Yesterday, we celebrated the 130th anniversary of the founding of Sacred Heart Monastery! I happily shared with all of my classes about our community's travels from the Swiss Alps to the vast flat lands of South Dakota. It was a wonderful day.
Then I realized something quite startling...our founding celebration is in the middle of November! If we were celebrating our founding, I was almost done with my first semester at school!
Balance, one of the central virtues in our Benedictine life, has been lost in the hyper-drive of my growing into this new ministry. Between figuring out how to teach a whole room of boys, relearning (or learning to teach) my catechism, navigating a new city, and trying to be a good partner to my sister, I've lost my balance. A good way to visualize my momentum is to consider the picture of the tiny cable car that took us up to the top of the Musenalp of Rickenbach, sliding down the mountain took only a fraction of the time that it took to get to the top of the mountain! The view was amazing, but it was hard to take the time to be aware of God in all the beauty.
I'm learning a lot from my boys, books, and the brothers (I love alliteration) of my new school, but it is all happening so fast that it is hard to bring it all into balance. I'm trying to keep my prayer and call to reflection on scripture and other holy reading in some equity with my work; however, my textbooks are on the desk more often than my candle is lit. I keep trying to slow the speed of my cable car as it rattles down the mountainside, I want to take time to be aware of God in the midst of my classroom and convent and commuting. I am most grateful for those I know are supporting my balance or making up for it from home...I remember with gratitude a whole monastery full of sisterly support .
Blessings,
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