Monastery of Mary the Queen 1310 West Church Street
www.op.org/maryqueen Elmira, NY 14905-1998

SPRING 2004

The Heavens proclaim the Glory of God!
Dear Friends,This season is always a wonderful time to write to you. We feel invigorated at watching the earth slowly wake from its winter slumber, and seeing branches that appeared to be dead spring forth green and brilliant with life. It is like a new creation issuing from the hand of God in consequence of Jesus' resurrection. In this season one easily becomes aware that the whole cosmos is the House of God, and therefore holy. The psalms proclaim that the heavens are his tent, his tabernacle, and the earth his footstool. All the beautiful things which we see unfolding before us are like fragments of the first paradise and a promise of that heavenly home where one day we will offer unceasing praise to God.

June is the traditional month for weddings, so we are pleased to announce the Solemn Profession of Sister Jude Marie Thaddeus of the Cross. She will profess her final vows on Saturday June 26 during an 11:00 A.M. Mass, in the presence of the community, her family, and those of you who wish to attend. The Dominican Provincial of the Eastern Province, Father Dominic Izzo, will be principal celebrant. Following Mass there will be a buffet lunch in our meeting room under the chapel. As we rejoice in Sister Jude's becoming a permanent member of our community, we mourn the loss of our last foundress, Sister Maria Consolata, who departed this life on February 9 in the 66th year of her profession. We include a brief account of her life as part of this letter. How we miss her peaceful smiling face!

On August 16 we will celebrate the 60th year of the foundation of our monastery in Elmira. In commemoration, we are planning two special events which we invite all of you attend:

As a way of sharing our contemplative life with our friends we have invited Father Romanus Cessario, O.P., to preach a Triduum on the new Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary on the evenings of August 10, 11, and 12. The lectures will be from 7:00 to 8:00, closing with sung Night Prayer. Father Romanus is an outstanding preacher and teacher and is the author of the following books, principally on the moral life: Introduction to Moral Theology; Christian Faith and the Theological Life; The Godly Image; Perpetual Angelus and The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics. When Father was a student and then a deacon he spent his summers here at the monastery and considers this his second home.

On Sunday, August 15, the feast of Mary's Assumption, and vigil of our foundation day. Matthew Clark, Bishop of Rochester, will celebrate Mass here in our Chapel at 11:00 A.M.,
followed by a buffet lunch for all.

We thank all of you for your steadfast support of our community over these 60 years. That support is still needed as we continue to face ongoing repairs to buildings that are 40 and 50 years old. The chapel and dormitory wings, built in 1964, are in need of new connecting water pipes because the original ones have become so thin that we are sustaining repeated leaks. The pipes which need replacing are in the ceilings of the first floor, making it a bit of a nightmare to envision. However, as we daily appreciate the beauty of the renovations to our historic first building done several years ago, we know that enduring the inconvenience will be well worth it in the end.

Our yearly Pentecost novena will begin on May 21. When Jesus appeared to his disciples in the upper room after his resurrection he said to them: "Peace be with you," and then "he breathed on them and said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" During this time of war and fierce hatred among peoples of various ethnic backgrounds, we need the peace which only the power of the Spirit can bring to human hearts. In many places throughout the world there is terrible injustice, poverty, and lack of respect for peoples of different cultures, ideologies and religions. Let us pray during this novena that the Spirit will instill God's love into our world to melt what is frozen and warm what is chilled and so stir up compassion and forgiveness among all God's children. Please remember to send us your intentions which you wish us to remember especially in our prayers.

Your Elmira Dominican Sisters

Mother of Sorrows, Woman of Faith!

A Life of Sr. Maria Consolata of the Sorrowful Mother, O.P.Sister Maria Consolata (Antoinette Siracuse) was born on April 3, 1913, in Rochester, New York, the second of twelve children of Catherine and Frank Siracuse. Four of the children died shortly after their birth and two others at 18 and 21 respectively. One boy and five girls grew to adulthood; of these Antoinette was the oldest. As the oldest child in a large family she helped take care of her younger siblings. For this reason she missed many days of school and eventually dropped out altogether before completing her primary grades. Since her family was poor she went to work in a sewingfactory at about 15 years of age to help provide for their needs. At home she shared a room with her baby sister Katie Rose. When the alarm would ring at 6 A.M. Katie would drop her bottle

on the floor to wake Antoinette who was always a heavy sleeper. Her sister testified that Antoinette was always happy and generous, never gossiped or spoke harshly, though she did speak up about things she felt were unfair.

Antoinette had many faithful friends whom she met especially at work. She also had several suitors, but she was attracted only to one, a police officer named Karl. Unfortunately he was killed in the line of duty. God had other plans for her. She had always been a faithful and devoted member of her parish church, St. Francis of Assisi. She was an active participant who sang in the choir and found pleasure in arranging flowers for the sanctuary. As the desire grew within her to serve God more fully by prayer and quiet service, she was urged to speak to her pastor about it. He directed her thoughts toward a contemplative community in Buffalo, New York, and eventually took her there to visit.

Antoinette, a bridesmaid at her sister's wedding (1932)

Antoinette entered the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Buffalo on September 15, 1936 when she was twenty-three. She happily engaged in the monastic routine and was always an industrious worker and faithful to prayer. She made her first profession of vows in December, 1938, and final profession on December 9, 1941. For the next three years she served God faithfully and quietly by work and prayer. In early 1944 there was talk of a foundation from the Buffalo Monastery to be made in Elmira, New York, since the Buffalo community had flourished numerically. Eight nuns were to be sent on this foundation, four of whom had come originally from the diocese of Rochester which included Elmira. Among those eight was Sister Maria Consolata. The eight pioneers tearfully departed from their companions in the Buffalo Monastery on August 16, 1944, for the trip to Elmira, which at that time took five hours. When they arrived, tired but eager, Sister Consolata was the first one out of

the car, holding in her arms a statue of the Infant Jesus, for she wanted him to be first to enter their new home. A lot of work was needed to transform the old house into some semblance of a monastery, and months of loving labor ensued.

The years of experience in Elmira were new and challenging for Sister Consolata. She had been accustomed to a community of about forty nuns. Now there were only eight, and she was the only functioning lay sister among them, which made life a bit lonely at times. When the lay sister status was abolished after Vatican Council II she felt quite distressed since she cherished her way of life in simple prayer and work. Nevertheless, she continued to serve the community in her own quiet and unselfish way. She always found opportunities for serving others: fixing things for them, sending notes to sick sisters and friends. At the same time, she remained devoted to her natural family, entering into all their joys and sorrows. She was well known to the local friends of the Monastery. When answering the telephone during her time on duty she would sincerely respond to everyone: "Yes, honey, we'll pray for you, dear." When she had time she used her baking skills to make cookies for the community and for friends of the monastery. Her prayer hours before Jesus in the tabernacle were her treasured times of the day which she very rarely missed.

As the years passed Sister Consolata's health began to decline. After years of hard but loving work she developed arthritis and osteoporosis. One morning she rose at the sound of the bell and collapsed on the floor with a broken hip. In much pain, she was taken to the hospital for surgery. After a few days she was offered the option of remaining in the hospital for physical therapy or returning home and coming into the physical therapy department periodically. She immediately chose to remain saying, "The sisters can't take care of me." She wanted to regain her mobility rather than burden the community. And she did regain it to some extent, but within a short while had to begin using a walker and then a wheelchair. She continued to work with her hands, helping to fold laundry and similar chores. Despite her exhaustion while dressing, she maintained as much independence as possible, never complained, and wanted to be with the community and also keep her prayer time as much as she could. She believed that aging was a long and difficult process and purification by letting go. This made her gracious in yielding to others.

Nevertheless, her decreasing mobility, multiple medical problems and pain indicated her need for skilled nursing care which her sisters were, regretfully, unable to give her. All this was explained to her and she understood and consented. When one has lived for more than sixty years within a silent monastery with one's focal point the presence of the Lord in the monastery chapel, a transfer to a busy and often noisy skilled nursing unit in a hospital can be a shock to one's equilibrium. Sister Consolata was well aware of the change from the monastery and her sisters whom she loved and she felt the loss keenly. While she occasionally asked when she could come home, she always submitted uncomplainingly to what she believed was God's will.

At the beginning of her three years and four months residence in the nursing facility she would wheel herself up and down the halls, smiling and waving at the other residents in their rooms. We, her sisters, visited her every day as far as possible and she always welcomed us warmly and expressed her affection with a hug and a kiss. As time passed she had repeated attacks of lung congestion which gradually weakened her and confined her more and more to her room. Her welcoming smile never changed, however, though she spoke less and less.

In the early afternoon of February 9th the nurse called us to say that Sister Maria Consolata seemed to be dying. Two sisters immediately went down to the hospital to be with her, and our chaplain, Father Michael Trainor, O.P., anointed her. The whole community was able to go at 7 P.M. By then her breathing was very labored and it was obvious that death was near. We sang Compline and the "Salve Regina" around her bed and we each kissed her good bye with a loving word. Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart planned to stay with her through the night, but shortly after 11 P.M. she telephoned to say that Sister had just died very peacefully.

The director of the skilled nursing unit, after sister's death, said that she remembered her "as a cheerful woman with a wonderful smile. She was just very loved by everyone...She was a joy to take care of - extremely grateful. The words on her lips were constantly 'God bless you' and 'thank you.' The whole experience was very positive, very wonderful. We're going to miss her very much." We, in turn, are grateful not only for the excellent professional care she received, but also for the dignified, compassionate treatment of her care givers.

If Sister Consolata had lived another six months she would have been here for sixty years from the day in 1944 when she first hurried up the steps of the old frame house with the Infant Jesus statue in her arms. On August 16th of this year we will celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the foundation of the Monastery of Mary the Queen. We hope the eight pioneers who courageously and lovingly undertook the hardships of new beginnings will intercede from their heavenly home for us, their followers, so that their labors will bear fruit in future growth in numbers and holiness of life.