"All guests are to be welcomed as Christ (RB 53)." Hospitality...it's just the heart of the monastic endeavor. I travel more than most so I am blessed to experience this Benedictine value in other monasteries from time to time. This past weekend I was working on a Federation project at Mount St. Scholastica Monastery, Atchison, KS. Though the focus of the weekend was work - preparation for the next "55 & Under" meeting in 2011 - the sisters at Atchison were pleased to include us in their Saturday night plans. I just happened to be visiting during the "Amelia Earhart Festival" - a weekend celebration of Atchison's most famous native. After the BEST hamburger I've had in a long time, our small group joined several sisters who were "camping out" for the evening festivities. Perched on the bed of a pick-up truck, folding chairs were poised to see the trick flyers - bi-planes that swooped over the Missouri doing death-defying loops and white-knuckle dives! Then, as we waited for darkness to fall, Sister Judy made s'mores over a folding charcoal stove - messy but way worth it! Sister is also the monastery fireworks expert. I watched - from a safe distance - as Sister Judy set off Roman Candles and various other small explosives. As evening fell and the real fireworks show began, I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that I was sitting in the middle of a cornfield by the shore of the Missouri River. For a girl from New Jersey, it was a once-in-a-lifetime pleasure. The Benedictine sisters in Kansas live the mandate of hospitality with joy - and creativity!
Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki
