"Week 52"...

I've been home just two days and it's time to pack a bag again. Not a business trip - VACATION! Yes, even nuns get one week of sun and fun. I am off to our rental house in the Outer Banks of NC. We've been going down to Nags Head for over 25 years. I think it was Sister Ernestine who instituted the beach week. My group is week #4: Sister Cecilia, Sister Kathleen and Karen who, as a postulant, is experiencing "the beach" for the first time. When we arrive around midday, the sisters in week #3 will have lunch ready for us. We'll help them pack their cars and then settle in for some serious holy leisure. I wait for this week all year and then, magically, it almost sneaks up on me. Here's what I love: sleep when you're tired, eat when your hungry and pray when the Spirit moves you. For one week we will live our monastic lives without the bell. It is an opportunity to rest in God - unplug from the Internet, the phone, etc. We will follow, instead the rhythm of the sea - the pounding waves and the gentle breezes. We might be up for sunrise or not. (Probably not!) And there will be a gracious common meal in the evening - lots of laughter and good conversation. Oh, and did I mention cable TV? Yup. That means "The Food Network!" Oh, I can't wait... I'll be back, on-line and on Facebook, Monday, July 12th.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

Last Run in Richmond...

This morning I took my last run around our neighborhood here in Richmond. Tomorrow, the monastery pick-up truck will carry me and my belongings back to the Monastery. Three years of life and ministry in this city come to an end. I’ve been preparing for this departure for quite some time – on a practical level. The vocation office at SGHS has been deconstructed. I’ve packed most of my room at the convent. But the movement from one place to another happens mostly in the heart. So many good memories…so many relationships deepened by time and life shared. As I made my way around the big square that is my running route, I felt like blessings everything – the flowering trees, the Honeysuckle bushes, the fellow-joggers who usually pass me by. I prayed a goodbye to the Yeshiva on Patterson Avenue where daily I could see the rabbinic students praying Morning Prayer by the second floor window. I prayed a blessing on the “Boo Radley” house – an abandoned cottage that I’m certain inspires the creepy fantasies of the local children. I prayed for Sister Charlotte and all who work at St. Mary’s Hospital as I cut through Maple en route to Monument Avenue. I’ve never been strong enough to run to our high school, which feel like a blessing today. I can’t run and cry at the same time. SGHS is in my heart now and that’s a good thing. It’s been said that when we leave a place something of our spirit remains. I hope that’s true. I know Richmond will come with me – the memories, the friendships, and the good work done by the sisters here. It might be a long time before I run these roads again. Until then I remember Richmond with love.

A "Must Hear" CD...

A good friend introduced me to a Minnesota trio several years ago. The "Three Altos" have produced their second album (I still think in records!) and it's as rich and satisfying as their first. "One Voice" is an eclectic mix - some composed by the folk-singer in the group, Sara Thomsen, and the rest by others. What I love about the songs is how they seem to reflect the inner life of this trinity. Three women - all with "regular" jobs - come together and sing for their souls and for ours. A folk-singer, a psychologist and a rabbi share more than tight harmonies. It is their friendship grounded in GOD that produces these contemplative and challenging songs. My favorite track (today) is called, "Echoes." It suggests that every second of life we spend loving somehow changes things - ripples out into the unfinished creation, nudging God's plan forward. There is a wonderful rendition of Bobby McFerrin's "The 23rd Psalm." And another track, "We Are Women," was written by the trio for the students of The College of Saint Benedict, in St. Joseph, MN. VERY cool. Whether these women sing in English, Spanish, Swahili or Hebrew, my heart is moved. Like their first collection, "Camaradas," I will use these songs for private prayer and for retreat work. If you are interested in hearing a sample or placing an order, visit the "Three Altos" at http://www.threealtos.com/.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki