October 11, 2016
September/October 2016 News from Santa Rita Abbey
Muhly grass at the Retreat House
What beautiful weather we are having at Santa Rita Abbey right now! There’s something special about blue skies in October. Thanks to the rain in September the grass is still green, and there are yellow wildflowers, of all sizes, in bloom everywhere. Last spring we planted muhly grass in the old rosebush beds at the retreat house. Thanks to the good rains this summer, the grass has thrived and is already blooming! In the evening sky the planet Venus is glowing brightly to the West over the Santa Rita Mountains. In the dawn sky the planet Mercury is making a brief appearance in the east over the Whetstones. Truly, God’s creation is beautiful in every season and at every hour!
The doe and her twins crossing the field in front of our church. That’s the Family Guest House trailer in the background.
The twin fawns born here in July have grown so quickly, virtually all their spots are gone. They no longer come close to the monastery buildings, but now and then we still see them from a distance. The four adolescent ravens who were raising such a ruckus in our backyard most of the summer have grown up and flown away. Their parents are year-round residents, and Sister Miriam faithfully puts bread scraps out for them every day.
The Arizona summer monsoon season ended September 30. We are happy to report our rainfall total of 14.89″ for the season! Here in the high desert, rainfall is so precious. It is hard for us to imagine what a hurricane is like–the extreme winds and flooding–but we pray very much for all those impacted by the hurricanes now active in the world.
Volunteer Janie in the guest chapel
We are very grateful to God for such a great first year for our new Volunteer Helpers program. Sonia, Donna, and Janie were each a great help to us, and they themselves benefited from spending several weeks in the monastic environment. The program will close for the winter, beginning November 1. Our Santa Rita Abbey retreat house gets busy in the winter months, so we’ll be needing the volunteer’s room for other guests. Meanwhile, it’s not too soon to apply to be a volunteer for the 2017 April to November season. For more information, see our Volunteer Helpers page.
The Sisters’ annual community retreat is coming up soon, October 15-21. Fr. John Denburger, OCSO, of Genesee Abbey in New York will be our retreat director. We are looking forward to his conferences and to celebrating Mass with him every day. Just after Fr. John leaves, Fr. Bill arrives for his own 3-day retreat, and so we will have Mass then, too. To keep up-to-date on our current Mass schedule, visit our Prayer Times page. https://santaritaabbey.org/prayer-times-8/ And please keep us in your prayers during our retreat!
Sister Clare with her sister Maureen, sister-in-law Mary Lou, and brother Joe.
Most recently, three members of our Sister Clare’s family came for a visit. They were thrilled to see Sonoita with green grass! (Being from the East Coast, they are partial to green.) They had an uproarious time teasing each other and reminiscing with Clare.
When our families visit us, they stay in our Family Guest House. This is an ancient double-wide trailer that we have long wished to replace. Our very first chaplain, Fr. Romain Payant of Guadalupe Abbey in Oregon, acquired it (already used) for the abbey in November 1971 to be the chaplain’s temporary house. Later, when the permanent chaplain’s house was completed, the trailer became our first retreat house. Twenty years later, when our new retreat house was opened, the trailer became our Family Guest House. Now we are beginning the planning stages to build a new one. Please keep this project in your prayers!
Our Facebook Page profile
Have you visited and “liked” our Facebook page? We post a weekly Wednesday’s Wisdom quote from monastic literature both modern and ancient. We also share photos and little new items now and then. Look us up at https://www.facebook.com/santaritaabbeynuns/