Friday, June 04, 2010

Let's visit another convent, shall we?

I haven't even had time to blog about the Adoratrices in Italy yet, and here I'm off on another trip, this time to a Carmel in Nebraska. Oddly enough, my mom, who was so gung-ho about accompanying me to Tuscany, feels no call to join me on this trip to flyover country. She knew which order she preferred before I'd told her anything about either of 'em. :) Anyway, I'll be back by Tuesday and I hope to post bunches of pictures some time after that.

Gee, I leave for the airport in an hour and I'm neither packed nor dressed. Perhaps I'll stop blogging now. :)

2 comments:

Lee Gilbert said...

Here FYI is a story related to Valparaiso in the Catholic Sentinel of Portland for June 3rd.

http://www.sentinel.org/node/11213

The photo is taken in the nun's chapel. When they have Mass, the black curtains are drawn and the altar is visible from the side. Below the crucifix is the small door in the grill separating the nuns chapel from the main chapel. Here the nuns kneel to receive Holy Communion. It is also where they kneel to state their intentions and to pray immediately after entering the convent; where they pray and state their intentions on the day they receive the habit; where they pronounce their simple vows and three years later their solemn vows.

Immediately below the crucifix is a suspended pyx- I think in the shape of a dove- where the Holy Eucharist is reserved for the adoration of the nuns.

Also visible in the picture are the choir benches on either side of sister where the nuns assemble to hear mass and to sing the office- seven times a day I believe.

The story mentions the Priestly Society of St. Peter. There is a close relationship between the convent and the society. The F.S.S.P. Fathers have their seminary at Denton, NE also in the Diocese of Lincoln. At the many solemn occasions the seminary supples servers for the Masses.

The beautiful altar was assembled under the direction of one of their priests

Rachel said...

Thanks Lee. I've been wondering what the view behind the curtain was like. :) I hope to post more about my visit there later.

About the FSSP, one of my favorite FSSP priests in Sacramento, Fr. McNeely, used to serve Mass for the nuns before he joined seminary. There weren't at all surprised when he said he was going to be a priest, because they'd been praying for him. :)

Wow, that parish has 150 attending Mass and six people in formation! That has to be some kind of a record for vocations rates.