The one year anniversary of the "clothing" of Susan on the vigil of the Queenship of Mary

At this time one year ago....John, Nancy and I were sitting outside celebrating with Susan and the Community of the Lamb as 10 women received the habit of the community and changed their names.  I have all these amazing pictures thanks to Pierre... a lay member of the community that lives nearby and was given permission to be up where all the ceremony was taking place and get these amazing shots of all that was happening.  Many of the community had traveled from their missions all over the world for this special welcoming of new members as they took this first step.  They were told that even though they were not at this point taking vows... that they should take this step very seriously, and I know that for Susan it was!  We were handed a program in English that while we were in the air flying to France the community in KC had gotten translated for us...so that we could share in the deep amazing words that were in everything from the openning hymn to the meaning of each part of their habit that was handed to them piece by piece!  What a gift for us to able to follow along as the entire thing was in French... yes,Susan has become fluent in French after this last year!AS we watched the 10 girls stepped forward and as the Kyrie was being sung... they lay prostrate on the ground of the stage in front of the monsignor that was concelebrating with many priests...including Fr Craig Timmermann,who had come just for Susan!  The words of the openning hymn:

1)Come with Mary, Our Queen, the Virgin and Mother of God,

escorted by angels and saints.  Standing before the throne of the

Lamb let us keep our lamps burning.  On earth as in heaven, let us

praise in her divine tenderness the most blessed and holy Trinity.

3) Come with all the poor and the meek, Come with all those who

mourn  and the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and

those who suffer persecutions.  Let us sing the song of the Lamb.

With all the holy men  and women of God, let us bow down and adore the most holy Lamb.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

The celebrant:  What do you seek?

Postulants:  The mercy of God and of the Church, of the Community of the Lamb, and that of you.

The celebrant:  May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  AmenThe postulants stand as the community sings;

"Sing and rejoice, Daughter of Zion, the Lord is with you, the King of Isreal in your midst.  Sons of Zion, jubilate, rejoice in the Lord your God!  This God is our God for ever and ever, He it is who leads us.There was then scripture shared starting with Isaiah 62...."you shall be called a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give.  You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem of your God.  You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.  For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." 

The psalm -45

"Behold the bride of the Lamb, in the assembly of all saints, contemplate your Queen, more beautiful than the moon, shining even more brightly than the sun, the humble Virgin Mary, the splendor of the firmament."

the Alleluia before the Gospel - "Fear not, little flock. for it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

Then the amazing Gospel of Luke 12:22-23  "Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing."  It speaks of how God cares for the birds of the air and how he arrays the lillies of the field in splendor... "Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."The postulants come from the back now barefoot and come forward to this amazing hymn;

O eternal God, O abyss of charity,

you did not consider my darkness;

before you created us your gaze was upon us,

my gentle Lord, O my love.

O eternal God, O abyss of charity,

like the deer yearns for the springs of living waters

my soul yearns to see you in truth,

O my gentle Lord, O my love.

O eternal God, O abyss of charity,

in your light, I have come to know the light,

in you I found love,

my gentle Lord, O my love.An amazing quote from St Ambrose;

"As for you, my daughter, put on the robe woven by the zealous labor of the woman who opens her hands to the poor and whose lamp never goes out at night.

Put on this robe so as to put on Christ and be renewed in the knowledge of him.  Put on then, as God's chosen one, holy and beloved, binds everything together in perfect harmony.  In order to owe no one anything except your sister to love one another.  Do not covet the grace that she received, but imitate her in the fields where you see her more advanced, in order to have Peace and Christ's grace in you, the Word of God dwelling in your heart and to be liberated from all earthly cares.

So shun worldly ways in devoting yourself ceaselessly to singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, dedicating your songs not to men but to God.  And as Blessed Mary, ponder in your heart.  Like a lamb, ruminate the divine precepts in your mouth.  Thus you also will say:  "I will muse on your wonders."Ps 119:27

Once again they prostrate themselves on the floor...This time with bare feet"Clothe me, clothe me with yourself...wholeheartedly I prostrate myself before you, O Lord, do not abandon me to my own will, you have done so much for me, in your great love have mercy on me... Clothe me, Clothe me with yourself, my gentle Lord, O my Love."The celebrant:

Please stand. 

During your postulancy, you have experienced the life of the Community of the Lamb, a very simple life of fraternal communion, of prayer,of study of the Word of God, of preaching the Gospel, a life of poverty and of abandonment to Divine Providence, of mendicancy, a life of humble and joyful service to the community, where all together you are bound to live the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, announcing the universal reconcilliation of all people and the return to Jesus.  Do you desire to live this life?

Postulants:  Yes, I do with the grace of God!

Celebrant:  May God who has begun this good work in you bring it to completion.Each element of the habit is then blessed and placed one by one in the outstretched arms of each girl... The Vesture:

Celebrant: In the Lord you have put off the old nature with its practices and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God with true righteousness and holiness.

The tunic - Receive the tunic.  May the Lord clothe you in mercy and tender compassion!  Let the same mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; may the Lord clothe you in strength and gladness.

The scapular ( the apron that goes over their head and is front and back) - Receive the scapular, this blessed garment, it is the yoke of Christ, meek and lowly in heart; wear it joyfully, along with it, put on the meekness and humility of our Lord Jesus Christ.the belt - Receive the belt.  May the Lord gird you with fortitude and truth, may he keep you awake in love an find you watchful at each one of his comings.Sandals - May the Lord give you with the sandals the zeal to spread the Gospel of peace, the promptness and attention to any form of obedience and to any good deed, the patience and vigilance to carry out the offices of the night and of the day.The veil - Receive the veil, a sign of your belonging to Christ.  May he clothe you in his fidelity and may your heart remain undividely his.Receive this rosary, and may the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, help you to enter into the mysteries of her Son Jesus,she to whom all children of Dominic have been entrusted.  May Christ be fixed in your hearts, he who for all was fixed on the Cross."Virgin Immaculate, lead us along the way of pure love in the footsteps of the unblemished Lamb."

Their cofounder, Fr Jean-Claude then reads Ephesians 6: 10-18 about putting on the armor of God... 'having your loins girded with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the Gospel of peace; besides all that taking shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation,and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The postulants depart to put on the habit!  It was very powerful to see them come in... we all said to each other that it seemed like she has always worn it... it was beautiful and we were all in joyful tears!Beautiful joyful Susan in her habit after they return clothed!The novices kneel down to receive their new names....Little Sister Marie, their foundress comes to Susan and says:  You were called Susan

In the community of the Lamb,

you will be called little sister Hallel.

(we were surprised because LS Marie had spoken these words in English just for us!  Also we had expected a more normal name like Agnes - her patron saint)This picture is a treasure and so true of her new name which means total joy and praise as the beginning of the word Halleluia should mean!This was our view as the 10 returned in their habits!  A beautiful humble transformation into members in full with the community! 

The celebrant:  My little sisters, you have received the habit through the authority of the Church and of the Community.  Thus begins the novitiate that enables you to continue to experience the life of the Community of the Lamb.  At the end of the noviciate, it the Community, in the name of the Church, calls you to pursue this way and if you ask for it, you will be received to profession.  Without delay, today, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, live in charity, obedience, and prayer.  Amen!We then shared the Eucharist... the same in every language!Allow the children to come to me!  Wonderful families there to celebrate!The Gospel is carried forth - God in his Word!Little Sister Hallel's face is aglow with love for Christ - the Word!The presentation of the gifts - soon to be Christ come to feed us with heavenly food and drink!Little Sister Marie greets the new novices - Little Sister Hallel gets her hug and kiss!Jean-Claude too!  Then her loving family... especially her glowing joyful brother, John, who had just discovered that he had a rare type of brain cancer... it was a miracle of prayer that we were able to be there on this glorious night a year ago tonight!  Praise you Lord, and thank you for the gift of the Community of the Lamb in our lives, Hallel's beautiful vocation, and John's healing of 8 months without cancer!  Jesus we trust in you!  Amen and Halleluia!

Bless-bless, Barb  "Lord, celebrating the feast of the Virgin Mary, we offer you our gifts and prayers: may Christ, who offered himself as a perfect sacrifice, bring mankind the peace and love for ever and ever.  Amen.