The Feast of Saint Scholastica

Greetings,

Today, Benedictines celebrate Saint Scholastica, sister of Saint Benedict and abbess.  While the celebration is more quiet on this Fifth Sunday before Lent begins, her story of deep love for her brother and for God is still an inspiration in our monastic lives.  All we know of her comes from this retelling of her miraculous love by Saint Gregory the Great.  In his writing, Gregory the Great is 'teaching' a young disciples named Peter about the life, miracles, and teachings of Saint Benedict...

Book II of the Dialogues: The Life of Saint Benedict: Chapter 33
GREGORY: Who is there, Peter, in this world, that is in greater favor with God than St. Paul? Three times he petitioned our Lord to be delivered from the thorn of the flesh, and yet he did not obtain his petition. Speaking of that, I must tell you how there was one thing which the venerable father Benedict would have liked to do, but he could not.

His sister, named Scholastica, was dedicated from her infancy to our Lord. Once a year she came to visit her brother. The man of God went to her not far from the gate of his monastery, at a place that belonged to the Abbey. It was there he would entertain her. Once upon a time she came to visit according to her custom, and her venerable brother with his monks went there to meet her.


The upper chapel at Subiaco, Italy features
a full fresco of Scholastica and Benedict's
meeting and the beginning of the storm.

They spent the whole day in the praises of God and spiritual talk, and when it was almost night, they dined together. As they were yet sitting at the table, talking of devout matters, it began to get dark. The holy Nun, his sister, entreated him to stay there all night that they might spend it in discoursing of the joys of heaven. By no persuasion, however, would he agree to that, saying that he might not by any means stay all night outside of his Abbey.At that time, the sky was so clear that no cloud was to be seen. The Nun, hearing this denial of her brother, joined her hands together, laid them on the table, bowed her head on her hands, and prayed to almighty God. 

Lifting her head from the table, there fell suddenly such a tempest of lightning and thundering, and such abundance of rain, that neither venerable Benedict, nor his monks that were with him, could put their heads out of doors. The holy Nun, having rested her head on her hands, poured forth such a flood of tears on the table, that she transformed the clear air to a watery sky. 

After the end of her devotions, that storm of rain followed; her prayer and the rain so met together, that as she lifted up her head from the table, the thunder began.  So it was that in one and the very same instant that she lifted up her head, she brought down the rain.



A fresco in Subiaco, Italy showing Scholastica
after praying for Benedict to stay through the night.

 The man of God, seeing that he could not, in the midst of such thunder and lightning and great abundance of rain return to his Abbey, began to be heavy and to complain to his sister, saying: "God forgive you, what have you done?" She answered him, "I desired you to stay, and you would not hear me; I have desired it of our good Lord, and he has granted my petition. Therefore if you can now depart, in God's name return to your monastery, and leave me here alone."

But the good father, not being able to leave, tarried there against his will where before he would not have stayed willingly. By that means, they watched all night and with spiritual and heavenly talk mutually comforted one another. 

 

Therefore, by this we see, as I said before, that he would have had one thing, but he could not effect it.  For if we know the venerable man's mind, there is no question but that he would have had the same fair weather to have continued as it was when he left his monastery.  He found, however, that a miracle prevented his desire. A miracle that, by the power of almighty God, a woman's prayers had wrought. Is it not a thing to be marveled at, that a woman, who for a long time had not seen her brother, might do more in that instance than he could? She realized, according to the saying of St. John, "God is charity" [1 John 4:8]. Therefore, as is right, she who loved more, did more.

PETER: I confess that I am wonderfully pleased with what you tell me.

Book II of the Dialogues: The Life of Saint Benedict: Chapter 34: 


A fresco of the death of Scholastica
in the Chapel at Subiaco, Italy.

GREGORY: The next day the venerable woman returned to her monastery, and the man of God to his abbey. Three days later, standing in his cell, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he beheld the soul of his sister (which was departed from her body) ascend into heaven in the likeness of a dove.

Rejoicing much to see her great glory, with hymns and praise he gave thanks to almighty God, and imparted the news of her death to his monks.  He sent them presently to bring her corpse to his Abbey, to have it buried in that grave which he had provided for himself. By this means it fell out that, as their souls were always one in God while they lived, so their bodies continued together after their deaths.

Blessings,

The Celebration of Consecrated Life!

Greetings,

Saturday marked the celebration of Consecrated Life in the Church.  It coincides with the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple; reminding us of our own consecration to living for the Light and sharing that Light throughout our life of community, prayer, and service to the Church.

Winter Gardening...

Greetings,

Since the groundhog has predicted an early spring, it is time to begin considering the monastery garden on this wintery February day.  We asked Sister Gardener to share some reflections about our summer bounty while the earth is still blanketed with winter's ice and snow and she has some time to spare.

Monastery gardens have been part of Benedictine tradition since the time of Benedict when he called for his communities to be self-sustaining.

Therefore the sisters should be occupied at certain times in manual labor...From Easter until the end of October, when they come out from Prime in the morning let them labor at whatever is necessary until about the fourth hour...they themselves do the work of gathering the harvest, let them not be discontented; for then are they truly monastics when they live by the labor of their hands, as did our Fathers and the Apostles. Let all things be done with moderation, however, for the sake of the faint-hearted. RB 48

Our monastery's current garden is short of an acre but includes a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, tubers, and gourds. Sister Gardener has nurtured the gardens, orchard, and grounds for 27 years. During that time, she has come to understand that "...true gardeners never cease to garden, not even in their sleep, because gardening is not just something they do. It is how they live" (Guroian). she leads a merry group of summer sister gardeners (school teachers home for the summer) through seasons of planting, watering, weeding, and praying that God makes the garden grow.  The work calls us to humility, for all we do cannot change mother nature's gifts or God's blessings.

The summer of 2012 was very dry, windy, and downright temper-mental. Sister Gardener reported that the total produce from the gardens to the sisters' table was 4,362 pounds, down over 5,300 pounds from the previous year. However, in the midst of the dust and bugs the fruits from garden brought many sweet treats to the monastery.

The garden sisters picked 107 pounds of cherries, 293 pounds of apricots, and 134 boxes of apples! These were then lovingly pitted, trimmed, and pared by other sisters for pies, sauces, and breakfast breads! The most anticipated produce in the monastery is the long awaited tomato. This year the gardeners brought in almost 1,700 pounds of herloom, purple, green zebra, and traditional bright red tomatoes for salads, sauces, and BLT's. Sister Gardener's personal favorite among her carefully tended greens are the cucumbers she often nibbles right from the vines and brines into lightly pickled bread and butter pickles; however, turnips are not likely to grace our garden again.

Called by God to care for the Earth and tend it, Sister Gardener offers this poem and prayer from Dame Julian of Norwish as we wait for this next season of growing...

Be a gardener.

Dig and ditch,

toil and sweat,

and turn the earth upside down

and water the plants in time.

Continue this labor

and make sweet floods to run

and noble and abundant fruits to spring.

Take this food and drink

and carry it to God

as your true worship.

Blessings,