A Letter from Our Director
Dear Friends,
All of us can remember waiting by the bed of someone we love who is dying, watching as she/he left to return to our God. It is a time of great anguish and distress. We certainly can relate to the experience of Mary Magdalene as she approached the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter morning. Perhaps she went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. But how could she roll back the huge stone that sealed the tomb? Probably, Mary went there just to be close to the place where Jesus was buried. We know what that feels like. We often visit the graves of our loved ones just to be close . . .
It certainly was a weekend Mary shall never forget and now she finds herself weeping from utter grief. She had questions, as you and I do. “How can she live with such overwhelming sorrow?” “Why have her hopes been dashed?” “Where was God when Jesus was suffering such torment and now lies in a grave?”
Mary’s sorrow at witnessing her Master’s agony left a profound mark on her. So she hurries to the tomb “while it was still dark.” In biblical parlance, that means that her soul must have been in the dark as well. She is focused on the tomb, a place of death, darkness and loss. Her mind and heart are so darkened by lack of hope and understanding that she is blinded and doesn’t recognize Jesus.
Easter is a special time for us and Mary Magdalene has an important message for all of us who have ever or are now burdened by grief, anxiety, suffering, disillusionment, and despair. When Jesus asked Mary why she was weeping, she told the “stranger” that someone had taken her Lord away. Isn’t that how it feels sometimes when we are overwhelmed with the burdens of life and death? Don’t we try sometimes to wrestle with it “while it is still dark”?
We, like Mary, need to hear Jesus ask us, “Why are you weeping?” After the events of Maudy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, that seems like a silly question. But like Mary, we must answer it honestly, from our hearts--in spite of the fear and sorrow we feel. We need to voice our personal grief so that we will hear ourselves!
That day Mary discovered that even in death, the Lord had not abandoned her. Even though she didn’t see him at first in the darkness, there was soon Light in the Easter dawn. It takes time to recognize Jesus present to us, even in the dark moments. When Mary heard Jesus call her name, a new dawn arose. Jesus showed that he loved Mary and us too much to leave us alone in our pain.
The living, risen Lord knows our pain, understands our fears, and cares deeply about us. We can feel his presence and praise his redeeming act even through our tears as Mary did!
May this Easter be filled with a profound recognition of the risen Lord who has not abandoned us and who will transform us so, like Mary Magdalene, we will bring Jesus to those we meet along the way.
The Sisters at the Conference/Retreat Center
wish you and your families
an Easter of joy and abundant blessings!
All of us can remember waiting by the bed of someone we love who is dying, watching as she/he left to return to our God. It is a time of great anguish and distress. We certainly can relate to the experience of Mary Magdalene as she approached the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter morning. Perhaps she went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. But how could she roll back the huge stone that sealed the tomb? Probably, Mary went there just to be close to the place where Jesus was buried. We know what that feels like. We often visit the graves of our loved ones just to be close . . .
It certainly was a weekend Mary shall never forget and now she finds herself weeping from utter grief. She had questions, as you and I do. “How can she live with such overwhelming sorrow?” “Why have her hopes been dashed?” “Where was God when Jesus was suffering such torment and now lies in a grave?”
Mary’s sorrow at witnessing her Master’s agony left a profound mark on her. So she hurries to the tomb “while it was still dark.” In biblical parlance, that means that her soul must have been in the dark as well. She is focused on the tomb, a place of death, darkness and loss. Her mind and heart are so darkened by lack of hope and understanding that she is blinded and doesn’t recognize Jesus.
Easter is a special time for us and Mary Magdalene has an important message for all of us who have ever or are now burdened by grief, anxiety, suffering, disillusionment, and despair. When Jesus asked Mary why she was weeping, she told the “stranger” that someone had taken her Lord away. Isn’t that how it feels sometimes when we are overwhelmed with the burdens of life and death? Don’t we try sometimes to wrestle with it “while it is still dark”?
We, like Mary, need to hear Jesus ask us, “Why are you weeping?” After the events of Maudy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, that seems like a silly question. But like Mary, we must answer it honestly, from our hearts--in spite of the fear and sorrow we feel. We need to voice our personal grief so that we will hear ourselves!
That day Mary discovered that even in death, the Lord had not abandoned her. Even though she didn’t see him at first in the darkness, there was soon Light in the Easter dawn. It takes time to recognize Jesus present to us, even in the dark moments. When Mary heard Jesus call her name, a new dawn arose. Jesus showed that he loved Mary and us too much to leave us alone in our pain.
The living, risen Lord knows our pain, understands our fears, and cares deeply about us. We can feel his presence and praise his redeeming act even through our tears as Mary did!
May this Easter be filled with a profound recognition of the risen Lord who has not abandoned us and who will transform us so, like Mary Magdalene, we will bring Jesus to those we meet along the way.
The Sisters at the Conference/Retreat Center
wish you and your families
an Easter of joy and abundant blessings!
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 ihmconferencecenter@gmail.com 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 ihmconferencecenter@gmail.com and our office phone is 610-581-0120.