Finally Back

Well it has been quite a while since I have ventured into writing on this blog. I have discovered that when I get really busy I don't have time to take photos and so put off writing until I can get a picture and then before I notice a month has gone by. Well today is cold and snowy and a perfect day for blogging so let me catch you up on my life!

Life has continued to remain busy here at the Mount. In Novemeber there were many activities. I had several groups who visited the monastery for tours of our chapels and for stories of Benedict and Scholastica and information about the lives of the Sisters.

Another very exciting event was my wonderful sister (sibling) Marion, knows how much I love musical theatre and so blessed me by taking me to see the Lion King while it was here in Kansas City. Those who know me, know how long I have wanted to see this one and it was amazing!!!! Well worth the wait. Marion is the greatest!!

The week following the play, life around here got crazy before our Night of Dreams dinner and auction. The night itself was a wonderful success and a good time was had by all.

Another fun adventure we had was an Advent Songfest. Each year as Advent begins, the sisters gather together for a celebration of this sacred season. The evening begins with the community singing all the songs that we will be singing during the Advent season. It is a great chance to sing all the songs we know and love (These songs are not to be confused with Christmas Carols which we only sing for Christmas) After the sing-a-long, the sisters all partake in a pie sharing. Usually there are about 20 different types of pies that various sisters baked. It is a wonderful evening.

There were two big vocation events last month. First I went to Archbishop O'Hara High School and spent the day visiting with some junior girls. It was a great day. Second, I hosted a monastic Come and See. We had three wonderful women who came and spent the weekend with us here at the Mount. It was great getting to know them and giving them an opportunity to get to know us. So November was a full month.

December kicked off with our annual Partners in Prayer Cookie Baking. It was a great night with 100 plates of cookies made for the Meals on Wheels program here in Atchison and several other plates made for friends of the community. Here are a few photos from the event!

Last week was another exciting week. I went into Kansas City and directed a Busy Person Retreat at Keeler Women's Center. For those of you who are unfamiliar with a busy person retreat, each participant meets individually with a director for 1/2 hour each day. They are then given scripture passages, readings and/or reflection questions to spend a 1/2 hour on their own in personal prayer. Then the following day, they meet with the director and discuss the fruits of their reflection and the process repeats itself for a full week. This was my first opportunity to direct such a retreat and it was a true blessing!

So now I have caught up on the many exciting adventures of the past month and the excitement of Christmas is just around the corner. Maybe blogging will make for a great New Year resolution! Have a blessed end of Advent and Merry Christmas!

There's No Place Like Home

Ruby Slippers belong to my niece Kayli

As Dorothy once stated "There's no place like home!" After a month of traveling around the country for various reasons, it is wonderful to finally be home, settled and caught up on life.

October was an unusually busy month. After Louisville, Kentucky, I traveled to Erie, Pennsylvania for a meeting. Erie was beautiful! The leaves were changing, the air was crisp and clear and we were in walking distance of the lake. The meetings I attended were very productive and the 5 of us at the meeting were able to fit in a bit of social time as well. What a great group of Benedictine women they are!

Upon returning from Erie, I repacked my suitcase and headed out the next morning for Denver, Colorado. In Denver, I was invited to participate in Focus 11. This is a gathering of Catholic students who are in 11th grade (the first day) and 11 years old (the 2nd and 3rd days). There were about 30 religious communities represented and I was blessed to give the keynote and to MC the event. I stayed with some wonderful Dominican women and it was truly a blessing to have such wonderful hospitality but also to pray Evening Prayer with them. We used their new Liturgy of the Hours book and while it has some similarities to ours, it also has some differences. The main difference was the psalm tones they use. But it was nice praying with a community when I was away from home. I was also blessed to be able to share the evening meal with them. It was nice having the time to talk and get to know a bit about them and their community as all of us were in the kitchen preparing supper together.

After Denver, I was home for a couple of days and had 3 women who came to visit our community. They were able to spend some time meeting the sisters, praying with the community and sharing in our common life. What a blessing they were.

My final trip of the month was to drive Srs. Presentatia and Susanna's prioress Sr. Assanta (who was visiting from Tanzania) up to Schuyler, Nebraska. Sr. Assanta was staying with the Schuyler community for the night and then heading back to Africa in the morning. It was a beautiful drive with the hills in full color and the sun shining brightly. Susanna and Presentatia came along to see the retreat center and to meet the monks from that community. It made for a very long day but was a wonderful trip.

So now I am back home with no major travel in sight. I am very glad to be able to re-enter into our wonderful monastic rhythm of life. As I said in the beginning "There's no place like home!"

NRVC Part 3

Well the Conference is coming to a close with only one short day left. It has been a great few days. Today we had two presentations by an amazing speaker Sr. Maria Cimperman. She spoke on the threshold of religious life and the hope of the future. She is truly an amazing presenter. Not only is she intelligent and articulate but she is easy to listen to, entertaining and very in touch with her audiences. She really was wonderful.

Along with all the speakers, the Conference has had some really fun small touches. One is that each day, there have been notes and letters on our tables or in our folders from children and teens in the area. It has been very touching receiving their kind words and prayers.

Another little touch is the small glimpses into Kentucky traditions and culture. We had cloggers from the area, a barbershop quartet, a derby trumpeter, a southern bell welcomed us and various musicians from the area performed for us.

On top of that, throughout the conference they have decorated the stage, the sanctuary area and all the tables with quilt pieces that women from the area quilted for the conference. Each quilt has a different pattern and are quite beautiful. Here are a few photos I took of some of those pieces.

Tomorrow I head home. It will be nice to be back home and to sleep in my own bed.

National Religious Vocation Conference Part 2

Well the last two days of the Conference have continued to be a good experience. Yesterday, we had two keynote talks by Fr. Donald Senior. They were very informative and well presented. Then last night the entire group had a procession through downtown to the cathedral where the Archbishop presided over solemn vespers. It was not only beautiful but a very prayerful evening. Here are a few pictures from vespers (I was in the choir so I only got a few photos) After Vespers, I hosted a gathering in my hotel room for Benedictine Sisters from around the US. It was great having some time to gather. We had sisters here from all over the country, some who I was meeting for the first time. It was really nice getting an opportunity to visit with each other and catch up on our lives or get to know each other a bit.

Today was a less busy day. We had two workshops in the morning and then in the afternoon we all went on various tours. I went on a tour to Gethsemene Abbey - the former home of Thomas Merton. The photo at the top of the page is from there as are the photos that follow.

Monastic Chapel

Monastic Chapel

Epiphany Statue

Thomas Merton's Grave

This evening was time for resting and relaxing. I returned to the hotel and after a short stop in my room, walked down to Fourth Street (quite the happening place) for dinner with several other Sisters. Then I returned to the hotel for some down time. So once again it has been a busy but wonderful conference. I will try to write again tomorrow.

National Religious Vocation Conference

Well this weekend I am in Louisville, Kentucky for the National Religious Vocation Directors Conference. I arrived yesterday morning around 11 am and got settled in my room. After unpacking (which took only a couple minutes) I went downstairs, grabbed some lunch, and returned to the room to watch a bit of tv, eat lunch and wait for my friend Traci to pick me up. Traci is a Benedictine Sister from another community who I met about 10 years ago. We have stayed in contact through e mail but have not seen each other for many years. Traci lives here in town, so we decided to get together and catch up on each others life. After she picked me up, we had over an hour to chat as we drove up to her monastery which is in Indiana. It was wonderful reconnecting, praying vespers at a different monastery and getting a chance to share a meal with her community. What a great first day!

Today was the first day of the conference. The pre-conference I attended was on Young Adults in the Church and was presented by a sociologist. It had a lot of facts and statistics and was very informative and very enjoyable. This evening the Conference itself started. It began with choir rehearsal for tonight's opening and for mass tomorrow. I was pleasantly surprised to see Janet Whitaker was the choir director. Janet was at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley when I was at Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley. We were in some classes together and I loved her voice and the music she wrote. While at school, I was also blessed with singing with her on several occasion. It was wonderful seeing her and singing with her again this evening. She wrote an amazing piece for the conference!

The opening session was beautifully done. After the welcome by both the NRVC office and the Archbishop, the planning committee performed a skit. Then we had 6 local lay people share reflections on what religious have meant in their lives. Between each speaker, the choir sang the refrain Janet wrote for the Conference. It was very powerful. The opening ended with a barbershop quartet performing for the large group. They were fantastic! As we all prepared to leave, suddenly we had the trumpeter from the Kentucky Derby trumpet us into an evening gathering. It was so cool!

So as you can see - the Conference has gotten off to a wonderful start and there is so much yet to come. I will try to post photos tomorrow.

Guardian Angels

Icon of Archangels by Sr. Paula, OSB

May Archangel Michael protect my right side, the side of loving kindness and divine generosity.

May Archangel Gabriel protect my left side, the side of restraint and creativity where the power of God resides.

May Archangel Uriel be in front of me, with divine wisdom and understanding where knowledge resides.

May Archangel Raphael be at my back, standing at my foundation with divine healing powers.

May the power of God cover me with the spirit of love. Amen.

This week is the week for angels! On Monday we celebrated the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Today is the feast day of the Guardian Angels.

If you Google images of "angel", "guardian angel" or "archangel", you will get a wide variety of concepts of angels. Some are older, traditional images taken from artwork throughout time, others are more modern images with a wide variety of ethnicities depicted, and finally their are contemporary images using the animation and fantasy art styles of today. It seems that there is no end to the images and feelings that angels create in our hearts and minds. One of my favorite images is the icon above. This icon was written by our Sr. Paula and hangs in my bedroom. It is a daily reminder of the presence of angels in my life. A presence I have acknowledged since my earliest years.

As a child I remember praying the Guardian Angel Prayer:

Angel of God, my guardian dear

To whom God’s love commits me here

Ever this day be at my side

To light, to guard, to rule and guide

As an adult my gratitude for my guardian angel has not wained and I thank her daily for the protection and assistance that she offers me.

Today is a great day to remember your guardian angel and to thank her/him for all the protection and guidance you have received throughout your life. I know mine has rescued me from many a precarious situation. Below are several thoughts on angels. Hope you enjoy them.

Every blade of grass has an angel that bends over it and whispers, ''grow! grow!'' Talmud

An angel can illumine the thought and mind of a person by strengthening the power of vision, and by bringing within their reach some truth which the angel contemplates. St. Thomas Aquinas

Since God often sends us inspirations by means of angels, we should frequently return our aspirations to God by means of the same messengers. St. Francis De Sales

Beside each believer stands an angel, protector and shepherd, leading them to life. St. Basil

The servants of Christ are protected by invisible, rather than visible, beings. But if these guard you, they do so because they have been summoned by your prayer. St. Ambrose

Guardian Angel Prayer from Catechism of the Council of Trent O most faithful companion, appointed by God to be my guardian, my protector and defender, and who never leaves my side; how shall I thank you for your faithfulness and love, and for the benefits which you have conferred upon me? You watch over me while I sleep; you comfort me when I am sad; you lift me up when I am down; you avert the dangers that threaten me; you warn me of those that are to come; you withdraw me from sin, and excite me to good; you exhort me to penance when I fall, and reconcile me to God. Leave me not, nor forsake me ever, I beseech you; but still comfort me in adversity, restrain me in prosperity, defend me in danger, assist me in temptations, lest at any time I fall beneath them. Offer up in the sight of the Divine Majesty my prayers and petitions, and all my works of piety, and help me to persevere in grace, until I come to everlasting life. Amen.

Meditation for the Feast of the Guardian Angels by Pope John XXIII According to the teaching of the Roman catechism, we must remember how admirable was the intention of divine Providence in entrusting to the angels the mission of watching over all humankind, and over individual human beings, lest they should fall victims to the grave dangers which they encounter. In this earthly life, when children have to make their way along a path beset with obstacles and snares, their parents take care to call upon the help of those who can look after them and come to their aid in adversity. In the same way God in heaven has charged the angels to come to our assistance during our earthly journey, so that, protected by the angels' help and care, we may avoid the snares upon our path, subdue our passions and, under this angelic guidance, follow always the straight and sure road which leads to Paradise. Every one of us is entrusted to the care of an angel. That is why we must have a lively and profound devotion to our own Guardian Angel, and why we should often and trustfully repeat the dear prayer we were taught in the days of our childhood. May we never fail in this devotion to the angels! During our earthly pilgrimage we may often run the risk of having to face the natural elements in turmoil, or the wrath of others who may seek to do us harm. But our Guardian Angel is always present. Let us never forget our angel and always remember to pray to them. Original quote translated from Discorsi, Messaggi, Colloqui del Santo Padre Giovanni XXIII, della Poliglotta Vaticana, Vol II: 1959-1960, p. 762.

Partners in Prayer

Last Wednesday was the welcoming and blessing of the 2008-2009 Partners in Prayer program. For 28 years, the Sisters have offered the opportunity for Benedictine students to partner with a Sister for the year. The partners agree to pray for each other and each week the student partner comes over to the Mount and joins us for Vespers and for a meal. This year we even have a prayer partner whose parent was a partner! Below are some of the photos from that night.