'Wine' a little, it will make you feel better.

September 14th marked the 20th anniversary of my entering the postulancy of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde, MO.   I remember the day well, excited, but also thinking to myself, "What in heaven's name have you done, Ruth?!"  Something took though...I'm still here...

So what did I do to celebrate?  I went grape picking at a local winery named Holy Field.  
What a great name for a winery for nuns to go pick grapes at.  Don't ask me what makes that field holy.  I cajoled our three women in formation to join me.  Actually, I didn't have to cajole them, any outing is a nice break when you are in formation!   

Postulant Rosa 

 A cousin of one of our sisters has the winery outside of Kansas City.  I've been there a few times over the years to pick grapes.    A few years ago our Sr. Gladys, a wine guru, agreed to teach me how to make wine.   So I dutifully brought back 100 pounds and we used about 75 lbs for our project.  It seemed at the time that we had a river of wine with all those grapes.  We ended up with 75 bottles of varying sizes with inflated balloons on top during the fermentation process down in our basement.   

Watch your fingers, Ruth, you still have to play the organ
for vespers this evening.

We still have not finished drinking it and I am proud to say that no one has died from it!
We probably brought back around 140 lbs this time, seven 5 gallon buckets full.  Since we have not finished the last batch of wine I made, we will use these grapes for grape jelly.   

the Haul

St. Benedict in his Rule absolutely 
despises murmuring in community members.  I suppose he wouldn't like whining either...none of us do unless perhaps we are the 'whinee.'   Do we not feel justified in the righteousness of our whining?  But I was amused by a saying on some napkins that the winery sold in their gift store:

"Wine a little, it will make you feel better."

Our Lord is not against feasting or he would not have changed water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana.

Benedict lets his monks have wine in chapter 40 of his Rule but wants them to drink moderately.   He phrased it this way (he knew his monks well) -

"We read that monks should not drink wine at all, but since the monks of our day cannot be convinced of this, let us at least agree to drink moderately and not to the point of excess."

This is good advice...even for the eating of grape jelly!