About the Sister Servants

Almost all the sisters, plus their Chaplain and their dog. Mother Mary Gabriel and one other sister are missing.

A depiction of the legendary meeting of
Sts Francis and Dominic. I believe the painting 
is from St. John Lateran's in Rome.

This is going to be my info-packed post about the Sister Servants, which I will keep a link for on the sidebar. There is still so much I will continue to learn after entering, and I would just be clumsy if I tried to say it now, so this will be simplified.

       The Sister Servants of the Eternal Word are a Roman Catholic womens' relgious order located in Irondale, Alabama. They were founded in the 1980's by Mother Mary Gabriel and currently have twenty sisters. The order is very unique in its blending of Franciscan and Dominican heritage, but the teachings and lifestyles of the two saints join together seamlessly, and with beautiful results. As one of the sisters once wrote to me, "Both of these great saints emphasized humility and charity, teaching the faith by the holy witness of their lives. Their example challenges each member of our community to strive for personal holiness in order to be an effective teacher of the Catholic Faith. We believe that we can only teach the faith effectively by a life of authentic charity, a genuine love of God and neighbor."

       The Sisters have an active apostolate, though they lead very prayerful, contemplative lives. They are dedicated to catechesis, the study and spreading of the truths of the Catholic Faith. Their contemplative and studious life gives them the means of building up their own prayer life and knowledge, which they share with others.

These sisters are certainly not the sterotypical stern and unhappy nuns.
If anyone enjoys life, they do!

       The retreats they host provide a constant source of learning and growth to those who attend them, and for the sisters themselves. The retreat conferences are given by outstanding speakers from around the country, mostly priests. The sisters also operate a bookstore to help further nourish the spiritual life outside of retreats, with materials availiable both at Casa Maria and online. Click here for their new page of free mp3s of past conferences! When invited, the sisters have sometimes spoken at parishes and youth events. Currently, a few sisters teach classes for First Communion and Confirmation preparation at a Catholic school, but that is not a set part of their apostolate.

       Casa Maria is the name of the combined convent and retreat house, tucked away in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachain Mountains, minutes down the road from the EWTN station. The retreats are peaceful and refreshing, with the option to join the sisters for daily Mass, Rosaries, and the Divine Office, and about four conferences. This picture shows the layout of the buildings, though they have now finished building all the way to the point of the arrow. Only the large chapel and retreat dining room are left, but they expect to wait a few years before they have sufficient funds to begin building again. The left wing of the building are the retreat rooms and temporary chapel, and the right wing is the sisters' convent. The sisters' side is actually two stories, built into the hill, so it is much larger than it appears. There is a pond behind Casa Maria, and walking paths all around the grounds.

Sisters in the temporary adoration chapel
in the retreat house

I hope this helps answer some of your questions. I'll be posting separately about the formation process etc.

Here is the average daily scheudle of the sisters, as written on their website.

Retreat schedules are different!




5:30 am   Rise
6:00         Holy Hour
7:00         Office of Readings and Morning Prayer
8:00         Breakfast and Cleaning Duties
8:30         Novitiate Classes / Study / Apostolate & Convent Duties
11:40       Daytime Prayer, Holy Mass , and Rosary in succession
1:00         Lunch
2:00         Spiritual Reading, Divine Mercy Chaplet and Recreation (for Novitiate)
                Apostolate & Convent Duties
5:30         Evening Prayer and Rosary
6:30         Dinner, Followed by Recreation (whole community)
8:15         Rosary and Night Prayers
9:15         Retire
10:00       Lights Out

May it please the supreme and divine Goodness to give us all abundant grace

ever to know His most holy will and perfectly to fulfill it.

- St. Ignatius of Loyola