Immaculate Conception Chapter

to praise-to bless-to preach

Third Order Preachers

Chapter News

Retreat from the Snow of '03!

Sunday morning Lucy H.  gleefully announced that the daffodils in the cloister garden had just opened.  A few of us could not help but think of the famous poem by Wordsworth and wistfully hope that memories of the retreat, would dance in our hearts like the daffodils for many years to come.

 Chapter News 

Council Meeting -- March 4th

• New council members were welcomed. Heartfelt thanks and gratitude were extended to the outgoing council officers (due to term limits) for their loving and generous service to the chapter over the years. 

• The following were approved for reception: Bob Bean, Steve Bamel, and Major William Harkins, USMC, (currently stationed in Okinawa), and Joellyn Soler. Mary Ball was approved for temporary profession.

• Ron Vardiman was approved for life profession

• Council Officers were elected and have been approved by Fr. James Sullivan, OP:

Mary Janetatos, Prioress

Rose Folsom, Subprioress

Don Mayse, Treasurer

Robert Stoddart, Novice Master

Mary Maher, Chapter Secretary

Therese Errigo, Council Secretary

 Retreat -- March 21-23, 2003, Mother Seton Retreat House, Emmitsburg, MD

After such a long, snowy winter  and with the clouds of war still heavy, we ardently welcomed the first weekend of spring and our first days of  truly warm spring weather and clear skies. We thanked God for this auspicious start of our retreat.  Yet, little did we know that this was God's little prelude to the spiritual feast that He had in store for us.  Fr. John Corbett, O.P.,  our retreat master, blessed us with a  series of truly memorable reflections on the "The Theological Virtues and the Conversion of Life."  Fr. Corbett started the retreat with a reflection upon how Adam and Eve did not trust that God had given them all good things.  By eating the fruit of the tree of life, they were manifesting a belief that He was withholding some good thing from them. Essentially, they did not trust that God was who He said He was.  Ever since, the journey of mankind has been to see God as He is and to realize that we are made in his image and we must resist the temptation to make him into our own image (distorted at that) of ourselves.  Throughout Fr. Corbett was a great advertisement for the Dominican charism of Joy as he interspersed jokes and good humor.

While most of us would agree that a prayerful atmosphere permeates our retreats,  this year this was even more so true.   Everyone noticed.   While the secondary causes of this might be the prayerful, carefully rehearsed liturgies (thanks to Fran Griffin's leadership and Bob Stoddart's hard work on the liturgical booklet), the peaceful atmosphere provided by the warm and welcoming Daughters of Charity, the intercessions of St. Elizabeth Seton, or even the shadows of war, the underlying root cause had to be the Holy Spirit.  Everyone made comments at how this retreat touched them deeply.  We left thankful to God for having showered upon us so many good things -- the most precious of which were the moments of being together with Him in the Eucharist - with Him as He is.   

February Meeting -  The snowstorm of '03 kept us safe and sound in our homes.  Many of had a hard time waiting for our next get together at the retreat, so we consoled ourselves with emails trading Lenten readings. 

Click here for Upcoming Events or here for 2002 Archives

© 1999 Sister Mary Grace Thul, O.P.

"O eternal Trinity, You are a deep sea in which the more I seek the more I find, and the more I find, the more I seek to know You.  You fill us insatiably, because the soul, before the abyss which You are, is always famished; and hungering for You, O eternal Trinity, it desires to behold truth in Your light.  As the thirsty heart pants after the fount of living water, so does my soul long to leave this gloomy body and see You as You are, in truth.

"O unfathomable depth!  O Deity eternal!  O deep ocean!  What more could You give me than to give me Yourself?  You are an ever-burning Fire; You consume and are not consumed.  By Your fire, You consume every trace of self-love in the soul.  You are a Fire which drives away all coldness and illumines minds with its light, and with this light You have made known Your truth.  Truly this light is a sea which feeds the soul until it is all immersed in You, O peaceful Sea, eternal Trinity!  The water of this sea is never turbid; it never causes fear, but gives knowledge of the truth.  This water is transparent and discloses hidden things; and a living faith gives such abundance of light that the soul almost attains to certitude in what it believes.

 "You are the supreme and infinite Good, good above all good; good which is joyful, incomprehensible, inestimable; beauty exceeding all other beauty; wisdom surpassing all wisdom, because You are Wisdom itself.  Food of angels, giving Yourself with fire of love to men!  You are the garment which covers our nakedness; You feed us, hungry as we are, with Your sweetness, because You are all sweetness, with no bitterness.  Clothe me, O eternal Trinity, clothe me with Yourself, so that I may pass this mortal life in true obedience and in the light of the most holy faith with which You have inebriated my soul 

-- St Catherine of Siena in her Dialogue

Still of Interest

January Chapter Elections -- The Holy Spirit was invoked (as well as St. Chad). We are happy to announce and warmly congratulate the following council officers.  Fr. Sullivan approved the elections results on February 10th. 

Mary Maher (2nd Term)

Marion Connell (1st Term)

Lucy Hancock (1st Term)

Elba Hinish (1st Term)