Abbey of Regina Laudis: 50th Jubilee of Mother Anne Rushton

May we bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb, and fashions them according to his will. May he grant you joy of heart.

Sirach 50:22-24

On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2024, Mother Anne Rushton celebrated 50 years of vowed life at the Abbey of Regina Laudis. Mother Anne renewed her Vows at the morning Mass celebrated by Monsignor Robert Tucker, the Abbey priest-in-residence. Mother Abbess' beautiful Prayers of the Faithful, shown below, make it clear why Mother Anne is known as the Abbey's Pilgrim and why our national holiday of Thanksgiving is most fitting for this jubilee celebration.

MOTHER ABBESS LUCIA'S PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL AT THE JUBILEE MASS

On this day of National Thanksgiving may we offer our profound gratitude to God for the vocation of Mother Anne Rushton, as we rejoice with her in celebration of 50 years of vowed life at the Abbey of Regina Laudis. For surely she is one who, as it says in the reading from Sirach, was shaped by God’s will in a particular way, in body and soul, from the first moments of her life, in order that she would become a fruitful instrument of His joy and peace for many.

For blessings on all the members of the Rushton family living and deceased from Mother Anne's’s beloved parents Dorothy and Frederick Rushton all the way back to Deacon Gregory Stone, of Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of the original immigrants from England who sailed on the Mayflower and established the strong line of hardy New Englanders blessed with the courage, determination, and faith that is so evident in everything Mother Anne undertakes.

harp

In gratitude for the many ways Mother Anne has built up this community through her domain of “Tuning,” beginning with the way she constantly tuned in to Lady Abbess for her monastic orientation, while working in the laundry, or in adorning our land with flowers, or in music, for which she acquired an astounding knowledge and expertise , whether it be for procuring the bells of Jesu Fili Mariae, re-furbishing this organ, or tuning pianos of every kind too numerous to name in all corners of the monastery. But especially we remember in gratitude today her tireless work to preserve and archive the legacy of our Chant master,

renewal — Mother Anne giving her Renewal
Chart to Monsignor Tucker

Dr. Theodore Marier, so that it will be accessible for generations to come.

Lastly, we thank Mother Anne for her witness of perseverance in the face of illness and physical disability that has inspired so many inside and outside of the community. May her example help us to acknowledge that we are all impaired in some way, exteriorly or interiorly, and by this acceptance gain the freedom to transcend the limitation. For the blessing of good health for Mother Anne in the days ahead and for all who are touched by her witness, that like the leper of the Gospel, we all may come back again and again to Christ, to say “Thank you.”

Thank you, for whatever he is sending.

For all here present and our nation on this important holiday. For blessings on the indigenous people who first called this land home, and all the subsequent immigrants who came in hope of finding a better life. May that spirit of honest seeking that led so many here, continue to inform and revitalize our country, so badly in need of healing. And for peace on our borders.