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.

The Feast Continues

St. Hildegard Formation Group

This is a video of our group singing the third and fourth verses of the song and playing bells at the community life meeting. It was a great way to introduce our gifts (holy cards and cookies)and to end our feast day. Here are the words to the song.

We Sing Our Praise of Hildegard - words: Edith Sinclair Downing

1998Copyright 2006 Edith Sinclair Downing.

Tune: Kingsfold CMD, English Country Song 1893

We sing our praise of Hildegard,

a woman for all time;

a prophetess who urges us

to seek the light divine.

Her visions came insistently,

sent by her Living Light.

Anointed with the Spirit's power,

she spoke God's truth aright.

We now affirm with Hildegard

we do not live alone,

but are a part of all that is;

each tree, each bird, each stone.

All creatures sing creation's praise;

yet we alone possess

the power to care for Mother Earth,

the power to curse or bless.

We praise the joy that Hildegard found in God's constant care.

She trusted God to carry her,

a feather born on air.

May such a faith inspire us,

give us a breathing space,

that we may let the Spirit's breeze

support us with God's grace.

We celebrate with Hildegard

the greening of the soul

The moisture from the Spirit's breath

can cleanse us, make us whole.

May we now share life-giving love,

help justice find a home,

and by our deeds sow seeds of peace -

prepare for God's Shalom!

Feast of St. Hildegard

Today is the Feast of St. Hildegard von Bingen. St. Hildegard (1098-1179) was a visionary (she saw visions), an abbess (founding her own abbeys), a scholar (she wrote books on natural science, medicine, theology, metaphysics and music), a correspondent (with popes, scholars, kings and queens), a counselor, a linguist, a philosopher, a physician, an herbalist, a poet, an artist, a composer and lyricist (she gave us the earliest recorded music by a woman, including the first Morality play set to music - Ordo Virtutum ). Today would be a great day to look up a few of her writings or to listen to some of her music on the internet. My living group within the monastery is called St. Hildegard. In honor of our feast day, we have planned surprises throughout the day for the entire community. The first surprise was feathers on all the tables in the dining room (see quote above). It caused quite a bit of stir as people sat down for breakfast and tried to figure out why there were feathers on the tables. Another surprise is the holy card above. The front of the card is an icon written by our own Sister Paula. It is just beautiful. On the back of the card is the above quote from Hildegard herself. We printed up enough cards for each of the community members. A third surprise are St. Hildgard's cookies of joy. In a treatise on medicine, she provides a recipe for spice cookies: "Eat them often," she says, "and they will calm every bitterness of heart and mind - and your hearing and senses will open. Your mind will be joyous, and your senses purified, and harmful humours will diminish..." And to top it off - they are really good cookies! Here are a few photos our our living group preparing the cookies for the community.

Mary Elizabth and Cecilia flouring the pans Joan creaming the butter

Susan mixing the dough

Christine sifting the flour

Here I am (with Susan in the back) rolling the dough into cookies

Cecilia and I continue rolling and pressing the cookies

Mary Elizabeth and Cecilia placing the cookies while Christine continues to sift

"These cookies are really great!"

St. Hildegard's Cookies of Joy circa 1157 (Recipe reconstructed and adapted from Hildegard's treatise Physica: Liber Simplicis Medicinæ ) 3/4 cup butter or margarine (1 1/2 sticks)

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves Let butter soften and then cream it with the brown sugar.

Beat in the egg.

Sift the dry ingredients.

Add half the dry ingredients and mix.

Add the other half and mix thoroughly.

Dough may be chilled to make it workable.

Heat oven to 350°.

Form walnut sized balls of dough, place on greased and floured cookie sheet and press flat.

Bake 12-15 minutes (till edges of are golden brown.) Cool for 5 minutes, remove from cookie sheet and finish cooling on racks.

Stay tuned for more surprises to come!!!!

State Fair

This past weekend, Sr. Rosann and I drove down to Hutchinson, KS to staff a booth run by the Catholic Sisters of Kansas. For those of you who have never been to a state fair, it really is a great deal of fun and something you must do at some point in your life. This fair has all the typical fair activities; judging for ribbons (animals, fruits, vegetables, and crafts), carnival rides, shows and vendors. But one unique aspect of this fair is a sculpture made out of butter. It is huge and is shaped after each years theme. This year it involved bunnies and was really something!

While attending the fair, there is this amazing couple who graciously hosts our community. They not only give us a place to stay, but they pack us a lunch and snacks for the day and for our trip home. They are marvelous and we are truly grateful for the wonderful hospitality that we are shown each year!

But back to the booth we staff. Our booth, (see the photo above) has been in existence for many years. Each year sisters from several communities throughout Kansas take a day or two and staff the booth. Our booth is not trying to sell anything, convert anyone, or hand out any specific information. Instead we are offering a ministry of presence and a place for people to write down their prayer requests. These prayers are then distributed to all of the participating communities and we all pray for their needs. We have people from all faiths and all walks of life stopping by and asking for prayers. It is humbling to be able to talk with them about the joys, struggles and issues that they are bringing to prayer and are trusting us to add to our prayers.

Along with the prayer requests, we have a gift wheel. People can spin the wheel to receive a holy card, pencil and/or pen as a free gift. On Saturday, we had over 1400 people stop at our booth and chat with us, spin the wheel and ask for prayers. I enjoy explaining the various pictures on the holy cards to people. Since there were over 20 different cards, often times the card someone won was not a card that they were familiar with, so they asked me to explain the icon or tell the story of the saint. I love telling the traditional stories to people who are hearing them for the first time. I love to watch their reactions and to hear the questions they ask. So as you can tell it was a busy weekend but a lot of fun.

Our New Postulant

Formation Living Group

Well last weekend we had a very joyous day at the monastery. We received a new postulant into our community. Her name is Christine (the one in the green blouse in the center of the photo) and she came to us from Oklahoma. Christine arrived Friday night and after Vespers and Supper, a group of us helped her to get settled into her new room. On Saturday, she spent some time greeting the sisters, started to familiarize herself with the monastery, and then that evening we had a special entrance ceremony in the dining room before the evening meal. The day ended with the community praying Vespers together as we do each and every night.

Being part of the Formation Group, I have the joy and pleasure of being in the same living group with Christine. This means I am blessed with the opportunity to participate in many discussions and classes with Christine. I am very excited!

Donnelly College

This past weekend was another special celebration for our community. Donnelly College (see information below) honored the Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica for their services to the College these past 59 years. It was a wonderful dinner and program and the Sisters were very honored to have been a part of this wonderful long standing endeavor. May God continue to bless them all in many ways.

Donnelly College was a joint venture of Bishop George Donnelly, bishop of Kansas City, Kansas, and Sister Jerome Keeler, a Benedictine Sister of Atchison, Kansas. In 1949, they saw the need to make a Christian education available in the urban core where many Catholic Immigrants had settled. Bishop Donnelly gave the building for the classrooms and the Benedictine Sisters provided the faculty. The first year 170 students enrolled for day classes, 45 for evening classes and 35 St. Mary's nurses attended afternoon classes.

As neighborhoods aged and populations trends changed, families with different ethnic and religious backgrounds moved in. The pool of traditional students declined and the college trustees pondered whether to move or stick to the mission of serving the urban community. They chose to remain faithful to the original vision of Sister Jerome and began an endowment campaign to provide scholarship assistance.

Currently the enrollment is about 750, with 32% African American, 31% Hispanic, 20% Anglo American, 11% International, 2% American Indian, and 4% Asian American. About 32 percent of Donnelly's students come from households with less than $13,000 annual income. More than 90 percent qualify for some type of financial aid.

In order to respond to the needs of new immigrants in the area as well as international students, an English as a Second Language program was initiated in 1978. In 1986 Donnelly also began a Basic Education for Lifelong Learning (BELL) program to serve those who had dropped out of high school. In 1988, an Entrepreneur Development Center was launched to help people start their own businesses. In 2001, Donnelly implemented a college extension at Lansing Correctional Facility where inmates can earn an associate's degree. In 2002 Donnelly began a Building Bridges to Success program for people who needed their GED.

Donnelly's mission to serve students who might not otherwise be able to go to college continues today. May God continue to bless this ministry.

For more information you can go to the website http://www.donnelly.edu/