Readings for the First Sunday in Advent: Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3.9-13; Luke 21.25-36 Every day I want to make a fresh beginning – and I offer that desire to God every morning. And

Around the year 325, Emperor Constantine sent his mother Helena to the Holy Land to erect churches on the sites associated with the birth, life, and death of Jesus. The Jerusalem Helena came to bore no

Part 2 The pull to go to the Convent had become consuming. I felt a strong need to be set apart from the world so that the Spirit of God could do its work of

Part 1 I believe that the monastic life is soil for ministry. Here I have found fertile soil for the cultivation of the fruits of the Spirit. To be still and to listen. To be.

Twenty years ago last January I received an invitation from the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine to be part of a group of women who, for whatever reason, and at whatever age, found themselves

  There is a sign in the grass just outside the front door of St. John’s Convent which proclaims “Wherever you are from we’re glad you’re our neighbour”. It’s an almost childish sentiment but it

Easter mornings were once filled with joyful greetings such as, “Alleluia, the Lord is Risen”, with the joyful response, “He is Risen indeed, Alleluia”, a word that had not been heard throughout the sombre days

                                June 25-29 at St. John’s Convent, 9:30 – 4:30 pm: spend a week learning about St. Benedict and the

Have you Have you noticed how busy and distracted everyone is lately? Have you noticed how busy and distracted you’ve become lately? Busyness and distraction have become a way of life. How do we keep

The “Great O” antiphon for December 23 is “O Emmanuel.” (See an explanation of the Great O’s in the blog post for December 16.) From Matthew 1: 18 – 23 Now the birth of Jesus