A Letter from Our Director
NEW LIFE! ALLELUIA!
Dear Friends,
When I was young, about this time of year, my mother and I would go shopping for my “Easter Outfit.” Everything I would wear on Easter would be brand new: new dress, new shoes, new hat (yes, hat!), a pocketbook, and even gloves! (My mom told me that a lady was never properly dressed without gloves!!) And, if the weather was cool, there was a new coat or jacket to match the outfit! We spent the day together, even stopping for lunch. It was like a girls’ day out! One day I asked her why we wore new things for Easter, and she explained that when Jesus died and rose, he gave all of us “new life” so we wore new things to represent that new life. Over the years, as I got older, I began to understand the symbolism of those new clothes. They stated that the person wearing them truly was a new person. At baptism, the infant is clothed in a new white outfit, and adults seeking baptism are clothed in white robes expressing the new life received through the sacrament. New life!
“Christianity is serious business” as Msgr. Owen Campion wrote. We are called to be new persons in Christ. This emboldens us and empowers us to represent Christ in the world. Has my Lenten experience affected my lives? Have I been set on a path that I know is the only path for me? Am I “new” in any way? Perhaps we sometimes feel like the disciples on the road to Emmaus—sad, burdened, hopeless, discouraged. When Jesus met them and talked with them, he opened their minds and hearts to His presence. It was a new day for them, just as, each year, Easter is a “refresher”, a reminder of Christ’s victory over death. After forty days on our Lenten journey, we are touched by new life. We can begin again. The victory of Christ is our victory. Jesus is not in the tomb. He is now the Lord of life, and our lives are joined to his. New life!
Maybe it’s too bad that the old tradition of wearing new clothes at Easter is disappearing. Even if I didn’t totally understand about “newness of life,” I knew something was different, something was special. Christ has risen! THAT is all I need to know!
Sisters Marie, Beth, Rita and Rose wish all our friends an Easter
filled with joy and “newness of life” that will fill your days
with Easter Alleluias!
When I was young, about this time of year, my mother and I would go shopping for my “Easter Outfit.” Everything I would wear on Easter would be brand new: new dress, new shoes, new hat (yes, hat!), a pocketbook, and even gloves! (My mom told me that a lady was never properly dressed without gloves!!) And, if the weather was cool, there was a new coat or jacket to match the outfit! We spent the day together, even stopping for lunch. It was like a girls’ day out! One day I asked her why we wore new things for Easter, and she explained that when Jesus died and rose, he gave all of us “new life” so we wore new things to represent that new life. Over the years, as I got older, I began to understand the symbolism of those new clothes. They stated that the person wearing them truly was a new person. At baptism, the infant is clothed in a new white outfit, and adults seeking baptism are clothed in white robes expressing the new life received through the sacrament. New life!
“Christianity is serious business” as Msgr. Owen Campion wrote. We are called to be new persons in Christ. This emboldens us and empowers us to represent Christ in the world. Has my Lenten experience affected my lives? Have I been set on a path that I know is the only path for me? Am I “new” in any way? Perhaps we sometimes feel like the disciples on the road to Emmaus—sad, burdened, hopeless, discouraged. When Jesus met them and talked with them, he opened their minds and hearts to His presence. It was a new day for them, just as, each year, Easter is a “refresher”, a reminder of Christ’s victory over death. After forty days on our Lenten journey, we are touched by new life. We can begin again. The victory of Christ is our victory. Jesus is not in the tomb. He is now the Lord of life, and our lives are joined to his. New life!
Maybe it’s too bad that the old tradition of wearing new clothes at Easter is disappearing. Even if I didn’t totally understand about “newness of life,” I knew something was different, something was special. Christ has risen! THAT is all I need to know!
Sisters Marie, Beth, Rita and Rose wish all our friends an Easter
filled with joy and “newness of life” that will fill your days
with Easter Alleluias!
Spiritual Treasury Cards
If you were wondering how to obtain more of the Annual or Perpetual Enrollment cards for many various occasions...look no further! Simply click the link below, which may also be found with more information on how to order on the same page where you may leave Prayer Requests, right here on our website! The link will provide you with a peek at the many cards available at Camilla Hall, the Convent Home for our retired/infirm Sisters. All enrolled in the Spiritual Treasury as well as those who support the enrollment program are remembered in the daily prayers and works of the Sisters!
Check it out now: www.camillahall.org/spiritual-treasury
If you were wondering how to obtain more of the Annual or Perpetual Enrollment cards for many various occasions...look no further! Simply click the link below, which may also be found with more information on how to order on the same page where you may leave Prayer Requests, right here on our website! The link will provide you with a peek at the many cards available at Camilla Hall, the Convent Home for our retired/infirm Sisters. All enrolled in the Spiritual Treasury as well as those who support the enrollment program are remembered in the daily prayers and works of the Sisters!
Check it out now: www.camillahall.org/spiritual-treasury
WE OFFER OUR GRATITUDE!
We often have folks contact us by phone or email asking how they can be a help to us...as a way of showing their gratitude for just being a part of our Conference Center "Family!" First of all, we are always so very grateful for a remembrance in your prayers as that is the best support to us in our ministry. Each day at our Morning Prayer, which we pray in common, we specifically ask God's blessings on our "Benefactors"...those who have gifted us with their presence, their time, their prayers and their treasure. If you would like to become one of our monetary Benefactors, we will gratefully accept a donation in any amount toward our ministry. Checks should be made to IHM Conference Center and sent to Sister Marie Gipprich at the Center. We are most grateful for all that you do for us and continue to ask God's blessings on each one and your special intentions! Thank you!
We often have folks contact us by phone or email asking how they can be a help to us...as a way of showing their gratitude for just being a part of our Conference Center "Family!" First of all, we are always so very grateful for a remembrance in your prayers as that is the best support to us in our ministry. Each day at our Morning Prayer, which we pray in common, we specifically ask God's blessings on our "Benefactors"...those who have gifted us with their presence, their time, their prayers and their treasure. If you would like to become one of our monetary Benefactors, we will gratefully accept a donation in any amount toward our ministry. Checks should be made to IHM Conference Center and sent to Sister Marie Gipprich at the Center. We are most grateful for all that you do for us and continue to ask God's blessings on each one and your special intentions! Thank you!
Please be sure to look for us on Facebook: IHM Conference/Retreat Center in Bryn Mawr, PA...if you like and share our posts, you will be helping to spread the ministry of the Center to others! Thank you!
Also, be sure to check out our new Photo Gallery Pages by clicking here! We are posting, in slideshow format, all the photos we have taken at any event or program hosted here at the Center.
Hopefully, you have seen the news on our Home Page about the available Reflections we offered during the pandemic, via YouTube. Please see our new page, Zoom and YouTube Library, to access these. Simply click the link to view them!
Please remember that you are always in our prayers and we ask a remembrance in yours, as well. Don't forget that you are always welcome to call or email us with any special intentions you wish us to put in our Convent Book of Prayer Intentions! The email address is [email protected] and our office phone is 610-581-0120.
Hopefully, you have seen the news on our Home Page about the available Reflections we offered during the pandemic, via YouTube. Please see our new page, Zoom and YouTube Library, to access these. Simply click the link to view them!
Please remember that you are always in our prayers and we ask a remembrance in yours, as well. Don't forget that you are always welcome to call or email us with any special intentions you wish us to put in our Convent Book of Prayer Intentions! The email address is [email protected] and our office phone is 610-581-0120.