Well everybody, we lost an online friend but we gained so much more.

What are your thoughts and feelings?

Miss her already, have been missing her all day. Already signed up for the newsletter and am waiting for the photos on their site!

But, I know that she is in a good place and will find much joy! In that I rejoice.

And of course I will be forever curious about what it's like to be cloistered and a Bride of Christ.

Phatmass feels empty without her, but its not a big shock. There'll be more of us leaving I gaurentee you that. OLAM Dad is right, we have gained so much more.

And it should be Weird.

She is, and will always be an important part of our vocation discernment. To say it should not be weird is childish denial.

She left a remarkable impact on us, and should not be forgotten.

But oh well, we will see eachother at Mass, in the Holy Eucharist in Communion with Our Lord.

SHALOM

Let us all remember her in a very very special way this Divine Mercy Sunday at mass.

St. Faustina, Pray for Us!

I miss her even though I didn't know her THAT well.
I hope she likes it there!

me too!

Sister Denise was a pretty prolific contributor for her short duration on the phorum. Of course, it will be weird for a while, because her absence leaves a void, but also because she was so candid and transparent with her vocation story as she let us know how her situation was unfolding. She may be feeling pretty off balance herself for a while as I believe she drew a lot of support from this phorum. At the same time, I expect everyone else's stories will need to be shared and support given. Life has a way of going on. I think Sister Denise did a lot of good here, I'm thankful that she found Phatmass, and I'm hoping her continued discernment will go well.

I wish I was around phatmass to say goodbye.

but she will be in my prayers and I know she is praying for us.

It serves to remind me how so much of our surroundings are transient. PM and other places, whether online or irl, are brilliant opportunities where we can support each other.

But they're not the be all and end all of our lives. There are very few "fixed" points in this life, and PM isn't one of them! I think it's more of a watering station along the way (I'm watching the London Marathon at the moment, hence that expression). Ultimately we will move on, hopefully like Sr. Denise to our own fixed point, our own particular path within the Church as we travel together towards The Fixed Point.

It means that places like PM aren't going to exist for ever, but that's not a bad thing. Quite the opposite, in fact: that PM has helped so many shows how much of a blessing it is. Personally I find it all quite exciting!

Love and prayers,

PP

me too:)

I like how God graces us with eachother on this journey. Did anyone ever think of that? I mean, if we didn't have eachother to collaborate with, imagine the journey!

I will miss her, but so glad to have known her and have her in my life, even if it was over the phorum only I'm very much glad to know that she is within the enclosure and that whatever graces were waiting for her there are being poured upon her!

she isn't necessarily there forever yet. She hasn't professed final vows (at least from what i know of her, she hasn't)

I am thinking it is cool that phatmass can claim another nun.

She will be a good one at that.

She will be missed but i hope that there are others who take her spot and even more that continue to follow her into a vocation.

It's all good!

I didn't know Denise as well as many of you, but I will miss her more than I thought. May the Lord grant her happiness and peace.

As I was singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet before Mass at the IRL for Denise....I was in tears.....I miss her dearly...

we will all miss her terribly but that's not to say we will never speak to her again. I cannot be more happy for her, we should all learn from her examples and willngness to follow God. May He bless her as she follows His will to become a poor clare,
-Lori

Well said Lori. Yes Denice will be missed by us all. She is a remarkable young lady and she has been a blessing to us all. For me, even though I knew her only briefly through this PM, I again feel a little pain of separation. But, I must say PM is such a blessing to me, I so enjoy being a part of so many holy lives. God bless you all. Thanks OLAM Dad for asking.
Mr. Ray

PS: Sr. Denice's labor of love is just beginning and I am consoled to think of that. Thank you Jesus

Yes knowing how happy and peaceful she must be right now, I am just overjoyed to know how she is feeling. I'm so excited for her!!! Yes thank you Jesus, he's wonderful isn't He?

She was such a big help to me...to so many of us...someone up above mentioned how transparent she was with us in sharing her vocation journey with us...I miss her ...but again, we all can meet at the feet of our Eucharistic Lord & say..."hi!" to her & to each other...We're all on a journey home so to speak & yes, this is a pretty transitory place...especially fragile since it is in cyber-space! May God grant us many happy & holy vocations from phatmass! OLAM Dad, thanks for starting up this thread...this is very good!

It's definitely different without her here. I was so happy for her though (and still am). She's in such a wonderful place right now and I feel blessed to have known her, even for such a short amount of time.

Thanks to all of you for your kind words. Although Denise will not be able to read the thoughts you had I know she thoroughly enjoyed sharing her travels toward the Lord with all of you. That is why she asked me to keep you informed when I hear from her. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. I am going through Denise withdrawl and have received comfort from your words.

Deb

Thanks to all of you for your kind words. Although Denise will not be able to read the thoughts you had I know she thoroughly enjoyed sharing her travels toward the Lord with all of you. That is why she asked me to keep you informed when I hear from her. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. I am going through Denise withdrawl and have received comfort from your words.

Deb

I wrote Sister Denise a letter I am sending it off tomorrow morning!

I thought she wouldn't be able to read any of our letters till Christmas...although I guess there is no harm in sending them, huh? She could have a stock-pile of them from all of us!!!

It will make her so happy!

I emailed Mother and told her to tell Sr. Denise that OLAM Dad says hi.

I don't know whether she'll get the message but she might!

Here's a trick that I learned from observing Sr. Lauren's behavior. If you send a donation to the monestary care of Sr. Denise she should get to write a thank you card and offer up a day of prayers, etc. It will be a short note but at least you'll get to hear from her.

I know this because when brandlynmarie left Sr. Lauren some coffee, Sr. Lauren sent me a card to mail to Brandee because she didn't have her address. I don't know what she wrote but I suspect it was a bit more than just 'Thank you'.

I think I'll try this tactic with Sr. Denise and see what happens.

cool.

Darn it, I should have tried that tactic. I did send em a little something in honor of her entrance, but I got a typed form reply in return. I do hope they let her know that we sent something in honor of her gift.

I stuck in a holy card with my letter... I'm not sure that counts as a gift worthy of a thank you back, lol

A word of warning though...I remember Denise mentioned something specifically about how she was supposed to ask her friends NOT to mail her stuff before Christmas...so I wouldn't mail her too much or else Mother might be upset at her for not telling us.....

I'm not gonna write her until Christmas.

I just sent a congrats letter Now I feel bad... I don't want to get her in trouble...

Are you kidding me?!?

Don't feel bad! It was very kind of you to write.

Sr. Denise will enjoy receiving your letter and Mother will get over it.

Very funny! I received a wonderful thank you note from Sr. Lauren(via the merry messenger OLAM dad(thank you dad!)!) & they are offering prayers for me(thanks be to God, the best gift!) in thanksgiving for the dark roasted (not foo-foo!) coffee! It was totally unexpected & such a gift...If anything, Mother can always hang on to the letters we send & present them to Sr. Denise at Christmas time...perishable food items would probably have to be sent closer to Christmas... God is good!

Tre smart.

Well, guess what! Today, I got a letter from the PCPAs in Portsmouth. They sent me back my letter, envelope and all! I guess I will be saving it for Christmas!

WOW!

No way.....

I know... I thought they could have saved it up... oh well... I'll send it come Christmas time.

Yeah! That's shocking though....

That seems like a waste of their postage...

What did they say?

Yeah? Did they say anything or just send the letter back?
Wow how like....I dunno.... weird....

Sister Imelda Marie wrote a letter basically saying that it is the custom of the monastery to recieve only letters from immediate family except at Christmas time. If one wants to get her a message or a prayer request to address it to Attn: Mother Dolores Marie. She also mentioned that Sr. Denise is praying for me and that she will be looking forward to a letter com Christmas time.

It wasn't mean or anything, but I was kinda hoping they would have saved it up for her...

that is weird!!!!

that is weird!!!!

Well, I had to Poor Clare letters in my mailbox today I was excited about that.