“Man’s maker was made Man.” ~ Saint Augustine
In this season of grace, we celebrate the most precious gift sent from Heaven to all of humanity, the mystery
“of God who out of love became Man.” These beautiful words were spoken by Blessed John Paul II in his
homily at Midnight Mass on Christmas, December 24, 2002. In our religious Community here in our “little
Nazareth,” as in every family, we give thanks to God for the abundance of His blessings upon us every day.
In a special way, and in gratitude for your great generosity and your powerful prayers for us, we want to
share with you some of our many blessings from this past year.
Vocations
Our two-year-old Community, Daughters of Mary of Nazareth, has been especially blessed by the beautiful
vocations of young women who aspire to know more about our Charism and Spirituality. Thanks be to God,
one of the powerful moments of this past year was the Novitiate Ceremony of September 8th, 2013,
celebrated during a special Mass at the Sacred Heart Parish in Newton with Cardinal Seán, many priests and
religious, and the family and friends of our three Novices. In addition to our Novices, two Aspirants are
preparing for Postulancy, two candidates are preparing to enter at the end of Spring 2014, and four other
candidates have recently begun their discernment with us. Please keep each Daughter of our Community and
her vocation in your prayers as she continues to thrive in various aspects of her formation. Here are some of
their voices:
“As part of our spiritual formation, we are blessed to have three retreats throughout the year - an Advent,
Lent, and an annual community eight-day retreat. God has been so generous to us, providing wonderful
retreat masters, spiritual directors, and places of prayer. Also, as we enter deeper into our vocation as
Novices, we have a weekly Desert Day that we spend in complete solitude, rest, and prayer with the Lord. I
am blessed to have such a well-fed soul!” ~ Sister Faustina Kolbe
“This year, as part of our educational formation, we got to take three graduate-level Theology classes. I
loved learning more about the Faith, especially diving into the beautiful teachings of the Second Vatican
Council and writings from Blessed John Paul II and Saints like Saint Ignatius and Saint Augustine. I never
enjoyed homework so much!” ~ Sister Guadalupe Karol
Ministry
Blessed Charles de Foucauld constantly sought to imitate Christ both inwardly and outwardly. The focus of
his ministry was to imitate Jesus and the Holy Family during their years in Nazareth. Blessed Charles always
believed that love imitates. That is why he took Nazareth and being in love with Jesus as charism, vocation,
spirituality, and way of life. Though not much has been written about the thirty long years that Jesus spent in
Nazareth, we can, to some extent, imagine the beauty of God’s presence in and through the ordinary daily
life of the Holy Family among the people of Nazareth. We know that in some way those thirty years of
Christ’s presence in Nazareth were full of what we today call the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. In
His presence, the people of Nazareth would also have experienced what we know as evangelization and
outreach. Under the roof where Jesus lived with His Holy Family, the beauty of both vocations, family life
and consecrated life, would have been embraced to their fullest.
As a Community, we are both blessed and humbled to enter deeper into the life of Nazareth, and to be
servants of such a Charism for all those whom we encounter each day. We lived and experienced the
Spirituality of Nazareth this past year through the Corporal Works of Mercy in some of the ways the Lord
gave us: visiting men and women in prison; visiting and praying with sick people in hospitals, hospice and
homes; providing some of the needs for a women’s shelter; and ministering to the poor, especially during our
summer mission trip in Honduras. One of our Novices expresses our blessings this way:
“Our past summer community mission trip to Honduras was unforgettable and impression making. We had
the privilege to serve local Honduran women and children in some days of conferences, community building
and intercessory Eucharistic Adoration. Through the generosity of a number of our Catholic schools and
parishes, we provided school supplies for 400 children as well as many liturgical items to the newly formed
Diocese of La Ceiba.” ~ Sister Kateri Pablo
In outreach and participation in the Church’s mission in the New Evangelization, we were blessed by many
opportunities to give talks and retreats. These events took place locally and throughout the United States, as
well as in Honduras, Canada and Lebanon. Our talks and retreats were offered to various Catholic Church
groups, including: parish missions, days of prayer and training sessions for Catholic school staff,
confirmation and youth retreats, Catholic women’s conferences, homeschoolers’ retreats, Year of Faith
Diocesan events in Boston, Maine, Connecticut and many other States, and lay Catholic organizations, such
as Legatus, Saint Luke’s Guild, Una Fides, Curatio, Religious Life Institute, Pure in Heart and Theology of
the Body Institute.
This past year, we were also blessed to be able to serve at some of the annual Diocesan events: the
Eucharistic Congress, the March for Life Pilgrimage, God of This City Tour, and the Deaconate
Convocation. We also rejoiced by the opportunity to offer our support and prayers for our Archdiocese by
being present at some of the Diocesan events such as the ordination of Deacons and Priests.
Nazareth, the House of Hospitality
We can imagine the culture, the atmosphere and the hospitality of the Holy Family in Nazareth, and how
their home must have been open to welcome each person, whether friend or stranger. We too, in our small
community, work to make our “little Nazareth” a place of prayer, spiritual refreshment, and welcome for
those who come to be spiritually fed and renewed. We offer the presence of Jesus in our Chapel, and the
spirit of Mary and Joseph through our simple hospitality. This year, we were blessed to serve many groups
and individuals who came for days of prayer and retreats. It was a great joy for us to open our Convent of
Saint Joseph to priests and seminarians, to married couples for retreats or anniversaries, to individual young
men and women for days of prayer and discernment, and to parish groups for days of retreat and planning.
All these blessings have come into our lives through the love and generosity of many people including you.
For you have carried us in your prayers, and you have helped us with our needs. Your ongoing support is a
heavenly sign of affirmation, and for that we are very grateful. We welcome your prayers and your support
in whatever way you can share our next steps.
As we journey in this Christmas Season and enter into the New Year, we will continue to pray for you and
your loved ones. May the grace of this Christmas Season bring into your heart that joy and hope that shines
brightly from the little star that lit the night of Jesus’ birth.
Yours in the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
The Novices, the Aspirants, and Mother Olga
Daughters of Mary of Nazareth
Tel: 617.731.0379, www.dmnazareth.org
Saint Joseph of Nazareth Convent, 509 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467