League of the Blessed Sacrament

Our Story

  We are a group of Catholic lay women who have heard the Lord calling them to Himself through contemplation and active service in the Church. We are an association of faithful women who live our Eucharistic life in community according to the rule of St. Augustine as well as our own constitutions, and we do so in cooperation with the men of the League of the Blessed Sacrament. While the men are called to imitate Christ as the Sacrificial Lamb and High Priest, as women we are called to imitate Mary, our Sorrowful Mother, in her love, sacrifice, and strength at the foot of the Cross. We live out this imitation most when we attend the daily sacrifice of the Mass and pray the hours of the Divine Office in common seven times a day.

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   We found their way to St Johns through the League of the Blessed Sacrament. The men originally came to the area for a three week retreat but, after much prayer and discernment, they felt the call of God to stay. The men had been working with Lisa to establish a mirror community of women for several years and when they let her know where the Lord had brought them she began praying. It wasn’t long before the Lord opened the doors for us to join the men as they begin to live the canonical life here in Eastern Arizona. The Bishop of Gallup, the Most Reverend James Wall, has given permission for the men and women to live and pray in Concho and St Johns for the foreseeable future.

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   We reside in an old Convent in the small town of St. John’s in Eastern Arizona and spend their days praying and ministering to the faithful in St. Johns, Concho and occasionally in other neighboring towns. We currently work in the office of St John’s Catholic Church, but they plan to work not only in Catholic Churches in the area, but Catholic Schools, CCD and RCIA programs, as well as assisting the men in their mission, retreat, and conference work.

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   We have a deep and life-changing love for Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and we desire to share not only Christ’s love for the world, but also our own love and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. We pray the Church’s Breviary seven times a day, often with the men, and we invite any and all to come join us in our prayers in the parish church in Concho or the convent chapel in St Johns. Through this regiment of prayer, our lives are ordered to a relationship with the Trinity and with one another.

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   We sustain themselves through their job at the parish, selling their handmade crafts, and through the financial support of benefactors.

 

   We sell items through their online Etsy shop as well as with the men at fairs and bazaars in Eastern Arizona. The main financial support that sustains their work of prayer and ministry, however, comes from the Christian Faithful supporting them through donations and monthly giving. Our confraternity, The League of the Blessed Sacrament, is a registered 501 C3 non-profit. Your donations and support are put to work advancing the gospel and supporting our life of prayer and ministry and is fully tax deductible.

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Who we are:

   We are an association of Catholic lay women who live in community under the rule of St. Augustine and structure their lives around the reality of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. With approval, we hope to one day become the Canonesses Regular of the Blessed Sacrament - a feminine mirror of the men when they become the Canons Regular of the Blessed Sacrament.

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What we do:

   We live in common and chant the Divine Office in community seven times a day. The Divine Office, commonly referred to as the Liturgy of the Hours, is the ancient prayer of the Church and the number seven is taken from the Psalms: “Seven times a day I praise Thee because of the Thy righteous judgements” (Ps 119:164). From this contemplative life flows our ministry to the Church through parish work such as serving in the sacristy, teaching CCD, work with RCIA, leading parish missions and giving presentations on the Church’s liturgical life. Our desire is “to renew all things in Christ.” Because this is so important to us and to the life of the Church, we have taken these words as our motto. To live out this desire to renew all things in Christ, we have, in the past undertaken various ministries, including teaching at catholic schools, liturgical training, homeless ministry, sacristy work, teaching catechism, social media ministry, college ministry, confirmation retreats, and others.

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Our work with the League

 We help the men direct The League of the Blessed Sacrament, and support local League groups in parishes and seminaries. We join the men for a public hour of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament Monday through Friday at four in the afternoon at the church of San Rafael. This daily holy hour is made possible by the men at the permission of the local pastor and is held to foster greater devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to inspire deeper belief in the true presence of Christ on the altar.

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Where we serve:

  By the good pleasure of the Bishop of Gallup, New Mexico, serve in the parishes of San Rafael and Saint John the Baptist in Eastern Arizona. We live in the Convent across the street from the church of Saint Johns. They pray their hours in common daily in either the parish of San Rafael in Concho or in the Convent chapel in St. Johns. The faithful are welcome to join the us in their prayers with the men at San Rafael or at the convent chapel in St. Johns.

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Horarium

(Basic Weekday Schedule...subject to change based on ministry/Mass times)

7:00am - Matins and Lauds (Office of Readings and Morning Prayer) 8:00am - Mass
8:45am - Breakfast
9:15am - Work

10:00am - Terce (Midmorning Prayer) and spiritual reading/reflection 10:30am - Work
Noon - Sext (Midday Prayer)
12:15pm - Lunch

1:00pm - Work
3:00pm - None (Mid Afternoon Prayer)
3:15pm - Free Time
4:30pm - Holy Hour/Adoration/Seraphic Rosary
5:30pm - Vespers (Evening Prayer)
6:00pm - Dinner
7:00pm - Community Time
9:00pm - Compline (Night Prayer) followed by Grand Silence until Matins