Deepening Her Walk Of Faith

[Chiquitunga]

[center]JMJ[/center]
+ Praised be Jesus Christ!

On the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, May 31st, 2008, [url="http://alicesgrandadventures.blogspot.com/2008/06/sister-agnes-marie-of-eternal-high.html"]Sister Agnes Marie of the Eternal High Priest, OCD[/url] made her Final Profession at the [url="http://www.carmelitenunsstjoseph.org/Buffalo.htm"]Monastery of the Little Flower of Jesus[/url] in Buffalo, NY. Congratulations to Sister!!! I posted this in a couple other threads, but thought I'd start a thread on it too. Here's the article from [i]The Buffalo News[/i], [url="http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/359824.html"][i]Deepening Her Walk of Faith[/i][/url]

[DiscerningSoul]

Congrats!

[stlmom]

Great story MC--thanks for sharing it. Our Carmel in St. Louis has been growing, but we still have only one extern sister. I hope that someday she will have a companion--there is so much to do around the monastery that requires her attention. Externs are so valuable to these cloistered sisters!

[Marieteresa]

Cool beans, Thanks MC for posting this

[Saint Therese]

Great story!

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='Margaret Clare' post='1569722' date='Jun 12 2008, 12:54 PM']Here's the article from [i]The Buffalo News[/i], [url="http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/359824.html"][i]Deepening Her Walk of Faith[/i][/url][/quote]
[center]JMJ[/center]
+ Praised be Jesus Christ! Happy Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel! The link to this article doesn't work anymore, so I thought I'd post the article I saved here. God bless!

[quote][size=3][font="Book Antiqua"]Deepening her walk of faith

Published on June 1, 2008
Author: Maki Becker - NEWS STAFF REPORTER
© The Buffalo News Inc.

She looked radiant as she walked down the aisle, her eyes sparkling and wearing a garland of white roses and baby's breath.

"It's like her wedding day," Mary Ponce Gallagher, her sister, said.

Saturday, Sister Agnes Marie of the Eternal High Priest professed her final vows, marking the completion of her journey to becoming a discalced Carmelite nun.

The Carmelite Sisters of Buffalo is one of just two cloistered orders in the city. They live almost exclusively behind the walls of their monastery on Carmel Road in North Buffalo and have next to no contact with the outside world. Even during Mass, they remain hidden from public view behind a grate. Only the sweet sound of their singing voices signals their presence.

Most of their day is devoted to prayer -- the rest to labor, mostly upkeep of the monastery.

They are vegetarians who try to live off what they grow in their garden.

They wear the same brown wool habit that their foundress, St. Teresa of Avila, wore in 1562, along with rope sandals, a white toque and a black veil.

"Their total focus is to be wedded to the Lord and to prayer," said the Rev. David H. LiPuma, who is the Carmelite's chaplain and Bishop Edward U. Kmiec's secretary. "It's a very joy-filled life."

With the addition of Sister Agnes, there are now 15 members of the Carmelite Sisters of Buffalo.

Sister Agnes, 32, originally from Potomac, Md., has lived with the Carmelites for the past 81/2 years. She will hold a unique position -- one of two extern nuns, which means she will have some interaction with outsiders. They speak with members of the public requesting prayers, deal with deliveries and other business matters for the cloister and accompany ill nuns to doctor's appointments.

And because she will be an extern, Sister Agnes's final profession was done in full view of the chapel -- a rarity for the Carmelites.

Sister Agnes' family and friends, who traveled from all over North America to witness her special day, were able to watch as she lay prostrate on the floor before the altar and professed her vows.

"Sister, in Baptism you have already died to sin and have been set aside for God's services. Are you now resolved to unite yourself more closely to God by the bond of Perpetual Profession," Bishop Kmiec, who officiated the ceremony, asked her.

"I am," she said in a firm, strong voice.

She smiled throughout the Mass, although she teared up when her father, William Gallagher, did a reading.

After the service, Sister Agnes beamed as she threw her arms around her family and friends, who came to congratulate her and take photos.

"We are thrilled," said her mother, Ann Gallagher. She said that both she and her husband had at one time pursued religious lives, but ended up getting married instead.

"God had other plans for us," she said smiling. "I guess he had our daughter in mind."

She noted that her daughter, born Teresa Maria Gallagher, hadn't shared her interest in becoming a nun until she was ready to join.

Mary Ponce Gallagher recalled how her sister proudly announced her decision to her family. She presented them with a bottle of wine.

"My parents were thrilled," she said. "This is what they prayed for."

Sister Agnes won't be the only one in her family to devote her life to God. Her brother, John, is studying to be a priest.

Sister Agnes's friends from Christendom College, a Catholic liberal arts school in Front Royal, Va., were also on hand at the monastery Saturday.

"It was very emotional, but really just beautiful," said her friend, Mary Walsh, who traveled from Maryland. "I feel privileged to be here."

Rev. John Reilly, who taught her theology, recalled watching Sister Agnes transform from a "typical" and "fun-loving college student" into a deeply religious woman. "She wasn't the one in chapel all the time," he recalled. "You don't want to say too much, but she wasn't a goody two shoes."

He said he felt a special connection to her Saturday.

"It's a fulfillment in a sense that a priest leads a life of celibacy," he said. "We never see our daughters walk down the aisle. This is the closest thing I'll have to that."[/font][/size][/quote]

[Caramelonion]

What a wonderful story...thanks so much for posting it!

[RosaMystica]

That is so beautiful! Do you know if this monastery follows the 1990 or 1991 constitutions?

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='MandyKhatoon' post='1601606' date='Jul 16 2008, 09:55 PM']That is so beautiful! Do you know if this monastery follows the 1990 or 1991 constitutions?[/quote]
They're under the 1990's. At the bottom of [url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?s=&showtopic=58540&view=findpost&p=1402227"][b]this post[/b][/url], there's a list of all the US Carmels under them.

[RosaMystica]

Thank you for that!

[Chiquitunga]

+ Praised be Jesus Christ!

I found another picture of Sr. Agnes Marie from her profession day last year. On the Ask Sister Martha Mary blog there were these Nun So Beautiful pictures, and the first one was of her, smiling radiantly!

[url="http://asksistermarymartha.blogspot.com/2008/10/here-we-go.html"]http://asksistermarymartha.blogspot.com/20...here-we-go.html[/url]

Also, [url="http://thecrescat.blogspot.com/2008/07/sister-agnes-marie.html?showComment=1215020160000"]here[/url] ( I love some of the comments there, lol )