“The contemplative is the stay-at-home mother within the Church,” reflects Sr. Mary Josefa (Kathleen ’07) Holcomb, O.S.B. in this video. “The stay-at-home mother has a role that is not seen, and probably not appreciated, by many in the world … but how many families need that mother’s presence! The Church is a family, too. It needs the presence of a mother.”
Sr. Mary Josefa belongs to the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, who aspire to provide just such maternal care by praying for the priestly successors of the Apostles, imitating Our Lady in the last years
of her earthly life. They pursue this Marian charism while living according to the ancient Rule of St. Benedict — in this way, they are “a new shoot from old roots,” as Sr. Mary Josefa puts it. Founded in 1995 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the sisters relocated to Gower, Missouri, in 2006 at the invitation of the Most Rev. Robert W. Finn, then-Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph. They are by now firmly established, having become a full-fledged abbey in 2018.
Since its founding, and in a heartening reversal of dominant trends, the congregation has attracted dozens of aspiring young women, including two other Thomas Aquinas College alumnae: Sr. Sophia (Gina ’08) Eid, OSB, and Gwyneth Owen (’08). In response to this rapid expansion, in 2019 the Abbess sent seven adventurous sisters to establish the congregation’s first daughter house, the Monastery of St. Joseph, in Ava, Missouri — and among them was Sr. Mary Josefa.
“I had a sense early on, even when I was a child of seven or eight, that perhaps God wanted me to be His,” she recalls. But as a child in a traveling military family, opportunities to visit religious congregations were limited. “It was only when I went to Thomas Aquinas College that I met other people who not only wanted to become religious, they knew where you could.”
Sr. Mary Josefa’s time at the College also planted the seeds of her distinctly Benedictine vocation. “When I was younger, I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll be like the Dominicans and I’ll teach, or I’ll be like the Missionaries of Charity and I’ll help people on the street,’” she says. “But at Thomas Aquinas College, I learned to contemplate truth for its own sake … I also realized the importance of the liturgy, the importance of having people dedicating their lives to worshipping God, being His intimates in His own house, keeping Him company all day.” She joined the Benedictines of Mary soon after graduating, professing solemn vows in 2016.
As they set about establishing the new Monastery of St. Joseph, however, Sr. Mary Josefa and her fellow adventurous sisters have been very active for contemplatives. Their cheerful, can-do presence has caught the notice of more than the local Catholics. “So many people have been very welcoming, very kind and gracious to us, even though they’re not Catholic — or even Christian,” she says, adding with a laugh, “I do get asked frequently if I’m Amish.”
Although certainly not Amish, the Benedictines of Mary offer denizens of a busy world an insight into a simpler, more intentional way to live. “There’s a very hectic pace of life, people are very distracted,” reflects Sr. Mary Josefa. The world’s weary souls need a “a spiritual oasis in the modern desert,” she adds — just as the Church’s children yearn for the love of a stay-at-home mother.
Full story at Thomas Aquinas College.
May this sister lead many souls to Christ. A blessed Christmas to her!
They are a traditional order of nuns dedicated to the TLM exclusively and make vestments for TLM priests! By the way the Abbey is packed with sisters and have a waiting list to join.
The traditional orders (of nuns and priests) are thriving and blossoming. Thanks be to God!
I have two of their CD’s — “Angels and Saints at Ephesus” and “Lent at Ephesus”. They have both traditional English Catholics hymns and Gregorian Latin chants on each.
I should have written that both have traditional Catholic hymns in English as many of the hymns in English were probably originally from other Catholic cultures and later translated into English. They do have the Gregorian Latin also.
Where I live, nuns get asked if they are Muslim.
Thank you, Sister Josefa. You are a giver and a gift.
May God bless you and your community this Christmas and every day.
May Our Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless and protect this order of holy nuns
These Holy young women will be the cause of more conversions than any dictate from a chancery office
Let us therefore now at length rise up as the Scripture incites us when it says: “Now is the
hour for us to arise from sleep.” And with our eyes open to the divine light, let us with astonished
ears listen to the admonition of God’s voice daily crying out and saying: “Today if ye will hear His
voice, harden not your hearts.” And again: “He who has the hearing ear, let him hear what the Spirit
announces to the churches.” And what does the Spirit say? “Come, children, listen to me: I will
teach you the fear of the Lord. Run while ye have the light of life, that the shades of death envelop
you not.”
Rule of St. Benedict
Loved their video. If I were young, I would definitely be interested in considering a religious vocation to this order.
I read that the average age of these young nuns is under age 30. Also, I read that many sibling blood sisters of the nuns, were inspired to follow their older blood sisters, and joined this Order. Now, there are at least six sibling pairs of blood sisters, in this order. They are with the Fraternity of St. Peter, an all-Latin Tridentine Mass group, approved by Pope Francis to continue in their calling, not touched by the Pope’s recent crackdown on the old Latin Mass. Beautiful.