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Bloomington Is In The Eastern Time Zone.
All Activites Take Place On Eastern Time
Family Retreat
Two (2 ) Retreats Will Be Given Simultaneously
The Goal of the February retreat is to provide guidance on being a good parent,
a good family member, and on being good children.
Retreat for Children will be Given by Fr. Joachim Mudd FI
Retreat for Adults will be Given by Fr. Elias Mills FI
Father Joachim Mary Mudd FI, from Louisville, Ky., joined the Franciscans at age twenty-two in 1982, initially teaching Religion in summer camp programs for thirteen years. Father held the positions of Local Superior, Novice Master and taught Religion classes in a Parochial Grade school, and English Literature at the High School level for home schoolers. Father was ordained a priest in 1997 for the Franciscan Friars of Mary Immaculate, serving the diocese of Fargo, N.D., as a substitute priest. In 2004 he transferred to the Franciscans of the Immaculate.
Father Elias Mary Mills FI, a native of Nebraska, graduated from the University of Nebraska. Father Elias was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on May 27, 2000, in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz. Father Elias served in the friars’ mission in Western Australia from 2000 to 2003 and is currently residing in the Franciscans of the Immaculate, Bloomington, IN where he is Father Guardian.
| G.K. Chesterton and how he has something to say about the situation of the present state of society and culture. Given by: Dale Ahlquist of the G.K. Chesterton Society on EWTN |
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Dale Ahlquist: Mr. Ahlquist is the president and co-founder of the “American Chesterton Society”. He is the Creator and Host of the Eternal Word Television Network series, "G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense" on EWTN. Dale is the author of G.K. Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense and the recently published “Common Sense 101: Lessons From G.K. Chesterton”.
He is also the the publisher of Gilbert Magazine, author of The Chesterton University Student Handbook, editor of The Gift of Wonder: The Many Sides of G.K. Chesterton, and associate editor of the Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton (Ignatius). He has been called "one of the most respected Chesterton scholars in the world" and has delighted audiences around the country with his variety of talks on the great English writer. He is a graduate of Carleton College (B.A.) in Northfield, Minnesota, and Hamline University (M.A.) in St. Paul, Minnesota. He lives near Minneapolis with his wife and five children.
New Friary And Other Missions Underway
Blessing and Dedication of the
Franciscan
Friary of Our Lady Coredemptrix
The Blessing of the new Friary was held on December 10, 2011, with a Mass celebrated by the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Bishop Coyne. Following Mass, the Bishop, friars, brothers, priest and laity processed to the new friary building for the blessing of the doors and its interior. Congregating in the chapel with its beautiful altar, the large crowd admired the structure with its exterior flagstone walls, all of which came from the ravines on the property, and the facility’s construction that provides a comfortable residence for the friars. Following this, a pitch in dinner was held in the dining hall and the evening ended with fireworks on the hillside, the lighting of the large LED cross and the ringing of the bells in the friary bell tower.
We completed this project as requested by Our Blessed Mother. We are very grateful to the many skilled and dedicated laborers that God has provided during the past year to complete the mission of building the friary and the radio station. Your previous commitment of prayer and monetary support is appreciated by the Friars and Mary’s Children; be assured that we rely on the generosity and love of God to reward you.
Mary’s Children also has three other missions at this time:
We print, provide and mail 3,000 messages each month without charge and depend upon contributions to offset the cost. We have committed volunteers that organize, print, fold, label and prepare them for mailing each month. Our expenses are the cost of the paper, ink and postage. Once a year we ask for your help.
We have and use e-news capabilities which have been generously contributed to us which makes information available to you on activities, schedules, religious functions. To take advantage of this program, go to our web site, www.Marys’schildren.com, to sign up for this free program. You will find it rewarding.
We have the radio station and are completing the physical requirements for the studio.
If you wish to talk to someone about how you can financially assist in these opportunities, call or contact: Father Elias Mary Mills, F.I. Father Guardian, Marian Friary of Our Lady Coredemptrix, 812-825-4742, Or Jim Wade, 812-825-4642 ext 235 You may also call those numbers to make an appointment.
Father Elias and the Franciscans pray for your needs and intentions on the First Friday of each month
With your prayers, help, and financial assistance we will accomplish these projects.
I am willing to do the following
______Contribution $_________ for the Friary.
______Contribute per month _____ over a 12 month period..
______Would like to talk about contributing a portion of the finances for labor & materials for the Radio Studio. The total anticipated cost is $6,300.00. (Call Father Elias 812-825-4742)
______Would like to talk to you about a major contribution
_____ Contribute $________ for support of monthly message which I receive
** May we help you in any way? Call 812-825-4642 for Father Elias or Jim Wade
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!
Jim and Ruth Ann Wade
December 2011
Year End Letter From Jim & Ruth Ann Wade
Dear Friends,
On behalf Of Mary’s Children Inc., the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate and all the volunteers, Ruth Ann and I wish you a very Merry and Spiritual Christmas and Happy New Year.
We have much to be thankful for at the Retreat Center. We continue to be blessed with fine retreat masters as well as many great volunteers to help us in carrying out the requests Our Lady has for this place. In addition to all that, we are very privileged to be able to participate in much of the spiritual life of the Friars. Our facilities are also utilized by parishes for confirmation retreats, day of planning, Seminary retreats, etc.
Friary Construction: The Friary that was begun during the winter of 2010 is in the final stage of construction. The Blessing and Dedication of the Friary is scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 10th at 4 p.m. As is the case of most Friaries, the living quarters of the friary will be cloistered. There is a reception area that will be available to visitors who wish to see a friar for business or spiritual matters. People attending the blessing on December 10th will see the interior of the friary as part of the activities on that day.
Radio Station: As we reported last year at this time, Mary’s Children was able to obtain a license from the FCC to begin operating an FM station for the Monroe County area of Indiana. We are a part of the EWTN network of Catholic radio stations. Our call letters are WOMB (With Our Mother Blest) 89.9 FM. The station is on the air 24-7. We will utilize our option to do local programming up to 4 hours per day in the near future. Our radio studio will be constructed in the very near future and the Friars will begin doing the local programs.
Mission of the Immaculate Mediatrix (MIM): This is a public association of the faithful attached to the Friars of the Immaculate. The cenacle meets on a monthly basis on a Sunday for formation instruction given by the Friars. The day starts with Rosary, Holy Mass, business meeting and teachings after lunch. Normally the day begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends around 2 p.m. On Sunday, December 11th visitors are welcome to attend to see if they are interested in learning more about becoming MIM members. There will be an introductory class after lunch. Please bring a sack lunch for your lunch.
Archbishop Daniel Buechlein: We were all very sad to learn this year that due to health reasons Archbishop Daniel retired from his duties as Archbishop of Indianapolis. We considered him a very dear friend to the “Farm” and we will miss him. Please pray for him and his successor.
House of Discernment for young women: We are still open to receiving applications for the House of Discernment. The primary purpose is to allow these young women a year to discern a “calling to religious life.” They will spend a year in volunteering at the retreat center and in prayer. Spiritual direction and guidance is provided by one of the Friars. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has given approval to us to begin this program. For information regarding this program contact Fr. Elias Mary Mills FI at 812-825-4742.
We have accepted the requests from the Blessed Mother and we continue to need your financial and spiritual support to complete our endeavors on the radio station and studio, the parking lot, sidewalks etc.
As always we pray daily for all those “friends of the Farm” who have helped to make all that happens here possible through prayer and financial support. Thanks for your continued support. Please pray for us!
May God Continue to Bless Us All,
Jim and Ruth Ann
December 2011
Letter From The Friars
Dear Friends and Benefactors of Mary's Farm,
The Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, Father Joachim and I want to thank you for your great kindness and generous support of our community and the retreat center during this year. We continue to be deeply humbled and edified by the kindness and charity that has been shown to us. Much has happened in 2011 here at Mother of the Redeemer Retreat Center or as many of you affectionately refer to as “The Farm”, with the highlight being the Blessing of the new Marian Friary of Our Lady, Coredemptrix on December 10th. (See details in this newsletter). We are happy that Bishop Coyne, the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese will be joining us for this event and hope that many of you will too. We also began broadcasting from the farm the area’s first Catholic radio station, WOMB, which stands for With Our Mother Blest, in August and already we have seen it bear fruit for the evangelization of souls. Please keep this new apostolate in your prayers and support.
Once again as we do every Advent season in preparation for the great Solemnity and season of Christmas, I want to remind you of a few ways in which we hope to return to you some of the love that you have shown to us. Since we are Franciscans with the vow of poverty, our way of responding to your love and care for us is by doing what religious do best,--prayer and penance.
Once again we will be conducting our annual Solemn Novena to the Immaculate Conception from November 29th to December 7th and will be remembering all of you in a special way as we approach the celebration of the grace most dear to Our Blessed Mother's Heart, Her Immaculate Conception. Please notice the times for the celebration of the novena in this newsletter or contact the retreat center if you would like to join us in this special time of prayer in honor of our nature's salutary boast. We will be having a holy hour every night of the novena with a special chanting of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and readings from Franciscan saints throughout the ages on the mystery of the Immaculate Conception.
On December 16th to the 24th we will have the first of two novenas for Christmas, one in preparation and the other during the octave, December 24th to January 1st.
The novena from Christmas Eve, December 24th to January 1st is our special Christmas Novena of Masses in which we offer nine masses for all those who have submitted their intentions. We hope that you will send us your special intentions that you would like us to remember during this time. You may submit as many intentions as you wish and include a free-will offering if you are able. The Christmas Novena of Masses is one of the many ways we as religious try to show our thanks and gratitude for all that you do for the friars and the retreat center.
One other event I wish to point out to you is the special extraction of patron saints for the New Year that we hold every Epiphany Sunday. In 2012, Epiphany falls on January 8th, 2012, and it has been a custom in our order to draw our patron saints for the New Year. Since the beginning of our institute, we have shared this opportunity with our benefactors and friends, who have enjoyed this immensely. We will have a special Mass at 9:00AM followed by the extraction of patron saints ceremony and a potluck dinner in the retreat center dining hall. Please join us if possible.
Finally, last but not least, we want to thank all of you who have contributed in any way to the construction of the new Marian Friary of Our Lady, Coredemptrix. It has been exciting watching the building come together and we are anxious to once again live our religious life in a more traditional setting. Although it will be only Father Joachim and I at the beginning, we are confident that Our Lady will send us souls to fill her house. Please keep vocations to the priesthood and religious life in your prayers. We pray for you in a special way for making this project a reality and we appreciate your support, both spiritually and materially. The friary construction will come to an end, but our prayers for all of our friends and benefactors living and deceased will not. We hope that you will be able to come to the special friary blessing on December 10th so that we may be able to thank you in person. Do not forget to take a look at the schedule in the coming days for the other grace-filled events taking place here at Mother of the Redeemer Retreat Center.
Ave Maria!
Father Elias Mary Mills, F.I.
Have you or anyone you know considered a vocation in a religious order? Mary’s Children under the guidance of the Franciscan Friars and with the permission of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis is developing
A House of Discernment for young ladies.
During the discernment year, discerners will live in a house at the retreat center in a simplified form of community life. Each participant in the program will have their own bedroom, share a bathroom and living space with a House Director. The house has a Chapel for community prayer, private prayer and reflection. The daily structured life begins at 5:00 a.m. for prayer, and Holy Mass at 6:30 a.m. in the Chapel.
The women will participate in volunteer work at the retreat center from 9 until noon each day. After lunch they will have some free time, prayer time, and recreation time.
They will attend Vespers each day with the public in the chapel along with the Friars. Young ladies who have at least graduated from High School may apply.
Applications or additional information may be obtained by contacting:
Jim Wade ext. 235 or Fr. Elias, ext.232 at 812-825-4642.
The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has given us permission to begin this House of Discernment. The Friars will provide spiritual direction and counsel to the discerners throughout the year that they are in the program.
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If you receive duplicate mailings or if you receive the Newsletter and do not wish to continue, call 812-254-3474 and leave message on answering machine. Speak very clearly giving Name, address. Or mail “the mailing label” you wish to discontinue to:
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Would
you join in doing something capable of ending abortion in this country?
Other Catholics have been successful in closing abortion clinics in their
areas by combining simultaneous prayer before Our Lord, truly present
in the Most Blessed Sacrament, and through prayer at the abortuary.
Please join us at one of the two locations during the period on Thursday mornings when abortions are performed in Bloomington. Prayers will be said in Bloomington at: Sacred eart Chapel, Mother of the Redeemer Farm, 8220 Highway 48 West and at Planned Parenthood, 421 S. College Avenue.
Dress Code
The Farm is a place of prayer. Fr. Elias reminds us “In general, the form of dress may be said to be immodest which serves to arouse the lust of men or which serves as a scandal, that is a stumbling block, to the practice of virtue…” To Observe Modesty, Avoid the Following:
*Any skin-tight clothing (shirts, slacks, shorts, etc) because they reveal the shape of the body and easily provoke impure thoughts to others.
*Shorts that do not extend to the knees. (In Church, shorts are inappropriate)
* Dresses or skirts that do not extend well over the knees
*Tanks tops (sleeveless shirts) or exposing shirts or blouses.
Accommodation Policies
At Mother Of The Redeemer Guest House
To register as a guest it is necessary to meet one of the following criteria.
1. Be a participant in a retreat sponsored by Mary's Children the Franciscan Friars or a religious group using the facilities that has the approval of the Friars and Mary's Children.
2. Be here on a private retreat that is directed by a Friar or has their approval and is a self directed retreat.
3. 1t is expected that guests on private retreat will participate in Holy Mass while they are here on retreat.
4. Be here for the purpose of Spiritual Direction from one of the Friars.
5. Be a Catholic Priest or Consecrated Religious on private retreat.
6. Be a Guest or Family member of one of the Friars who are stationed at the Friary.
All our guests must be here for the sole purpose of attending a Retreat which is described above.
For any further questions, please call 812-825-4642, Ext. 200
