Rosalind Moss - Mother Miriam Of The Lamb Of God

[AccountDeleted]

Hello dear phatmass friends...

I got back from Georgia yesterday, where I went to hear Rosalind Moss. Her first talk was The Passover Fulfilled, the second one was The Holy Spirit: Giver of Life and the last one was God's Will for You: How to Know It. Each one of these talks was inspiring and so full of humor and love and the Holy Spirit.

When I first arrived at the motel, I turned on the TV to see if they had EWTN (I don't get it where I live) and not only did they have it, but the program that was just starting was "The Reason for Our Hope" with Rosalind Moss! I had never seen her speak before (only listened to a downloaded audio tape) so this was like my "preview" before the program the next day! God is very funny sometimes!

The next day, in addition to her scheduled talks, which were amazing, she was also so full of enthusiasm for her new community that she spoke about it as well. She told us that she hadn't intended to talk about it, but she obviously couldn't help herself - and we were all thrilled to hear what she had to say. I had time for a private chat with her during one of the breaks and she shared some of her plans. At the end of the day, she also showed some of us a picture of the habit she is going to have made. The habit is based on St Teresa of Avila's one, but in a blue color instead of brown. She started to describe it when suddenly it hit me and I said, "Oh, a Carmelite habit!" and she laughed and made some comment about "Yes, look who I am telling." because she knew that I had been a Carmelite. She thinks wearing a traditional habit in public is very important as a witness to Christ and His Church. She told us that long before she became a Catholic, or even a Christian, following Vatican II, she had read that nuns were going to be allowed to shorten and modify their habits, and even though she didn't know why, she said a pain shot through her at this and she knew that something had been lost. So she is very passionate about the wearing of the habit as part of the work of the community.

She hopes to get some people started working on fixing up the convent (cleaning and renovating) at the end of May, and has asked the Archbishop if he will do the consecration in September on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (God willing). The charism will be based on her patron saint, St Francis de Sales and she said that she will accept women from 18 to 118 (although if you are 119, I am sure she will still consider you - lol). The work will be preaching and teaching the gospel using all forms of media - and she described the community as contemplative-active.

Her own name in religion will be Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God and I just thought of her as "Mother" the minute I met her! She told me that she wants to start with no more than 12 sisters and then not to accept any vocations after that for the first year (during formation of the foundation sisters). She has about five sisters selected already, with many more applications in hand, and I have also asked to join her. She said she would send me a copy of the Rule and an application form as soon as she got back to California. I am hoping to be able to see her again, since I live only about an hour from her. She is very busy right now of course.

She said that the best email address for her is [email=rosalindmoss@gmail.com]rosalindmoss@gmail.com[/email]. If you do write to her, I wouldn't expect an answer right away though because of how busy she is.

Some people at the program were so inspired that they even hoped that she might set up a Third Order for those who are married or have other responsibilities that prevent them from joining her. I have no doubt that her community is going to flourish wonderfully. She said that there would be a web site set up as soon as possible.

Believe me, this woman is incredible and anyone who joins her is going to be blessed just to know her. Her zeal and passion for Our Lord could set anyone on fire!

For those of you who are wondering how I could have changed from wanting to be a hermit to wanting to join her community - all I can say is that God spoke to me through her. At the end of the day, she was teaching a young girl who came up to talk to her. I think the girl said that she had been a Catholic (but I can't be sure because I came in after they had started talking) but she was now a Protestant, and Mother was answering her questions about Mary and about statues, and all those other misconceptions that Protestants have about the Catholic Church, and it was such a learning experience for me to hear what she was saying. Then she turned to me and asked me to go to the publications table to get a particular book for her, so I did, and then I came back and listened to such an amazing conversation. At the end, she told the girl she wanted to give her a gift, and she handed her the book, which was called Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating. I realized that I could learn so much from her and that she was able to answer so many of my own questions, despite the fact that I am a Catholic already! I think what we have here is a future Doctor of the Church (just my own opinion everyone)! The young girl, I could see, was also totally in awe of her, and she asked her to autograph the book! If that young girl doesn't end up converted (or brought back?) to the Church, well, I will be very surprized!

Finally, when it was time for her to leave, I went to her and said "Mother, please give me your blessing." She traced the sign of the cross on my forehead and then gave me a big hug and I just started crying again - I felt like I had "come home" when she embraced me - that I now knew what God was asking me to do with my life. I pray now that every one of you who is discerning will find the place where you belong as well - the feeling is so wonderful. Of course my own dear patron saint, Teresa of Avila, must be interceding for me as well, because the name of the church where the program was held was, of course, St Teresa of Avila! And don't let us forget that the habit is hers as well.

I must also say that the people of the parish of Grovetown, Georgia, were so kind and so loving and so generous that I felt as if I had known them as dear friends forever! They treated me as if I were some kind of VIP even though I had only gone there to hear Rosalind. They made sure I had time to speak with her. They made sure I was introduced to so many people and had company during lunch, and all of them were just so warm and welcoming! They provided me with transportation and even took me out to dinner on my last night, and it just felt like I was in one of those really early Christian communities where everyone loved each other! Saturday night after the program, I was also able to go to Reconciliation and attend Mass - and that was all beautiful too. It was a grace filled weekend.

I was also able to pass on the phatmass website address to another young girl who thought she might have a vocation. She is in the military for another two years but said she wants to start discerning, so I told her how great you all are, and said she should visit here. This really is a great service to people who don't know where to start looking. Go phatmass!

Enough for now. You might be able to tell that I am just a little teeny tiny bit happy right now. Praise God forever!

[gloriagurl]

[quote name='nunsense' post='1512945' date='Apr 28 2008, 07:36 PM']Hello dear phatmass friends...

I got back from Georgia yesterday, where I went to hear Rosalind Moss. Her first talk was The Passover Fulfilled, the second one was The Holy Spirit: Giver of Life and the last one was God's Will for You: How to Know It. Each one of these talks was inspiring and so full of humor and love and the Holy Spirit.

When I first arrived at the motel, I turned on the TV to see if they had EWTN (I don't get it where I live) and not only did they have it, but the program that was just starting was "The Reason for Our Hope" with Rosalind Moss! I had never seen her speak before (only listened to a downloaded audio tape) so this was like my "preview" before the program the next day! God is very funny sometimes!

The next day, in addition to her scheduled talks, which were amazing, she was also so full of enthusiasm for her new community that she spoke about it as well. She told us that she hadn't intended to talk about it, but she obviously couldn't help herself - and we were all thrilled to hear what she had to say. I had time for a private chat with her during one of the breaks and she shared some of her plans. At the end of the day, she also showed some of us a picture of the habit she is going to have made. The habit is based on St Teresa of Avila's one, but in a blue color instead of brown. She started to describe it when suddenly it hit me and I said, "Oh, a Carmelite habit!" and she laughed and made some comment about "Yes, look who I am telling." because she knew that I had been a Carmelite. She thinks wearing a traditional habit in public is very important as a witness to Christ and His Church. She told us that long before she became a Catholic, or even a Christian, following Vatican II, she had read that nuns were going to be allowed to shorten and modify their habits, and even though she didn't know why, she said a pain shot through her at this and she knew that something had been lost. So she is very passionate about the wearing of the habit as part of the work of the community.

She hopes to get some people started working on fixing up the convent (cleaning and renovating) at the end of May, and has asked the Archbishop if he will do the consecration in September on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (God willing). The charism will be based on her patron saint, St Francis de Sales and she said that she will accept women from 18 to 118 (although if you are 119, I am sure she will still consider you - lol). The work will be preaching and teaching the gospel using all forms of media - and she described the community as contemplative-active.

Her own name in religion will be Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God and I just thought of her as "Mother" the minute I met her! She told me that she wants to start with no more than 12 sisters and then not to accept any vocations after that for the first year (during formation of the foundation sisters). She has about five sisters selected already, with many more applications in hand, and I have also asked to join her. She said she would send me a copy of the Rule and an application form as soon as she got back to California. I am hoping to be able to see her again, since I live only about an hour from her. She is very busy right now of course.

She said that the best email address for her is [email=rosalindmoss@gmail.com]rosalindmoss@gmail.com[/email]. If you do write to her, I wouldn't expect an answer right away though because of how busy she is.

Some people at the program were so inspired that they even hoped that she might set up a Third Order for those who are married or have other responsibilities that prevent them from joining her. I have no doubt that her community is going to flourish wonderfully. She said that there would be a web site set up as soon as possible.

Believe me, this woman is incredible and anyone who joins her is going to be blessed just to know her. Her zeal and passion for Our Lord could set anyone on fire!

For those of you who are wondering how I could have changed from wanting to be a hermit to wanting to join her community - all I can say is that God spoke to me through her. At the end of the day, she was teaching a young girl who came up to talk to her. I think the girl said that she had been a Catholic (but I can't be sure because I came in after they had started talking) but she was now a Protestant, and Mother was answering her questions about Mary and about statues, and all those other misconceptions that Protestants have about the Catholic Church, and it was such a learning experience for me to hear what she was saying. Then she turned to me and asked me to go to the publications table to get a particular book for her, so I did, and then I came back and listened to such an amazing conversation. At the end, she told the girl she wanted to give her a gift, and she handed her the book, which was called Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating. I realized that I could learn so much from her and that she was able to answer so many of my own questions, despite the fact that I am a Catholic already! I think what we have here is a future Doctor of the Church (just my own opinion everyone)! The young girl, I could see, was also totally in awe of her, and she asked her to autograph the book! If that young girl doesn't end up converted (or brought back?) to the Church, well, I will be very surprized!

Finally, when it was time for her to leave, I went to her and said "Mother, please give me your blessing." She traced the sign of the cross on my forehead and then gave me a big hug and I just started crying again - I felt like I had "come home" when she embraced me - that I now knew what God was asking me to do with my life. I pray now that every one of you who is discerning will find the place where you belong as well - the feeling is so wonderful. Of course my own dear patron saint, Teresa of Avila, must be interceding for me as well, because the name of the church where the program was held was, of course, St Teresa of Avila! And don't let us forget that the habit is hers as well.

I must also say that the people of the parish of Grovetown, Georgia, were so kind and so loving and so generous that I felt as if I had known them as dear friends forever! They treated me as if I were some kind of VIP even though I had only gone there to hear Rosalind. They made sure I had time to speak with her. They made sure I was introduced to so many people and had company during lunch, and all of them were just so warm and welcoming! They provided me with transportation and even took me out to dinner on my last night, and it just felt like I was in one of those really early Christian communities where everyone loved each other! Saturday night after the program, I was also able to go to Reconciliation and attend Mass - and that was all beautiful too. It was a grace filled weekend.

I was also able to pass on the phatmass website address to another young girl who thought she might have a vocation. She is in the military for another two years but said she wants to start discerning, so I told her how great you all are, and said she should visit here. This really is a great service to people who don't know where to start looking. Go phatmass!

Enough for now. You might be able to tell that I am just a little teeny tiny bit happy right now. Praise God forever!

WOW!!! More later, but for now, WOW!!!!!! God bless you Nunsense.[/quote]

[Marieteresa]

wow! It sounds like you had a wonderful trip! Iam just wondering did she mention how long their formation process is? Also will she accept individuals after the formation process is completed? Lastly will she have a website and a blog? Both seem very helpful to discerners

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='Marieteresa' post='1513030' date='Apr 28 2008, 05:21 PM']wow! It sounds like you had a wonderful trip! Iam just wondering did she mention how long their formation process is? Also will she accept individuals after the formation process is completed? Lastly will she have a website and a blog? Both seem very helpful to discerners[/quote]

The total formation time (before final vows) will be between 5-6 years she said and Yes she will start accepting sisters again after the formation year is finished for the foundation sisters. And Yes, she will have a website. She didn't say anything about a blog but she said she would use all forms of media, so I imagine the answer to that will be a yes as well.

Edited April 28, 2008 by nunsense

[alicemary]

Have not heard of this wonderful woman before. This sounds very interesting!! Do keep us updated!!! You know how much we care about you and your journey.
alicemary

[inperpetuity]

I don't even know you, nunsense, but I am very happy for you that you were able to make this trip and meet Rosalind Moss and feel so inspired. What a great grace! I watched her for years on EWTN and always loved her. To be honest with you, reading the report of your trip has definitely touched something deep within me. I guess I will have to find out what that's about! Didn't expect that to happen. Thanks again for sharing your experience. God Bless you, Lisa

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='alicemary' post='1513150' date='Apr 28 2008, 06:29 PM']Have not heard of this wonderful woman before. This sounds very interesting!! Do keep us updated!!! You know how much we care about you and your journey.
alicemary[/quote]


I had not heard of Rosalind until three weeks ago when I read something on phatmass with a link to a newspaper article about her new community. At the time I thought it had nothing to do with me because I was checking out contemplative orders and hermitages, but after I heard a radio interview with her through a downloaded audio file, I was entranced and wanted to know more about her and what she had to say. She is an apologist for [u][url="http://www.catholic.com/seminars/moss.asp"]catholic answers [/url][/u] (see link) and she is brilliant. With her Jewish background, her Evangelical Protestant chaplain background and her five years of studying and questioning the Faith before entering the Church, I think she could probably answer any question that anyone had about the Catholic religion.

If that weren't enough, her heart is on fire with love for Our Lord, and she is devoted to His Mother. She is straight down the line traditional (is that the right word?) and even quizzed the audience on the basics of the Catechism during her talks. She asked us "So, can women become priests?" and then proceeded to explain why it is impossible for the Church to ordain women as priests. She did this with several other controversial topics, and explained each one so beautifully. I was in awe not only with her ability to explain complex topics in a simple and clear way, but also with the passion and fire with which she did it. I was not the only one who had tears in her eyes at the end of one of the talks where she explained Christ's sacrifice for us during her talk about the Eucharist. Anyone who could listen to her during a talk like that, and not be moved, would have to have a heart of stone. Of course, I am a soppy and emotional person anyway, but I wasn't the only one there who felt a little overwhelmed I think. God is definitely at work in her.

Edited April 29, 2008 by nunsense

[EWIE]

[quote name='nunsense' date='Apr 28 2008, 07:48 PM' post='1513196']
I had not heard of Rosalind until three weeks ago when I read something on phatmass with a link to a newspaper article about her new community.

I hadn't heard of her at all until now.
Is she the fruit of the Charismatic Renewal?
Solid?
Children?
How is all this going down with her children/family?
With so many orders having such a difficult time holding their own right now, why didn't she join an already established order?

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='EWIE' post='1513234' date='Apr 28 2008, 07:08 PM']I had not heard of Rosalind until three weeks ago when I read something on phatmass with a link to a newspaper article about her new community.

I hadn't heard of her at all until now.
Is she the fruit of the Charismatic Renewal?
Solid?
Children?
How is all this going down with her children/family?
With so many orders having such a difficult time holding their own right now, why didn't she join an already established order?[/quote]

She is the fruit of a Conservative Jewish family, an Evangelical Protestant conversion and a the grace of the Lord who brought her to the true faith through her own attempts to "save" her brother from Catholicism!

She is rock solid with the Church and in her fidelity to the Holy Father.

She has never married or had children. Her brother is also a convert to Catholicism. I don't know about the rest of her family.

She is starting her own community because she believes it is what God is asking her to do. Here is some more from an article about her...

--------------------------------------------
SAINT LOUIS CATHOLIC
UNABASHEDLY CATHOLIC NEWS AND VIEWS
10 MARCH 2008

Saint Louis Catholic Interview with Rosalind Moss

Rosalind Moss, the well-known Catholic apologist, has recently announced that she is founding an order of nuns in St. Louis with the permission of Archbishop Burke. I had the great privilege to talk with her late last week, and she graciously agreed to be interviewed for publication.

Q: I remember meeting you at St. Francis de Sales Oratory last year when you were in town. Do you often attend the Traditional Mass?

A: I don’t often get to Traditional Mass. When I’m home in San Diego, which is rare on a Sunday because I travel so much, I do go to the Tridentine Mass. At the mausoleum, in San Diego, is where it is held! And, it is just so beautiful and reverent, that I truly, truly love it.

Q: Why did you choose St. Louis for your order?

A: I don’t know that I could come under a Bishop whom I could respect more, than Archbishop Burke. And I’m just thrilled to be coming.

Q: What is the name of your order?

A: Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope. Actually, it was God who put together St. Louis, for me to come there. It actually was a desire of my heart and a surprise from God, let me just say it that way. I am thrilled to be coming to St. Louis.

Q: You’ll find the weather not as nice, no doubt.

A: As San Diego? But remember, I’m a New Yorker, I’m a Brooklyn bum. I grew up in New York. I actually miss the seasons, and I’ll be thrilled to be in St. Louis. The desire that I have is to reach the poor, and the rich, and every class of society, and race, creed, tribe, tongue and people.

Q: So, in terms of identifying the charism of your order, would that be a statement of it? Or is there something you have written?

A: No, not formally yet. Under the name, Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope, I have, and will have on the website that I will have up as soon as I can, “Hope for the nations. Hope for the family. Hope for you.” My desire is to flood the world with habits. I’ll just tell you this—the story in a nutshell. When I was twenty, Jewish and single in New York, and didn’t have a clue Who Christ was, or who Christians were, the news came out that nuns had permission to shorten their habits to knee length. And, physically, it went straight through me. And I thought to myself, whoever these women are, in long black and white things—I don’t think I even knew the word “habit” then—they’re in the world to affect the world for God, and alas, the world has affected them. Now in today’s world that would be a very politically incorrect, insensitive statement. But that was the response of a 20-year old Jewish girl who didn’t have a clue; and the thing is, it was my loss. It was my deep and immediate loss. I lost something that was never mine to begin with. It affected me, and I never forgot it.

I have written my conversion story for Honey from the Rock, the story of 16 Jewish people who came into the Church. My brother, David [Moss], is also one there. Roy Schoeman edited the book. I said at the end of my story that now that I’m Catholic—referring to when I was twenty years old—I want to restore the years the locusts have eaten with an order of sisters that will restore the hemline to the floor and the habit to the world.

Q: I’m sure you’re aware of the statistics that show that the more conservative, more traditionally-dressed orders are flourishing—there is more to it than just the habit, of course, but there tends to be a correlation between the obviousness of the habit and the orthodoxy of the order. Would that be a fair statement?

A: It’s a hundred percent fair. I absolutely think so, and I know the young people today—religious young men in the priesthood—they want God; they want orthodoxy; they believe the Church is the Church Christ established; the Magisterium is the Church’s teaching office; the Church is our Mother.

God did not leave us on earth as a family any more than He did Israel, to do our own thing. Israel was to be a people set apart, by government, by dress, by food, by customs, by everything they did and did not do. It was unthinkable for anyone in Israel to do their own thing, and if they did, in many cases they would be put to death. When Jesus said to His disciples, “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it,” the word he used for “Church” was the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for the assembly, for the people of God convocation. And we, too, the new people of God are to be a people set apart by their common government, and liturgy, and customs, and all of that.

I think the young people coming up in the Church today know what the Church is, and will address the confusion of the last years. Coming into the Church, people have said to me, and to my brother David, “How did you ever find your way into the Church in a day like this?” And the way we found our way in was not through Catholics so much, but it was the Church—it is true, and it is God’s. I think that’s what young people absolutely long for today; not just young people, but people of all ages.

So, yes, we are to be a people set apart, and people entering the priesthood and religious life want to be signs of God to the world and are unashamed to let people know. They are signs of eternity. In their habits, in their clerics, they are signs of eternity in our hearts. I know for a good many of the religious sisters who have done away with their habits, that I have had the opportunity to speak to, for the most part, they have done away with the habit because they don’t want the habit to be a barrier between the people they so love and wish to serve. But I believe the people need the sign very, very much. They need the sign. They need God. They need us to be set apart. They need us to be separate from the ordinary, because we are God’s representatives on earth. People need us to be set apart so we can help them—not be one of them—help them on their way to Heaven.

Q: Regarding coming into the Church in a time of confusion, I have a friend who expressed the notion like this, “Come on in, the water’s horrible.”

A: Yes, yes I know it. I actually heard Fr. Groeschel say that in his dear Brooklyn accent—it’s awful, come on in!

Q: Will your order primarily be a contemplative order, active, or mixed?

A: We will be a contemplative/active, evangelistic and teaching order. Contemplative and active, because service is the fruit of prayer, and we wanted nothing apart from prayer and apart from God.

Q: Will you pray the Divine Office in common?

A: We will have the Divine Office, we’ll have a Holy Hour, Mass every single day, Rosary every day.

Q: Who are your patrons?

A: St. Francis de Sales is going to be our Patron. He is the Patron for the Order. He’s my saint, too. St. Francis de Sales is my personal spiritual director from Heaven, I don’t mind saying that; I think he’s given me that confirmation. And he will be the director of the Order.

Q: You couldn’t do any better.

A: Oh, I am just so thrilled and I love St. Francis de Sales. I’ve read almost everything he’s written, including the spiritual directory he wrote for the Visitation nuns. And when he formed the Visitation nuns, with St. Jane de Chantal, they were going to go out and to the poor and the elderly, but the bishop of that time ordered them to be cloistered because it wasn’t well-heard of for nuns to be walking the streets. So, I said to St. Francis de Sales, “So, do you want to do it now? We can do it now.” And we are going to do it now.

When I visited St. Louis and went into St. Francis de Sales Oratory, I had just never been in anything more glorious in my entire life. And I’ve been to Rome! I’ve been to I don’t know how many cities in Italy, and many, many, many churches in Rome, but my heart has just never responded in such a way as it did when I entered St. Francis de Sales in St. Louis and saw that huge statue of my saint right there.

Q: The Institute of Christ the King celebrates such a beautiful and reverent liturgy—it touches you.

A: Oh, it’s magnificent. I’ll tell you it’s my dream to be settled initially in a working class area with a magnificent Church, and there’s no more ideal situation than to be exactly where St. Francis de Sales Oratory is, for me. However, I don’t know what God would have yet. To be in a parish that celebrates only the Tridentine Mass, I don’t know that. And so, that’s something that I want God to lead in.

Q: So, you don’t have a permanent location picked out yet?

A: I don’t. I am hoping to meet with Archbishop Burke as soon as he’s able to do it, and begin to explore a facility or convent in St. Louis. That’s what I hope to do.

Q: Have you already received any inquiries for vocations with your Order?

A: Oh, dozens. Dozens.

Q: If you’re looking forward to St. Louis, I think you’ll be welcomed here with open arms.

A: Thank you. I’ve heard from women from St. Louis, but also from women from all over the country, and we’ve had several dozen inquiries. Women are hungry. What we’re going to do is—I’ve already written the Rule, or Spiritual Directory for the Order—and we’re going to spend a good amount of time in the streets. Normally, when you see nuns, if you see them, that is, it’s because they’re on their way to Church, school, a meeting, or to wherever they’re going. But when you see us, it’s because we’ve reached our destination. I want that time in the streets. I want to be out in the streets in our habits when people go to work and when children go to school, because I want them to think of God. It doesn’t matter to me what faith they are, or if they have no faith. Even if they are angry with God, to see a nun in a habit they have to think of God. Whatever they think of God, they have to think of God. This is what I long for with all my heart.

Q: How will this affect your current speaking, writing and other apologetics work?

A: I will continue to do the “From the Heart” program with Catholic Answers twice a month, the first and third Wednesdays of each month. I’ll continue to do that from St. Louis. I’m not taking further speaking engagements at the moment, for the most part, but I’m going to try to fulfill what I can of the speaking engagements I have for Catholic Answers for the rest of the year.

Q: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to my readers.

A: You’re welcome, and thanks. One more thing—we are in the process of designing the habits. And they will be to the floor (laughs), that’s for sure! We’re going to work with families, we’re going to teach the faith in the convent, we’re going to show films in the convent, we’re going to talk about God. I just want to reach people. I want to help families live for God. That’s foremost in my heart.

God bless you, and I’ll see you when I get to St. Louis.

[the lords sheep]

Praised be Jesus!

I'm really so happy for you! It sounds like the Holy Spirit was really moving in you.
Once again, thank you so much for always being open to us, to sharing how the Lord is working in your soul. It's been so beautiful to watch you for the past year or so, and I hope that you have truly found your Lord, your Lover, your Spouse in this beautiful new community.

In Jesus and Mary,
Lauren

[Gemma]

I had to smack my forehead and say, "DUH" when I read that her habit was going to be Carmelite, only blue.

Makes sense, does it not? Mt. Carmel is in Israel.

Blessings,
Gemma

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='the lords sheep' post='1513497' date='Apr 28 2008, 09:08 PM']Praised be Jesus!

I'm really so happy for you! It sounds like the Holy Spirit was really moving in you.
Once again, thank you so much for always being open to us, to sharing how the Lord is working in your soul. It's been so beautiful to watch you for the past year or so, and I hope that you have truly found your Lord, your Lover, your Spouse in this beautiful new community.

In Jesus and Mary,
Lauren[/quote]

Thank you so much. Well, it is funny how God works. I have often wondered why my life has gone in such strange patterns, but God takes everything and uses it. Look how amazing Rosalind's life has been, with the Jewish background, and the 18 years as an Evangelical before coming to the Faith. God was doing wonderful things in her to prepare her for what she is going to be doing.

[i]"We’re going to work with families, we’re going to teach the faith in the convent, we’re going to show films in the convent, we’re going to talk about God. I just want to reach people. I want to help families live for God. That’s foremost in my heart."[/i]

So, perhaps all of the things that I have done in my life have actually been a part of God's plan for me (ya think? duh) and won't be wasted. The years of fostering and parenting and teaching and all the other things might actually have been to prepare me for this? And the time in Carmel was such a wonderful foundation as well.

I heard this priest say recently (he borrowed it from someone else, I forget who) that we can only see the bottom side of the tapestry, which looks dark and ugly, but when viewed from the top, the tapestry is rich in colors and patterns and is beautiful - that's what God sees. I guess that's why we have to trust Him - we don't see the whole picture.

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='Gemma' post='1513880' date='Apr 29 2008, 09:02 AM']I had to smack my forehead and say, "DUH" when I read that her habit was going to be Carmelite, only blue.

Makes sense, does it not? Mt. Carmel is in Israel.

Blessings,
Gemma[/quote]

I hadn't thought of that before! Carmel from Israel perhaps, with the blue color in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Rosalind has such a deep reverence for her.

Rosalind also sees humor in everything as well, and she made us laugh when she told us that Mary wants to bring everyone to Jesus, and is the typical Jewish mother who says "Have I got a son for you!" (you have to hear it with her NY Jewish accent to get the full effect!)

Edited April 29, 2008 by nunsense

[irishdancer]

You are in my prayers in a special way. Bon Voyage.

[DameAgnes]

Nunsense, maybe your attraction to Carmel and the Carmelite habit was meant to prepare you for this.

Funny how things work out, isn't it? It's why it is so important that we remain open and never close ourselves to any way God may want to use us. I am happy for you and will keep your intention in my prayers.