Jesse Tree of Holy Women ~ Rebekah

"Drop down dew ye heavens above

and let the clouds rain the Just One."

Isaiah 45: 8

"...and they called Rebekah,
and said to her, "Will you go with this man?"

She said, "I will.""

Genesis 24: 58

Rebekah, sister of Laban, daughter of Bethuel, granddaughter of Milcah and Sarah's brother Nahor, left her home in Padden-aram to become wife to Isaac in the land of Canaan and mother to twins, Esau and Jacob. She is buried beside Isaac, Abraham, and Sarah in Machpelah, which is in Hebron (Woman Word by Miriam Therese Winter).

Jesse Tree of Holy Women ~ Sarah

"Drop down dew ye heaven's above

and let the clouds rain the Just One."

Isaiah 45: 8

"God has brought laughter for me,

everyone who hears will laugh with me."

Genesis 21: 6

Sarah was born in Ur of the Chaldeans, where she married her brother Abraham. Their father was Terah, but hey had different mothers whose names we do not know. Before God established a covenant with them, their names were Sarai and Abram. They left Ur to settle in the land of Canaan and lived for a while in Egypt and the Negeb before pitching their tent near the oaks of Mamrah in Kiriath-arab, which is Hebron. Childless until the age of ninety, Sarah bore a son named Isaac when her husband was one hundred years old. She died at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven and was buried in a cave at Machpelah in the land of Canaan (Woman Word by Miriam Therese Winter).

Jesse Tree of Holy Women ~ Eve

"Drop down dew ye heavens above

and let the clouds rain the Just One."

Isaiah 45: 8

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
for out of Man this one was taken."
Genesis 2: 23

Genesis presents Eve as the first woman created by God. It may be more accurate to say that she is the first female with an identity and a name in the recorded history of both Jews and Christians. As wife of the first man, Adam, she gave birth to three sons--Cain, Abel, and Seth--somewhere outside the Garden of Eden. Through the pain of giving birth and loss of both Abel and Cain, Eve experienced a dimension of being human which she had not known in the Garden. The Genesis genealogy lists other sons born to Adam--and therefore to Eve--and states that there were also daughters of whom not a single memory remains. As scholars struggle to separate fact from mythology and interpretation in the narrative of Eve, she as original woman continues to be a symbol of both the domination and the liberation of her gender (Woman Word by Miriam Therese Winter).

Benedictine Family Traditions

Greetings,

Every family has traditions surrounding their holiday celebrations and our Benedictine family gathers for a Thanksgiving day too. While most of the sisters live at the monastery, those who live away from home gather back at the monastery or together at their convents for a day of praying, playing, and feasting together.

We'll begin with Lauds and Mass before sharing in a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. The Sisters (and one Father Monk) helped begin the preparations for the meal a couple earlier with slicing, peeling, and dicing up pumpkin for the pies!  The work went quickly with many hands to help.

 After a meal of laughter and sharing, the sisters continue the day of tradition...  An afternoon of play in the Chapter Room.  Tables of four sit down to Pinochle while groups of two and three break out the dictionaries over the Scrabble board; other sisters laugh over sets of Dominoes or Taboo.  The simple being together as community is the joy of Thanksgiving as we clean up the Chapter Room and return to Chapel for Vespers.

We'll be keeping you all in our prayers.

Blessings,

Advent Retreat

Greetings,

Our Peace Center Sisters plan a variety of retreats throughout the Church year.  However, Advent begins in a WEEK!  They are preparing for a morning retreat "Waiting with Mary in Advent."  We invite you to join the sisters and other seekers to learn to wait with our Blessed Mother for the coming of our Lord.

The retreat morning begins at 9 o'clock on Saturday, December 7th.  Simply follow the link to learn more about our Advent retreat.

http://www.yanktonbenedictines.org/documents/AdventRetreat.pdf

Blessings,

Celebrating the Communion of Saints

Greetings,

The month of November includes many feasts important to our Benedictine community; however, it begins with two days sacred to the whole Church.  The Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed are days of celebrating all of our beloved in the Communion of Saints.  We honor the saints great and small and tell stories of our loved ones who have died.

We invite you to join our prayer through these images and antiphons from our Divine Office and Eucharistic celebrations:

"Let us keep festival in honor of all the saints giving God
the glory for the grace bestowed on humankind."
~ Vespers Call to Prayer

"Hallelujah! With my whole heart I praise the Lord among the just.
Great are God's works, a delight to explore.
In splendor, in majesty, God's justice will stand." ~ Psalm 111

"Imitate God, walk in his love, just as Christ loves us."
~ Lauds Antiphon

Reliquary and Relics in veneration (left to right):

* Saints Maur, Benedict, and Placid

* Saints Alexi, Herman, Benedict, Agatha, and Severanta

* Saints Seodati and Amandi 

* Saint Grucis

* Saints Gertrude, Scholastica, and Boniface

* Saint Benedict

* Saints Donald, Ursini, and Victoria

"...They have come out of the great tribulation and
have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
They need fear no peril or danger
for the Lamb will shepherd them..."

~ Lauds Responsory

* Saints Gertrude, Scholastica, and Boniface

* Saint Benedict

* Saints Donald, Ursini, and Victoria

"Give glory as the name of God deserves;
bring gifts into the courts of the Most High.
Adore God in the splendor of holiness.
Earth, tremble before the Holy Presence!"
~ Psalm 96

* Saint Grata

Our relic of Saint Benedict was carried
during the procession into Chapel for Mass.

"Let me peak your praise, O Lord, let all peoples bless
your holy name forever, for ages unending." ~ Psalm 145

Reliquary and Relics in veneration (left to right):

* Saints Speciosa, Fortunata, Nicolas, and Theodore

* Saints Columban, Victoria, Ursula, Crescenta, Desidii, and Gereon

"I will give you glory, O God my king, I will bless your name forever.
I will bless you day after day and praise your name forever.
You are great, Lord, highly to be praised, your greatness
cannot be measured." ~ Psalm 145

"For as we advance in the religious life and in faith, 

our hearts expand and we run the way of God's commandments 

with unspeakable sweetness of love. 

Thus, never departing from His school, 

but persevering in the monastery according to His teaching until death, 

we may by patience share in the suffering of Christ 

and deserve to have a share also in His kingdom" 

(Rule of Benedict, Prologue: 49-50).

"From the earth you formed me, with flesh you clothed me;
Christ my Redeemer, raise me up again at the last day."
~ Lauds Antiphon

Blessings,

Loving Service: Warm Hearts and Hot Soups

Greetings,

This Fall the sisters of the monastery have been busily serving each other.  Chapter 72 of The Rule of Benedict calls each of the sisters to a loving awareness of the needs of her sisters...

Just as there is an evil zeal of bitterness which separates from God and leads to hell, so there is a good zeal which separates from vices and leads to God and to life everlasting.  This zeal, therefore, the sisters should practice with the most fervent love.  Thus they should anticipate one another in honor (Rom. 12:10); most patiently endure one another's infirmities, whether of body or of character; vie in paying obedience one to another--no one following what she considers useful for herself, but rather what benefits another--; tender the charity of sisterhood chastely; fear God in love; love their Abbess with sincere and humble charity; prefer nothing whatever to Christ.  And may He bring us all together to life everlasting!

After many years of teaching elementary school, Sister Retiree has been finding many ways to share her good zeal with the community at the monastery.  Sister is well known for her cooking and baking skills.  She has shared dozens of homemade cookies, breads, caramel rolls, and suppers over the years.

"...vie in paying obedience one to another--no one following what she considers useful for herself, but rather what benefits another..."  Recently, she treated our elders to a home made soup lunch!  Her famous from scratch chicken soup was served with dinner rolls fresh from the oven.  For dessert, she arranged a light fruit salad.

Our elder sisters, Saint Joseph's group, and our care center staff enjoyed this "...tender charity of sisterhood..."  The meal was wonderful but the good zeal shared among the sisters was even better.

Saturday the 19th, our sisters from the 'Day Spring' living group (small groups of sisters who gather for prayer and recreation) treated the whole community to a soup supper!  "...Anticipating one another in honor..." the sisters brewed up three wonderful soups:  vegetarian vegetable, beef vegetable, and chicken with dumplings.  They also provided homemade wheat dinner rolls and focaccia breads.  To top off the supper, they shared a variety of brownies, bars, and some fruit fresh from the garden.

It was a wonderful night to visit at table, to enjoy the blessing of our garden produce shared in the soups, and to swap a few recipes of our own!  Thank you sisters of Day Spring for a wonderful night of good zeal being shared by all!

Blessings,