Monastic Investiture of Sister Bernadette

On January 4, 2025, Saturday of Christmastide, postulant Mary Margaret White was clothed in the monastic habit and veil and was given the name Sister Bernadette. Father Ezekiel Lotz, OSB, our Chaplain-in-residence, was the main celebrant and homilist at the Mass, with Mary's brother, Father Thomas White, LC, concelebrating. Mary's parents Bill and Denise and her 10 siblings traveled to Shaw Island from many parts of the country to share this joyful celebration with their their oldest sister. Friends and Oblates of the monastery from Portland, Seattle, the northern parishes of Ferndale and Lynden, and the San Juan Islands joined the monastic community for Mass, lunch and celebration at the Shaw Island Community Building, followed by the Clothing Ceremony.

It is our custom on a Clothing Day for a postulant to wear a dress that expresses her genealogy and reflects the beauty she brings to this transformative moment in her life when she receives the monastic habit. Christmastide has always been Mary's favorite season, so she chose a festive red dress that highlighted a gold cross, gift of her parents and very precious to her. Mary loves to dance, so as part of the festivities, Monastery friends Isabelle and George Zifcak led folk dancing, accompanied by Orcas Island musicians Anita Orne and Gordon Koenig.

Denise and Bill and the White Family in
Monastic Chapel before the Clothing Mass

Mary White was born in Gretna, Louisiana, the eldest of eleven children to Bill and Denise White. She received her education in the Faith at her Parish, St. Peter’s in Covington, LA and at home especially with her father’s guidance. Mary received a Bachelor of Art and Master’s Degree in Psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University. She worked as a Life Coach at Trinity Teen Solutions, a residential ranch for Catholic girls in Wyoming, and also as a Rehabilitation Professional within the Louisiana Prison System. She was the Coordinator of the Youth Catechetical Program at the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans in the Diocese of Shreveport, LA.

Mary participated in our monastic internship at Our Lady of the Rock before becoming a pre-postulant in 2022. She entered the Monastery as a postulant on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 16, 2023. Since coming to the monastery she fell in love with caring for our sheep and with the help of Oblate Gigi Berardi and Jim Allaway quickly learned how to be a midwife in the birthing of new lambs during Easter week 2024. She is developing her sewing skills as well as collaborating with our Oblate Karen Anderson in developing our weaving and fiber arts department.

Mary was well prepared to respond to this injunction of St. Benedict, as she helped care for her 10 younger siblings and her grandparents. Her loving care and attentiveness to the elders of our community are given with great generosity. Her gift for hospitality is further exemplified in her preparation of our guest houses and reception of guests upon their arrival. We depended greatly on her organizational skills this past year to meet the needs of the contractors and crew during our renovation projects. And of course, her freshly-baked cookies and bread continue to be appreciated by all.

The ceremony of the Investiture, when a postulant is clothed in the monastic habit and white veil of a novice, is rich in symbolism. Our clothing of Mary White began with a reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 31:10-13, chosen by her and read by her sister Deborah. The musical response was the singing of the Christmas Carol, Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming by Mary's brother, Father Thomas, LC and her sister Kathryn. Mary's parents then led her to the monastic grille through which she entered and knelt in the center of choir on a sheepskin. All present sang the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus. After Mary removed her jewelry Mother Prioress Noella cut her hair. The cutting of hair, an ancient custom in monastic orders, is an extravagant offering of a woman's beauty and symbol of renunciation in giving oneself to this initial step of espousal to Christ. Mary then changed into the monastic tunic and Mother Prioress girded her with a belt, followed by the scapular (from Latin scapulae, "shoulders"). Finally her clothing was completed with the wimple and white veil of a novice.

All await the dramatic moment when Mother Prioress tells the novice and all present her new Name in Religion which has been kept a secret until this moment! The ceremony ended with the joyful singing of the Te Deum as Sister Bernadette gave each member of the monastic community the Kiss of Peace.

You will be called Sister Bernadette.

ENJOY THIS GALLERY OF THE CLOTHING DAY

Mother Prioress Noëlla's Prayers of the Faithful for the Clothing Day Mass

Mass Readings:
1 John 3:7-10
Responsorial Psalm. Psalm 98:1, 7-8, 9
Gospel: John 1:35-42

He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” On this day of her Investiture, for blessings on all who supported Mary on her long journey from Covington, Louisiana: especially her parents Bill and Denise and 10 siblings, the domestic church who first formed Mary in her Faith and fostered her pioneer spirit which prompted her to follow the impulse of the Holy Spirit to unexpected places–like packing her car and heading to a ranch in Wyoming to be a “life coach” for Catholic girls, or becoming a Rehabilitation Therapist within the Louisiana Men’s Prison System and finally, in coming to the Northwest to the smallest of the San Juan Islands where she found a home at Our Lady of the Rock. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi whose love and joy awakened in Mary a desire for Religious life at a young age, a desire that could not be quenched even in the face of obstacles and despair. That Mary, radiant in sparkly Christmas red today, may let herself be happy and remember the words of another shepherdess, a saint beloved to her: If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces… never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again. That’s the beauty of being alive… Let us pray to the Lord.

In gratitude to our friends from Shaw and the San Juan Islands, Seattle, Portland and the Northern parishes who have welcomed and adopted Mary as their own, with a fierce belief in and dedication to the future of Our Lady of the Rock. Let us pray to the Lord.

As the prayers of Investiture ask that Mary be protected from Evil, may she persevere through the inevitable daily trials of Monastic Life, trusting the promise our Father St. Benedict makes in the Prologue of his Holy Rule: …as we progress in our monastic life and in faith, our hearts shall be enlarged, and we shall run with unspeakable sweetness of love into the way of God’s commandments. Let us pray to the Lord.

For Pope Francis, Archbishops Paul, Father Ezekiel, Mother Abbess and the Regina Laudis Community, Sister Moira and the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Denise and Bill and the members of the White family: Father Thomas, Alex and Mallory, Phillip and Courtney, Monica and Addison, Joseph, Theresa, Kathryn, Elizabeth, Deborah, James and grandfather Daniel, Aunt Debbie, Niki, St. Peter’s Parish, the Diocese of Shreveport, and the intentions of all the sons and daughters of God gathered here today. Let us pray to the Lord.

Pope Benedict, Father Prokes, Lady Abbess, Father Otis, Harriet Wahl, Joseph and Mary and the deceased of the White Family, Heidi, the deceased of our communities and families, and all the faithful departed. Let us pray to the Lord.