St. John, Community Customs, and Wine!

Greetings,

Tuesday night, our Vespers (and Lauds too) celebrated St. John the Evangelist and Apostle. It is the custom of our Monastic Community to begin the supper with a special blessing of wine in the refectory! According to tradition, St. John survived drinking a cup of poisoned why because he had blessed it first. In some European cultures, the Feast of St. John is a day to make peace with enemies over a glass of wine.

The monastery celebrated the Feast of St. John with a blessing of our gifts of Christmas wine: boxes of white zinfandel next to bottles of Merlot and even a stray bottle or two of Mogen David. The blessing began with a call and response, a reading from the first letter of John, and then the prioress sprinkled all the wine and sisters with holy water. Finally, the Prioress completed the blessing with a prayer that closed with a toast!

The meal was our simple Tuesday fare, but with a glass or two of wine, we all lingered at our tables. The refectory was filled with stories, chatting, and laughter...the sound of sisters catching up as family. As one of the sisters who works away from the monastery, these long meals are a gift to hear about all the stories from home and each sister has so many tales to tell!

(The Blessing Prayer)
Almighty and ever-living God,
You loved us so much,
that in the fullness of time
You sent Your eternal Word, born of Mary
to make His dwelling among us.
We ask You to bless this wine
which You have given us to cheer our hearts.
As we share this fruit of the vine,
empower us to become Your children.
Make us one in love
that we may share in fullness the life of Your Son,
Your Word made flesh,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
in the splendor of eternal light,
God for ever and ever.
(The Toast)
"Taste and see that the Lord is good! Amen"

A Blessed and Merry Christmas

Greetings,

I pray that we are all celebrating a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

I haven't much to share; it is just wonderful to be home at the monastery for this Christmas season. Our schedule? Well, we relax a bit to celebrate this ongoing feast; Lauds isn't until 8:30 with Mass following at 9:00. Then off to morning work and charges for those sisters who live full time here at the monastery (or their volunteers) but we can also use it as free time for visiting or some games (dominoes, cards, etc.). Today, I worked a bit on curriculum planning for next semester. After lunch and noon praise, it is the mirror of our morning time. However, I do plan to take advantage of our unusual 50 degree weather and go for a walk without needing a jacket! Finally, we gather for Vespers and supper followed by recreation.

Exciting? Nope. Fulfilling? Yup. Nothing is better than just living this daily horarium with my sisters. It's in the little moments and quiet times like these that the familial bond is strengthened. Now, I'd love to stay, but it's time to grab a quick cup of coffee and find my walking partner for a stroll and chat along our Sorrowful Way and grottoes.

Blessings on all your Christmas celebrations!

Psalm 84

Greetings,

I've finally made it home to the monastery for 10 days time to celebrate Christmas with my sisters. Tonight, we chanted the O Antiphon to the "King". I had not forgotten how much I missed this simple ritual; we reverently recite this at our convent apartment, but I had forgotten how much I loved to chant it. So as we sang our ancient praise to the King of Kings, I was reminded of a Psalm that was not sung tonight.

Psalm 84 ~ "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, God of Hosts! My heart longs and yearns for the courts of the Lord...for a day within Your courts, O Lord, is better than a thousand spent elsewhere."

It is so good to be home with my sisters.

Blessings,

Happy Anniversary!

Greetings,

Sacred Heart Monastery celebrates our 131st anniversary today! We were founded on November 17th, 1880 at MariaZell in the midst of the Dakota Territory. Our pioneering sisters came from the majestic Swiss Alps to the grand plains of the Dakotas. Their faith in God and perseverance guided by the Spirit still amaze me when I consider all the challenges of their early days in our founding. Including a rattlesnake that would sneak into their first dugout 'covent' and drink up the fresh milk overnight!

At home, the Monastery will be celebrating with special commemorations in our Liturgy of the Hours, Mass, and meals. Here at our Convent apartment, we too are celebrating in the Liturgy of the Hours, but we've moved a bit of festivity to Saturday. Sister and I invited some of the other Nebraska Sisters to our new apartment for a celebratory meal and prayer to commemorate the founding. No rattlesnakes invited!

Blessings,

The Feast of All Souls

Greetings,

Today we remember and commemorate our beloved dead. The reading from the Old Testament for this celebration are an inspiration for those of us who mourn. Three of our sisters have died since the last Feast of All Souls: Sisters Verena, Harriett, and Bennett. I love to imagine them as pure gold sparks dancing about God's field of glory with all of our sisters who have gone before.

"The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead...but they are in
peace...they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them
worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial
offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall
shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble...those who trust in him
shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because
grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect." ~
Wisdom 3: 1-9

Our cemetery is a beautiful place to reflect on Benedict's admonition to keep death daily before our eyes; not as a threat or out of fear, but as a hope-filled promise of what is to come. It is a powerful meditation to walk among these sisters in our cemetery, ask them for their prayer and support, and remember that as we are all part of this Communion of Saints, they are still with us today.

Blessings,

All Saints Eve

Greetings,

Tonight, Sister and I began celebrating the Eve of All Saints Day here at our convent apartment by reciting the same prayer our sisters are chanting at the Monastery chapel. Our two, small voices in distant union with those at home. There are some days that I'm more homesick for these parts of our family-life at the Monastery.

"Let us keep festival in honor of all the saints giving God the glory
for the grace bestowed on humankind." ~ based on Gaudeamus

Home!

Greetings,

Last weekend, Sister Roommate and I went home for the weekend. On top of a hill at least 5 miles out from Yankton, I spied our steeple. "We can see home!" I exclaimed. Shinning in the autumn twilight was the steeple of Bishop Martin Marty Chapel, and my heart rose a bit. It was good to go home. Not in the sense of Dorthoy clicking her heels 3 times, but like Ruth declaring her desire to follow Naomi.

Ruth said, "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! for wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Wherever you died I will die,a nd there be buried. May the Lord do so and so to me, and more besides, if aught but death separates me from you!" Ruth 1: 16-18

This is the essence of our Benedictine vow of Stability. The Monastery is home. It is where our postulants and novices are formed; it is where our prioress lives and leads; it is where our elders are cared for and supported; and it is where we are buried next to our sisters.

As one of about fifteen of our sisters working on 'mission', a common cliche comes true in our Stability, "Home is where the heart is." I live and serve and pray during my time away from the Monastery, but it is not home. It was so good to be home. The Theology Institute was good, but being with my Benedictine family was even better.

Blessings,

More Monastic Works...

Greetings,

I have been working with our Sister Gardener for the last few days. Another Sister Teacher and I have been assigned to help while on break for the summer. Unfortunately, the spring and early summer has been quite a strange season of weather and it is taking the summer produce some time to catch up. Tuesday we weeded through the kale, onions, radishes, carrots, cucumbers, watermelon, et al. on one heck of a hot day...90 degrees with sweltering winds whipping up dust.

Wednesday morning it had cooled down to 75 degrees (or so) and it made for a wonderful day of spot watering and mulching the tomatoes. With the flood of the Missouri, our pump house by the river has been shut down. It is unusual for us to use city water, thus the 'spot' watering only. I know it will be surprising to hear, but while the river flows with powerful flood waters from Montana and Canada, the flat lands away from the river are quite packed and dry;
we could use some rain. Until then I will remain the 'water fairy' of the Monastery garden ;)

Today the temperatures sunk into the fifties! We bundled up in sweatshirts and flannels to continue our Monastic works. We began with picking chamomile for our sisters to dry and make teas and blends that we sell in our gift shop. It was cold, but wonderfully scented morning of quiet service. Our morning in the chamomile typifies why I love my summers in the various Monastic work assignments...the quiet service together allows time for prayerful reflection on the school year and years of life in community. We do have time to visit and tell stories throughout the work, but this sharing often leads back to time of quiet again. It is an enriching preparation to return back to our ministries at the end of summer.

Blessings,

Summer Charges

Greetings,

The Monday after our June Monastic Chapter heralds the beginning of the summer charges (chores) here at the monastery. My Monday charges include produce preparation from the monastery's garden and orchard. (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings I'll be IN the garden.) We are currently between seasons in the garden. The asparagus,lettuce and radishes are slowing down, but the other veggies and fruits aren't yet in season. However, rhubarb seems to create a timeline of its own. The morning began with cleaning and trimming a few boxes of rhubarb from our garden! Tomorrow the sisters will move to chopping it for pies, jams, and sauces!

It is a wonderful charge when we gather around the counters in the serving hall and begin to visit and tell stories as we work. There is a place for all the sisterly crew rinsing the stalks by the sinks, sitting on stools, or collecting the trimmings for our composting around the garden. We even had one of our wandering elders join us for a while in the trimming and stories, and when she was ready to move on, she rinsed her hands and wandered along.

It is a wonderful change of pace and focus from the school year. These daily exchanges are what settles my soul.

Blessings,

World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Greetings,

This weekend the Church focuses her attention on praying for all those called to follow Christ through vocations to the Church. Pope Benedict XVI's address "Proposing Vocations in the Local Church" reminded me that while it is God who calls women and men to serve, it is up to us to offer prayer, invition, and support.

"We should pay close attention to the way that Jesus called his closest associates to proclaim the Kingdom of God. In the first place, it is clear that the first thing he did was to pray for them: before calling them, Jesus spent the night alone in prayer, listening to the will of the Father in a spirit of interior detachment from mundate concerns. It is Jesus' intimate conversation with the Father with results in the calling of his disciples." This is a reminder to keep praying for those who are discerning their call to serve. As a community, we commit every Tuesday to praying for women and men who are considering a Christ's call to life in the Church. Individually, many of us continue to pray especially for women who may be considering our community. One of our Elder Sisters asked the three of us who when to Rome last summer to light candles at statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and pray for vocations. We dutifully knelt at many statues and shrines of the Sacred Heart, dropped our Euro into electric candles, and prayed for Christ's intercession.

The invitation to those who seek is given in a variety of ways. We share our stories with catechism classes and youth groups; we send out flyers offering week long monastic visits and weekend come & see stays, but most importantly we live our Call as Public Witness. "...the Lord called some fishermen on the shore of the Sea of Galilee: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." He revealed his messianic mission to them by the many "signs" which showed his love for humanity and the gift of the Father's mercy. Through his words and his way of life he prepared them to carry on his saving work." Pope Benedict XVI reminds us all that how we live our daily life is an important part of the invitation, and it has been an important aspect of our community living as well. Our Benedictine call to a life of prayer and community is shared as witness to the world. At the Monastery, our Lauds, Eucharistic, and Vespers celebrations are open to the local community of college, hospital, and city of Yankton. For those of us living away from the Monastery, the stories we tell of home, our commitment to sharing life with our sisters at the covent, and our returning home to the Monastery for holidays, holydays, and summers are all living witness and invitation to those answering a call to Vocation in the Church.

As to offering support for those discerning a vocation to the Church, there is always a sister willing to offer a listening ear, a quick prayer, and some wise advice. My Sister Spiritual Director was a wonderful help while trying to decide how to respond to the call I felt. Her best words were "You don't have to decide 'FOREVER', but can you give God one year. After that, can you give another year, soon it becomes forever." I started with one year, then a second...thirteen years later I can't imagine any other home. Pope Benedict XVI's words were also inspired.

It is essential that every local Church become more sensitive and attentive to the pastoral care of vocations, helping children and young people in particular at every level of family, parish and associations – as Jesus did with his disciples - to grow into a genuine and affectionate friendship with the Lord, cultivated through personal and liturgical prayer; to grow in familiarity with the sacred Scriptures and thus to listen attentively and fruitfully to the word of God; to understand that entering into God’s will does not crush or destroy a person, but instead leads to the discovery of the deepest truth about ourselves; and finally to be generous and fraternal in relationships with others, since it is only in being open to the love of God that we discover true joy and the fulfilment of our aspirations. “Proposing Vocations in the Local Church” means having the courage, through an attentive and suitable concern for vocations, to point out this challenging way of following Christ which, because it is so rich in meaning, is capable of engaging the whole of one’s life.

Blessings,

Silence Begins...

Greetings,

Prayer began at 5 o'clock with a foot washing service for the Monastic community. The Prioress, Sub-prioress, and Procurator sat on the floor of our Chapter Room and washed the feet of the sisters...from this simple and humble reminder of service, we gathered in the refectory for a agape meal, a joyful celebration of our love for each other. This meal stretched on into 6:30 when sisters began to filter out to prepare for our celebration of the Lord's Supper.

We sang the Pange Lingua as we processed from Bishop Marty Chapel to our small St. Joseph's chapel near the care center. This year I noticed a line in our translation from St. Meinrad's that I hadn't noticed before. Verse 3: At the last, the paschal supper, with the friends before they fled, first he ate the meal of passage; Paschal lamb and Paschal bread; then himself as food he offered, so that many might be fed. I had never noticed the mention of this being his last meal with his friends before they fled in the garden. When I returned to the Upper Chapel, the doors of Our Lady of Einsiedeln are closed, the tabernacle doors beneath her are open and empty, the candles and altar cloths are carried away, and even the curtains are drawn back from behind the high cross. I don't want to flee from this emptiness...

The Triduum silence has begun at the Monastery. The procession with the Blessed Sacrament to be reposed in our St. Joseph chapel brought close to our joyous agape and has begun the subsequent time of adoration and prayer.

May God Bless your Triduum,

Anticipating Triduum

Greetings,

The Monastery is abuzz with preparations for our Triduum celebrations!

I awoke early to get ready for the day, but not earlier than our Sister Baker. When I opened my curtain at 7AM to look out on the world, I could see right across the courtyard into the brightly lit bakery. She already had dough on the table and the 'proofing' room filling up with breads special for the feasts: the round loaves of sweet, soft agape bread and the rings of cinnamon laced sweet bread.

After morning prayer, the sisters in charge of environment (candles and cloths) began to take down the purple in the Peace Chapel. Since we will be praying the Upper Chapel (Bishop Marty Chapel) through all of Triduum and through the Easter Octave, the sisters might not set out the new candles and cloths just yet...but we will be preparing the Upper Chapel this afternoon. Holy Thursday's environment needs to include clean space in the sacristy to place all the goods of the Sanctuary after the altar is stripped as well as adding new environment to the smaller St. Joseph Chapel (for our care center sisters) where the reserved Sacrament will be taken tonight. Helping to prepare our Chapel for these sacred celebrations allows me to move from the busyness of my school days to the centering on our celebrations of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection during this Triduum.

This afternoon also includes some community fun. The sisters in our care center dye the Easter eggs for the whole Monastery! Those of us who can join them in this colorful community collaboration have some good old family fun. It is interesting to see which sisters favor which colors and the artists that come out of each one of us. I also love to hear the stories the sisters tell of their childhood memories of Easter egg coloring at home or how they celebrated earlier in community life.

However, I am most excited for...our silence...I know, you're shocked. I really am looking forward to our time of deep quiet and reflection that begins with the transfer of the Sacrament at the end of our Holy Thursday Mass and continues through Good Friday and only comes to an end after Lauds on Holy Saturday. The whole Monastery is focused on this deep awareness of God in our midst. My students and the faculty both seemed a bit surprised at this quiet that I was excited to be joining. One of the Junior boys joked that he didn't think his mom or sister could go a few hours much less a whole day and a half without talking. I told him that he might be surprised at how much those same folk might love a bit of silence in their day...he didn't believe me.

Blessings,

The Chapter of Election

Greetings,

Chapter 64 of the Rule explains that "In choosing an abbot, the guiding principle should always be that the man placed in office be the one selected either by the whole community acting unanimously in the fear of God, or by some part of the community, no matter how small, which possesses some sounder judgment. Goodness of life and wisdom in teaching must be the criteria for choosing the one to be made abbot, even if he is the last in community rank."

We spent four days in prayerful discernment during our Chapter of Election. It was an amazing experience to consider all the sisters' gifts & talents, and how those could be shared as the prioress of our community. All throughout the prayer and discussion and prayer and balloting and prayer and more voting, I found a great peace in the faith that Jesus Christ was guiding our discernment through the gift of the Spirit (for which we prayed at every celebration of our Liturgy of the Hours). The culmination of these days was our 'canonical' election which is the decisive balloting for prioress. Our sister Penny Bingham was chosen as prioress of Sacred Heart Monastery.

Following the election were the two most enheartening parts of the whole process (for me). We all approached Sr. Penny, placed our hands in hers or hugged her, and offered our support. I have to admit to a few tears in my eyes as our elders would come up to her and offer their prayers with great love in their voices. The agape with wine and homemade bread was a wonderfully joy filled time as well. The sisters celebrated in the Chapter room with Sr. Baker's fresh bread in one hand, a bit of wine in the other, and greeted each other with hope, joy, and faith-filled anticipation for our future. It was beautiful to listen to the blessed sound of laughter fill the room.

Blessings,

Feast of Saint Benedict

Happy Feast!

Today, we celebrate the feast of Benedict's death. This feast is a bit more subdued since it is in the midst of Lent; our solemnity is celebrated with the Church feast on July 11th. However, we do remember his passing with story and song. My boys at school were a bit unsure of creating a feastday for someone's death, but I did try to point out it could been seen as his birth to new life...they didn't buy it. So I added this story from St. Gregory the Great to illustrate.

"In that same year when he was to leave this life, he foretold the day of his most holy death to some disciples living with him and to others living some distance away. He told the former to keep silent about what they heard and explained to the later what kind of sign would be seen when his soul would leave his body.

Six days before his death, he ordered his tomb to be opened. Soon he was attacked by fever and was weakened with severe suffereing. As the illness grew worse every day, he asked his disciples to carry him into the oratory. there he strengthened himself for his departure by receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord. While the hands of his disciples held up his weak limbs, he stood with his hands raised to heaven and breathed his last breath amidst words of prayer."

We will be commemorating the feast a bit simply here at our apartment convent. Prayer for the feast with special Psalms and responsory, steak on the electric grill, and maybe a game or two of Bannanagrams or Perquacky! I think Benedict would approve of the balance between prayer and play within community.

Blessings,

Joy and Sorrow

Greetings,

There is a mix of sorrow and joy as our elders grow old.

The joy is in their wisdom from a lived spiritual experience that spans many decades of peaks and valleys in community life as well as their own. Whether she is the baker, professor, or former prioress, her voice of experience of God's love can be both a challenge and a comfort. This is a joy I have grown to appreciate more and more. When I was away at university, I missed the wisdom from our elders and tradition...the sisters I was living with had good wisdom and offered support, but there is just something about our family way of helping each other.

The sorrow grows slowly as our elders grow old. During my last year at university, Sister Baker died and I felt the loss of my confidant and counselor. Now that my ministry is closer to home, I try to take advantage of the distance and visit more often. However, time marches on. Sister Professor doesn't always recognize me even though we have spent countless hours puzzling way at crosswords together and sharing stories of family, teaching, and prayer. Another Sister Professor has been slowly slipping away these past years and we miss her wisdom dearly. We care for them with tender love, wait with them for their Beloved, and cherish their presence while they remain.

There is a great joy in these wisdom figures, elders of our Benedictine family.
I cannot imagine our growth in learning to live in Obedience, Converstatio or Stability without them.

Blessings,

Ashes...

Greetings,

Tomorrow, I will be at home in the Monastery for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of our Lenten celebration. After being at school or university for the past many celebrations of this day, I am excited to be home as we settle into our Lenten observances. Yes, excited to be home for Wednesday soup night, morning silence, and the sisterly support of additional prayer and reflection. I'll even be home in time for the Mass we share with the college students and the Vesper's collection of the sisters personal observances for Lent.

Benedict had encouraged his monks to live their whole monastic life as a Lent; however, if it cannot be done, the monk was to consult with the Abbott about special offerings during this season of preparation. Reflection on chapter 49 from the Rule has lead me to ponder on my own "offering to God with the Joy of the Holy Spirit something of the measure required..." I have come to some conclusions of offerings of heart that I will pray will help me offer better service to God. When I return home to my convent apartment, I pray that we can discern some community Lenten observances to bring from the Monastery to convent to help each other continue to live this offering in the spirit of Benedict.

Blessings,

Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

Greetings,

Today the Church celebrates second chances! Chapter 22 of the Acts of the Apostles contains one of the accounts of Saul's conversion to new life as Paul. It isn't the dramatic scenes with the bright light and Christ's call that struck me today. Instead, the gentle but encouraging voice of Ananias has stayed with me.

"A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me and stood there and said, 'Saul, my brother, regain your sight.' And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors designated you .....(St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome)
to know His will, for you will be His witness before all to what you have seen and heard.
Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon His name.'"

Ananias knew of Saul's past persecutions, knew of Saul's work against the Church, but he also knew of Christ's power to change the hearts of others. He welcomed Paul as a witness to Christ and encouraged him to be baptized...all this support from a man who simply allowed God to give a second chance. If Saul the persecutor can become Paul the Apostle, I too can become someone new in Christ! This fits well with our Benedictine vow of Converstatio Morum (Fidelity to the Monastic Way). Within Converstatio, there is the daily opportunity to fully live the call to follow Benedict in seeking Christ. Every day is a second chance to be converted and more fully live washed and baptized in Christ. Everyday is also the opportunity to be Ananias for my sisters, co-workers, and students; to take on his role of welcoming and encouraging those who need a second chance.

Hmm...that leaves much to do this day...

Blessings and Happy Feast,

God in the Ordinary

Greetings,

Part of my life as a Benedictine sister is to seek God in the ordinary events of life in community. The daily horarium (schedule) within the monastery doesn't vary too often and it shouldn't. The repeated hours, the routines allow me to stop wondering what I should be doing or where I should be going, I know; and instead I can focus on God in the midst of those daily events. In fact, many of God's lessons have come through the daily life lived with my sisters or from the classroom with my students.

A recent lesson while I was home for our Monastic Chapter (community meetings) led me to a reflection on the Rule. "The brothers should serve one another. Consequently, no one will be excused from kitchen service unless he is sick or engaged in some important business of the monastery, for such service increases reward and fosters love" Chapter 35: 1-2. With all of the sisters home, there were interesting combinations of dishwashers, servers, and the like. Those of us who lived away from home found ourselves filling in duties for those sisters at home who were helping to organize the Chapter. There was laughter as we tried to remember where certain items were stored for meals or put dishes away into new and inventive locations, but it was also love. Love for those whose duties we shared; love for those we served.

Now that I have returned to our little convent of two...I'm trying to remember this lesson of loving service for one is loving service of my whole community.

Blessings,