385 years of religious life

This coming week is a special week for my community.  We are all gathered here at Clyde, MO for a Congregational Assembly.   An Assembly is called whenever there are important matters for the entire congregation to discuss.

Our sisters from Wyoming and from Arizona arrived Saturday by car and by plane.  It must have been an interesting site to see 25 sisters board the plane in Tucson, AZ.  (I can honestly say that keeping that many sisters together is a little bit like herding cats!)  To kick off this week, we celebrated those sisters who have a special Profession anniversary in 2012 during our Sunday Eucharist.  We had a sister celebrating her 25^th anniversary and six sisters celebrating their 60^th anniversary. So, adding all those years up, that is a total of 385 years of singing the glories of God and adoring Christ in the Eucharist!

During our Eucharistic liturgy, all the jubilarians stood up in front and renewed their vows.   As I watched them do this, I realized how much all these women have mentored me in my own monastic life.   They are more gray and more frail than when I first met them 18 years ago when I entered, but their faithfulness to our way of life is still an inspiration for me.

Even though there is much talk about the aging population of religious communities today, to have these wisdom figures in the community is truly a blessing.   One of our ‘elders’ was visiting a newly founded community a few years ago and a young sister told her, “we wish we had some wisdom figures in our own community.”

Some of the wisdom I learned from these special women:

Sr. Benita encouraged me to pray the way that was best suited for me;  Sr. Mary Jane patiently kept vigil with me during a time of personal struggle; Sr. Bede shared with me her love of the Jesus Prayer; Sr. Anita taught me to see baking bread in a spiritual light, Sr. Laurentia taught me to ‘just roll up your sleeves and get to it’ when something needed doing; Sr. Maryellen makes the whole community smile with her antics; Sr. Cheryl taught me that sometimes the best temporary solution to a problem is to eat EXTREME chocolate brownies, a.k.a. ‘dump bars.’

Wisdom comes in many forms, we just have to have our eyes open to see it.  

Hermit Days

My community has a wonderful practice of allowing each sister one day a month to be a hermit.   This day is meant to be spent in solitude, silence and prayer and we are not required to attend the communal liturgies.  Needless to say, everyone looks forward to a hermit day.

I was a hermit yesterday.   It’s nice to not have to set an alarm and just wake up when your body is ready to wake up.   Of course, over the years, your body gets used to waking up at the same time more or less anyway so sometimes it is hard to sleep in! 

My favorite thing to do on a hermit day is spend much time out-of-doors.  I so love seeing the fingerprints of God in his creation and quieting my mind by walking.  So, I put my hiking boots on and headed east along 320 St which borders our property.   This makes my city friend laugh, 320 St is a gravel road!   The surrounding countryside is always green in spring but with the heavy amount of rain we’ve had over the past weeks, we are as green as Ireland.  (Not that I have ever been, but I’ve heard rumors)

Meadowlarks, red-winged blackbirds and killdeer were keeping me company as they called out from fence posts or fields.    With a pair of binoculars in one hand and my Jesus Prayer rope in the other hand, I enjoyed the spring breeze, the sun dancing in and out of clouds, the assault of green on my eyes and quiet prayer.   All of 2 cars passed me on my five mile jaunt.   Now that is being out in the country.

Perhaps the BEST thing about a hermit day is not heading into the ‘office.’  My monastic mind can become fragmented with too much time spent on a computer.  There are studies that show the attention span is decreasing of those who spend a lot of time on the Internet.  We are tending to scan for information instead of really doing any deep reading.  We want the needed information quickly and if we don’t see it right away on a web page we quickly move onto the next link.  Some people claim they have a hard time just sitting down and reading a book now. 

That is a scary thought.

Our minds need a resting point to be healthy and to hear God in the silence.    We all need to be mindful of how our minds get fragmented.

Hmmm…now that I’ve written this post, I think it’s time to take a hermit minute and be still.

Fun in a monastery? Fun in the country!

So, what do contemplative Benedictine sisters do for fun and relaxation?  Or is it all pray and no fun?  We do have a free night on Thursdays, once a week as well as a free Saturday once a month.   I remember telling my young niece many years ago that we sisters had a free day once a month and she looked at me like I had two heads and said, “What’s a free day?”  A free day means we have nothing scheduled from after Mass at 8am until Vespers at 6pm so we can spend the day leisurely.

A free night means that after Vespers, the evening meal (in the Midwest we call that supper) is on our own and there is no compline (night prayer).  Sometimes there is a movie option to watch or sisters work on hobbies or spend time outdoors doing their favorite leisure activity.

Another option is to go to one of our favorite haunts, a short 10 mile drive away, in nearby Stanberry.   Our destination is a place called Stewart’s.    It is an ‘order at the window’ type of place with no inside seating.  You can get burgers, chicken, fries, tots, etc. and a variety of ice creams.  There are two picnic tables in front of Stewart’s which conveniently sits on Hwy 169 which is also the main street of Stanberry.  So you can enjoy your turtle mint blizzard sitting just feet away from diesel belching semi’s or various types of farm equipment as they rumble through town AND get your teeth rattled from the vibrations as they pass.

A group of us went there just last Thursday evening.   It was cold and rainy but, heck, any time is a good time for ice cream, isn’t it?   A couple of sisters actually turned down my invitation saying they were too cold!!  Anyway, four brave souls ventured out.  In a small country town like Stanberry, this type of place is always busy.  A cold rainy night doesn’t deter the locals. 

Actually what I enjoy as much as their ice cream is their fried dill pickles.  People tend to wrinkle up their nose at that item when I suggest it.   However, even I wrinkle up my nose at their chicken livers and gizzards.    You can get chicken ‘meat’ at any old fast food place.  But imagine ordering at the drive-through window of McDonald’s – “A large order of gizzards, please.”   

Needless to say we were all shivering by the time we got our food because it WAS cold standing out there waiting.   Who the heck goes out for ice cream when it’s cold out?  Sisters who don't get out much most probably!  :)

Did Jesus rise at 4 AM?

Our monastery here in Clyde, Missouri has had the tradition over at least the last 20 years or so of having the Easter Vigil at 4am Easter Sunday morning…yes…4 AM.

Guests or family members who we tell this to will often have a blank look and then a look of surprise as if to say, “Did I hear you right?” 

Why so early?  The Vigil is supposed to take place completely in the dark…if it wasn’t for daylight savings time we could probably start at 5 AM!

It will often come up every year as a community discussion as to whether or not we should move it to Holy Saturday evening.  Those sisters who really have a hard time in the wee hours of the morning will voice that preference.  But somehow, the early Sunday hour has always won out.   At least someone makes coffee by 3:15AM!   As someone who is not used to getting up in the 3 o’clock hour, I am want to try the Saturday night 8:30pm time.  However, I must admit there is something special about those early morning hours.   

So we slowly gathered at the new front entrance of our recently renovated monastery; waiting inside until exactly 4 am (it being on the cool side outdoors);  mostly quiet but for a few guests whispering greetings back and forth with the sisters.    A few hardy souls join us for our Vigil every year, driving 25 minutes or even an hour to celebrate this liturgy with us.   The ‘less than full’ moon shone brightly over our heads as we lined up on the sidewalk and Father Benedict from nearby Conception Abbey blessed the fire and prepared the Paschal Candle.   Moonlight softened everything, casting a silver glow upon our corner of the earth.  The air was still, occasional sparks flew from the fire and the blessing prayers rose upward.   

Every time I experience this pre-dawn hour, I can easily imagine the women disciples rising early to prepare their spices for the tomb and setting off for the burial place.  When one is suffering from grief and shock at the loss of a loved one,  they don’t get much sleep anyway.  You might as well fill the hours waiting for the dawn to break on the eastern horizon with something that seems useful.   It helps those empty hours pass quicker.

And so we processed into our dark monastery and chapel until the light was shared from the Paschal Candle.   Two hours and 15 minutes later, after a rousing organ/piano duet postlude of the Hallelujah Chorus, we gathered in our refectory for some breakfast and fellowship.  A peek through the window shades did indeed confirm it was still dark with maybe a hint of changing color on the eastern horizon.

Somehow having the Vigil in the evening where everyone afterward just heads off to bed seems to miss sharing the joy of the momentous event we celebrate.   And so, while my body may protest rising at that ‘God-forsaken hour,’ somehow it just seems like the right time to do it.   Hmmm…I wonder how I will feel next year when it comes up for discussion again?

Wishing all a Blessed Easter!

Holy Thursday at the monastery

These next 3 days of the Triduum are some of the few days of the year when Lauds is at 8am, which is a rather late hour for us.   Our ‘night owl’ sisters appreciate a little extra sleep during these days.   For those who rise early anyway, it’s a nice chunk of time for private prayer.  One reason I didn’t join a Cistercian community, (they follow the Rule of Benedict also), is that they get up to pray at 3:30am!    I just knew at that hour, there would not be much hope for a coherent Ruth.     For most college students I meet today -  and if any of you are reading this you can confirm it – 3:30am  seems to be end of the evening, not the beginning of a new day! 

Holy Thursday is an extra special day for my community because it commemorates the institution of the Eucharist which has been so central to our charism of Adoration.   According to our constitution…The celebration of the Eucharist is central to our life of worship.  It is here that, united with each other in Christ, we are one with him in his offering of praise and thanksgiving to the Father and In this life of adoration Christ reveals himself in the charity warmth and unity of a community formed by a common vision of faith.

The other beautiful image from today’s liturgy is the washing of feet. Feet can be dirty, ugly, misshapen and quite frankly…rather fragrant in an unpleasant sort of way.   This figuratively represents the muckiness of community life.  Yes, we do lovingly support each other most days…but sometimes we can get worn out by the constant interaction and like a pebble in our shoe, we get irritated.  It is precisely in those times that the Lord wants us to imitate him and wrap a towel around ourselves and get out the basin of water.  We are not to take lightly Jesus’ command, “You must wash each other’s feet.”  Sometimes that means cleaning up for the 10^th time after a sister who just can’t seem to go anywhere without leaving a mess.   (not that we have any of those here in our community!)

And the flip-side is, we need to let others wash OUR feet, just like Peter.   We can’t let our pride, ego, independence get in the way of allowing others to help us.   In community we need to let others be the Christ who can minister to us.   For a lot of us, that can be harder than serving someone else.

Whose feet will you wash today?

Birthdays, Palms and Fools

Today is a special day for me, it’s my birthday!   For some reason when I tell people my birthday is on April 1^st, they smile and say, “It suits you!”   Friends in the past have surprised me with fake cakes, gifts, etc.  It’s a wonder I’m not more paranoid!

How do sisters in our monastic community celebrate a birthday?  We are remembered at the intercessions for Lauds, get lots of cards and hugs, and get to pick either a favorite dessert or entrée for the meal.  Having inherited my father’s sweet tooth, I pick dessert, and am most likely to request lemon meringue pie…which I did again for today.   It was delicious – thank you Sr. Sophia and Postulant Maria!

Having a birthday on April 1^st has meant my birthday has often fallen on Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday.   In my lifetime of 48 years, it has never fallen on Easter Sunday, at least that I can remember.   I can look forward to 2018 when Easter will fall on April 1.   (I googled that to see if it would ever match up)

All foolishness aside - it is also Palm Sunday.    When we were growing up my mother would take the palms we got at Mass and weave or braid them and then place them behind a crucifix or holy picture where they would stay for a year till the next batch of palms came.   I would also tag along as she went out to bury a little piece of palm by our house, other buildings on our farm and by one of our fields.   “For prayers and protection”, she would say.  It will always be a special memory of mine for Palm Sunday.

My prayer for you is that you are open to receiving the grace God wants to give you as we embark on this Holy Week.  It was the Passion of Jesus that saved us and it is because of his passion for us that he was willing to undergo crucifixion and death.

May your days be truly blessed!