A new home!

Welcome to the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Newton, NJ!

From left to right: Sacred Heart Chapel (with the cross), Novitiate (small white building where our rooms are), Cottage (house where the Sisters live and we do most of our daily living). More pictures of the grounds will come in another post.

Hello my dear friends! Please accept my apologies for my lack of updates. I don't really have a good excuse other than life is always super busy. I would like to tell you that I will do a better job from now on, but that is probably not the truth. So, please forgive me and be patient with me. =)

As most of you know, I have left beautiful California and I am back in New Jersey. I am not living in the same house that I was in before - I am about an hour away in a small town called Newton, NJ. We live on the grounds of a retreat center run by our Sisters - and believe me, it is the perfect place for a retreat! We are really in the middle of nowhere country. This is the kind of place where you see bears, turkey families, plenty of deer, and the stars are bright and beautiful at night. It is the ideal location to spend lots of time in prayer and discernment.

Moving to this new house now means that I am moving from being a Postulant to becoming a Novice. Today we will begin a one week silent retreat. At the end of the retreat, Saturday August 2nd, there will be a ceremony to mark our official entrance into the Novitiate. From that point on, I will be known as Sr. Katie. Wild! At this point I have still not taken any vows and I'm not wearing a veil or habit. However, my uniform changes from blue to gray. This is exciting stuff.

God willing, I will spend the next two years here in a time of deeper study and prayer. We will take some Philosophy and Theology classes and we'll study our vows and Constitutions. We will teach some religious education classes and help with retreats to prepare students for First Communion and Confirmation, but the majority of our time will be spent in study and prayer. This is serious business, folks.

The best way to get a hold of me is probably e-mail (flan.katie@gmail.com) or Facebook - but it may take me a couple days to get back to you. If you need to reach me right away, feel free to call. I promise, the Sisters don't bite. And as always, you can send me good old snail mail.

Address: 
20 Old Swartswood Rd.
Newton, NJ 07860

Phone Number:
973-383-2620

Please know that during this next week I will hold each of you close in prayer - and please pray for me!!