Daughters of Wisdom

13/02/2024

A Journey Through Lent

The Church invites us to start a journey that will lead us to Easter, a journey of 40 days in which we hope to encounter Jesus so as to live a life of love, compassion and repentance in order to fulfill our earthly mission.

Have you ever read the book of the prophet Jonah (It's short and quite enjoyable) and thought about it in relation to ourselves?

Jonah is asked by God to go to Nineveh to tell them that because of their sins, they will be destroyed in 40 days. Instead Jonah runs away to sea, is stopped by a storm, admits his fault, surrenders to the will of God and goes to Nineveh. There he gives them the bad news but when the whole town repents and they are forgiven, disaster is averted they renew their acquaintance with God and rejoice. Jonah does not join them but goes into a corner and sulks blaming God for making him look foolish, (it's all about him).

Do any of Jonah's actions remind us of ourselves?
Have I turned away when something should have been done, not done the right thing, taken fault badly and sulked, not shown compassion, love or joy when I should have?

Well we have the whole of Lent to reflect and try to become the person God made us to be.

God Bless and have a meaningful Lent.

21/12/2023

New Year 2024

'As for Mary,
she treasured all these things
and pondered them in her heart.' Luke 2:19

In the midst of the shepherds visit we are told by St Luke that ‘Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.’ We can picture, thanks to Luke’s detailed accounts, the events she would treasure: the Annunciation, her visit to Elizabeth, the fidelity and love of Joseph, the journey to Bethlehem and birth of Jesus in a stable, ‘...because there was no room for them in the inn’. In treasuring all these things, we become conscious of the joy and the anxiety and many questions Mary would have experienced. ‘Treasuring’ is something more than mere reflection however, implying an engagement at heart level that seeks to encounter God at the deepest level of one’s being. Despite the many difficulties Mary and Joseph had already experienced and would experience, they trusted in, hoped in and loved their God.

It is a beautiful image of contemplation.

As the New Year 2024 begins what do I treasure in my heart at the deepest level? Can I reflect on God’s actions in my life, pondering their meaning, perhaps wondering at their meaning? Out of this encounter with God is there one thing that you will treasure in your heart and live by in 2024?

Pondering is about reflecting on something sufficiently to adjust my thinking, the way I look at life, and the way I live my life. And becoming a different, deeper person because of that. (Robert Warren: Living in the Light p5)

Mary’s life totally reflected the goodness of God and St Paul reminds us that we too are a new creation in Christ, ‘so that in him we might become the goodness of God’.(2 Cor 5: 21)

The New Year invites you to consider your own goodness, as well as that of those around you. Spending time considering the goodness around you and in you could be transformative for our world and for peace. As we ponder this we ask for Mary’s help in her prayer of praise:

I said to the one who stood at the Gate of the Year
‘Give me a light
that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied,
‘Go out into the darkness,
and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light
and safer than a known way.’
Minnie Louise Haskins

May the Lord bless you and keep you
and bring us and the war torn areas of the world peace, love and justice this New Year !

19/12/2023

I bring you news of great joy:
today a Saviour has been born to us,
Christ the Lord.
Luke 2: 10-11

A decree went out for a census
0f the whole world to be taken.
Luke 2:1-14

On Christmas day our waiting is over and the two searches —our seeking God and God seeking us — meet on the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem of Joseph and his betrothed, Mary, who was with child. Our Christmas cards, while beautiful, do not show the reality and Luke’s account of Christ’s birth give us a deeper glimpse into the trials Mary and Joseph had to endure. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem is about 90 miles and would take four days to reach there. Can you imagine what that was like for Mary, an expectant Mother?

On arriving in Bethlehem ‘there was no room for them at the Inn’ and Luke reports that Mary gave birth to Jesus and ‘laid him in a manger’ indicating that this was a stable where animals were kept. Pope Francis observes that

'Mary experienced childbirth in a condition of extreme poverty; she could not give the Son of God even what Mothers would usually offer their new born baby; instead she had to lay him in a manger used by animals. Yet Mary was able to turn a stable into a home for Jesus, with poor swaddling clothes and an abundance of love.'

The people of Israel had been expecting a powerful Messiah of the Royal David's line who would save them from their enemies. Israeli leaders might have been expected to visit this long awaited Messiah but instead the only visitors at this time were lowly shepherds from the bottom rung of Jewish society who came in haste to witness the arrival of their Lord in a place of poverty. What may we learn from Mary and Joseph this Christmas? Take some moments to ponder on the difficult circumstances of Jesus’ birth. The ‘yes’ of Mary at the Annunciation was the total gift of herself to God and Joseph’s own ‘yes’ of faithful and loving support of Mary and Jesus inspires us to understand and live what it means to Love.

As we celebrate the joyful feast of
Christmas and God dwelling among us,
let us remember in prayer those, who like
the Holy Family are marginalised and
pushed to the edge of society.

May our witness bring light,
joy and peace to all peoples.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

04/08/2023

International Conference
of Montfortian Lay Associates

Preparatory Prayer

God our Father,
you who created us and who love us.
Through our Baptism,
you made us Brothers and Sisters
in Jesus Christ
despite our different backgrounds.

Your Holy Spirit
has opened our hearts to the Gospel
through the example and the words
of Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort.
Thanks to him, we have discovered
the true face of Jesus Christ,
Wisdom Incarnated through the “Yes” of Mary...

We are grateful to you
for the richness of our experiences and our commitment
to the Montfortian congregations and we thank you
for granting us -members of the Montfortian Family-
the grace to participate
in spreading the Good News of the Gospel.

As we look forward to gathering together
to deepen our Founders’ message
and strengthen our Missionary Spirit,
Prepare our hearts, O Lord,
to welcome one another and to listen to your Spirit.

As Missionary Disciples, we will go forward together,
following in your footsteps,
with Mary your humble servant.

Amen!

04/08/2023

International Gathering of the Montfortian Family Associates
August 6 - 13th 2023
St Laurent sur Sèvre, France

An International Gathering will be held on the occasion of the 350th birth Anniversary of St Louis Marie de Montfort, the founding inspiration of this great family.
Our Friends of Wisdom from England, being part of this Montfortian Family, will be present at the gathering through one member, Fiona Jenvey, and one Daughter of Wisdom, Sr. Marie Turner, both from Romsey, England.
We invite you to accompany us on our daily journaling at this time.

02/08/2023

Congratulations to our Diamond Jubilarians on the 2nd August 2023, who are celebrating 60 years of religious life as a Daughter of Wisdom.

In the photo (left to right) are Sisters Monica Tywang (London), Ancilla Leahy (Romsey), Gráinne Hilton (Dublin) and Marie Turner (Romsey) .

"Wisdom is like a root that is alive and can always send up new shoots." (Ws 3:15)

28/07/2023

05/11/2019

Jennifer and the many women I have worked with over the years taught me the meaning of life, love, encounter, and of what happens between people who allow themselves to be known.

05/11/2019

Thanks very much for posting this picture of Sr Sheila Mary in the new refectory of la Sagesse Convent in Romsey Revisited. Where did the photo come from?

08/03/2019

Do You remember la Sagesse Convent? Perhaps you came to school here? On 16th and 17th of May the Daughters of Wisdom will be holding an exhibition in Wisdom centre (the former infant school building). This page is new. If you would like to know more or have memories to share please 'like us' and choose to follow our plans!