The Archangels We Need

Greetings,

More Archangels! The first time I wrote about these angels I was still in graduate school and trying to make my way through a day of observation as an assistant in a Catholic High School.  Now, I am back to teaching full time but still calling upon the help of these Archangels to make it through our day.

We celebrated the feast and our Sword wielding namesake a day early with our monks, students, staff, and the Archbishop.  The chapel was filled to the brim with 220 boys (still slightly grumpy with being forced into the full dress code a whole day early) plus teachers, staff, and a few parents. 

They did pretty well, our boys, there were a few strays; one senior leaned his head back against a column behind his chair.  It would've looked like he was thinking, except his mouth drooped open a little bit.  A junior fought sleep bravely, but his head kept bobbing clearly showed sleep winning...even with his dean next to him.  I swept behind the row to gently thwack this slouched and snoozing kiddo with my 'liturgy aid' and just kept moving.  His head popped back up with a startled look; I smiled to show no malice, disturbing his sleep was enough.  Trussed up in their button-down shirts, ties, and dress attire...one junior forgot his socks. Sadly for him, I had been celebrating Dress Code Demerit Week and the lack of socks became his first demerit of the year.  Harsh?  No, correction of the sleepy and the sloven was done with a smile, a reminder, and a humor-filled-hope that it won't happen again.


The boys also joined in the praises of this day, "In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord" Responsorial Psalm.  The students proclaimed the Word, assisted in distributing the Eucharist, and participated fairly well.  A choir of men's and boys voices held together pretty well in responses and rang out a little off key, but strong with song.  Those moments are always the most profound for me.  After growing up with only sisters and little church that was mostly women, joining a monastery (ahem, all women), and teaching at a co-ed school where the young ladies did most of the proclaiming and singing...now I am surrounded by deep conviction of tenors and basses.  Participation is the norm; even if it's half-hearted, the combined effect is outstanding and it warms my heart.

So I pray for my boys...may Michael will defend them, may Raphael guide and heal them, and may Gabriel herald God's Will for their way.  We don't see them, we don't always think of them, but these angels of power are needed in all our lives. 

Blessings,

Feast of Saint Benedict

Saint Benedict blessing all who pass by
his shrine near our cemetery.

Greetings,

Benedictine communities are well known for their communal lives of prayer and work.  Today, I continued in that tradition during our summer celebration of Saint Benedict. 

We started this morning with a full chanted Lauds followed by our celebration of the Eucharist.  Very nice.  My favorite part was our Communion meditation "Seek God".  One of our Sister Professors adds to the simply beauty of the song with a clarinet solo...some of the notes seem to hang in the air of chapel.  After a very dignified recession from Chapel, the Gardening Sisters and I dashed up to our rooms to change into work clothes.

Once in the gardens, there was plenty to do in our shortened work time.  We started up in an apple tree!  The summer apples all green tart and sharp were ready to be picked.  The tree looked hopefully short which made the apples easy to reach, but we soon realized it was so leafy and low that it was more difficult to pick than some of the taller trees.  Soon enough, we had filled five boxes that will soon be made into pies, sauces, and jelly.

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

Blessings,

Candlemass at the Monastery

Greetings,

Sister Michaeleen's photo of the blessed
candles after prayer and Mass.

The Monastery celebrates Candlemass on the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus.  Candlemass...Jesus is the light of the world; we carry that light within us and bless the waxy reminders of that light.  This morning the Peace Chapel altar was surrounded by a variety of the candles used during prayer in the Chapel and our living groups.  This simple ceremony is one that I miss while living away from home. 



The Prioress blesses the candles during morning prayer and they remain in the Chapel through evening prayer.  After our Vespers, a sister from each of the living groups carries the blessed candle to the group room to be used in our noon and compline prayers.  It is just one of the many little liturgies that connect us to the greater Church and to each other.  Knowing that even when we pray the shorter hours of noon and night, the blessing of the Prioress and the gathered prayer of the community continue to hold us all together.

The candles themselves are also a connection to the sisters at the Monastery.  While the Chapel candles for Mass are purchased, those used for prayers in the living groups are made by one of our own Sister Artisans.  She creates whole rainbows of candles for the sisters and our gift shop.  She even has some seasonal candles...during the Fall she pours pumpkins, there are Winter snowmen, and pastel Easter eggs.  Her most coveted creations?  The tall pillar candles that are the full rainbow all in one.  Sister Roommate and I are hoping to get one when we go home for Sister Jill's Perpetual Profession in a week, maybe we'll even get a blessing for it too!




Candles from the Chapel and for the living groups all arranged in the Peace Chapel and ready to be blessed and shared. Sister Mary Jo took the picture to share with us.



Blessings,



Flurry of Feast Days

Greetings,

The end of November is a wild run of Church feasts and celebrations.

16th ~ St. Gertrude the Great
17th ~ St. Elizabeth of Hungary
18th ~ Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul
19th ~ St. Mechtilde
20th ~ Feast of Christ the King
21st ~ Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
22nd ~ St. Cecilia

Whew...Every day my class has been started with a reminder of the feast or memorial, a story of how the feast came to be, or a memory of how my Family or Benedictine Sisters celebrate the day. Tomorrow, I will tell about standing on St. Cecilia's tile floor. During my 2010 summer of Benedictine study in Rome, we spent an afternoon at Sancta Cecilia with one of the Benedictine Nuns as a guide. She took us below the basilica (and its famous leaning bell tower) to the what is believed to be Cecilia's 3rd century home. We silently followed this British-Italian sister of ours listen to her tell the the martyr's tale.
Suddenly, I just stopped.

I looked down and realized that I was standing on the tile floor from somewhere in the 200's. I was standing on a floor on which some of the earliest Christians had walked. Realizing that I was obstructing the flow of tourists, my roughly clad pilgrim feet stepped to the side and I meditated in wonder at a simple tile floor. (I checked my journal and) My main thought from that moment was "how can I see every tile floor as the ground of saints and martyrs?" A desire to keep that moment of reflection alive sprung up in my heart and I snapped a quick photo of my toes on that ancient tile.

Continuing down the hallway, I discovered my Sister Pilgrims in the chapel. Originally, it had been a humble house chapel, but somewhere along the line it had been done in jeweled tile. Above the altar Sancta Caecilia is pictured in the glory of a gold field, hands raised in prayer to God. Another image of Cecilia (above) was in a niche; there she was flanked by the two men she had brought to conversion, her husband and his brother, and the form of her martyrdom, the sword, at her feet. This glory filled chapel was an amazing reminder of her faith in, hope for, and love of God. Here we Sister Pilgrims had time to pray for her intercession
and inspiration. It was an amazing experience.

Blessings,

Happy Anniversary!

Greetings,

Sacred Heart Monastery celebrates our 131st anniversary today! We were founded on November 17th, 1880 at MariaZell in the midst of the Dakota Territory. Our pioneering sisters came from the majestic Swiss Alps to the grand plains of the Dakotas. Their faith in God and perseverance guided by the Spirit still amaze me when I consider all the challenges of their early days in our founding. Including a rattlesnake that would sneak into their first dugout 'covent' and drink up the fresh milk overnight!

At home, the Monastery will be celebrating with special commemorations in our Liturgy of the Hours, Mass, and meals. Here at our Convent apartment, we too are celebrating in the Liturgy of the Hours, but we've moved a bit of festivity to Saturday. Sister and I invited some of the other Nebraska Sisters to our new apartment for a celebratory meal and prayer to commemorate the founding. No rattlesnakes invited!

Blessings,

St. Gertrude the Great

Happy Feast Day!



Today we celebrate the feast of St. Gertrude the Great of Helfta. This Benedictine mystic was graced with visions of the Sacred Heart of Christ and wrote of His Divine Love for those who seek to follow Him. At the monastery, this feast is given special honor, beginning with Vespers on the eve of the day, because we are members of the Federation of St. Gertrude, our foundress was Mother Gertrude Leupi, and our founding date is tomorrow and at one time was celebrated with the feast of St. Gertrude.

One of the hymns sung during this feast is a based on the "Gertrudis Area" and set to a monastic antiphonal through an arrangement by one of our Musician Sisters.

O Gertrude Loving friend of God,
A dwelling place and chosen shrine!
Tell how in love you did remain
In union firm with Heart Divine.

You loved and savored God's own word,
You praised God's name in holy prayer;
You served the needy and the poor,
You saw God's imprint everywhere.

O Jesus, you our friend, we greet;
May Gertrude with us sing your praise;
The Father and the Paraclete,
This glory share for length of days.

Blessings,

FeastDay!

Greetings,

Happy Feast Day, Happy Feast Day, Alleluia! May the Giver of gifts give unto you that which is holy and that which is true...

Charles was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy on October 2. He received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to the Benedictine abbey of SS. Gratian and Felinus at Arona for his education.

In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV and the
following year, named him his Secretary of State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan...was ordained a priest in 1563, and was consecrated bishop of Milan the same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent.

When he finally did arrive at Trent (which had been without a resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model see. He put into effect, measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocesan operation, established seminaries for the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits in his see. He increased the systems to the poor and the needy...He encountered opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions.

He died at Milan on the night of November 3-4, and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church, of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times
Borrowed from http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=212.

Over my time in the monastery, I've been learning more about my patron St. Charles Borromeo. At first, I was a bit uncertain about receiving a patron I'd never heard of (some Italian guy). After some time, I was amazed as I learned of his work in caring for the poor. Later I needed his prayerful help through illness. Today, I've been relying on his support and inspiriation more and more now that I'm teaching high school Theology.

Saint Charles of Borromeo keep up the prayer for your little namesake!

Blessings,

The Feast of All Souls

Greetings,

Today we remember and commemorate our beloved dead. The reading from the Old Testament for this celebration are an inspiration for those of us who mourn. Three of our sisters have died since the last Feast of All Souls: Sisters Verena, Harriett, and Bennett. I love to imagine them as pure gold sparks dancing about God's field of glory with all of our sisters who have gone before.

"The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead...but they are in
peace...they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them
worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial
offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall
shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble...those who trust in him
shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because
grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect." ~
Wisdom 3: 1-9

Our cemetery is a beautiful place to reflect on Benedict's admonition to keep death daily before our eyes; not as a threat or out of fear, but as a hope-filled promise of what is to come. It is a powerful meditation to walk among these sisters in our cemetery, ask them for their prayer and support, and remember that as we are all part of this Communion of Saints, they are still with us today.

Blessings,

All Saints Eve

Greetings,

Tonight, Sister and I began celebrating the Eve of All Saints Day here at our convent apartment by reciting the same prayer our sisters are chanting at the Monastery chapel. Our two, small voices in distant union with those at home. There are some days that I'm more homesick for these parts of our family-life at the Monastery.

"Let us keep festival in honor of all the saints giving God the glory
for the grace bestowed on humankind." ~ based on Gaudeamus

Our Lady of the Rosary

Greetings,

Tomorrow we celebrate Our Lady of the Rosary. It is a memorial celebration of the Church and not a major feast of the community; however, it does allow me to take a moment to remember the gift of faith passed down in my family.

The Rosary was the 'go to' prayer of my family. If we arrived at church a bit early, we knelt for the remainder of the Church Ladies leading the Rosary. When we were driving a half-hour or longer, there was time for a Rosary (sometimes I wonder if this was to encourage peace in the backseat filled with 3 little girls). Mom kept an extra set of beads in her purse for use at visits to the hospital, nursing home, or to pass on to the antsy kid at Adoration. I also remember hearing the rhythmic rise and fall of Mom and Dad praying this together at night...a pretty comforting way to fall asleep as a kid.

This family reinforcement didn't stop with Mom and Dad. Grandpa and Grandma made it a nightly requirement when we would stay over at the house on the farm. I remember wondering why they got to stay in their comfy chairs while we were kneeling along the edge of the couch like ducks in a row. Here the Rosary picked up in pace. The German nature of my grandparents didn't dwaddle between Hail Mary's. They had a Mary, Our Lady of Grace statue (bolted to a stand) with some faux pink flowers arranged at her feet and a glow-in-the-dark Rosary draped over the back of the stand. She was passed on to me after Grandma died and Grandpa moved to the nursing home. He wanted his granddaughter the nun (he was a little proud) to have her. Now she hangs on the wall of my cell no pink flowers at her feet but that same glow-in-the-dark Rosary glimmers in the night.

The Rosary continues to be a prayer of comfort for me. Dealing with a rough bout of insomnia, I pray the Rosary from my pillow and search for the beads the next morning (Mom always said my guardian angel would finish it for me). Needing some quiet time to clear my head, I pray a Rosary to focus and let go at the same time. Last Christmas I asked for a Rosary on CD to make the commute home a time of prayer rather than frustrating traffic. I still say a Rosary on long car trips and find peace in the prayer before or after Mass.

However, I think this quote from Pope John Paul II's 2002 Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae says it better:

...Contemplating the scenes of the Rosary in union with Mary is a means of learning from her to "read" Christ, to discover his secrets and to understand his message.

This school of Mary is all the more effective if we consider that she teaches by obtaining for us in abundance the gifts of the Holy Spirit, even as she offers us the incomparable example of her own "pilgrimage of faith." As we contemplate each mystery of her Son's life, she invites us to do as she did at the Annunciation: to ask humbly the questions which open us to the light, in order to end with the obedience of faith: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word" (Luke 1: 38).

Blessings,

Our Lady of Sorrows & A Swiss Pieta

Greetings,

Yesterday, I opened my theology classes with a slide show of many different ways Our Lady of Sorrows has been depicted throughout the centuries. The freshmen and sophomore gentlemen were invited to look for the key symbols that made the various icons an honor to Our Sorrowful Mother. It was amazing what they noticed once they started looking into the slides for special signs or empty spaces.

This particular image of a standing pieta I kept for myself. On the rolling foothills of the Swiss Alps, our sisters of Marienburg honor this statue, which according to tradition, is older than the castle that was their Abbey's first home on the hillside. I was drawn back to her several times during the few days we were there in the summer of 2010.

Her eyes are locked on her son's face. Her hands brace his body against hers. This moment of deep love and sorrow of a mother; it was an invitation to step into that moment myself. I think it was her hand on his shoulder that touched me the most; a simple motherly gesture, a touch I myself have been blessed to feel, a touch I hope to pass on to another in need. Mostly, I love the statue because it reminds me that she understands; all the struggles, prayers, pleas...she understands.

Blessings,

The Feast of the Sacred Heart

Happy Feast Day!

Today we celebrated our Patronal Feast at Sacred Heart Monastery. My favorite part of these times of festive Liturgy of the Hours is our shared prayer dedicating the community to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the end of Vespers this evening. It's a powerful reminder of our call to carry the love of the Sacred Heart to the world. The readings at Mass, the music, and the psalmody all kept bringing me back to the love God has for us and the love Christ embodied for us in the world. But the key line from my Lectio was simply "...learn from me..."

Ah Lord, a simple request with such challenges for a sister who still struggles with the vow of Obedience. I do strive to be open to learning from my sisters, co-workers, and students; however, to call to learn from Christ involves an the greater risk of letting go of my own expectations of learning and being open to the lessons of life to which He wishes to lead me. When I am learning from other, I still have an element of control (ahem, still letting go of that one) ... learning from Christ is not simply letting go of control; it is giving it back to Him whom I love and live for.

Blessings,

ps...The icon is The Sacred Heart as written by Sr. Mary Charles, a beautiful symbol of our community.

The Feast of Corpus Christi

Greetings,

Tomorrow, we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, The Body and Blood of Christ. I found Pope Benedict XVI homily filled with an important reflection for all. He connects the celebration of Christ's self-gift of in Eucharist to our being continually transformed to Christ through that gift and how it should affect our every way of being; unifying us all as a community in faith.

...Everything starts, you might say, from the heart of Christ, who at the Last Supper on the eve of his passion, thanked and praised God and, in doing so, with the power of his love transformed the meaning of death which he was about to encounter. The fact that the Sacrament of the altar has taken on the name "Eucharist" - "thanksgiving" - expresses this: that the change in the substance of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is the fruit of the gift that Christ made of himself, a gift of a love stronger than death, love of God which made him rise from the dead. That is why the Eucharist is the food of eternal life, the Bread of life...

...Thus, while the Eucharist unites us to Christ, we open ourselves to others making us members one of another: we are no longer divided, but one thing in Him. Eucharistic communion unites me to the person next to me, and with whom I might not even have a good relationship, but also to my brothers and sisters who are far away, in every corner of the world. Thus the deep sense of social presence of the Church is derived from the Eucharist, as evidenced by the great social saints, who have always been great Eucharistic souls. Those who recognize Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, recognize their brother who suffers, who is hungry and thirsty, who is a stranger, naked, sick, imprisoned, and they are attentive to every person, committing themselves, in a concrete way, to those who are in need. So from the gift of Christ's love comes our special responsibility as Christians in building a cohesive, just and fraternal society. Especially in our time when globalization makes us increasingly dependent upon each other, Christianity can and must ensure that this unity will not be built without God, without true Love. This would give way to confusion and individualism, the oppression of some against others. The Gospel has always aimed at the unity of the human family, a unity not imposed from above, or by ideological or economic interests, but from a sense of responsibility towards each other, because we identify ourselves as members of the same body, the body of Christ, because we have learned and continually learn from the Sacrament of the Altar that sharing, love is the path of true justice...

In our Benedictine family, this concept of Eucharist bringing us into one Body in Christ is celebrated not only in the Mass but also our times of prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. This unity that is celebrated in our prayer together helps us bridge the difficulties that may arise in disagreements between sisters or when discussing important matters during Chapter meetings. Those celebrations of unity challenge us to reach out to each and all, within and outside of our Benedictine family. In his Rule, Benedict asks us to greet all guests as Christ. All those who come to our door, all those whom we minister to, and all those with whom we serve...these are all unified with us in Christ.

These sacramental celebrations of unity also enrich our dailiness together; our service to each other in the big and small ways are more than simple work or chores, it is serving the Christ in each other. This morning it was my turn to clean the bathroom area on my floor/wing of the bedrooms. Six toilets, four showers, two tubs, several sinks, and one vast tile floor later, I surveyed my service to my sisters. The space was fresh, clean, and ready for all...it wasn't just a chore...it was a chance to reach out in ministry to my sisters in the dailiness of our lives. While I was moping and scrubbing, other sisters were sweeping the stairwells, dusting the statues that grace our halls, washing dishes, and distributing the mail. The unity we share in our sacramental celebrations can bring a sanctity of service in the mundane.

...Through the consecrated bread and wine, in which his Body and Blood is truly present, Christ transforms us, assimilating us in him: he involves us in his redeeming work, enabling us, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to live according to his same logic of gift, like grains of wheat united with Him and in Him. Thus unity and peace, which are the goal for which we strive, are sown and mature in the furrows of history, according to God's plan.

Without illusions, without ideological utopias, we walk the streets of the world, bringing within us the Body of the Lord, like the Virgin Mary in the mystery of the Visitation. With the humble awareness that we are simple grains of wheat, we cherish the firm conviction that the love of God, incarnate in Christ, is stronger than evil, violence and death...

Ah, too true; in Benedictine community, we do not live in a utopia! We live as family, and family not only loves and supports but also challenges and disagrees. During one of my novitiate classes, a teaching sister called it "rubbing the rough edges away." This rubbing away of sharp edges takes some time and may not always be the easiest experience, but it is how saints are formed in those elders that live in our midst. Unity isn't easy, but with the gift of Christ's love through the Eucharist, Unity is the blessing of community.

Blessings,

Feast of Saint Benedict

Happy Feast!

Today, we celebrate the feast of Benedict's death. This feast is a bit more subdued since it is in the midst of Lent; our solemnity is celebrated with the Church feast on July 11th. However, we do remember his passing with story and song. My boys at school were a bit unsure of creating a feastday for someone's death, but I did try to point out it could been seen as his birth to new life...they didn't buy it. So I added this story from St. Gregory the Great to illustrate.

"In that same year when he was to leave this life, he foretold the day of his most holy death to some disciples living with him and to others living some distance away. He told the former to keep silent about what they heard and explained to the later what kind of sign would be seen when his soul would leave his body.

Six days before his death, he ordered his tomb to be opened. Soon he was attacked by fever and was weakened with severe suffereing. As the illness grew worse every day, he asked his disciples to carry him into the oratory. there he strengthened himself for his departure by receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord. While the hands of his disciples held up his weak limbs, he stood with his hands raised to heaven and breathed his last breath amidst words of prayer."

We will be commemorating the feast a bit simply here at our apartment convent. Prayer for the feast with special Psalms and responsory, steak on the electric grill, and maybe a game or two of Bannanagrams or Perquacky! I think Benedict would approve of the balance between prayer and play within community.

Blessings,

We Celebrate a Chair?

Greetings!

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of Peter the Apostle. The "Chair" being the place of leadership that has been handed down through the centuries. However, I did have to do some explaining for the gentlemen in class to help all understand that we were remembering more than the bronze chair designed by Bernini. The boys were a little relieved to know that the Church was remembering and celebrating all those who have been "Peter" for us in the past, our current "Peter" Pope Benedict the XVI, and those who will be "Peter" in the future.

After my visit to Rome this summer, I understand this celebration more. The importance of remembering our Apostolic connections to the past and looking hopefully to those Shepherds yet to come. Through all the changes and upheaval, pendulums and confusions, the Church has continued to rely on the leadership that has been passed down through the centuries. As I stood before the amazing sculpture that is the Papal Chair, I felt dwarfed by the history that surrounded me.

So~~Oh God, I ask your blessing on our current "Peter" and pray that you continue to guide him as he shepherds the Church through this time and this day.

Blessings,

The Feast of Saint Scholastica

Happy Feast Day!

Today, we Benedictine women are celebrating the feast of Saint Scholastica as a Solemnity. It began last night with first Vespers and will continue through this evenings night prayer. The readings, Psalms, and even the antiphons offer a rich blend for reflection during and after our celebrations for the Solemnity.

My favorite of the antiphons and readings overlap each other. Our Sr. Jane wrote a simple, yet beautiful tone to "Love is a fire, no waters avail to quench, no floods to drown it; those who love will give up all that they have in the world, and think nothing of their loss" (Song of Songs 8:7). Even as I record the words here, I can hear my sisters chanting this tone in our Chapel; voices blending as they float up to the peak of our Gothic ceiling. The full reading that matches this antiphon reflects Scholastica's love and devotion.

"Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is devotion; its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away. Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love, he would be roundly mocked." Song of Songs 8: 6-7

However, I am not at home in our lofty Chapel; I am teaching a batch of boys in the crypt below the monks' chapel. The Junior and Freshmen boys joined me in praying on this feast. I shared about the importance of the Liturgy of the Hours =Divine Office in our lives as Benedictine women and men, and then we prayed the festive Lauds from my community. The boys did well...it was odd to hear their booming tenors and basses proclaim the Psalms I have grown so accustomed to hearing in sopranos and altos. A few looked through the 5 page prayer and ask, "So which of these are we saying?" They seemed a bit shocked and concerned that we would be praying ALL 3 Psalms, 2 Readings, Intentions, an Our Father, and an Extra Canticle! Once we started the choir style praying, they mellowed out and seemed to settle into the calm of the prayer.

The Juniors & Freshmen did enjoy the DOVE chocolate in the shape of a HEART a bit more than the prayer. As they ate their treat, I told them the story of Scholastic and Benedict and her great love for God, her brother, and their Rule of life. My hope is that the DOVE will remind them of her symbol and how she ascended into heaven, and the HEART will remind them of her great love which permeates the only story we have of her. A couple of my guys made good use of their candy wrappers...little origami cranes to set on our prayer table for the day.

Ah well, I will be happy to return home to our apartment Convent and share some prayer with Sr. Marietta. A late supper and some time with community will be a great way to end this festival day.

Blessings to you on this festive day!

P.S. The Scholastica statue stands in the courtyard of Monte Cassino, the location of Benedict's final Monastery, at the base of the steps that begin a long ascent to the Basilica. Her weathered hand seems to be extending a blessing, while holding to tight to the Rule with the other. Her dove perches atop the Rule. She was worn, but beautiful on that sunny day on the mountain side.

The Presentation & Consecrated Life

Greetings,

Yes, I know I'm a day behind the world, but ice, snow, and bitter cold kept me from my computer.

When Pope John Paul II instituted a world day to celebrate the gift of Consecrated Life in the Church, I am grateful that he choose the Feast of the Presentation at the Temple to commemorate it. The feast is so rich in both symbol and tradition that support and enlighten our life in the Church.

This celebration of consecrating the infant Jesus to the service of the Temple is a wonderful reminder of my own consecration to the Church. At my final vows, the religious community witnessed my vows, the prioress received the vows, but the Church is the one that holds my vows in trust all of my life. Yes, yes, they are stored in the archives of my monastery; but they are promised to God and the Church. When students ask if I am "married to Jesus," I point out that the WHOLE CHURCH is Christ's Bride and that means everybody! My sisters and I are consecrated to the service of our Beloved in the Church.

The Feast of the Presentation is also a feast of light as we remember Christ as light of the world. The monastery follows in the tradition of blessing our candles for the chapel and places of prayer during this feast. However, I see this fitting our commemoration of Consecrated Life. We are supposed to be lights as well. Consecrated and set apart we should light the way for others. Not always the easiest call to fulfill, burning brightly on the lamp stand, but a needed role within the Church.

I am grateful for my life as a woman living the Consecrated Life as a Benedictine Sister. I am grateful for my community of sisters who help support me in the daily successes and struggles of our life together. And I am grateful for Pope Benedict XVI blessings and prayer for us yesterday.

O Mary Mother of the Church,
I entrust to you Consecrated Life,
So that you will obtain for it the fullness of Divine Light:
That it may live in listening to the Word of God,
In the humility of the following of Jesus Your Son and our Lord,
In the acceptance of the visit of the Holy Spirit,
In the daily joy of the Magnificat,
So that the Church is built by the holiness of life
Of these Your sons and daughters,
In the commandment of love,
Amen.

Blessings,

Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

Greetings,

Today the Church celebrates second chances! Chapter 22 of the Acts of the Apostles contains one of the accounts of Saul's conversion to new life as Paul. It isn't the dramatic scenes with the bright light and Christ's call that struck me today. Instead, the gentle but encouraging voice of Ananias has stayed with me.

"A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me and stood there and said, 'Saul, my brother, regain your sight.' And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors designated you .....(St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome)
to know His will, for you will be His witness before all to what you have seen and heard.
Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon His name.'"

Ananias knew of Saul's past persecutions, knew of Saul's work against the Church, but he also knew of Christ's power to change the hearts of others. He welcomed Paul as a witness to Christ and encouraged him to be baptized...all this support from a man who simply allowed God to give a second chance. If Saul the persecutor can become Paul the Apostle, I too can become someone new in Christ! This fits well with our Benedictine vow of Converstatio Morum (Fidelity to the Monastic Way). Within Converstatio, there is the daily opportunity to fully live the call to follow Benedict in seeking Christ. Every day is a second chance to be converted and more fully live washed and baptized in Christ. Everyday is also the opportunity to be Ananias for my sisters, co-workers, and students; to take on his role of welcoming and encouraging those who need a second chance.

Hmm...that leaves much to do this day...

Blessings and Happy Feast,

The Immaculate Conception

Greetings,

Yesterday was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Our school celebrated with Mass and music for the monks, boys, and staff. I spent a good deal of my theology class time with a Q & A session about the feast of the day. I had forgotten how many folk misinterpreted this celebration of Our Lady.

I have recently grown in my own understanding and love for this feast. I realized that God's seeking to prepare Mary for the coming of Christ was also God looking forward with anticipation to becoming more active in our lives. God's forethought shows his desire to be with us in the dailiness of our lives. The commemoration of the 1854 declaration of Mary's sinless nature from the time of her conception is not only a feastday for her alone. We celebrate God's love for us and the spark of the divine which is within each of us.

It was a beautiful day to remember Mary and her pure love for God. It was also a beautiful day to see God's love for us in the desire to make all things holy.

The picture of this simple statue of the Virgin was snapped by my sister Lisa on her trip to visit my last spring. Marquette's Joan of Arc Chapel hosted this 16th century bronze...my favorite place to pray on all of the campus. Her gentle, rounded shape with the infant
Jesus propped up on one hip seemed so natural and real in it's depiction of her motherhood.

Blessings,

Feast of St. Gertrude the Great

Happy Feast!

Two Prayers...maybe a story later...

O God of love and gentleness,

O Heart that abounds with loving kindnesss,

O Heart that overflows with charity,

O Heart that radiates pleasantness,

O Heart full of compassion,

We thank you for your heart full of love for us.

Invite us into your heart

that we may be totally transformed into love.

~Adapted by Sister Ruth Fox, OSB from the Exercises of St. Gertrude, VII

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life,

Your Heart is a glowing furnance of Love.

You are my refuge and my sancutary.

O my adorable and loving Savior,

Consume my heart and with the burning fire with which Yours is aflamed.
Pour down on my soul those graces with flow from Your love.
Let my heart be untied with Yours.
Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things.
May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions. Amen.

Blessings,