Monastery of St. Clare - Poor...

As November days grow grayer and shorter, our thoughts naturally turn to end

times. We remember those who have gone before us and on whose shoulders

we now stand. We would like to share with you something of our thirteen

Sisters who are buried in our cemetery and who are treasured in

our memories.

Sister Laurentius and Sister Catherine Mary were the two extern

Sisters who came to Greenville with the pioneer group making the

foundation from Boston. They were the smiling faces

that welcomed visitors to the monastery and went out

on necessary errands.

Mother Silas was the first abbess of the new

monastery. It was her love of people that reached

out to make lasting friends and benefactors and her

vigorous personality that helped shape the new

group into a community. In this she was assisted by

Sr. Maddalena, the first novice directress and Sr.

Veronica who took charge of the Altar Bread

department. They left their beloved Boston to face

the challenges of new beginnings.

Others from the pioneer group included Sr. Mary

Augustine and Sr. Marjorie. The former, a strikingly

beautiful woman, patiently endured many years of

suffering. The latter was our former Marine who

attacked the Poor Clare life with a strength that

carried through till the end of her life.

Monastery of St. Clare

Fall 2013

May almighty God bless you. May God look upon you with mercy and give you peace.

— Blessing of St. Clare

37 McCauley Road, Travelers Rest, SC 29690 864-834-8015 www.poorclaresc.com

Upon Whose Shoulders Do You Stand?

Continued on Page 3...

Sr. Maddalena

Mother Silas

Sr. Catherine Mary

and Sr. Laurentius

Sr. Mary Augustine

Sr. Veronica

Sr. Marjorie

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Bodily Death…

Canticle of the Sun by St. Francis of Assisi

Dear Friends,

Each of the seasons has its own beauty; the colors and textures of Fall invite us

to reflect on God’s gift of creation as well as our own life. We are also coming

to the end of our Liturgical Year where the scripture readings remind us of our

own mortality. St. Francis of Assisi prayed the above words as he embraced his

own death. He knew that because of his life in Christ, his death was an opening

to deeper life.

During November, we remember those who have been part of our lives and who

now enjoy this fullness of life. It is comforting to believe that they are still part of

our lives and we continue in relationship with them. As we remember what we learned from them, their

gentleness, their gifts of forgiveness, patience in suffering, humor, charity, we know that God’s spirit

bore fruit in their lives. As we pray, we ask that we too can imitate their virtues. In the Monastery, at

significant times such as the sickness or death of a sister, I have experienced the presence of our

deceased sisters. Often during the year, I find myself remembering our friends and benefactors who

have died. What a consolation to know that each time we gather at Eucharist we celebrate the Lord’s

dying and rising and we do this with all God’s holy ones. We may still be sad that they are not present

to us, but we are filled with hope! In this month, we will especially be praying for our deceased sisters,

friends and relatives. We invite you to send us the names of those you would like us to include in our

prayers and perhaps share with us a gift that they gave to you during their lifetime. If it is possible,

please join us for Eucharist during this month to pray with us for your beloved deceased.

On Thanksgiving Day we will again have a special Eucharist at 11:30 am to remember with gratitude all

who are a part of our lives. Our Franciscan friars will be here to celebrate with us. As we gather this

year to give thanks, we will remember each of you. Thank you for all the ways you have supported our

life in 2013. We are having a generous response to our Annual Appeal and are especially grateful for

your assistance; this will help us to continue to pay off our loan and the expenses of maintaining this

sacred space for all God’s people. We also appreciate your prayers for us and your continued interest

in our life. Truly you are God’s saints among us!

Another date for your calendar is our Healing Prayer Service on December 8th; it begins with Adoration

at 4:00 and Evening Prayer at 4:30. During these busy days before Christmas it is a way to slow down

and pray for healing for you, for your loved ones and for our world. We welcome your prayer requests

even if you are unable to be with us.

We look forward to your calls, visits, and e-mails throughout the year. Now there is another way of

keeping in touch with your sisters at the monastery. We are on Facebook and you may find us at

poorclaresc. Please “like” us! You will get some of our news as well as an inspirational quote, and

reading about the saint of the day. With gratitude and prayer for you,

A Message from

our Abbess

Sr. Mary Connor, OSC

Though not one of the founding group, Sr. Harriett Marie came to

join the Greenville community early on and became the second

novice directress and also succeeded Mother Silas as abbess.

She also began our retreat ministry, opening

Emmanuel House and serving there for many

years.

Entering in the early days of the new foundation

were Sr. Mary Francis, a devoted nurse who cared

for many of our Sisters, and Sr. Dorothy Marie,

whose artistic talent and temperament added

color to the community over the years.

Sr. Consolata was gifted with a magnificently

trained voice which she used to support our

singing and praise God. For many years her warm

-hearted greetings endeared her to the

monastery ’s many visitors.

Another gifted musician, Sr. Anne played the organ and

directed the choir. Gentle of spirit, with a will of steel,

she endured many years of ill health with a patient

smile.

Serving an unprecedented five terms as Abbess,

Sr. Mary Lucy guided the community through a series of major

transitions. Completely blind the last years of her life, her love of

the Poor Clare vocation and her fidelity to it never dimmed.

We are glad to share with you something of the uniqueness of our

beloved Sisters who have gone before us. Our life as community was enriched by

this sharing. Together we experienced the joys and challenges that are part of every

day ’s experience. Now we count on their continued support and intercession.

We know you share in this same lived belief in the Communion of Saints. Your

memories reach back into the past as you recall how you knew joy and sorrow.

Today, you count on their continued support and intercession. You also look ahead

to the day when you will be united again with all your beloved family and friends. In

this communion of saints, we are already one in Christ Jesus.

—Sr. Marie Beha, osc

37 McCauley Road, Travelers Rest, SC 29690 864-834-8015 www.poorclaresc.com

Continued from Page 1...

Sr. Mary Lucy

Sr. Dorothy Marie

Sr. Anne

Sr. Consolata

Sr. Harriett Marie

Sr. Mary Francis

Poor Clare Chronicles 2013

June 9-15— Fr. Michael Blastic, OFM gave a retreat on “The Four C’s—Conversion, Contemplation, Conversation, Compassion” as part of our community’s ongoing formation.

June

August

Fr. Michael Blastic, OFM with Sr.

Bernadette Marie Capolla, OSC, Sr.

Nancy Shively, osc and Sr. Joan

Kimball, OSC Fr. Michael in Eucharistic

Celebration with our faith

community.

Fr. Chris Latham and our faith

community receiving Communion

Angie Finazzo and the beautiful

buffet!

Fr. Chris Latham with our abbess, Sr.

Mary Connor, OSC, and one of “St.

Clare’s Angels,” Peter Finazzo!

August 11— We celebrated the Feast of St. Clare with Fr. Chris Latham. Afterwards, all enjoyed a lovely reception provided by “St. Clare’s Angels”!

August

September

Thank you volunteers!

Sr. Annemarie Dudek, OSC, Gail and John

Caulfield, and Sr. Maryann Jenkins, osc Phoebe Michaels, Sr. Rucia

Rauton, OSC, Emily Lynn,

and Terry Dowlling

Praying together in our Chapel

Sr. Bernadette Marie Cappola,

OSC and WYD pilgrims! Sr. Nancy Shively, OSC with

“pilgrims” from St. Mary

Magdalene Parish

October

Fr. David Phan, OFM and

Andrew Henao, our Air Force

cadet!

Aug. 31— “Pilgrims” who attended World Youth Day in Brazil joined us for Adoration, Evening Prayer and a pizza supper. They shared with us their experiences and enthusiastic faith!

Sept. 6— In gratitude for our many volunteers, we hosted a Prayer/Luncheon in their honor. Good food catered by the Café at Williams Hard-ware in Travelers Rest and good fellowship was enjoyed by all!

Oct. 4— We celebrated Eucharist in honor of St. Francis of Assisi!

Fr. David Phan, OFM presiding at the

Eucharistic Celebration in honor of St.

Francis

Sr. Annemarie Dudek, OSC getting ready

for the feast!

Advent Healing Prayer Service

Sunday, December 8th

Adoration

4:00 p.m.

Evening Prayer

4:30 p.m.

Advent Healing Prayer Service

Sunday, December 8th

Your name___________________________________

Your prayer intentions:_______________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Please print your prayer intentions below, detach and include in the remittance envelope. We will place them in the

Chapel during the Advent Prayer Service and continue to pray for your intentions.

Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare

Travelers Rest, SC

Our Poor Clare Connection

Each year on the Feast of St. Clare we are reminded to be grateful for the gifts we receive

everyday....any moment or small signs that fill us with joy and love.

So as it was for me, I vividly remember one

ordinary day pushing a grocery cart with my

infant son safely perched in his baby seat. I

noticed a gentleman who was a casual

acquaintance piling up huge packages of

ground beef in the basket. As I got closer, we

mutually agreed we were there for the same

deal of the week. By coincidence, he was on a

mission to donate the meat to the Poor Clares

and told me a little about the Monastery.

(Editor’s note: This gentleman was Dick Kern,

one of the monastery’s original and most

devoted benefactors!) At the time I didn’t realize that this was a glimpse of, or my first sign to

an eventual connection to the Poor Clares. Although I had a small budget, afterwards, that

brief encounter impressed me to the point that I secretly hoped that someday I would be able

to share with them too. Little did I know, it would not be long before my hope would indeed

come true and enrich my life more than I could have ever imagined.

The over fifty years Monastery of St. Clare building was in disrepair and unsafe. My husband,

Charlie, was assigned to design and coordinate sorely needed renovations (their new home

was not on the radar yet). He was honored and thrilled to be helping the sisters and loved

meeting them. So much so, he was excited and could not wait to bring me there too and

introduce me to his “sixteen new girl friends”. Together we instantly felt the Franciscan sense

of welcoming and warmth the sisters exude gracefully toward everyone. This was a genuine

joyful experience neither of us had ever felt our entire lives in the Catholic Church! Thus our

Poor Clare connection began, an amazing ‘gift‘.

Over the years it has been a privilege to come to know more about the Poor Clares and to be

involved with their prayer community for many beautiful celebrations. We learn by their example

for infinite appreciation of daily gifts however they come to us. We will always be profoundly

grateful for their continuing prayers which give us strength and peace. We truly feel the sisters

are like family to us forever. What a blessed connection it has been.

—Cindy & Charlie Swit, Cheryl and Chris

Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare

37 McCauley Road

Travelers Rest, SC 29690

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Thursday

November 28th

11:30 A .M.

Presider

Fr. Tom Vigl iotta, OFM

Homil is t

Br. Henry Fulmer, OFM

Wednesday

December 25th

9:00 A.M.

Presider

Fr. Paul Maier

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