Computer Classes...in Kenya!

Greetings,

Please keep our Sister Bonita in prayer while she teaches computer skills classes in Kenya.  For the next several weeks she will be living and working with sisters from a variety of religious orders and places around the Tumaini Center in Nairobi, Kenya.  While this may not have been on Benedict's mind when he wrote chapter 50 of the Rule of Benedict: On Sisters Who Are Working Far Away from the Oratory or Are on a Journey, our sister is sharing the prayer and work with the student sisters of the program because she "shall perform the Work of God in the place where they are working, bending their knees in reverence before God" (RB 50: 2).  

In the past, Sister Bonita shared her computer skills through AIM (The Alliance for International Monasticism) during college breaks at Mount Marty.  She enjoyed working with the Benedictine Sisters of Our Lady Help of Christians in Tanzania in encouraging their computer literacy.  

This summer she is teaching in Nairobi, Kenya with the ASEC (African Sisters Education Collaborative).  You can follow her summer as teacher and learner as she blogs about her experiences. 

Blessings,

Our Swiss Lady

Greetings,

Today, the Church celebrates Our Lady under the title "Our Lady of Carmel".  However, the American Benedictine monasteries and abbeys founded from Swiss ancestors celebrated "Our Lady of Einsiedeln". 


 In the 9th century, the monk St. Meinrad, of the family of the Counts of Hohenzollern, left one of the local monasteries to built a hermitage in the wilderness that would later become Einsiedeln. He took with him a miracle-working statue of the Virgin Mary given to him by the Abbess Hildegarde of Zürich. He soon became well-known in the local village for his kindness and holiness, and received many visitors and gifts.

On January 21, 861, two thieves murdered Meinrad for the treasure in his hermitage. According to legend, the murderers were apprehended after two ravens followed them into town and drew attention to them with loud squawking.

In 940, a small group of Benedictine monks transformed Meinrad's little hermitage into the Lady Chapel. The chapel is said to have been consecrated by Christ himself on September 14, 948. The bishop who was to consecrate the new site had a vision in which the church was filled with a brilliant light as Christ approached the altar; the next day, when he went to perform the ceremony, he heard a voice saying the chapel had already been divinely consecrated. The miracle was confirmed by Pope Leo VIII 16 years later in a papal bull.

St. Meinrad had the Black Madonna statue (its dark color traditionally explained by years of candle smoke) as part of his altarpiece; after his death it was placed in the Lady Chapel for veneration. Many miracles were attributed to the intercession of "Our Lady of Einsiedeln," and pilgrimages to Einsiedeln began shortly after 1000 AD. (Sacred Destinations.com)

 

"You are the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel; you are the fairest honor of our race." ~ Lauds Antiphon.

Our monastery's foundresses came from Maria Rickenbach on a musenalp above the city of Niederbach.  As a part of the Swiss-American foundations, we continue to honor Our Lady of Einsiedeln.  Within Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel, we have a side or transept chapel dedicated to our Swiss Lady.  For years, our Swiss and German sisters who worked in the embroidery dressed the Madonna and Child in elaborate gowns of the liturgical seasons.  Only later did we discover her beautifully carved gown of red and gentle arm embracing the Child Jesus...so now we leave her uncovered.

Blessings,

Pope Francis: 'don't be afraid of God's tenderness!'

Greetings,

Pope Francis addressed a gathering of seminarians, novices, and others in religious formation.  Calling on them to be joy-filled and to rely on the consolation of God.



Summer at the monastery is filled with a variety of moments expressing this call to joy and consolation.  We strive daily to seek Christ and rely on his joy in consolation; we also strive daily to be Christ offering that same joy and consolation to our sisters and to those whom we serve.


With JOY we celebrate Jubilees, this community celebration honored
sisters who have been professed 25, 50, 60, 70 and 80 years!

We offer the joy and consolation of Christ
to our two 70 year jubilarians (left) and
our sister celebrating her 80th year (right)!

Sister celebrating her 80 years with a
4th of July ride in a Model A Ford.

  

We also rely on the consolation of God in our sorrows.
During our June Chapter meetings, we gather to remember
and pray for our beloved dead in the mercy of Christ.

 Blessings,

The Solemnity of Saint Benedict

Greetings,

The illustrated Rule of Benedict is open to chapters
72 and 73 of the Rule...on Good Zeal and
the Beginning of Perfection.

Last night, we began our celebration of Saint Benedict with first Vespers, evening prayer the night before the feast itself. On solemnities such as this, we gather outside the Chapel and process formally, prayerfully into the Chapel. This Statio is lead by one of the sisters carrying the candle for prayer; once all the sisters have processed into the main aisle, we reverence the altar and then the sister across the aisle with a deep bow. While waiting for our cue from the organ to begin statio, many of the sisters took time to reflect on the arrangement of St. Benedict and an illustrated copy of the Rule of Benedict.

"O holy Father, Benedict, in prayer and work without cease, in your untiring search for God, you found Christ's joy and peace." ~ Vespers Antiphon.

A Chapel window honoring our
holy Father Benedict.

This morning we continued honoring our founder's feast with our morning prayer of Lauds and Mass celebrated with Father (visiting) Abbot who is currently leading our sisters in a preached retreat.

 

"We shall run the way of God's commandments, with expanded hearts, with expanded hearts; we shall run the way of God's commandments with expanded hearts of love." ~ Lauds Hymn

Throughout all our meals today, we welcome all our employees who serve with us in meeting the needs of the monastery...from cook to carpenter, RN to receptionist...we all join together in the dinning room for food and fellowship.  Before our shared supper, we will gather one more time in Chapel to chant our praises to God for the blessings of Benedict and his Rule.  A good day all in all.

 "Let us love one another with fervent love, endure one another's infirmities; patiently serve and obey one another, and prefer nothing whatever to Christ." ~ Vespers Antiphon

Feastday Blessings, 

A Feastday of Celebrations

Greetings,

"The Good News of the Lord has gone out to all the world through the words of Peter and Paul"
~ Antiphon at Lauds.

Today, we celebrate and rejoice on this feast of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.  Actually, we all celebrate...the Church celebrates not only the feast of these two great saints, but also honors her new Archbishops.  During the Mass, the Pope calls forward the 'new' Archbishops and places a pallium over their shoulders; a reminder of their role as shepherd.  The two great basilicas Saint Peter and Saint Paul Outside the Walls also commemorate their patrons on this day.

Our monastery celebrates not only the feast, but also remembers this as a day of professions in our history and our Golden Jubilarians are honored today as well.  From 1952 to 1967, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul marked a day of new life, new teachers and  preachers in the community.  On the eve of the feast, the postulants were invested as new novices.  The next day the current novices professed their temporary monastic vows to being their juniorate...AND the those sisters who had completed their temporary vows (juniorate) professed their perpetual monastic profession.  Today is a great day of story-telling about receiving their new names, quick changes of habit or veil, and the joy of their celebration with family and friends. 

This morning our community also celebrates our Golden Jubilarians; sisters who are marking their 50th anniversary of Benedictine life in our family.  They have seen much change and served the monastery and Church through various works.  Yet through it all, continued to preach the "Good News of the Lord"in our Benedictine family in love.

"Love bears all things, and will never come to an end. Alleluia.

three things last forever:  faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.

Love bears all things, and will never come to an end. Alleluia." ~ Responsory at Vespers.

Blessings and Happy Feastday,

Hymns & Gardens

Greetings,

It may sound like an odd combination, Hymns & Gardens, but this morning they joined in praise of God.  The hymn at our morning Liturgy of the Hours came from St. Hildegard of Bingen's explanation of creation's beauty praising God.  The poetic translation from Sr. Theresita Schenk gives a marvelous background to our increasingly lush (and well-rained) gardens and grounds.


Lettuce, dill and herbs, and tomatoes too!

"The Blowing Wind"

The blowing wind, the mild,
     moist air,
exquisite greening of grass
     and trees.
And in their beginnings and
     in their endings
they give to God their
     loving praise.







More tomatoes in the foreground with sweet potatoes
and melons in the back.  The peppers and eggplant,
still canned for protection from rabbits
and gophers, dot the middle.

All God's creation is awakened
by the resounding melody,
God's invocation of the Word,
Word manifest
     in every creature. 


The orchard produce soaks in the sun and rain.

The blowing wind, the mild,
     moist air,
exquisite greening of grass
     and trees.
And in their beginnings and
     in their endings
they give to God their
     loving praise.

Plums and apples and apricots, Oh My!

Glance at the sun, the moon
     and the stars.
Gaze at the beauty
     of earth's greening.
What great delight
     God gives to humankind
with all these things,
     gracious gifts of God.

What began as a few vines for the cultivation
of a newly 'retired' sister quickly grew...her 26 vines
now provide homemade grape juice and
jellies for the sisters at the monastery.

The blowing wind, the mild,
     moist air,
exquisite greening of grass
     and trees.
And in their beginnings and
     in their endings
they give to God their
     loving praise.

The sisters' lawns have also grown green, lush...and oh so
tempting to the local rafter or gang of turkeys.

We invite you to take a moment today to reflect on the poetry of St. Hildegard and experience the beauty of creation where you are.  Hopefully, you too will see and celebrate the praise of God in the wind and greening and skies!

Blessings,

Dakota "Horizons" and Daniel's Cantical

Greetings,

The Cantical of Daniel calls upon all of Creation to bless and praise the Lord.

"Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever...
...Nights and days, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Light and darkness, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
... Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Let the earth bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Mountains and hills, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Everything growing on earth, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
(Daniel 3: 62-63, 71-76)

 This photography artist's images illustrates how the plains, prairies, farms, and Badlands of South Dakota praise the Lord...

Blessings,