This month's spotlight on St. Francis de Sales is from the pen of our faithful portress, Sister Mary Immaculata. If anyone is an example of "Live + Jesus" it is our very own "SMI" -- as she signs her initials. Sister is known for her gentleness and her fidelity to our life of prayer. While she is minding the phone and the door, Sister makes rosaries, prepares correspondence and does a myriad of other tasks. Sister takes phone calls from people requesting prayers and asking us to pray for special intentions. She is such a warm and gentle presence on the phone that we suspect some of our family and friends call just to talk to Sister Immaculata! She writes:
The Vow Book is enshrined in our chapel, on the west wall, between the stained glass pictures of the Visitation and the giving of the constitutions to St. Jane de Chantal. Below is a close-up of a sister's page in the book, dating from the late 19th century.
From the three wishes of St. Francis de Sales written into the front of every monastery's Vow Book.
As we celebrate the thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, we whisper a quiet "Happy Feast Day" to our Blessed Martyrs of Spain. Blessed Maria Gabriela Hinojosa and her six companions were martyred in 1936 during the civil war in Spain. In his 1998 homily at their beatification, the late Pope John Paul II prayed that they may draw to Visitation houses "may vocations who will follow the sweet and gentle spirit of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal." And so we continue his prayer for vocations as we invoke them daily at the end of morning prayer. Below is a prayer to obtain favors -- for private use only -- approved by the bishop of Madrid. Please join us in asking for the intercession of our Holy Sisters of Spain!
Although he is only an "optional memorial" today's commemoration of St. Martin de Porres could not have had a more appropriate Gospel. St. Martin truly sought the lowest and most humble work available to him. He began his association with the Dominicans as a servant when he was a young boy. At age 24, thirteen years later, he made his religious profession as a brother.You may also find this video on YouTube.
Sister also discovered that our modest accommodations include wireless Internet service -- so we can share a few photos of our adventure along the way!
At 6.30am Mass, we were delighted (but not surprised) to find a chapel full of students and visiting religious. The Vocations Fair began at setting up at 9.00, welcomed students at 11.00 and ended a little after 5.00. Below is a picture of our table.
There were many interesting exhibits at the fair. The Salesians, (not picture in the photo, located directly to our left) were giving away yo-yos and the Benedictine monks of St. Vincent's Archabbey were spinning yarn (in addition to recruiting vocations!)
After the fair ended a number of vocation directors and students gathered for Adoration in the Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels. We should have a short video with highlights from the fair posted sometime next week. Stay tuned to see Sister Rosemarie try her hand at a yo-yo!
On Thursday morning, we will have a double-departure. Several sisters will be headed to our Federation Meeting just outside of Wheeling, WV and our Sister Rosemarie and Sister Anne E will head to the Franciscan University of Steubenville for their annual vocations fair. As usual, our artwork does not accurately represent all details; we must admit that our "Visi Vocation Van" does not have our monogram on the side ... but readers can be certain that, true to the picture, Sister Rosemarie will be doing a lot of praying in the car -- especially if Sister Anne E is behind the wheel. 
As Sister Rosemarie builds a "path" to Mary, it is welcome reminder for us -- during this month of October -- that approaching the Lord through his Virgin Mother is a powerful way to pray. Our dear sister may be a long time finishing her path to Mary (at least until she finds a masonry saw to tidy up the edges of her bricklaying) but the rest of us can approach Our Lady instantly in moments of trial and moments of joy as we pray for the grace to be as faithful to the will of God as she was.
On October 4th, Msgr. Duffy came 1/2 hour early for Mass so that he could bless the monastery menagerie. Sister Leonie Therese, our faithful sacristan also doubles as zoo keeper for our furry and feathered friends who live in the wardrobe (sewing room). Above, Horace the hamster inspects the ceramic animals surrounding the statue of St. Francis (who was enthroned on an ironing board for the occasion!)
Prior to the blessing, all those present sang "All Creatures of Our God and King." Pictured above are Mother Philomena and Nicholas (sporting his breast-cancer awareness collar), Sister Leonie, holding Lorenzo and Valentino and Catherine holding Horace. Father blessed the furry creatures (and nearly bathed one of the bipeds trying to sprinkle holy water on an escaping hamster) first and then the four birds (three monastery birds and one who is a boarder for a friend of the community who is in the process of moving). Below, Catherine enjoys a moment with Horace (who was not exactly amused that the blessing took place during his nightly sleep!) 
Our Sister Archivist teaches a formation class on the history of our community as well as the (inseparable) history of the Catholic Church in the country. Last week she conducted a walking tour of the streets in our immediate vicinity. Among the architectural notes and historical accounts, sister unveiled a mystery about metal images on some houses in our neighborhood. Due to the devastating risk of rapidly-spreading fire, associations formed in the 18th century to respond to this. Homeowners paid a fee to belong to a "Fire Association" and they displayed the insignia of their association on the outside of their house. When a fire broke out, it was evident from the metal symbol which fire association could be expected to respond. Many houses in our neighborhood still bear these historic symbols.
Just down the street from us are two connected houses, each of which belonged to a different association.
Above is a close-up of a fire association insignia. Some plaques even have pictures of hoses on them. Considering how many times our walls have been ravaged by fire, one would think that we might have belonged to every fire association that existed! 
No, that's not a typo in the title. This is yet another little incident in the "Life is Never Boring in the Monastery" category.
