All posts filed under: News

Monthly newsletter about our Novitiate life.

Letter from St. John in Montana, 09/2019

Dear Sisters and Brothers, Before us are the High Holidays with Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the New Year, Yom Kippur in recalling the unique day when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holiness and the congregation was ready to receive the pardon of God. Then at the feast of Sukkot the accumulation of joy (Isa: 55:6-7) is celebrated. During these last weeks, Juliana and Erika emphasized the reading and sharing the Story of Sion and the Spirit of openness and commitment to the church through the reading of the books,  Origins of Sion. Erika is taking one day of Volunteer work at the soup kitchen or as it is called here, “The Restaurant”. This is where street people who cannot afford a daily meal are served six days a week a hot and cooked meal sponsored by the different restaurants and hotels in Jerusalem. The food is already prepared by midday and brought to the restaurant for the people in need. Also Erika will begin her apostolic stage in her Formation from December …

Letter from St. John in Montana, 07/2019

Dear Sisters and Brothers, As time passes quickly we find ourselves already in the month of August where mornings and evenings are filled with cool fresh air and sometimes the Ein Karem valley is covered with fog in the early hours of the morning. In the middle of July, we went to Kiryat Ye´arim, also called Abu Gosh today, for our 8 day retreat and it was a wonderful time to spend on the mountain where The Ark of the Covenant was remembered …. Short history: (The Ark of the Covenant resided in Shilo for 300-400 years. Then it was taken by the Philistines at the battle of Even-ezer (1 Sam. 4:3-11). The Philistines subsequently sent back the Ark after retaining it for seven months (1 Sam. 5:7, 8) because of the misfortune that befell them (1 Sam. 5:1-6). The Philistines returned the Ark to Beit Shemesh. The people of Beit Shemesh sent it on to Kiryat Ye’arim to the house of Avinadav. (1 Sam. 6:21) The Ark of the Covenant remained at this location …

Thanksgiving 2019

As the earth longs for rain, my soul needs God, my heart waits for God, my mind waits for God, day and night the challenges present themselves, but I put my trust in the Lord, and I walk to do his will. His love and grace sustain me, into the fortress where my Savior lives that protects me and calms my soul. The goodness of the Lord made me walk here, He put before me a chosen life, in everything I give you thanks, Lord. He presents Himself abundantly in the grace of each day, in small and great miracles, He makes me look beyond the circumstances! Of fears and failures. To believe in the grace of God and to know that everything comes from Him that gives me deliverance and growth. It teaches me the difference between living by grace and passing through grace. Living everything I receive from life as grace is a gift, a gift! Cheerful or sometimes sad it is important to realize that there is always a form of communication …

Letter from St. John in Montana, 06/2019

Dear Sisters and Brothers, The months of May and June have been filled with many different activities. Sr. Maureen continued with the course on Human and Faith development and also guided us in a four day retreat, Sr. Patricia Watson came to visit us in the novitiate and shared with us her knowledge on dialogue and encounter with the other. The CNF Team came for the meeting and following this, we went as a community for five days to Galilee walking in the footsteps of Jesus.The novices had prepared excellent information booklets on the various places we visited from the crusader stronghold of Acco to Nazareth which is the largest Arab speaking city in Israel. Being the place where Jesus lived his childhood, adolescence and adulthood, it attracts many pilgrims and tourists. Only some years ago there were found houses, baths and tombs dating from Roman times. In 2009, the Israeli archaeologist, Yardenna Alexandre excavated remains in Nazareth which date from the time of Jesus in the early Roman period. He told reporters, “The discovery …

Fr Mary Alphonse

Sharing a vocation

During the month of May, we celebrated as a Sion community three events which remind us of the importance of the priesthood, not only for the church but also for the world. “Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God,… He is able to deal gently with those who are going astray since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.” Hebrews 5, 1-3 On May 6 we commemorated the 135th anniversary of the death of Alfons Ratisbonne, one of our founders. Who, after the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary became a Christian and later a priest. He was from that moment the main collaborator in the new work of his brother Teodoro. Alphonse was a more resolute character. His was the inspiring and energetic vision for the foundation in Jerusalem. During this same celebration presided over by Leopoldo Girelli, brother CRISTÓVÃO OLIVEIRA …

Back to Galilee

We again had the opportunity to visit Galilee for a few days. This time we were accompanied not only by the rest of the Novitiate Community but also by the sisters of the Formation Team of the Congregation. It was simply wonderful to be able to share with all of them. Although within our itinerary were of course, places like Nazareth and Tabgha, which we had visited previously, it was so interesting to be able to view new archeological sites, which are significant from an historical, non-religious point of view. On the first day we visited the city of Akko or Acre, a historical place where the preservation of some archaeological sites is extraordinary; it has been awarded heritage status by UNESCO precisely because of the degree of conservation and maintenance both by the authorities and the town population. This status also includes the care of visitors because tourism is currently one of their main sources of income. It was exciting to go through the tunnels built by the crusaders and to listen to the …