We give you thanks, O God...

Thanksgiving means late sleep and a long, leisurely breakfast!

Sister Henry Marie slices LOTS of turkey...and I get the pies!

Greg Evans, Obl.SB, is the official King of Brine.

Nearly a dozen of us are involved in preparing the feast. Sisters Denise, Heny Marie, Connie Ruth and Mary, smile for the camera. (photos: Sister Charlotte Lange, OSB)

The most beautiful moment is the Midday Prayer we have at table. Sister Cecilia always chooses beautiful readings and prayers for the day. And we sing!

A New Kind of King...

This morning I had the immeasurable joy of sharing Sunday Eucharist with my Dad. His parish in Charleston, SC, is "Christ Our King," so what a wonder to be with him for their patronal feast!

A king...hmmm. Doesn't feel right, does it? The One who washed feet and opened his arms on the cross was clearly servant. King? Pilate asked him the same question long ago. And, as usual, JESUS managed to answer the question by NOT answering the question. "You say that I am." This title is in keeping with the paradoxical nature of our faith. For us, strength is found in weakness. Our GOD has wept and bled and died. And, death, itself, holds no fear for us who have already died with him in Baptism. Confusing? Yes. But that's OK. To the world the cross still seems humiliating - a sign of failure. But, today, and everyday, it is , for us, a symbol of victory. This "king" has won our freedom from fear. This "king" has been "victim" and now reigns in his glory, at the Father's right hand. This "king" demands no tax from weary peasants. This "king" has prepared a banquet to which we are all invited. Our home is not here. We are citizens of heaven, and in heaven, we will finally be with him who won our hearts with self-giving love. That's a king I can get behind. That's a kingdom I long to see.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

Happy Feast!

This is a first, friends. I am writing a blog at 30,000 feet! I can't believe there is Wi-Fi in the sky! (And, it's less expensive than the Wi-Fi in the airport. Amazing...) I am en route to Charleston, SC. Although I am from NJ, my entire immediate family has relocated to Charleston. (Long story, but the short of it is a one-stop family visit for the nun in the family. Sweet...) I don't know what it is about airplanes, but I seem to say my best prayers on the runway. So much to be grateful for...so much love in my life. GOD is so good...

I decided at 5 AM this morning, that I couldn't leave town without blogging about yesterday - the Feast of Saint Gertrude. Gertrude the Great, of Helfta, was a Benedictine mystic who lived in the 13th century. She was brilliant, highly educated for a woman of her time and given great community responsibilities early in her life as a sister. At the age of 26 she experienced a period of profound inner darkness. (Today, we'd probably diagnosis it as a depression.) It was into that darkness that Christ came to her. Her visions were numerous and vivid. Gertrude is one of the first saints to tell us of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She saw it...and the wounds on his hands and brow. Saint Gertrude recorded these intense experiences of the glorified Savior. hey belong to the Church now - a sign of Christ's abiding love and compassion for us, a glimmer of what we shall be when we enter His glory.

Ok...I love Gertrude, can you tell? I also love her because she is the patroness of the finest Catholic girls' school in the Commonwealth - Saint Gertrude High School. Benedictines - female and male - generally name their institutions after a great monastic saint. For young women of faith pursuing knowledge, Saint Gertrude is the perfect model. To celebrate her feast day - the day Gertrude entered eternal life - the entire school community gathers for a special liturgy. Many sisters come down from the monastery for this great celebration. Each year a sister gives a reflection on the feast. This year Sister Charlotte Lange, OSB, talked to our students. She told a wonderful story about the mysterious abduction of a statue from SGHS - not so much a mystery when the boys school is just two blocks away. Sister Charlotte talked about the importance of giving of ourselves in community. Sister talked about the service projects undertaken by the students at SGHS and emphasized why the girls do them. "It's not about getting into college. It's about living the Gospel." Woven into her reflection were the suprising details of the statue's return - on November 16th - the Feast of Saint Gertrude! Whoa!

After our prayer we clear the chairs, and have a party. Ok... it's really more than a party. It's a total FEAST. Our girls consumed nearly a dozen HUGE homemade cakes - baked by the sisters with love. Pinatas were appropriately bludgeoned until they rendered the goodies. And, we dance. Yup. The students and teachers and sisters dance for joy. All this in 90 minutes!

Kyrie Eleison...

Last night the Commonwealth of Virginia executed John Allen Muhammad. I remember how he frightened us seven years ago when the media called him, “the sniper.” What he and his young friend did changed lives forever – tore at the very fabric of the human heart. There was death and grief and terror. The pair took ten lives in VA, MD and DC. The closest shooting to our monastery - the crime for which Mr. Muhammad was executed - was 6 miles away in nearby Manassas. Those were terrible days… I remember some sisters would no longer go into town. We parked buses in front of our elementary school to shield the children from the dense woods that surround our property. They were kept inside all day until the madness stopped.

Now, seven years later, the man responsible for these horrors is dead. The local paper has given the front page to the details of the execution. Why do we care what the man was wearing? That his heart stopped at 9:11 PM? I don’t understand why we do it – execute people. There is an old folk song that asks: “Why do we kill people who are killing people to show that killing people is wrong?” That question has never left me. Our Church has spoken clearly against the death penalty - that it be used only if there is no other way to secure the safety of the people. This stance is a logical extension of the sacredness of all human life “from the womb to the tomb.” It would seem that “you shall not kill” applies to the innocent as well as the guilty. Two-thousand years ago an innocent man was executed by the government. He hung between two criminals – one hard as stone and the other ready to seek forgiveness. He died with them…and for them both. He died so that death would no longer hold us hostage. In the absence of that fear, we are capable of great love. Death is a natural doorway – not a punishment. May GOD forgive John Allen Muhammad for killing those ten precious people and may GOD forgive us for killing him.

Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki

Living stones...

Today the Church celebrates the Dedication of St. John Lateran - the Holy Father's "parish" church in Rome. Though the feast seems to memorialize a specific place, the scriptures for the day are about GOD's dwelling. The prophet Ezekiel describes his vision of the "New Jerusalem" where GOD is enthroned. In the gospel JESUS cleanses the temple of thieves and shopkeepers looking to profit from religious practices. The responsorial psalm - the hinge that holds the whole feast together - returns our gaze to the kingdom in its fullness. "The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!"

As usual I am fixated on something in the Pauline letter. Saint Paul suggests that in addition to the temple - the one in Jerusalem and the one to be revealed in glory - there is another dwelling place for the Most High - GOD's people. "Brothers and sisters: you are GOD's building (1 Cor. 3)." GOD dwells in us - in Christ's church - in the people who, by baptism, have claimed the rights and responsibilities of embracing the Paschal Mystery. We are "living stones" - each one of us part of the foundation for the ones who come after us. This is a beautiful idea that feels true - especially in monastic life.

The monastery, Saint Benedict writes, is the domus Dei - literally, "GOD's house" (RB 31:19).We are guests during our lifetime and then past it along to the future generations. Because it belongs to GOD we take good care of EVERYTHING - we polish the chalice that is placed on the altar and are careful to leave a wet mop in the sun to dry. Everything is gift - everything belongs to GOD.

I've been thinking a lot about my sisters this weekend. If something happened to the monastery - a natural disaster or a destruction of human origin - the "monastery" would still exist. My sisters are "living stones." GOD dwells in each one and together we are a unique manifestation of the presence of the risen Christ in the world. Wherever they are, He is. So, if we ever had to start from scratch, it wouldn't matter. Yes, I love our land, our Chapel and the spaces I've called "home" (for quite some time now.) But these faithful women - living, in glory and the ones who have yet to knock on the door - constitute our "monastery." Together, we are "GOD's building" - together, we are made holy.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

Off-line and just plain off...

Our web host is down today. Actually, it crashed early this am as I was just opening my e-mail. I have been unable to read my mail or answer it today. Normally, this would put me through the roof. I am proud to say that I have taken this bummer and turned it into an opportunity. I know. My sisters at home will hardly believe that my BP is 90/60 and my countenance bears a smile. I can hardly believe it myself. Grace abounds!

Instead of spending a good chunk of this day on e-mail, I made use of other technologies. I was able to declare my sorry state on my Facebook wall - hopefully, preventing folks from thinking me rude or uninterested. Then, I worked on the vocation account and organized receipts galore to take home tomorrow. I cleaned out the standing file on my desk and shredded a ream or two. I sent a letter - the old-fashioned way. And, I spent a little extra time in the Faculty Room at lunch.

It's nearly 2:30 PM and I'm still in a good mood. If I were my sisters I'd be thinking alien abduction by now. Still, this is me today. Who knows if I'll be as jolly tomorrow if the problem on their end isn't fixed. But today I'm in good shape by grace, no doubt. Maybe, I'll leave the office a little early and start baking cakes for the Feast of Saint Gertrude? Who am I?

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

A convergence of blessings...

Have you ever felt incredibly blessed? Have you ever thought GOD was listening to your life and finding ways to make you feel loved? That's pretty much where I am today - mysteriously, outrageously, undeservedly blessed.

This past weekend three women braved the monastery for the first time. Each left the comfort zone of home for 48 hours with 35 Benedictine sisters. What courage! What a time of grace for our community!
These weekends remind me of how much I love this ministry...how much I love this way of life.

There was a package waiting for me at the monastery. When I opened it I gasped. Several weeks ago the Flip Video recorder died. It's the amazing little device I use to film the "Bristow Bistro" cooking show. It just blew something when I connected it to the laptop. I even smelled smoke! In this brown AMAZON box was the 2nd generation Flip Video recorder. I'm serious. I didn't tell anyone that it had died. I was pricing them at Staples and Costco because I knew it had to be replace. A friend in New England - who gave me the first Flip - sent the newest model for my birthday next week. Shazam! The hair stood up on the back of my neck.

Then...on Monday, I got dressed and went to work. Tired from the weekend program, I planned my lesson for my 14 students at SGHS and packed my lunch in my bag - a Ziplock with the letters OSB in permanent marker on it. When I got to school there were many parking spaces. Immediately, I knew something was up. Then, I noticed the senior lot was empty, too. If Sister had read her "pink sheet" for the week, I would have known that there was no school - retreats for 9,10,11 and a college search day for the seniors. No school. I've had many snow days as a teacher, but never a "no day." Sister took the day OFF!!!!

These may seem like little things - or even coincidences. But I believe that all is gift and our providential GOD sees to our needs - one way or another. GOD uses good, generous people and throws us a few surprises to keep our joy real. The past few days have been filled with grace and goodness. I think GOD is blessing me all the time, but I often miss things or just plain forget to say, "thank you, GOD." Today, I am missing nothing. That, in itself, is a gift.

Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki