Bristow Benedictine Elected Federation President...

Last night, Sister Glenna Smith, OSB, was installed as President of the Federation of Saint Scholastica. Her election, amid the work of the Federation Chapter, was clearly the work of the Spirit. Sister Glenna follows Sister Esther Fangman who gave our Federation twelve years of service – the maximum allowed by our constitution. Sister Glenna’s term will take her from monastery to monastery – 22 houses in all. She will officiate at elections, oversee canonical visitations, mediate difficult situations and be our liaison with the Holy See. Sister’s new duties will call upon every gift and the wisdom of all her experiences. We are certain God has prepared her for this ministry and will grant the grace of office all in leadership depend on.

Bristow is bursting with pride! The gift we know in Sister Glenna we will now share with the larger Benedictine world. What does this mean for the Benedictine Sisters of VA? Well…it means that Sister Glenna can no longer serve as subprioress. That is a huge sacrifice but one that Sister Cecilia makes willingly for the good of the Federation. In her wisdom, Sister Cecilia has appointed Sister Andrea Verchuck, OSB, our new subprioress. God prepares the way and provides for our every need. It is a new day full of hope and possibilities. Please join us in praying for Sister Glenna as she makes this important transition.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

"Where in the world..."

It’s been two weeks since my last blog entry. That, in and of itself, indicates a level of busy-ness that is unusual – even for me. If you were to ask me what I’ve been doing or where I’ve been, I could look in my calendar book and paint you a picture: Richmond, Baltimore, Dallastown, PA, Bristow. Projects, talks, travel and meetings – these things constitute “business as usual” for me. But, May and June are particularly challenging. And then there’s “Wonder Week.”
Girls grades 5-8 spend five days with the monastic community. Parents drop them off at 8:15 and pick them up at 5 PM. Our day-program draws them into our daily routine – meals, prayers and even work. We have classes in pottery, arts & crafts and ASL. Our girls have schola practice and hit the pool every afternoon. And on Friday, the day doesn’t end. Our “Wonder girls” bunk in sleeping bags in our Subiaco Room. (Guess who gets to join the slumber party?) By the time Mom and Dad roll up on Saturday morning, these young people have made a place in the community heart. We say our goodbyes and begin the countdown to next year’s “WW.” So, 51 weeks from now, we’ll do it again. We’ll greet old friends and make new ones. There will be songs to sing and adventures to have. In spite of a typical “WW” fatigue, I confess to missing those six young faces. I hope they miss us, too. T-minus 363 days…and counting!

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

"Getting" grace...

Only the Blessed Mother is “full” of it. The saints, I suspect, enter eternal life with nearly a full tank. The rest of us – simple, struggling, hopeful sinners – go through life learning the difference between a life of grace and “running on empty.” The CCC – Catechism of the Catholic Church – defines grace in this way. “Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons [and daughters], partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.” [Part II, Chapter 3, Article 2, 1996] Advanced theological study might include such topics as “sanctifying" grace, prevenient" grace, “ created” vs. “uncreated” grace. All these things are important, but as I continue on the journey, I am more compelled by moments of realization that confirm the reality in question. Yes, God is taking the initiative in the relationship. God is busy loving us before we even get around to loving God. God is, simply put, always loving us first.

I guess I’m interested in how we "wake up" to grace – how, over time and through life experience – become more and more aware that God is with us. It’s so easy to know when the tank is low – when we are consumed with our own issues, concerned about “many things”, like Martha. When we’re there we are generally miserable. We see only what is lacking in us – we feel “grace-less.” But then there are days when we are available to God’s unrelenting invitation. We welcome the Love that wants to inhabit our flesh and God’s uses us – in a good way! God uses our words, our actions, our faces, our hands…our love. And we become a blessing. This kind of graced-living happens more than we realize. The more we cooperate – welcome grace – the more sweetly it flows through us. Over time we begin to recognize what’s happening – believe that God is with us and working through our frailties to make something good happen. This reality – this kind of grace – can change us and others. How God’s unrelenting love does this is beyond our grasp, but it is too good to resist. It just feels good to be used by God.

I am 46 years old and I feel as if I am just getting grace. Three years in seminary and several letters after my name, and it is only through God’s gift of self that I’m getting anything. God – our God – is always there first - waiting, inviting, gifting without limit or measure. Grace is all around us. Grace is unrelenting. Grace…is God being God.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

Peace..."on top"

I don’t wear much jewelry – not that I couldn’t. Many sisters wear lovely, simple earrings or rings that belonged to a family member. I tend to stick to the holy “bling” – the medal of Saint Benedict and the ring that was given to me by my community on the day of my perpetual profession. When I put the medal on a chain, it’s easy to put on. But when I choose to wear the super-cool lapel medal, I have difficulty getting things right-side up. One Sunday morning as we were gathering for Morning Prayer, my prioress saw me struggling and said, “Put peace on top and you’ll have it right.” Peace on top? Oh…the Latin word pax can be found on the border of the cross. If the word, pax, is on top, then my medal is on straight! That woman is so brilliant! Now, in addition to having fewer “issues” getting myself dressed and in chapel, I now have this wonderful piece of advice to chew on. “Put peace on top.” Good advice and very in keeping with the message of the risen Christ. "Peace be with you."

The month of May is psycho. Our schools are getting ready for graduation. Vocation programming is at its height. Extra jobs and projects are demanding my time and attention. And the travel just won’t let up until June. My “To Do” list is obscene – even for me – and deciding what must be done first is not an easy exercise. “Put peace on top…” Can I do that? Can I grab hold of that peace that only Christ can give and let everything else take a back seat? Can I move through the days ahead doing what must be done all the while holding tight to the One who wants to keep my heart calm and gentle? I certainly can’t do it on my own. But, if I ask for help? For the gift of peace? I know I will not be disappointed. What gift would you ask of Christ today? Don’t be afraid.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

Bessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

"I have so much more to tell you..."

“...but you cannot bear it now.”

I love this sentence. As the days dwindle down to his return to the Father, the Lord Jesus tells his friends that there is "so much more" to share with them. Now, in his glorified body, the Lord Jesus can see beyond our flesh and bone. He can hear the songs of the angels and taste the sweetness of being wholly in God’s presence. Now, beyond death, he knows everything and longs to help us understand the Mystery. But, the Lord knows too well, that we “cannot bear it now.” Though there is so much we long to see and understand, from our human vantage point the veil can only be lifted so much. We are still flesh and bone – still straining to hear the morning birdsong and looking for God in the mess of being human. So, to satisfy his desire to give us “so much more,” he will send us his Spirit. The Spirit will reveal what is true and good and holy. The Spirit will give us strength to abide in these bodies – to mark the days in time and space – until the Lord comes to bring us home.

But something is fascinating me. What is it, do you suppose, that we “cannot bear” now? I suspect it has something to do with the unconditional love of God – the limitless compassion and mercy in which we dwell every minute of every day. I think the Spirit is working within us and among us to make this love known to us. Now, here, we cannot bear the weight of this love. We cannot believe it to be real. We find it hard to accept that no sin, no loss, no suffering in our journey will keep this love at bay. Nothing will keep this love from taking over our world – one soul at a time. The Spirit is preparing us for the day when days will end - working to draw every human heart into the light of God's love before Christ comes again in glory. Then, the eternal Word will speak to us one more time and all shall be revealed. Until then, only the Spirit can prepare us for this great movement into Mystery. Only the Spirit can teach us to trust that this Mystery will never let us go.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

"Jesus Christ," by Pablo Renauld, 2007

Don't forget your change...

Most of us don’t like change so we respond to it in a myriad of creative ways. There’s the “If I don’t acknowledge it, it won’t really happen,” school of thought. Then, there are those among us who face it head-on and react from our feelings – sadness, fear, anger. Some of us, a small brave, cohort, embrace change. It is, after all, a mark of being alive. All that is by God’s good hand is in the process of living and dying. Nothing – no one – is the same one moment to the next. You’d think we’d get on board and celebrate change as a sign of God’s activity – accept change as if it were a gift wrapped in pretty tissue and ribbons. I think this proactive approach to change comes slowly in our journey toward God. I think we get better at it as life gives us practice – as circumstances beyond our control turn everything upside-down and then we survive. We learn – through many changes – that change itself is inseparable from growth. Over a lifetime of bending to the realities of life, we learn that it is God’s grace that keeps us from breaking. We learn that change – even the painful kind – makes us stronger, more resilient, more open to God’s Spirit at work in our lives.

This morning I told our girls at SGHS that I am being reassigned to the monastery effective July 1st. It is time for me to go home. The joy of going home is mixed with a sadness that comes from loving our students, faculty and staff. Being “on mission” here at our high school for the past three years has been such a gift. There are things I’ve learned about being a Benedictine Sister of Virginia that I could not have learned any other way. SGHS has a place in my heart now, as do the people of Richmond. That love is a done deal. Though I will return once a month for “Monastic Monday,” it won’t be the same. The girls know it, too. But they are accepting this change well and coming to trust that every sister who serves at SGHS will remain part of the community heart. When love is real, it never ends. It is that love – that grace – that will help us all to embrace this change and trust that the Spirit is hard at work.
Blessings and love to you all…

- Sister Vicki

Time to hit the breaks...

I was wondering today how I got so busy. I know I’m getting out of balance when I can’t remember the last day off. (Monasteries are interesting places. We make our own time to rest and play. It’s a life, not a Monday through Friday enterprise!) So…that last day off? OK, I’ve got to peak at the calendar. I found it! April 6th. Dear God, no wonder I’m getting a bit goofy!

It’s not easy being me. I love work. I love teaching, writing, talking to people about our life. I love supporting the programs of our Benedictine Pastoral Center – that means giving a “First Friday” talk. I love our Oblates – that means time spent in Bedford and Richmond this past month. I love planning our community’s future as part of the Strategy Team and organizing our efforts in preparation for our Visitation in October. [It’s a voluntary Benedictine visitation – as opposed to the current Apostolic Visitation and happens every six years. It’s like when a school gets reaccredited by VAIS. We receive commendations and suggestions about how we live the monastic life.] In fact, I love everything that I am asked to do by and for community. That’s the problem. I want to do everything all the time. Well, last time I looked, that divine attribute belonged to the Creator!

It's settled then. On Friday morning I am going to sleep in and let the birds be my alarms clock. I’m going to eat breakfast on the back porch of the convent in Richmond in my pajamas. Then, I will sip coffee and do my spiritual reading. After prayer, I will have no plan, no “to do” list. I will have a day-off from the Internet. Yes, that’s right. No e-mail. No Facebook. No blogging. [Now, if Hell freezes over, don’t call me. Just trust I am partially responsible and pray me a good rest.] It’s only Tuesday, but I can feel it coming. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have my eyes on the prize! Now, all I have to do is make sure that I keep my Sabbath holy. Hmmm… Did I ask for prayers?

Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki