SPIRITUAL LIFE AND PRAYER
Daily life in each community is marked by a rhythm of prayer. The Sisters pray Lauds and Vespers, two hours of the Divine Office, as well as participate in the celebration of Eucharist. Each sister finds time for personal prayer, reflection and reading according to her own need and desire.
The characteristics of simplicity and joy, have deeply marked the hearts and minds of each Sister of St. Mary who has been formed and steeped in the values handed down from generation to generation since the beginning of the congregation. The motto of the Sisters of St. Mary is taken directly from the Old Testament scriptures:
“ In the simplicity of my heart, I have joyfully offered
to God." 1 Chronicles 29:17
The Sisters honor two people as co-founders of the congregation: Father Nicholas Joseph Minsart and Mother Claire of Jesus. The ageless values and spirituality they imparted to the newly formed congregation in the first quarter of the 19th c remain the touchstones for the congregation even today: simplicity, joy, selflessness, compassion, spirituality, care for the poor, risk-taking, attention to the needs of the times.
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St. Mary Chapel decorated for the Taize Prayer with the cross illumined by vigil lights
Taize is a small village in France where, after World War II, a Swiss Lutheran monk named Brother Roger began an interdenominational center where people would be invited to pray for reconciliation in the world. This grew into a large Center where people, especially young people, came from all over the world to simply experience the prayer.
The prayer of Taize is made up of chants, scripture readings, intercession, and silence. The chants are short songs which are sung over and over again so that they are quickly learned and enter the hearts and minds of those singing, becoming a sort of mantra. During the moments of silence hearts and minds are united to God, bringing to God our lives, our needs, our hopes, our desires and our world.
The prayer of Taize is made up of chants, scripture readings, intercession, and silence. The chants are short songs which are sung over and over again so that they are quickly learned and enter the hearts and minds of those singing, becoming a sort of mantra. During the moments of silence hearts and minds are united to God, bringing to God our lives, our needs, our hopes, our desires and our world.
