SGHS Seniors visit the Monastery...

A Small Liturgical Rebellion...

I’m not done with Pentecost yet. I know we are officially into “Ordinary Time” – an unfortunate name, I think. I know I should be selecting hymns according to the gospel of the day or, at the very least, hymns that pertain specifically to the hours. I just can’t do it. Our Sunday celebration of the Eucharist was so beautiful – so animated by the Spirit. I’m just not done singing the Spirit’s praises or proclaiming her marvelous deeds in salvation history. [The “her” thing is just my own bias – not a theological dogma, by any stretch.]


On Sunday the entrance procession included a banner of multi-colored ribbons wielded by Sister Denise. As we sang “Come Holy Ghost, Creator blest,” Sister moved the banner through the air over our heads, like the proverbial tongues of fire! All the hymns were killer – each one proclaiming a truth about God the Spirit.


The great “Fifty Days” of the Easter season call for pull-out-the-stops liturgy. It’s almost hard to maintain the energy and joy, but we do it because the Paschal Mystery is the salvific key to our very existence as “church” and the source of meaning for each Christian life. I know we have a novena to the Holy Spirit that precedes Pentecost. [For those of you raised after Vatican II, that’s a nine-day prayer in preparation for a great feast or in the hopes of a special blessing.] But once Pentecost FINALLY comes, it feels wrong to close the door on that wonderful breeze and go right into OT. If Pope John Paul II could add mysteries to the Rosary, maybe Pope Benedict XVI could create an Octave of Pentecost? What’s one less week of Ordinary Time when we can really celebrate the gift of the Spirit? - just one sister’s opinion, of course. I doubt the Holy Father has stumbled onto this blog, nor do I expect him to in the future. But, in our little convent in Richmond, it’s still Pentecost – just for a few more days.

Blessings and love to you all…

- Sister Vicki

http://www.sisterbloggers.blogspot.com/

Oblate Day '08...

On Saturday we accepted a new class of Oblate Novices (11) and received the oblate profession of seven good people who have spent two years preparing for this day. Oblates are part of our monastic community – faithful women and men, married, single, of various Christian denominations – who have embraced the Rule of Benedict and promise to live it out in the world to the extent their state in life permits. Oblation is a life-time commitment to our spirituality and to the mission of our monastic community. Oblation binds a lay person to this particular monastery – much in the way my promise of stability binds me to the community at Bristow. Making oblate profession is a public act within the Church, like my own monastic profession, and comes with a canonical status all its own.

My Dad is the first parent in our community to become an oblate of our house. I still remember his profession day vividly and the memory makes me smile. When I write to my Dad, I address the envelope properly: Edward P. Ix, Obl. SB [Oblate of Saint Benedict] I’m just a little bit proud...

Our Oblates are dear to us. We could not continue God’s work without their presence and participation in our life. The gifts they bring are plentiful and diverse. Most profound, for me, is their dedication to taking St. Benedict out into the world and allowing their spirituality as Oblates to inform every part of their lives. Your way of acting should be different from the world's way; the love of Christ must come before all else (RB 4). They are the hands of our community heart. And everyday, as our prioress, Sister Cecilia, told them, they are remembered in our grateful prayers.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

http://www.sisterbloggers.blogspot.com/