Sisters in Mary
“Sisters in Mary” is a group of Catholic lay women who gathered to pray, learn, grow and support each other as we journey closer to God in the same Catholic faith.
We consecrated our sisters’ group to Jesus through Mother Mary on May 13th, 2021 (Feast day of our Lady of Fatima), witnessed and blessed by Fr. Francis.
According to our consecration, when we’re in Mary, with Mary, for Mary, we’re also in Jesus, with Jesus and for Jesus, while taking this easier and surer path to our Lord Jesus through His Blessed Mother.
Membership
We often welcome new members by referral of existing members.
We also welcome and love to assist more sisters in Christ to initiate similar small fellowship groups.
Background
Many of us knew each other through friends, parish and previous Catholic events. Although the faith gatherings started from a sub-group of mothers in “Families on a mission”, we later welcomed other sisters in Christ to join and share our gifts and resources with each other. During the pandemic we host a monthly virtual prayer gathering on the third Saturday evening of each month, which continues to this day, and also a few small groups to go deeper in specific faith topics. We also occasionally gather in person to have fun and to get to know each other better.
From 2020 to present, we have regularly prayed together and gone through a number of simple faith topics and encouraged each other to grow in faith, in prayer life, and in other practical ways.
As in the oak tree analogy, we are sisters in Jesus and Mary who accompany one another to stand and grow stronger together to withstand storms in life.
Sisters in Mary Retreat 2023
In 2023 February, for the first time Sisters in Mary attempted a 2 days 1 night Lenten retreat for those who can join at the Shrine of St. Therese, Monastery of Mount Carmel in Niagara Falls, ON. This was our group’s first attempt and the time was valuable for us to spend time together in prayer, reflection and sharing etc. We wished we had it longer, and that in the future more Sisters are available to join together! 🙏
Thanks to Vivien who directed the retreat materials and organized the retreat center booking for Sisters in Mary 🙏🌹
Gathering in Small Groups
In addition to our monthly 3rd Sat evening’s virtual gathering, started from 2022, Sisters in Mary also organized small study groups to accommodate different meeting times/locations, and encouraged members to lead or join for specific topics. Books we went through together or still reading together include:
- In the School of the Holy Spirit (a few completed the 4 sessions, and welcome new group to start)
- The Power of Praying Parents (in progress Sun afternoon and some members on Wed evening)
- Intercession: A Guide to Effective Prayer (begun monthly virtual on Fridays at 1-2pm)
Check here for other books/topics that our community is interested in: link
New in 2023/2024
Monday Evening Group – starting in Oct, this group continues by Cynthia & Victoria in St. Thomas basement chapel with other FNE mothers
Lectio Divina – during Sister’s monthly gathering in April 2023, we did bible meditation again and this time using the Catholic traditional approach called Lectio Divina to read, meditate and share on the coming Sunday’s Gospel reading; there was interest to do this more regularly and we’re trying to do that with more brothers and sisters in the community (if you’re interested to join, please contact Renee or Amy)
Gym Gatherings – TBD (first time please sign up with us to make sure gym is available that week)
