Greetings,
At the end of a long day's Chapter Meetings, we gathered for supper in the refectory. The monastery dinning room is host to a variety of meals; everything from turkey and dressing served family style at Thanksgiving to simple soups during Lent. To celebrate the end of our Saturday Chapter Meeting (and let our lay staff go home early), we ordered pizza!
Our Sister Procurator ordered ahead for carryout. When she went to pick up the over 15 pizzas, she took along a couple other sisters for help! In Benedictine fashion we had a few choices of pizza...Chapter 39 of the Rule of Benedict begins...
"We think it sufficient for the daily dinner,
whether at the sixth or the ninth hour,
that every table have two cooked dishes
on account of individual infirmities,
so that he who for some reason cannot eat of the one
may make his meal of the other
Therefore let two cooked dishes suffice for all the bethren;
and if any fruit or fresh vegetables are available,
let a third dish be added."
We had the choice of supreme, pepperoni, or cheese slices of pizza. The Sisters with serving duty for the day found the hot pepper flakes and brought up some sodas and beer. The sisters, old and young, gathered their slices, a few cut veggies, and the drink of their choice and headed to fill the tables.
You'd think that after a day of meeting and voting we would be weary enough to simply eat and go. The room was filled with laughter, stories, and sisters catching up on friends, family, and news. The relaxed meal stretched out as we chatted between bites of pizza. While I checked to see who wanted seconds at the table, some of the elder sisters began to tell some tales of "we remember when..." I love these stories! The theme that night had to do with fun with their 'classes' during the novitiate and juniorate years. We continued to laugh and share our stories long past our usual supper hour. It was a wonderful way to end the day of seeking God in the midst of our deliberations at Chapter.
Blessings,
 |
| Piles of Empty Pizza Boxes! |
At the end of a long day's Chapter Meetings, we gathered for supper in the refectory. The monastery dinning room is host to a variety of meals; everything from turkey and dressing served family style at Thanksgiving to simple soups during Lent. To celebrate the end of our Saturday Chapter Meeting (and let our lay staff go home early), we ordered pizza!
Our Sister Procurator ordered ahead for carryout. When she went to pick up the over 15 pizzas, she took along a couple other sisters for help! In Benedictine fashion we had a few choices of pizza...Chapter 39 of the Rule of Benedict begins...
"We think it sufficient for the daily dinner,
whether at the sixth or the ninth hour,
that every table have two cooked dishes
on account of individual infirmities,
so that he who for some reason cannot eat of the one
may make his meal of the other
Therefore let two cooked dishes suffice for all the bethren;
and if any fruit or fresh vegetables are available,
let a third dish be added."
We had the choice of supreme, pepperoni, or cheese slices of pizza. The Sisters with serving duty for the day found the hot pepper flakes and brought up some sodas and beer. The sisters, old and young, gathered their slices, a few cut veggies, and the drink of their choice and headed to fill the tables.
You'd think that after a day of meeting and voting we would be weary enough to simply eat and go. The room was filled with laughter, stories, and sisters catching up on friends, family, and news. The relaxed meal stretched out as we chatted between bites of pizza. While I checked to see who wanted seconds at the table, some of the elder sisters began to tell some tales of "we remember when..." I love these stories! The theme that night had to do with fun with their 'classes' during the novitiate and juniorate years. We continued to laugh and share our stories long past our usual supper hour. It was a wonderful way to end the day of seeking God in the midst of our deliberations at Chapter.
Blessings,
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