St. Rose of Lima Fiesta, August 20, 2017 – Sister Mercy and Sister Kateri went to the Fiesta Mass, followed by a beautiful procession, lunch, auction, various activities, and a special Raffle drawing (proceeds going to our monastery).  We are grateful to Father Jim Walker, retired Pastor, and all the parishioners of St. Mary and St. Rose of Lima Parishes, who kindly sponsored the Raffle: “Northeast Shrines and Canada Tour Package for two, October 9-17, 2017, a nine-day North American tour from Washington, D.C, to Montreal and Toronto, then to Niagra Falls…† The winner of the Raffle went to someone in La Vita, New Mexico.  Thank you for all who participated!  They raised a total of $7,213.00.  We hope to put up a porch in the St. Walburga modular building.
August 16, 2017, Sister Mary Fisher drove to Albuquerque, to pick up our Chaplain, Father Jeffrey Steele, traveling from St. Benedict’s Abbey, in South Africa. We are happy to welcome him again, as he was with us before from April-June 2016. He recently had a bout with vertigo, but he is doing much better.
On July 10, 2017, we formally received Sister Mercy Hoang, into the Novitiate, for one year of canonical study.  We opened the celebration with a prayer to St. Benedict. Sister Mercy received the white veil and we asked for the mercy of God in the sharing of our monastic way of life. – Prioress Hilda had surgery to remove the fibroid tumors, July 5th. She is progressing very well, but still needs to rest often. God willing, she will visit her family in Guatemala, in November. According to our Customary, the sisters can visit their families for one month every three years. – Sister Benedicta is currently doing much better with medication to help stabilize her condition; the sisters take turns in helping her with appointments, medications, etc. – We ask your prayers for Sister Julianne who will have out-patient surgery to correct the carpel tunnel syndrome of her right wrist.  In October, she will be giving a workshop to some of the parishioners of St. Mary’s Parish, Farmington, NM. – Sister Mary will be doing a private retreat for eight days at the St. Andrews Abbey, in Valyermo, California. From August 13-23, 2017, Sister Stephen Phiri had the opportunity of being a guest of the St. Walburga Abbey, Virginia Dale, Colorado, for about one week, learning more about lectio divinaand the Divine Office. We appreciate all the efforts of Mother Maria-Michael, OSB, Sister Ancilla, and all the members of the community to make this happen. – The rest of the sisters are doing fine, living the day-to-day monastic schedule.
If you have any special prayer requests, please let us know. We ask for your prayers, as the sisters will be on their yearly retreat, the first week of October. May Our Lord bless you and your loved ones, and we especially pray for all students as they have begun their new school terms. God bless you!