Our Prayer Life Each day in our community starts and ends with prayer. We begin our day with prayer, are enlivened with the celebration of the Eucharist, and end our day in prayer, with numerous times of communal and private prayer in between. With our Lord at the center, we experience a wonderful rhythm of life, breathing in His Spirit and breathing out His praise. COMMUNAL PRAYER Our prayers as a community strengthen us and unite us together with Christ. We come together for the Holy Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, Adoration and Holy Hours, the Rosary, and other communal devotions. Other elements of our prayer life include an annual retreat and days of recollection. PERSONAL PRAYER Personal prayer is an intimate, generous response to God’s love, and it is indispensable for a life in union with Him. Each Sister’s personal prayer life consists of mental prayer (meditation) and personal time in Adoration, the Stations of the Cross, and other private devotions. SUPPORTING A LIFE OF PRAYER Growth in the spiritual life would not be possible without time for silence, penance, and spiritual reading. SILENCE To pursue intimacy with God, we must intentionally pursue times of silence, which are essential for us to hear the Lord speaking in our hearts. As a community, we nurture the spirit of silence by practicing it daily. PENANCE As Franciscans, the cross is for us, as it was for Christ, proof of the greatest love. Penance is a lifestyle which expresses our love for God above all else, turning away from ourselves to live more fully for others. We participate in communal acts of penance, such as fast days, and we are encouraged to do penance privately as well. SPIRITUAL READING We cannot know Christ without spending time with Him in the Scriptures. Professing the Gospel as our life, we read daily from sacred Scripture to enter into the mystery of God’s Word among us. Likewise, through spiritual reading we nourish our life in Christ, our love for the Father, and our growth in the Spirit. Each Sister spends at least fifteen minutes a day with the Scriptures and spiritual reading. “I remember looking up at the crucifix on the wall and thinking, ‘If He could go through that for me, He must be worth loving.’” — SISTER JOAN, O.S.F. Prayer for Discernment Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of thy commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to gain! Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; and give me life in thy ways. Confirm to thy servant thy promise, which is for those who fear thee. Turn away the reproach which I dread; for thy ordinances are good. Behold, I long for thy precepts; in thy righteousness give me life! (Psalm 119: 33 - 40 RSVCE) Discern with Us DISCERN WITH US Life A Day in the Life Community Prayer Work Apostolate Who We Are Franciscan Identity History Founders Vocations Discernment Stories Discern with Us