J.M. + J.T.

A letter from Mother:

Dear friends who belong to M.A.R.Y.,

We are now underway in our Lenten journey, as we walk with our Divine Savior from His days of fasting in the Desert, to His death upon the Cross for our sake. As He prayed in His High Priestly prayer at the Last Supper, He asked that His followers would “be one” and that they would love as He loved. In other words, for us to become more like Him, we must also strive for unity among ourselves, and to grow in love. Lent is often seen as a season to give something up. That’s the way of love! Love wants to show itself in deeds, and when love is the motivation for our sacrifices, we are showing ourselves truly to be more like Jesus.

Thank you for taking up the work of devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, which is so needed at this time when our world seems “to be on fire,” as Saint Teresa said over 400 years ago. May your labors bear fruit, and be enriching for you and for the Church!

It is a blessing to us to be accompanied by all of you as we “run the race” towards that glorious eternity where our heavenly Father awaits us, to bring us to His home. Have a beautiful Lent, and know that we keep you in our prayers.

-Mother Mary Bethany and all the Sisters

AUXILIARY NEWS

At our meeting in January, the group decided to offer a series of spiritual events to be held up at the monastery this spring and summer, followed by a fundraiser luncheon in October at a location in Auburn. Progress has been made in solidifying these events.

The series of spiritual talks will follow a simple format: the talk in late morning, with questions and discussion, followed by a light lunch and a rosary. So far, we have booked Fr. Jeremy Leatherby for the first talk on April 16. His topic will be “Spiritual Warfare”. We are still working on the topic and speaker for May; in July, Zori Friedrich of St. Mel’s will speak on Grace in our lives. We are hoping to have the fundraiser luncheon on October 8 at St. Joseph’s in Auburn. This will be an Italian luncheon, and we hope to have a huge turnout.

We are meeting on February 27th at the Monastery at 9:00 AM. All are welcome to join us that morning. We will have a short business meeting to start, at which time we will take up a collection to help pay for the quilting of our hand-made quilt. All of our sewing is done, and now it needs to be shipped off to a big quilter machine that attaches the batting and the back. Every little donation helps us pay for this. Once we get it back, we will finish the edges and then it is ready for “show and tell” at Parishes where we can begin to sell tickets for it.

Also at the meeting, we will make plans for the luncheon. We will need volunteers to run this affair. I think that the Knights of Columbus may be helping us out with preparing the food! That’s a big relief. But we will need a chairman, and volunteers to manage ticket sales, decorations, etc.

After our meeting, Eileen will show us how to make the chaplet rosaries. We can also look at the materials that we can put into the kits. I hope to see you at this meeting.

Are you looking for some spiritual food for Lent?

St. Mel’s is offering A Divine Mercy Mission for Monday-Wednesday, Feb 22 – Feb 24. Call 916-967-1229 for more information.
St. Clare Parish in Roseville is offering a mission on Mercy also, from Feb 29-Mar 2. The talks are at 9:15 AM and at 6:30 PM. The themes are Mercy Shown, Messy Mercy, and God’s Mercy.
You can participate in a Diocesan Pilgrimage. On the Diocesan website, you can find resources for 7 Ways to Live the Year Of Mercy. It includes visiting some sites around the diocese designated as Mercy pilgrimage sites. You can get stickers at each of these sites to post in your “passport”, just as if you were walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
And don’t forget to visit the Chapel at the Carmelite Monastery for a meditation on the image of the Holy Face of Christ hanging in the Sanctuary. There is a booklet you can pick up in the vestibule with meditations on the Face of Christ. Daily Mass is always at 8:00 AM but the chapel is open all day until 6:00.

Wishing you all a blessed, prayerful and spiritually uplifting Lenten season. May you be renewed in His Spirit and grow closer to Christ. Please pray for the Nuns as they go through discernment for their new prioress at the end of February. They pray for us and we pray for them!

In Christ,
Patty MacEgan

Donations to the Sisters are tax deductible and can be made directly by sending to: Carmelite Monastery, P.O. Box 4210, Georgetown, CA 95634

Donations to the Auxiliary are not yet tax deductible, but we need the funds for mailing, printing, and upcoming events. Donations to the Auxiliary can be sent to: Carmelite Auxiliary, P.O. Box 174, Georgetown, CA 95634

Newsletter #5 - Lent