Monday 30 January

Monday 30 January

Monday of week 4 in Ordinary Time First reading - Hebrews 11:32-40 “These are all heroes of faith”. The heroes of faith, how beautiful is the title. How did they achieve that? They achieved that by letting the promise of God enter their life. They let their life be completely guided by the plan of God. They did not run away when difficulties came. They managed to see the difficulties as part of their faith. They were weak but the faith gave them strength. They were ill-treated by the world, but their faith gave them strength to go to desert where they found the truth of faith. The heroes of faith are those who are with us in our way of faith since the walk in this path is not alone. We walk with the heroes of faith. “These are all heroes of faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had made provision for us to have something better, and they were not to reach perfection except with us”. Let’s reflect: Do you feel that in your walk of faith, you are walking with the heroes of faith?
Good luck and many blessings

Good luck and many blessings

Yes, good luck and many blessings we have wished on January 26th we wished our Sister Judith on her 90th birthday. Sister Judith has been living here in Cochem for 62 years - first in the old hospital on the Klosterberg , then in the new hospital in the Avollonstraße and since a few years again here on the Klosterberg. Cochem is a small town where the Sisters of Mary simply belong. This is because many Cochem residents were born on the Klosterberg and thus had and still have very early contact with the Sisters of Mary. Sister Judith was active in nursing education for 35 years. So Provincial Superior and Superior - not unknown. Yes, and when one is known - congratulations are also sent. The District Administrator sent his congratulations along with the Mayor of the Association, Mr. Lambertz (a dear friend of our convent) - because Mr. Lambertz did not miss the opportunity to come in person to congratulate Sister Judith, to tell her story and to have a cup of coffee. The mayor of the city, Mr. Schmitz, also personally brought his congratulations and many other people of Cochem congratulated Sister Judith. In a small circle, Father Andreas Pohl, a Sacred Heart priest from the Maria Martental Monastery, celebrated Holy Mass with us in thanksgiving for Sister Judith`s life. It was a special joy for Sister Judith that our former managing director Mr. Mohr and his wife came to the service and then drank coffee together with us Sisters. Good Agathe - who has been connected with the Sisters of Cochem for over fifty years and is still loyal to us as a pensioner - was also present and as always... she baked the best cake there is and brought it with her. A day full of joy and gratitude has come to an end. We wish SisterJudith God's blessing, much courage and strength for her everyday life and the certainty. "The best is yet to come" ! Sr. Felicitas
60th anniversary of religious profession

60th anniversary of religious profession

It has been a while since we celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of our Sister Augustina here in Cochem on the Klosterberg....but I think 60 years of being a Sister of Mary - is worth sharing the memories even now. Because of the Corona time our way of celebrating has changed - nevertheless we did it on the last Feast of Christ the King and it was a beautiful celebration with many surprises. The Provincial Superior came from Berlin and brought Sister Carla and Sister Ursula with her - because they were on retreat. The Benedictines from Maria Laach are very close to us and because Father Basil is our special friend - he also celebrated a wonderful festive service with us. Sister Augustina had secretly wished it, but she did not expect him to come and it remained a secret until he entered the chapel for Holy Mass. Also the organist, who is seriously ill, did not miss the opportunity to embellish the service with his special way of playing the organ. Jana, a young woman from Sister Augustina's circle of acquaintances, also arrived and delighted everyone with her wonderful voice. Sister Augustina could not believe what was possible that day. Even today she is full of gratitude and always talks about her jubilee. She told me.... the memory of this beautiful day give her strength in her old age - for her everyday life Sr. Felicitas

Together we are strong

Such a greeting is now often heard in Ukraine. But even those who were forced to leave their country need a sense of belonging, of mutual support and help. This is also the case with those who came to Berlin as refugees soon after the war against Ukraine began in the spring of 2022, and who have found refuge, among other places, on the grounds of the Marienkrankenhaus in Berlin-Lankwitz, which is under the sponsorship of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary v.d.U.E.. These are mainly women with their children. They also try to be together and share their pain, but also their joy. The Orthodox Christmas, for example, was such an occasion. This time our guests wanted to express their gratitude for the help received and not only spent this special day together with the Sisters of Mary, but also prepared a wonderful feast of traditional Ukrainian dishes. In order for the benefit received to continue to bear fruit, they do not leave it at gratitude, but organize further help to the best of their ability. As they say, it is also a kind of therapy for them. May peace reign in our hearts and in the world! Sr. Natanaela
Sunday 29 January

Sunday 29 January

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading - Zephaniah 2:3,3:12-13 70ᵗʰ World Leprosy Day “In your midst I will leave a humble and lowly people, and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of the Lord”. In these words of the Prophet, Lord associates Himself with a group of people who are humble and lowly. He identifies Himself with that people. Because they seek refuse in the name of the Lord. They have only Lord as their refuge. They have nothing else other than the Lord. Those who have nothing else other than the Lord, they are special before the Lord. The Lord assumes them as His own. Our challenge is to be part of that group which the Lord assumes as His own. For that what we should do? The prophet answers: “seek integrity, seek humility”. Seeking the integrity is seeking the truth of the love of God. The truth of the love of God is that it’s all encompassing, it’s integral. And to assimilate that love of God, I must seek humility. In order to get the love of God, I must be humble. I must take out my pride so that the love of God can be take the place of my ego. Let’s reflect: Do I belong to those who seek refuge in the name of the Lord or not?