"Christ Our Hope is Risen"

Dear friends,

Happy Easter! As the joy of the Paschal season continues to unfold throughout these fifty days, we are reminded of the reason for our hope—the Resurrection of Christ. In the great love poem of the Bible, we are told that “love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave” (Song of Songs 8:6). By Jesus’s death and Resurrection,  God’s love reaches out to us with a freedom that nothing in heaven or on earth can take away. This love is not for our present life only, but stretches “beyond the veil” to a life of friendship with God that is wilder and more beautiful than anything we can ask or imagine. As Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper: ‘I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (Jn 16:22). As we prepare for the feast of Ascension, this our confidence, our hope and our peace. Alleluia!

 
 
 
 
 
 

After a beautiful celebration of the Paschal Mysteries during Holy Week, it was also our great joy to welcome Catherine as a postulant—fittingly, on the feast of St. Catherine of Siena (April 29)! Our Constitutions say that postulancy is a period when a candidate “comes to experience the goal and means of our contemplative life, through suitable catechesis and personal dialogue concerning both the life of union with God and monastic observance.” Please pray for Catherine as she begins this new step in her journey with the Lord.

 
 

As we continue to celebrate liturgically, the joy of the Resurrection makes its own appearance in the quiet details of daily monastic life. For our Easter bouquets, we were able to harvest fresh tulips, narcissus and boughs from our gardens and orchards. Our sister candlemaker is hard at work in her new shop, and we are grateful for your donations of recycled wax. With the arrival of spring’s good weather, as many sisters as possible are outside to prepare the garden for the year ahead.

 
 
 
 
 
 

We continue to hold you and your loved ones in prayer, particularly those who are affected by the Lapu Lapu tragedy in Vancouver. May God grant peace and healing to us all, and to our world.

God bless,

Your sisters at Queen of Peace Monastery

Sr. Marie Thomas Lawrie
Blessed Advent

A happy and blessed beginning of Advent to you all! This season marks a very special anniversary for our community as we begin the 25th Jubilee Year of our foundation. On November 27, 1999, our founding sisters first gathered together in Rosemary Heights, Surrey to sing the Vespers of the First Sunday of Advent together. We give thanks for God’s providence and goodness as He led us from Surrey to Langley, and eventually to the snow-capped peaks of the Upper Squamish Valley.

As we prepare to celebrate with joy Christ’s coming among us at Christmas, we give thanks for all our friends near and far who have supported our foundation. In our new winter newsletter, we reflect on the gift of these past decades, and share the news of the past few months. Right now, you can read the digital edition below in either English or French; we will mail the paper editions to subscribers once the postal strike is concluded.

On a similar note, we are currently unable to fulfill online orders or receive donation cheques in the mail until the postal service resumes. However, our soap and other handmade items are available in our monastery’s physical gift shop. Secure donations can still be made online through our website. We are deeply grateful for all your support, and pray for our benefactors every day.

Finally, it is our great joy to announce the election of our new prioress, Sr. Marie-Bénédicte Gutierrez! In Dominican tradition, we hold prioral elections every three years. Our Constitutions describe the prioress’s role as being “the faithful servant of the monastery,” responsible particularly for cultivating unity and charity, encouraging the contemplative life of the nuns, fostering regular observance, and caring for the sick. Please pray for Sr. Marie-Bénédicte as she begins these years of service in our community.

Sr. Marie Thomas Lawrie
First Profession of Sr. Marie Angelica
 
 

The feast of Dominican All Saints (November 7) was particularly joyful for our community this year as we witnessed the first profession of Sr. Marie Angelica of the Incarnation! The Eucharist was celebrated by fr. Pierre Leblond O.P., fr. Maxime Allard O.P. and Fr. Andrew L’Hereux. It was a beautiful and very moving ceremony, with the surprise of a violin offertory played by one of our other young sisters. We give thanks to God for Sr. Marie Angelica’s vocation, and wish her every joy in the Lord as she continues to follow Jesus in consecrated life for the next three years.

 
 
Sr. Marie Thomas Lawrie