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| Enjoying friends |
Sister Mary Ann Sullivan of
Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, died on May 13, at 6:00 PM at the
Abbey.
Sr. Mary Ann Sullivan was born on July 20, 1937 in Washington,
DC, the eldest of nine children born to Edward and Marian Sullivan. She entered
the Cistercian monastery of Mt. St. Mary’s Abbey in Wrentham, Massachusetts, on
September 14, 1957 and made her solemn profession on October 13, 1962. Two
years later, Sr. Mary Ann was sent with 12 other sisters to found a new
monastery, Our Lady of the Mississippi, in Dubuque, Iowa on October 18, 1964.
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| Writing icons |
This icon of the Annunciation reflects the beauty and
giftedness of our Sr. Mary Ann. It is the icon she wrote in memory of her
beloved deceased sister, Nancy. Of all the art forms Sr. Mary Ann used in
service of the community-- silk screening Christmas cards, water color
painting, pastel sketching, calligraphy--iconography was the artistic
expression dearest to her heart.
Of all the art forms Sr. Mary Ann used in
service of the community-- silk screening Christmas cards, water color
painting, pastel sketching, calligraphy--iconography was the artistic
expression dearest to her heart.
A person of keen intellect and an avid reader, Sr. Mary Ann
shared her love for our Cistercian Fathers and Mothers by teaching our sisters
in formation and by choosing readings for community liturgy for decades. Sr.
Mary Ann remembered what she read! When any of us wanted to trace a quote from
one of the early Church or Cistercian writers, we would go to Mary Ann.
Sr. Mary Ann had great love for Pope Francis. She read his
book of homilies slowly during her last Lent and asked for that book to with
her even when she could no longer read.
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| Faithful to the divine office |
Through the years, as community artist, directress of junior
studies, cellerar, sacristan, vegetable gardener, and well-remembered portress in
our gift shop, the center of Sr. Mary Ann’s life was prayer. If she promised to
pray for you, you could be sure that you would have a place on her daily prayer
list.
Sr. Mary Ann will be remembered for her deep love of God,
her unfaltering faithfulness to monastic life, her humility, obedience and
gentle, caring love for others. She could tease with a twinkle in her eye!
There will be a wake service
in conjunction with Compline for Sister Mary Ann on Monday, May 15, at 7:15 PM,
and the funeral will be in the Abbey Church on
Tuesday, May 16, at 10:00 AM.
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| Enjoying the grounds |
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| With her flower garden |
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| Learning photography |
The Today Show segment was aired yesterday. There was a great response. It was so good that it crashed our website and the server in town. This was quickly repaired. If you would like to see it here is a link. 
Recently Iowa Public Television did a piece on us and our candy business. It is the 8th episode of a show they are doing called Greetings from Iowa. It is very nicely done.
The Today show segment about us has been postponed. I will post when we get another viewing date.
This past Sunday we had the pleasure of welcoming our archbishop, Michael Jackels for Mass and a brunch afterwards. We look forward to his yearly visit, but it is not unusual to see him at Monday evening Mass or Compline.
Every three years all the abbots and abbesses from all over the world meet together to discuss and decide the affairs of the order. Of course our abbess Mother Rebecca is attending and our sister Grace is there acting as a secretary for the Chapter. The Chapter is being held in Assisi, Italy a special and holy place to be.
This week we had classes
on the Rule of St. Benedict, specifically on Chapter 72, on
Last week Samantha Wender, a producer for NBC and for the Today show came to film our candy operation and our way of life. The segment is due to air sometime in September. The time and link to the website will be posted here as soon as we know the time and link. Samantha was a delight and was a one woman show doing all the filming and interviewing.
Last week we had liturgy classes with Fr. Michael Joncas. Fr. Michael teaches at St. John's University in St. Paul Minnesota. He is also a well know composer best known for songs such as “On Eagle's Wings” and “I Have Loved You”. We studied the history of the Mass and the history of liturgical music. Fr. Joncas is a wonderful and engaging teacher. His often said phrase about specifics in the liturgy was "I just love this". It was very evident that he loves his work.
Last weekend our community visited with the Association of Iowa Cistercians Conversi group. The Conversi are people interested in the associates group but live too far away to come to the monthly meetings. Once a year as may as can come to Mississippi Abbey/New Melleray Abbey for a retreat. This year and for the past several years one Conversi drives to the retreat from Spokane Washington.
During their visit they shared about how important the group is to them and how grateful they are for the spiritual formation it provides. One member said:this is not a chat room, we really are a faith community.
Last Sunday we invited the juniors attending the Junior Seminar over to our abbey. The juniors of our order meet yearly for two weeks to study together and to get to know other juniors in the order and experience Cistercian life in another monastery. Juniors are monks and nuns in simple vows preparing to make solemn profession. We visited with them in our Chapter Room. Then they had a tour of our candy operation and of our farm. We prayed Vespers together in Church, followed by a pizza supper in our refectory. We then prayed Compline together and the juniors returned to New Melleray for another week of classes.
