The Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer is an Association of the Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer. Its members strive to live as apostolic hermits entirely given over to the love of Jesus, Our Most Holy Redeemer and to the salvation of souls.

As in conformity with their proper vocation the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer habitually use the liturgical books in use in 1962, applying the provision of Article 3 of the Motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, of Pope Benedict XVI, so too do also the Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer.

Wednesday, 24 July 2024

Regarding the Bishop’s Letter 13/14th July 2024

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JM JA

 

24th July 2024, commemoration of St Christina

 

Dear Faithful Benefactors, Friends, and Family,

Live Jesus and Mary!

The bishop’s announcement on July 13th/14th, 2024, has deeply affected us. The bishop’s letter did not provide any explanation of the findings of the Apostolic Visitation that would justify such a severe decision.

Like many of you, we have also read the articles published by various New Zealand media outlets with deep sadness, as they contain insinuations and falsehoods against the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, our Fathers, and Brothers, whom we hold in high esteem.

Due to our close association with the Sons, we, the Daughters, have also been subjected to insinuations and falsehoods from the New Zealand media. On Saturday July 20th, 2024, the Christchurch Press published a defamatory article against us, claiming that we never gained approval from the Catholic Church, and that all our fundraising efforts were therefore fraudulent. Understandably, our families, friends, and benefactors are concerned about how we are coping with this misinformation circulating in the media, which places us in a vulnerable position. Additionally, the silence from the Diocese on this matter greatly saddens us.

The Bishop’s Letters

Alongside the letters issued to the wider community and the Sons, the Daughters also received a decree from the bishop stating that our private association is to be suppressed. This is the first written communication we have received from our current bishop. Unlike his predecessors, who showed interest in our activities, there was no prior dialogue or conversation before this decree was issued. We were deeply shocked and scandalised by this action. The decree provided no support for moving forward nor any explanation for why this decision was made. We have taken steps to appeal this unjust decision through the appropriate channels.

Who we are?

The Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer is a private association of Catholic women in Christchurch. In our association, we take private vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to our statutes. We have chosen to make our vows private to live our faith in peace. The media has made great issue over the fact that sometimes we are referred to as ‘nuns’. We have always made it clear that we are officially a private association of consecrated Catholic women. However, sometimes people refer to us as nuns.

It is no secret that today the Church is using power against women who want to live their faith in a traditional manner. The Latin Mass is a prime example of something ancient and sacred that has met with excessive hostility since 1970. Many people forget that in 1970 there were 460 nuns or religious women in Christchurch diocese alone. There were altogether 2659 nuns in New Zealand. Where have they all gone? They were nuns with official recognition. They were coerced into “updating” changing their rules, changing their dress. They were told to “get with it” and in their modernisation they slowly melted away. Official recognition did not help them. Are we officially recognised as nuns by the Church? No, we have chosen not to seek official recognition at this time. We may pursue official recognition in future when the time is right.

In our association, we strive to live the spirituality of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorist religious order, the “Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.” Saint Alphonsus was a priest and bishop who lived from 1696 to 1787 and was canonised as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church in 1839. Pope Pius IX proclaimed Saint Alphonsus a Doctor of the Church in 1871, and he is known as the “Doctor of Prayer.” In 1950, Pope Pius XII declared him the patron saint of confessors and moral theologians. These honours were not for his personal enjoyment but to present him as a prime example for the Roman Catholic faithful to follow. He was particularly renowned for his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, his plain and simple teaching, and his outreach to sinners of all classes, especially the poor and homeless. For St Alphonsus, the point of his life’s work was very simple and very practical: his most important work was the salvation of his own soul – to get to Heaven, and his secondary work was to get as many other souls as he could, with God’s grace, to Heaven. Lest we forget: that is also the whole, and only, point of the Roman Catholic Church. And, so it is for us, the Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer, individually and as a community.

Before the establishment of the Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer, there was no religious community for women dedicated to living the spirituality of St. Alphonsus or leading a sacramental life in accordance with the Traditional Latin Mass, as codified for all time by Pope St Pius V. The Traditional Latin Mass provides an unfailing bright line to trace that narrow difficult way which leads to salvation, following the footsteps of countless canonised and uncanonised Saints and holy men, women, and children who have reached Heaven. It provides us with sure avoidance of the broad road that leads to perdition and of which Our Lord himself warned many would take. For the Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer, the daily Traditional Latin Mass and traditional sacraments are not merely a preference; they are a must. We cannot live without them.  We unapologetically state that this is a legitimate aspiration, as expressly recognised by Pope Benedict XVI in his 2007 Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

Religious life begins with a personal call from God. In most cases, it does not start with a call from a bishop. Since the beginning of the Church, men and women have discerned God’s call to leave the world and retreat into a desert place to live a life of ardent love for Our Lord through prayer, penance, and sacrifice. Convents and monasteries often do not begin as initiatives of those in power and authority in the Church. Instead, religious life springs up like a wellspring from the ground.

Perhaps it is not well known that religious orders often begin in lowly beginnings, just like our own, ignored or without much recognition, and sometimes with hostility from the religious authorities. For example, St Mary McKillop the foundress of the Australian Brown Josephite nuns was even excommunicated by a bishop. We love our lowly beginning years. We are happy in our private association because we have made our own promises to God and these give us great joy and peace. Sacred promises made for the love of God are called vows. They are made to God, not to bishops. Perhaps in time, a bishop may want to recognise our promises to God. But at present, we do not want to risk hostility from powerful authorities wanting us to change our life that is consecrated to the love of Jesus. We do not want authorities to feel free to interfere in our chosen way of love for God and people. We are not interested in having our promises, our vows to God, raised up to some official status where people in the Church would put pressure on us, struggle and try to manipulate us, even use our promise of obedience to make us to change our dress, our life, our promises to God; as well as to go to endless meetings and become “updated”. We will carry on as strong, simple women; a lowly band of sisters, loving God and unafraid of being ridiculed. We are women who want to love God in the old way of belonging to him as nuns of our choosing. The 460 nuns from our Christchurch diocese have all but gone. We feel that official recognition is dangerous to our chosen path for now. Presently we choose to keep our promises without asking for a special status. As Shakespeare said so well, “A rose by any name would smell as sweet”. A nun is a nun, officially recognised or not.

Our History and the Bishop’s knowledge of our existence.

Like the beginnings of other religious orders, we also have a humble origin. Canon law does not require consent from the bishop to begin a private association. The Association of the Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer began quietly in a small flat in Christchurch on February 2nd, 2014, with the guidance and blessing of the Rector Major of the Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer.

We first needed to be able to live the proposed life and spirituality. Six months after beginning this life, on August 22nd, 2014, a founding member of the private association informed the then Bishop of Christchurch, the Most Reverend Barry Jones, about our association. The bishop responded with a fatherly letter, followed by a paternal visit from the Vicar General of the diocese.

With the guidance of the Sons, on March 8th, 2016, we established an initial structure to give expression to the life of the Daughters. This structure took the form of seven chapters under the title of The Rule for the Hermitage and the Cell. To provide a structure of governance, the founding members established the statutes for the Private Association of the Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer on August 15th, 2016.

On 8th August 2017, the Vicar General who was then acting as the Diocesan Administrator, installed the Blessed Sacrament in our first house with a Eucharistic Procession.

In 2019, after his installation as the Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, Bishop Paul Martin SM inquired about our association. We responded to his request by providing information about our activities and a draft copy of our statutes. Bishop Martin graciously acknowledged receipt of this information.

Our Presence in the Diocese of Christchurch and the Wider Community

The life of the Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer is apostolic/monastic. This means we help people and we pray.  As explained in our blog profile: Our life has two halves, a rich prayer life steeped in the Traditions of the Church, which overflows into our work for others. We spend time visiting and helping out families; offer support and companionship for older people in their home or in care and aim to be there for those who need a listening ear.”

The Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer have been actively involved in the Latin Mass Chaplaincy, a diocesan ministry, serving and witnessing to an ever-increasing number of fervent Traditional Roman Catholic faithful.

The Daughters have played an active role in “Maryfest,” an annual event in the Diocese of Christchurch for the past several years. This event honours Our Lady through a procession and devotions. The Bishop of Christchurch entrusted the organisation of this event to the Latin Mass Chaplaincy, of which we were a part.

As this is the bishop’s event, there is ordinarily an expectation that he presides over it. If the bishop was unavailable, the then Bishop Emeritus, or the Vicar General, would take his place. For each Maryfest, the Daughters were involved in visiting schools, parishes, and ethnic chaplaincies, inviting people to come and attend. We were also actively involved in much of the on-the-ground preparation for many of the Maryfest events.

We have also been present at many functions in the diocese. Notably, we attended the consecration of Bishop Paul Martin SM as the Catholic Bishop of Christchurch in 2018, as well as the Chrism Masses and funerals of significant individuals in our diocese. Additionally, we played an active role in organising one of the official Traditional Requiem Masses for the Emeritus Bishop of Christchurch, Bishop Basil Meeking, at St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in June 2020.

The Daughters have also been present in events within the wider community. We have always taken many prayer hours for the “40 Days for Life Christchurch”, and we took part in the “March for Life Christchurch” in 2020. Our photo was even published in the NZ Catholic: https://nzcatholic.org.nz/2020/09/02/christchurch-march-for-life-in-alert-level-2/

These examples are just some of the ways we have given witness to the unchanging and unchangeable traditional Roman Catholic and Apostolic faith publicly and openly within the Christchurch Diocese.

In all our work in the community we have always been attentive to, and complied with, all the safeguarding guidelines of the Diocese of Christchurch.

There has never been anything secret about our work.

Finances

It is well known that we do not live in diocesan accommodation, nor do we receive any financial support from the diocese. We receive no salaries or stipends and are not employees of the Church, the diocese, or the bishop, nor do we need to be. In this regard, we are no different from any other religious order or congregation. We depend entirely on donations from benefactors. There is no requirement for us to be ‘recognised by the Church’ to appeal to the charity of benefactors, as “The Press” insinuates.

We are seven poor women. The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer bought us our property so we can live a life of devotion and support their work for the salvation of the most abandoned souls. We have never received a penny from anyone unaware of who we are and what we do; our ‘unofficial’ status is well known. We are not ashamed of it. Our circle of benefactors is small, and our accounts are available for everyone to see on the Internet.

Any of us could join an official religious order in New Zealand or anywhere else in the world and receive an official status, but this is not in keeping with the inspiration that God has placed in our hearts. We deliberately choose this humble path without recognised status because it is the way that allows us to live for God. As a consequence, we live a very simple life. Official nuns belong to institutions with vast financial resources now, especially after selling up their convents, schools and hospitals as their vocations evaporated with their modernisation. We do not have their wealth, nor do we wish for it.

We have chosen a poor life, living without many comforts that official nuns enjoy. Perhaps one can say that we are as poor as sparrows. We do not own the present property we have graciously been allowed to occupy, nor the old house that is here. Like most New Zealanders, the housing market is beyond us. In time, perhaps we will own this property but not at any cost: first for us is our life of devotion, living in this refuge with the Lonely Infant Jesus who was born in a borrowed stable in Bethlehem.

 

Providentially, today is the beginning of the novena to our holy father St Alphonsus, founder of the Redemptorists. I invite you all to do the novena with us for the intentions of our Association.

 

Let us unite our sufferings to Our Lord on Calvary and for the hastening of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We keep you always in our humble daily prayers.

 

May the Lonely Child Jesus bless you and His Holy Face shine on you.

 

Devotedly,

 


Sister Niña Maria
Prioress

Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer

Friday, 9 June 2023

Moving into the Refuge of the Lonely Child Jesus

Dear Faithful Benefactors and Friends,

Live Jesus and Mary!

There are some exciting developments with the Daughters which we would like to share with you. There has been an increase of interest in women wanting to join our humble community. In the last year alone, we had a few women who went for a retreat with us and another three women who are joining us on a seriously discerning basis.


Our Newest Members
On the 13th of May, Sr Malia-Sosefo became a novice. The day before that we received two postulants. Please keep them in your prayers.



Sr Malia-Sosefo


Waving goodbye to House of Reparation – The Pines Beach
With this increase, we are anticipating more to come. Our monastery in the Pines Beach is getting crowded. Also, since we are a apostolic-monastic order, we need space for solitude, a place wherein we can hear Our Lord in the silence. As we are associated with the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, we would need to find a place, the wilderness, a place that will foster the monastic spirit. Hence in January 2023, the Trustees of the Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer decided to sell our Dunns Avenue property in the Pines Beach.


Postulants and Aspirants, Sunrise at the Pines Beach May 2023


Moving into our new monastery - Refuge of the Lonely Child Jesus
We have found a suitable place, forty minutes away from Christchurch City, twenty acres of land in Okuku, which is in Northern Canterbury, New Zealand. It has space that could cultivate the monastic spirit of the congregation since it is out in the country.

The property is called – Refuge of the Lonely Child Jesus

Continuing that same spirit of making reparation, the Refuge of the Lonely Child Jesus has the same mission of making reparation to the Holy Face of Jesus and spreading the devotion to the Childhood of Our Lord.

The Refuge of the Lonely Child Jesus has the capacity to be developed to suit our needs, even better, the place gives us the opportunity to be close to the many families from the Chaplaincy whom we work closely with.

We took possession of the Refuge of the Lonely Child Jesus on Little Christmas in May 2023. Fr Anthony Mary blessed the house and the property processing the Infant Jesus.



Sisters walking amongst the orchard at the Refuge of the Lonely Child Jesus











The Lonely Child Jesus in Procession








We would need your help!
We rely solely on the donation of benefactors, hence we are in need of help.

We need to rent some caravans (trailer house) to have enough cells for each sister until we build cells in a more permanent location on our property.

Providence had it that we could move into the Refuge of the Lonely Child Jesus Monastery without selling the Monastery at the Pines Beach first, which meant we had acquired a loan to buy our new property.

Once we move in, there will be much building work that needs to be done in order to accommodate all the current sisters and the future. We would need to build five cells to begin with and extra bathroom facilities to accommodate a growing community. A cell would cost around NZ$15,000 each to build.

In the future, we envisage to build a retreat house for women who just need some time of solitude.

In order for us to realise this, we would need to fundraise NZ$800,000 (equivalent to US$502,720.00; EUR 456,372).


Donations big or small, we will gratefully accept.


For New Zealand Donations
We are able to receive donations through our Give-A-Little Page (they do charge a fee).

Or you can send it directly to our bank account:
Account Name: Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer
Bank Account Number: 02-0108-0399228-000


As we are a registered NZ charity, you are able to claim tax credit for your donation to us at the end of the financial year. You can email us at thelittledaughters@gmail.com and we’ll be able to email/post your tax invoice.



For the rest of the World
Account Name: Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer
Bank Account Number: 02-0108-0399228-000
IBAN: Same as Account Number
Swift Code: BKNZNZ22
Bank Details:     Bank of New Zealand
                           Wellington
                           New Zealand

Kindly note that we cannot receive cheques as New Zealand banks no longer accept them.

If you are unable to help us financially, you can still help us spiritually, please pray that the Infant Jesus will help us through. I am sure He will hear our prayers. We do pray for our benefactors and keep your prayer intentions close to our hearts.

We are truly grateful for all your support both financially and most specially spiritually through the years. Thank you!


May the Lonely Child Jesus bless you and His Holy Face shine on you.


Devotedly,




Sr Niña Maria
Prioress
Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer

Monday, 2 January 2023

In Honour of the Holy Infant Jesus

Dear Friends,


Praise be Jesus and Mary!


A blessed Happy New Year to you all. We hope that this year will be filled with God's blessings and grace.


Today is the feast of the Holy Infant Jesus (January 2). The Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer have a devotion to this Holy Infant and we would like to dedicate our first blog post of 2023 to His Honour. 


At the House of Reparation, we honour this great Sovereign in a number of ways:


#1 The Infant King, Poor Jesus, and the Holy Babe enthroned in the Holy Face Chapel 


Chapel of the Holy Face
House of Reparation
The Pines Beach, Christchurch
New Zealand


#2 Celebration of Little Christmas


From January to November, every 25th of the Month, we celebrate "Little Christmas" (Of course December is BIG Christmas) to honour the Nativity of Our Lord.




#3 At Night Prayers, we always invoke the Infant Jesus as the Sovereign of Our Congregation: 

Vivat Jesus Rex Noster!
Vivat!



#4 On a practical level...


We change the Robes of the Infant Jesus according to the Mass of the Day





We pray the Infant Jesus Chaplet on our way to Holy Mass


When we have to travel for Mass (it is usually a 20 minute drive from the House of Reparation to the Oratory), we have incorporated the Infant Jesus Chaplet in our Car Prayers.


Infant Jesus Chaplet which is part of our Habit



We make Infant Jesus Chaplets


We usually make Infant Jesus Chaplets for the First Holy Communicants from our Latin Mass Chaplaincy here in Christchurch and friends. We often make these chaplets during our recreation.







#5 You can join us in spreading the devotion too


Beads wanted!


To spread the devotion to the Holy Infant Jesus, the Sisters would like to request for beads (new or pre-loved - old beads necklace would work too) in order for us to make Infant Jesus chaplets. 


Any other support to this work is also very much appreciated. 


We are able to send you a chaplet for a donation and postage. You can contact us through the the contact form on the right side of this page.



Learn More about the Devotion to the Holy Infant Jesus

Fr Anthony Mary, the Latin Mass Chaplain here in Christchurch gave a lovely sermon on the Holy Infant Jesus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgJnRMHwrxk&t=67s




Consecrate yourself to the Holy Infant Jesus and join the Archconfraternity of the Holy Infant Jesus

To learn more about Consecrating One’s self to this Holy Infant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToVYUGHhoS8&t=694s





The Family of the Infant Jesus was instituted by Venerable Sister Marguerite of the Holy Sacrament.To join the Archconfraternity of the Infant Jesus, one makes the Act of Consecration to the Holy Infant Jesus.


The Archconfraternity of the Infant Jesus is in France and we will be able to add your name when we send the next batch of people wanting to join it. We will send you the certificate once it arrives.  You can contact us through the the contact form on the right side of this page.


The promise of the Holy Infant Jesus:

"The More You Honor Me The More I Will Bless You"


May the Holy Infant Jesus bless and protect us, through 2023 and beyond! God bless.


In Jesus, Mary, and St Joseph,




Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer

Friday, 16 December 2022

Repairs needed at the House of Reparation

Dear Faithful Benefactors and Friends, 


Live Jesus and Mary!


2022 has been a very busy year for us at the House of Reparation. Here are some of the Highlights of 2022: 


  1. The Installation of the Infant King and the Poor Jesus in Holy Face Chapel at the House of Reparation 

    The Infant King and the Poor Jesus on each side of the altar

  1. Monday Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in Holy Face Chapel at the House of Reparation - people are free to visit and adore Our Lord from 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM on Mondays in our chapel. Depending on how many priests we have, Holy Mass often follows after.


    Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at the Holy Face of Jesus Chapel at the House of Reparation on Mondays
    Fr Michael Mary praying the Holy Mass in our humble chapel
  2. We have been generously given two new cells which enables us to receive more women into our way of life. We have a few women who have made retreats with us this year. And we are anticipating more visitors in the new year.


The two cells that have been generously donated to the Daughters


With more people visiting, our pipes are in real need of repairs.

A faithful from our Latin Mass Chaplaincy who works as a plumber/drain layer has generously offered his time to work on the repairs as the need comes up: We had a few issues with blocked drainage, a hot water cylinder leaking, leaking taps,… he fixes a problem, then something comes up from the wood works… or should we say out of the pipelines!


Here are some photos of the repairs required:


The drainage under the house isn't good, so during winter, the water just sits under the house. Leaking pipes causing damp in the house, it is affecting the piles and wood rotting.

The pipes that are connected to our bathroom and laundry. 


He has spoken to us that a proper fix needs to be done. He offered to take some time over the Christmas/New Year Holidays in order to do a long term fix. The cost of the project is at least NZ$20,000. We do not have enough funds. Are you able to help us? Donations big or small, we will gratefully accept.

We are able to receive donations through our Give-A-Little Page.


We are also able to receive it directly through our account - you can email us through thelittledaughters@gmail.com and we'll forward you our account details.


If you are unable to help us financially, you can still help us spiritually by making a Novena with us for this cause. In these 9 days leading up to the Solemnity of Our Lord’s Birth, we are praying each day an Infant Jesus Chaplet in Reparation to the Holy Face of Jesus. I am sure He will hear our prayers. 


We are truly grateful for all your support both financially and most specially spiritually through the years. Thank you!


May the Infant Jesus bless you and His Holy Face shine on you. 


May you have a Blessed and Holy Christmas.



Most Sincerely, 




Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer

Friday, 12 February 2021

New Year update

We are well into the New Year. Last year, some of the Daughters made a three day Pilgrimage from Temuka to Mt St Joseph's Kakahu, Geraldine, NZ (not following a direct route!). The Pilgrimage was in reparation for the many Pilgrimages around the world that had been cancelled due to lockdowns.


We are pilgrims here on earth in our journey to Life Eternal. Even the mysterious Three Kings were pilgrims, they followed a Star to find Jesus…. And in a way, we all search for God to a greater or lesser extent … knowingly or unknowingly…. And so we become true pilgrims without even realizing it.


 Father Yousef Marie prays the opening Mass followed by a pilgrims blessing.


Immaculate Conception Church, Geraldine.


St Joseph's Catholic Church, Temuka


We found a lost sheep and returned it to it's own flock.



The word pilgrim comes from the Latin word “peregrinum”. A pilgrimage is not a purposeless journey, walk or wandering; rather it is a journey with a higher purpose and that purpose is to honour God.


Support vehicle brings sandwiches for lunch.




The Pilgrimage ended with a final Mass at Mt St Joseph's Kakahu, Monastery. 


Our new cell is now finished, thank you for your prayers and contributions. 



Father Anthony Mary blesses the new cell.






We are very grateful for all your support, God bless you!

Monday, 14 September 2020

Building Work

The building of a new monastic cell....


 This how we got there.... Father blesses the area where the cell (and future cells) will go.


The cell is marked out with piles to go down and foundation to be built....


But first a fence to provide privacy is begun. 

Sr Mary Alphonsus hard at work making post holes.


Our Lady provides a blue, sunny sky for the day's work.





Many helping hands make the job quick.


A strop is used to hold each paling of wood in place tightly before using the nail gun. 


Gates are made.


Discussion is had about proceeding with the adjoining fence along the South side of the property.


While the fence continues the garden gets a much needed hair-cut and tidy up. 


Sr Celeste covers over with dirt the new storm water pipes while Sr Alphonsus uses the staple gun to hang up mesh for privacy on the North side of the property.


Exterior entrance to facilities well under way....


Back at the base of the cell, insulation is put in before flooring is nailed down.


Walls go up.


Up at another level, off cuts of earth wool are placed in the ceiling cavity.


Sister flying high. And working hard.




Walls are insulated.







About half way done.


To be continued...