In a Kansas cornfield...

"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

Grief Unfolding...

Today is the 20th anniversary of my mother’s death. I am feeling the grace of time – the promise of healing paid-in-full. When I remember those awful days, it still feels like a bad dream. (I thought I was so grown-up then…just 26. I think, in retrospect, her death was the end of my adolescence. It was a defining moment in the journey – for all of us, I think.) "Fresh" grief is the worst – an open-wound that just won’t stop bleeding. It requires every inner resource – every ounce of faith. Grief doesn’t seem to have an ending, but it does seem to recede - like big waves in the ocean that eventually turn to a tired, soft ripple. I have made friends with the grief that abides in my bones – the loss of her. So much has gone on without her and yet, over time, she has visited me in my thoughts and dreams. Perhaps, it is the certainty of faith – the knowledge that she IS – that has carried me to a safe shore. I can still hear her voice, see her smile and remember her touch. And, thanks to my siblings, I meet her anew as they each reveal a precious part of her to me. She comes close from time to time – as best they can in glory – and I tell her things. Twenty years in, grief is much easier to bear – almost a gift. Something inside me is the richer for having negotiated this sorrow. I am joined to her still through Christ and the love that never ends.

Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

"No place like home"...

I had a normal day yesterday – a perfectly, normal day in the monastery – and it was so good! Just prayer, work and some dirty dishes – the uneventfulness of it was just stunning. It’s not that I object to "highs" and "lows." Those places are usually my best teachers. But an ordinary day in the monastery is like breathing – it just happens. Bells that direct me to Chapel, meals shared with good women who make me laugh and just enough work to make me feel I’ve been creative – that constitutes the perfect everyday day. I hope I never get used to this feeling – the gratitude that flows from a good, solid life centered in Christ. Sometimes, we have to leave a place to see exactly what makes is it our place. What a gift…what a blessing!

Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

"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

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