father Fernando Salazar Hool arrived

from Mexico. Fr. Fernando is a monk and architect at the

Monastery of La Soledad in Mexico. He was with us until May 22, to help design our permanent monastery on the top of the mesa.

 

June 13 We are here one year today at the St. Rose of Lima Parish in Blanco, NM. – During the next few months we planned for the set-up of electrical lines for the property in Gobernador, discussed the possibilities of getting propane and solar energy.

Volunteers helped the sisters with the cooking for the workers who are renovating the two modular buildings and setting up the septic system. Mother Benedicta bought the paint and other supplies for a modular donated by Valley National Bank, Espanola, NM, and continued to make necessary phone calls.

June 20 Marie Colon, from Farmington, NM, sponsors a “Mostly Mozart Tea” fund raiser in her home from 2-4 pm, which was well attended. Lori Lovato, clairnet; Cherokee Randolf, viola; and, Michael Bowen, on piano, volunteered their

musical talents and entertained us with music from Mozart.

For the month of June volunteers assisted with the construction of the pump house and the sisters were busy either cooking or helping putting foam in the space pockets of the modular buildings, etc. Mother Benedicta and Sister Mary put up a big tent with the help of other volunteers -

 

July 11 Solemnity of Saint Benedict – We had our official first Mass under a tent and a pot luck shared by many.

July 31 thru August 1 – The sisters took time to work on their crafts and received items donated by generous friends to sell at a garage sale in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the home of Sister Kateri’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Ernest M. Lovato. – During these summer months the sisters kept the construction site clean and assisted with removing the carpet and linoleum of the Refectory building by taking out staples from the floor. The new floor was provided by Timmy, Anita and family. The workers insulated the Chapel with mud, texture, nails, tape and dry wall. Thanks also to Matilda de Herrera, Irene Troy, Barbara Serna, Pauline Montoya, Reyes Marin, Juan Tafoya, and Ishmael Garcia, Jesus Fuentes and Harry Lobato for their work in the Refectory and other contributions.

We are grateful to the youth who helped us with our funding with a garage sale in August. Thank you Isabella Chavez and Augusta Gallegos!

August 31 – Organized, unpacked and settled in our new 8-cell modular building in Gobernador, NM. What a special day! All is well.  Some of the sisters went back to St. Rose of Lima Educational Center to clean. We are very thankful for the efforts of Fr. Jim Walker, who arranged for us to stay at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Blanco while we prepared the move to the property.

September 26-27 We sold our crafts at the San Juan Winery Festival.  

 

October 1 Sister Elvira Leyva Padilla arrived from Mexico. She is interested in our monastic way of life.

October 11-17 – Father Brendan Creedan, OSB, from Holy Cross Monastery in Chicago, Illinois, was our Retreat Master.

November 7 – We were honored by the visit of Bishop James S. Wall, who was here for the Blessing of our monastery.  Bishop James blessed everyone, including our cells, Refectory, Chaplains Quarters, Pump House and the Chapel.

 Peace on earth and good will to all!