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Our chapel on Ash Wednesday, just before Mass and the distribution of ashes.

At noon in the refectory today, we will listen to a reading from the Cistercian monk Thomas Merton. Writing in the early 1960s, he said:

“The Paschal Mystery is above all the celebration of life, in which the Church, by celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ, enters into the Kingdom of Life which He has established once for all by His definitive victory over sin and death. We must remember the original meaning of Lent, as the ‘ver sacrum’, the Church’s “holy spring” in which the catechumens were prepared for their baptism, and public penitents were made ready by penance for their restoration to the sacramental life in a communion with the rest of the Church. Lent is then not a season of punishment so much as one of healing. ”

— Thomas Merton, Seasons of Celebration, 1965

During a time in our world and Church when so many are already suffering gravely—from illness and recovery, financial hardship caused by the pandemic, loss or the separation of loved ones, loss of physical access to the sacraments and community of faith, the involuntary restriction of things big and small that add to the ordinary joy of life—does it really make sense to celebrate Lent? Our liturgy and faith say “Yes, absolutely!” Technically speaking, Lent proper actually begins this upcoming Sunday; Ash Wednesday and subsequent days are a kind of preparation for the preparation, a chance to calm down and enter into the the season. Today, then, may be a good day to reflect on what exactly we will be celebrating forty days from now.

Historically, Lent developed as a season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in preparation for feasting the Paschal Mystery at Easter. The word “Paschal” has its roots in the Hebrew Pesah, or “Passover,” and is rooted in that Jewish feast; it recalls God’s liberation of the ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt, to new life and hope in a land marked by relationship with Him. For Christians, this word takes on the further meaning of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. As we sing in the Exultet at the Easter Vigil, “This is the night when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld.” Love alone is strong as death, as fierce as the grave (Song 8:6-7); and this is true, not only of physical death, but of all our “deaths” of regret, fear, shame, loss, failure, sin, limitedness. At Easter, we remember that Love has come to set us free (Jn 3:16), and He does so, literally with a Passion. This is not just a historical event of our salvation, but a daily one, present and active through the Holy Spirit. The story of Exodus and Easter is, ultimately, the story of each of our lives; or, at least, it can be. If a journey of hope is offered, are we listening?

As we begin this season of preparation, and reflect more deeply on how we will pray, fast and give alms, let us do so in the light of the Resurrection, the life and love that God has promised. Please know that we continue to be united with you in prayer. Although we cannot physically be together with you in our chapel at this time, we pray for you daily, especially in our liturgy.

God bless,
your sisters at Queen of Peace Monastery

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As we enter the season of Lent, we also realized that it’s been quite a while since we posted a news update! The time between Christmas and Lent is generally pretty quiet around the monastery, but on the Feast of the Presentation (February 2), we were delighted to celebrate the vestition of Sonia. She received the Dominican habit and the religious name Sister Laetitia Maria of the Holy Spirit. “Laetitia” means joy in Latin, and refers to the greeting of the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation: “Rejoice, Mary, full of grace.” We wish Sr. Laetitia Maria all the best as she continues to follow the Lord in Dominican monastic life!

We haven’t received much snow yet this winter, or much sun, but in late January, we received both at least twice! Here is a glimpse of our valley at its finest.

Finally, there are at least a few projects “lurking” in the monastery’s basement, growing quietly yet steadily as spring approaches. Here is a sneak peek…

Merry Christmas and Blessed Epiphany to you all! The grass may be green outside our chapel, but it’s definitely Christmas inside and in our hearts. We want to share some of our joy with you through the hymn that we sing at Compline every night until the Baptism of the Lord. If you’d like to sing along, the lyrics are below.

+ Lyrics

Of the Father's love begotten
'ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the ending He,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see,
evermore and evermore.

This is He whom seers in old time
chanted of with one accord,
whom the voices of the prophets
promised in their faithful word;
now He shines, the long-expected;
let creation praise its Lord,
evermore and evermore.

Christ, to thee, with God the Father,
and, O Holy Ghost, to thee,
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
and unwearied praises be,
honor, glory, and dominion
and eternal victory,
evermore and evermore!

Wherever you are, wherever this Christmas season finds you, please be assured of our prayers for you and your loved ones throughout this season and in the upcoming year.

God bless,
your sisters at Queen of Peace Monastery

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P.S. If you haven’t already viewed it, our community’s most recent newsletter went “live” in mid-December and is available in English and French:

On St. Teresa of Avila’s feast day (October 15), we finally welcomed a long-anticipated newcomer to our monastery…the turbine for our micro-hydroelectric project! We nicknamed the machine Teresa, in honour of that dynamic Spanish saint. The turbine had actually arrived a few weeks ago, but had to wait for the framing, concrete pouring and final touches before being lifted into place in St. Anne’s (our name for the hydroelectric building). The day of the big lift, the community trooped down to the edge of Pilchuk Creek at 8:00 a.m. to wait for the arrival of the crane truck that would perform the lift. Meanwhile, our workman Ron and volunteers par excellence Peter and John were busy finalizing the rigging and giving the new concrete floor one final sweep. When the crane arrived, we held our breath, prayed fervently and cheered as the turbine was maneuvered into position on its steel and concrete frame. The positioning had to be precise, down to the millimetre! When all was bolted into place, our prioress Sr. Claire and chaplain Fr. Pierre LeBlond led a prayer of blessing, and each person present took a turn sprinkling the turbine with holy water.

This is a one of the last big steps in the micro-hydroelectric project, which has taken volunteers, sisters and workers countless hours of labour to bring to this point. Much of the initial work had been performed by hand to reduce the impact on the surrounding forest, and it is truly lovely to see these final big pieces coming into place. We’re looking forward to the completion of the project in the next few months, and to seeing it generate clean, renewable energy for generations to come.