We have a cricket in the Chapel...

It was hiding under the cart of GATHER hymnals behind our Chapel. Now, I think the little guy is somewhere in the body of the church. The cricket sings in the morning darkness before Morning Prayer and even during. I like the sound. It doesn’t disturb me or diminish the silence we keep. It reminds me that we are vigiling – waiting for the dawn to come – and listening deeply for the voice of God. It’s funny. If I saw the cricket, I’d probably gasp or suppress the instinct to smoosh him. Yet, as he adds his song to ours, I feel him a brother – part of God’s good creation. Although 6AM prayer is not physically easy, it is spiritually energizing. I find myself coming to wakefulness in the midst of a circle of faithful, loving women and we are all tuning in to the Presence together. The little one chirping in the hollows reminds me that all creation is waking to a new dawn – a new moment of grace. Such is the gift of life for all who wait in stillness. If we wait, God will come.

Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

Galileo would love this!

Theology and science are not “strange bedfellows”. The God who created all things reveals the perfection and genius of creation through science. As our knowledge expands over the centuries, we discover new marvels wrought “in the beginning” – the work of the Word and Spirit at play making something wonderful from utter chaos. Today we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross. The wood of humiliation became a standard of victory over sin and death. Christ’s obedient surrender to the violence and politics of his day opened a pathway for all who believe in his name. What does this have to do with science? This cross we adore and glory in is not only ours to embrace externally. It is actually a pattern found within the chemistry of the human body. “Laminins are major proteins - an important and biologically active part of the basal lamina, influencing cell differentiation, migration, adhesion as well as phenotype and survival [Wikipedia].” These proteins, when viewed microscopically, reveal the familiar shape. Many think it a simple coincidence. I’m not big on coincidences. We are God’s – body and soul. If we can see it now because of science, then it must be time to see it and bend a knee to the cosmic Christ who is first and last, within and beyond.

“Lord by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world.”
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

The BIG Weekend...

[below] Sisters Joanna and Shirley
[right] Sister Andrea

[below] Sister Pat and her director, Sister Doris, receive a blessing. [right] Sister Pat signs her profession document before laying it upon the altar.

We’ve just concluded a three-day celebration of monastic life. Labor Day weekend is the time we have all our formation ceremonies and get individually commissioned for a new year of ministry to God’s people. This weekend contained three separate liturgical rites, three receptions and the blessing of ministries. In the blur of moving furniture, setting tables, tuning instruments, ironing our Sunday best and cooking for 60, we did for our newest members what was done for each of as we moved deeper into the monastic life. Here’s the good news:

We have three novices! Sister Joanna Burley, OSB, hails from Florida. A musician and educator, Joanna has been giving her gifts graciously in her postulancy. Sister Shirley Arce, OSB, moved to Bristow from California. She is an artist and serves the community as webmaster. Sister Andrea Westkamp, OSB, was born in Germany. A citizen of the United States for over a decade, Sister Andrea spent over twenty years of her life as a missionary Franciscan. Now, she embraces a new path as a Benedictine Sister of Virginia. We are blessed to call these three women our sisters.

Sister Pat Novak, OSB, made her First Monastic Profession at Evening Prayer Sunday night. This three-fold promise of obedience, stability and fidelity shape the Benedictine life. Sister Pat’s profession is for three years with the hope that she will make perpetual profession – a permanent commitment to this community and to the Benedictine search for God.
This morning – this Labor Day morning – our prioress, Sister Cecilia, blessed each of us for the individual works to which we have been assigned. A beautiful prayer card with our “jobs” for the year came with a hug and a smile. There is a happy/sad moment on Labor Day, too. Our sisters on mission return to Richmond and Arlington. More hugs, kisses and yes, some tears. Sister Kathleen Persson, OSB, is moving into Saint Gertrude Convent today. Though we will see our missioned sisters several times a month, I am still left with the feeling that a few pieces are missing from the puzzle. That’s community – this mysterious entity which, like the Body of Christ, is so much more than the sum of its parts. Community is where the living God dwells among us. We are sisters in Christ – daughters of Benedict and Scholastica. And somehow, when all days end, Christ will bring us all together to everlasting life [RB 72:12].


Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

We are all connected...

I woke up at 1:15 this morning. I grabbed the cell phone which had been set to vibrate at 5 AM. Realizing that it was still time to sleep, I happily rolled over. At breakfast I learned that there was an aftershock at 1:15. It wasn’t the phone vibrating. It was the earth.

The 5.9 earthquake two days ago continues to be a hot topic of conversation at table and on the local news. This sturdy cement-block structure was built 50 years ago and resembles the Catholic elementary schools of the 1960’s – solid as a rock! Other structures in the area were not as sound and suffered cracks and crumbles. Several historic structures in DC – the National Cathedral and the Washington Monument – had more damage because of age and design, I suspect.

I am in awe of creation and grateful that we were spared the sufferings of Haiti or Japan, Alaska or California. Earthquakes are not fun or to be taken lightly. All in all, this earthquake did little to harm but much to awaken us to the power of nature and our interconnectedness. Twenty-two eastern states felt this quake – not because of its magnitude, though 5.9 is significant. These states rest on one tectonic plate – share real estate in a primordial sense. Interesting to see one event ripple out so far – touch so many lives and light up so many cell towers simultaneously! The earth can teach us many lessons. We are, in fact, interconnected. Our joy, our pain, our love sends out a ripple into the world. Every act of goodness blesses and every selfish sin has its repercussions. This truth is from the beginning – when we were made in God’s image and likeness. We have within us the capacity for great love – the love that changes things and transforms lives. This redemptive love is building in the world – not unlike the earth’s energy beneath millions of layers of clay and shale. That building up of love’s power is the kingdom coming. And, one great day, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. We need not fear its coming. Our loving, our relentless pursuit of right relationships, our longing for wholeness simply beckons Christ to come.

Blessings and love to you all…

- Sister Vicki

August 16th...

“Jesus said to his disciples,… it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven.”

Today is the memorial of the death of Elvis Presley. [I’ll bet you thought I was going to say St. Stephen of Hungary or Brother Roger of Taize.] Actually, all three men have something to teach us if we can hear today’s gospel through the lens of their lives. We can learn what being rich really means and what is truly possible for God.

Stephen was a strong advocate for the Catholic faith and was crowned the first king of Hungary by the Roman pontiff. Rich in faith, rich in power, rich in wisdom, Stephen was acclaimed a saint less than fifty years after his death. Brother Roger – the founder of the Taize community in France – was killed by a mentally ill woman during Evening Prayer six years ago. An ecumenist by vocation, Roger helped to pen the community rule, nurture the simple chant that drew thousands on pilgrimage and gave his life as a martyr for Benedictine hospitality. Rich in faith, rich in imagination, rich in holiness – Brother Roger’s dream of Christ’s body made whole continues to be enfleshed by his brothers.

Last, but not least, Elvis Aaron Presley – a poor Mama’s boy from Tupelo, Mississippi – died on this day in 1977. “The King” of rock n’ roll was 42 years old when he died alone in a mansion called, “Graceland.” Rich in fame, rich in material wealth, Elvis was plagued by addiction, spiritual restlessness and a deep loneliness.

Jesus has taught us that the kingdom of God is at hand – here, in our midst. To “enter the kingdom” means living with God now in fidelity and joy – confident that the kingdom will come in its fullness later – in God’s time. I suppose it’s Elvis’ kind of rich that Jesus was talking about in this gospel. Although he was a believer in the gospel and a spiritual seeker throughout his life, somehow he was unable to know the true freedom of the children of God. Fame, money, sex, drugs – all these things became stumbling blocks – as they can for all people. St. Stephen and Brother Roger possessed another kind of wealth – the riches of faith, hope and love. When these are our real treasures, no stumbling block will keep us from entering the kingdom – right here, right now. Our simple Benedictine life is the path that leads us to the kingdom. And every now and then, when we have our priorities straight and our hearts open wide, the One who called us here beckons us to enter through the narrow gate. Here, now, we are given a taste of heaven in Word and wheat and in the intimacy of the common life. We are the rich ones. We know that God does the impossible within us and for us every day of our lives.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

"Eye has not seen..."

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin gives us a wonderful opportunity to meditate on the glories of heaven. In her person God manifests the wholeness and dignity which is proper to every believer. The Blessed Mother experiences death – crosses the boundary between here and there. In that she shares our humanity. But the Church teaches a different end to her story. Her body is not returned to the earth but taken to heaven. Her body and soul know no separation. She is, by virtue of her faith in the angel’s word, given a special prerogative. And we, in her assumption, are given a glimpse of what we can only imagine. “Eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love God (I Corinthians 2:9)." But one day when the human project reaches its fulfillment, we shall each be made whole in Christ. Our bodies, like our souls, shall be raised and glorified. It is too much to understand but not too much to believe. If God raised Jesus from the tomb, God can raise us as well. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts of this Marian feast is the knowledge that God wants this wholeness for us. To her who bore the Son of God, this special gift was given first. We who have followed Christ through death into life by baptism will know this sacred unity of body and soul at the end of the age. What we celebrate today for Mary, we celebrate also for ourselves. Where she is – body and soul – we shall also be. Happy feast!

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

What I learned from "Real Time"...

We’ve had two wonderful women with us this week for our “Real Time” in the Monastery program. We’ve never done this before so I’ve been looking for its worth and graces. Typically, interested women come for a weekend of discernment or a vocation retreat during the sacred seasons. This has been most fruitful. Yet, women often express the desire to spend more time with us – real time, ordinary day-in-day-out time. We have a "Live-In" Program to meet that need, but that’s long term. Women in our Live-In Program are usually in for a year of discernment. So, finally, after seven years of vocation ministry, I’m trying something new. As usual, there are things to tweak and improve but overall, I am pleased to have this kind of time with women who are eager to pray and to work. That’s basically what they’ve been doing this week – ora et labora – pray and work.

Two of our monastery gardens needed serious watering. Our first arrival taught me much about how living things. Did you know a flower can be beautifully in bloom, yet its roots dry and longing for water? I had no clue but I guess people are that way too. Any one of us can look A-OK on the surface and deep inside there is a dryness – a spiritual or emotional longing that needs attention. All the more reason to give one another some room to be less than we wish them to be. We never know what another person is carrying inside. I also learned that “puzzle people” abound – and not just in monasteries! And working a puzzle with someone can be an opportunity for building relationship – elbow to elbow, searching for the last piece of a blue sky.

Even what might have been disappointing became a blessing. Our “luau” at the pool turned into an indoor event due to thunderstorms. It was the best “pool party” we’ve had in seven years! We skipped the swimming and went right to the dancing. After a few tropical tunes we switched to Big Band and dancing classics for the benefit of the elders who came to join the fun. Every one was welcomed with lei and invited into the circle of fun. The Vocation TEAM outdid themselves on the decorations. When we were worn out, we moved on to popcorn and a movie. Great fun…special for us as well as our guests. As we blessed our friends this morning, I wasn’t so much thinking about the party – as fun as it was. I was thinking how much I’ll miss them in the oratory and in the dish room. [We spent a lot of time there!] I guess that’s another plus for the “real time” program. Retreat days have their highs and Benedictines are ALWAYS looking for a party. Yet, it is the “normal” routine of prayer and work that steadies our feet on the path to God. In the Chapel, in the garden, in the library or the dishroom - time spent in prayer and work sanctifies us gently over a lifetime. Real time is holy in the monastery. Maybe, that's once of the reasons I came and, more importantly, of the reason why I stay.

Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki