Each day the mail for visiting monastics is placed on a long table in the dining room. One can't help but see it as you make your way in and pick up your napkin. There is always a good measure of glee when letters and cards are claimed. Many of my sisters have blessed me with letters, postcards and even a box of chocolate for Valentine's Day! Such love...
And interesting piece of mail came for me the other day - so interesting, in fact, that another sister picked it up and brought it to me in Study Group on the lower level. I suppose I could have had some real fun with this letter, but I never think quickly enough in these situations. I ended everyone's curiosity quickly and without melodrama. The Abbot Primate sent me a 'thank you' note.
I suppose I should stop here and explain what an "abbot primate" is. The abbot primate heads the Confoederatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti - Benedictine Confederation of Monastic Congregations. Established by Pope Leo XIII and later ratified with amendment by Pope Paul VI, the Benedictine Confederation is a voluntary union of autonomous congregations of Benedictine men from all over the world. The abbot primate resides at Sant' Anselmo in Rome and welcomes the abbots of the world for a meeting every four years. Abbot Notker travels the world addressing the needs of the various congregations and speaking about monastic life. I had the privilege of hearing Abbot Notker speak almost two years ago in Collegeville, MN. The abbot primate also oversees the mission of the Pontifical Athenaeum - the Benedictine university at Sant' Anselmo. Monastics from all over the world come here to study and teach. Sister Aquinata was the first woman to study at Sant' Anselmo in 1973. (Classes are taught in Italian!) Now...back to the note!
I sent Abbot Notker a copy of The Reshaping of a Tradition: American Benedictine Women, 1852-1881 by, Ephrem Hollermann, OSB. Actually, Sister Maoro,who currently serves as a General Counselor of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, was going to a meeting last weekend with the Abbot Primate and I asked her if she'd be kind enough to hand-deliver the package and note. The 'thank you' came within days and very simply expressed his wish that the women described in Sister Ephrem's book might inspire many young women to seek GOD in our monastic way of life. Nice...
The Reshaping of a Tradition certainly inspired me - helped to form my new identity as an American Benedictine woman. My copy at home is full of yellow highlighter and has little notes in the margins. Definitley a "must-read" for anyone interested in monastic history or the achievements of women in the 19th century "mission" Church. I'm so glad I remembered to pack Ephrem's book. I'm pleased the Abbot Primate received it with gratitude. And, I'm proud to be an American Benedictine woman. There is so much to live up to in our precious history. But, if we are women of faith and flexibility, as our mothers were, we will be good stewards of the tradition...and do a little shaping of our own.
- Sister Vicki
PS - Sister Ephrem's book is available through her community's website:
