Into Great Silence...

Well, the house is full of activity: the schola is singing, the sacristans are laying out vessels and linens, the liturgists are "encouraging" everyone to sign up for a ministry. The last day before the Paschal Triduum is always holy chaos. If you've never seen 20 women turn a dining room into a banquet hall, it's quite a complex ballet of action and reaction. "This table has no napkins." "How many chairs at Table 5?" "All the wine glasses on each table should match." "Let's start moving tables." "Where does the water glass go?" Fresh flowers, new candles, good wine and white linen tablecloths - we pull out all the stops for this festive meal. And, after we dirty every single dish in the house, we all pitch in and clean until is finished.

The moment we leave the Dining Room, the Great Silence begins. We keep silence from Thursday Evening until Saturday night - no talking, no bells, no phone calls. It feels right to keep silence before the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection. And, on Saturday night, if will feel right to ring all the bells and sing the one word we have held in the custody of our hearts. (You know, the "A" word!) So, dear friends and oblates, I am signing off to live the "three days" with my sisters. You can expect some photos sometime on Easter Monday. May the richness of the liturgy touch your soul and bring you closer to the God who gave us Jesus.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

Last stop, Bethany...

Today’s gospel sets the stage for Holy Week. John tells us that six days before the Passover, Jesus returned to Bethany – home of his dear friends, Martha, Mary and Lazarus, who was the Lord’s greatest miracle so far. “They gave a dinner for him there (John 12:2).” Some dinner that must have been! How could Lazarus not view his friend differently after what happened at the tomb? Surely, nothing was beyond the rabbi’s power to redeem – not sickness, not sin, not even death. What did Lazarus share with Jesus about the experience of death? Did Jesus want to know what lay ahead of him in Jerusalem? Were the events before and ahead too much for words? Perhaps, they drank wine together and talked of nothing, as only real friends can?

What about the sisters? Martha, we’re told, is preparing the meal. No grumbling this time – a sure and certain sign of the reign of God breaking through! And Mary – dear, Mary – she is again at the Lord’s feet but this time she is anointing them with expensive perfumed oil. In this tender act she anticipates both his kingship and impending death. It is six days before the Passover. He is going to Jerusalem – a city renowned for killing its prophets. This dinner is the last they will share with him at their home in Bethany. Many have suggested that Jesus’ friends in Bethany were his respite from the road – his resting place when the unrelenting preaching and healing sapped his strength. What better place to dine before the journey? What better company than those who just loved him? A few moments of rest…some home-cooking…some laughter among friends – surely, one night of peace is not too much to ask. Yet, poor Judas had to pick a fight with Mary over the expensive oil – his greed not benevolence operative in the exchange. Poor Judas…he, too, will have the worst week of his life.

There is so much in this tiny gospel that points to the holy days ahead. If Martha, Mary and Lazarus knew what we know, they would never have let Jesus go. Or maybe, they did know and that’s why this meal was so important to all of them – so important that no expense was spared, no pettiness allowed to displace the simple goodness of being with him. May this Holy Week bring all of us to the house at Bethany – the house where Love has come and nothing else matters.

Blessngs and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

A poem...

I’ve been quiet inside -

no words for the mystery.

When death comes suddenly

God comes close –

so close

that grief and grace get tangled,

loss and love are one.

I’ve been standing still in the desert –

sandals in hand

before the flame that will not consume.

I know God is here

comforting widow and orphan.

I've been praying at a tomb

knowing my brother lives.

New plans now

for an unexpected future.

I know God is here.

because Jesus wept.

Sister Vicki Ix, OSB

We have an election!

Sister Cecilia Dwyer, OSB, has been re-elected by the Chapter for another four-year term as prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia. Sister Susan Quaintance, OSB of St. Scholastica Monastery, Chicago and Sister Roberta Campbell, OSB, of Mount St. Mary’s Monastery, Pittsburgh, PA facilitated the election. Sister Lynn Marie McKenzie, OSB, First Councilor of the Federation of St. Scholastica, presided and witnessed the canonical election. Sister Cecilia served as prioress from 1987-1999 and then again from 2003 – present. Her sixth term in office will begin in June. The community is overwhelmed with joy and grateful for Sister’s willingness to serve again as our prioress. We thank you, friends, Benedictine sisters and Oblates, for your prayers through these sacred days. It is only through prayer that we are able to "listen with the ear of our heart (RB Prol.1)."

BIG weekend ahead...

Evening Prayer on Thursday evening marks our entrance into the sacred space of election. Every four years we gather for a long weekend of prayer, discernment and group process that leads us to the election of a new prioress. Sister Cecilia Dwyer has been our prioress for two consecutive terms (8 years). She may, according to the Constitution of the Federation of St. Scholastica, be elected for a third term. (I call that hitting a triple!) We have always been blessed with wonderful leadership. I have no doubt that when the Holy Spirit begins her dance in our midst, we will be moved to elect just the right woman for the next four years.

We have been praying already – a nine-day novena in preparation for these holy days. Unlike the “real” world, there is no campaigning – no t-shirts, bumper stickers or buttons for our favorite “candidate.” No, this prayerful enterprise is dependent on God’s grace and the skillful facilitation of our election process. As is our custom, two sisters from within our Federation were invited to guide us through these days – Sister Susan Quaintance, OSB, from Chicago and Sister Roberta Campbell, OSB from Pittsburgh, PA. Normally, the President of the Federation witnesses the election, but since she happens to be one of us, she cannot. In Sister Glenna’s place the First Councilor of the Federation, Sister Lynn Marie McKenzie, OSB of Cullman, AL, will represent the Federation in our process. (You might remember Sister Lynn Marie from our Visitation process last October.) On the home front our Election Committee – appointed by the current prioress – has things well in hand. Sister Andrea, Sister Lisbeth and Sister Veronica have planned for these days months in advance and enabled the community to communicate our hopes to the facilitators as well as our new plan for the next four years. This plan, in essence, becomes the new prioress’ “job description.” Although having the right skill set is a plus, it is not the main determinant for election. For that we go to the The Rule.

Saint Benedict clearly states what is most important: Goodness of life and wisdom in teaching must be the criteria for choosing the one to be made prioress, even if she is the last in community rank (RB 64:2). And in chapter 2 the spiritual weight of the office is made clear. She is believed to take the place of Christ in the monastery (RB 2:2). So, dear friends and Oblates, please hold us in prayer this weekend. After the “white smoke” there will be news here on our blog and on Facebook. Stay tuned…and ask God to bless the one who will say “yes” to this great ministry.

Blessings and love to you all…

- Sister Vicki

A Lovely Incongruity...

It’s Lent and the birds are singing their hearts out. It’s Lent and the Hyacinth are in bloom – lilac, blue and white. It’s Lent and the trees in Richmond are flowering with fat buds of pink and white. It would seem the earth is out of sync with the liturgical season – arriving early at the promises of Easter. I don’t feel the cold starkness of the desert. I can’t feel anything but the warmth of the sun piercing the the memory of winter. Is this some cosmic mistake? Is it some twist of global warming ruining God’s plan? I don’t think so. The beauty of God’s creation is always gift. In fact, in her Ash Wednesday exhortation, our prioress urged us all to find comfort in the beauty of nature. In a year of great loss and unrelenting presence to one another in our grief and in our healing, Sister Cecilia wants each of us to find some comfort in these desert days. So, I am sitting on our back deck enjoying the rays of a nearly-too-hot sun. I am listening to those birds sing their prayers and smelling the first sweetness of spring.

Sister’s message may seem counter-intuitive against a lifetime of Lents. It is, however, in harmony with our paradoxical faith. The resurrection is a "done deal." By His passion death and rising to new life, the Lord Jesus has freed us from the fear of death. Still, every year, we wait for it to come anew – for the Paschal Mystery to take deeper root in our lives as we await the joy of yet another Easter morning. We are capable of living Lent and, at the same time, know that we are already redeemed. The joy and peace I am feeling in my heart this morning is but a taste of Easter joy – a microscopic hint of the eternal joy that awaits all who believe in Christ. I accept the gift of this joy and offer it as a sign that He is risen. If that wondrous truth comes to us before the great Triduum, we must receive it and give thanks.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

A Clean Heart...

I went to Mass with our girls this morning. Nearly 250 students marched from Saint Gertrude High School to nearby St. Benedict’s Church to celebrate the beginning of Holy Lent. Another 250 cadets from Benedictine High School marched in and sat across the aisle from our young women. The two schools nearly fill every pew! I found a seat in the back with staff and some local families.

Though all of the readings today are powerful, I was struck by the responsorial psalm: “Create in me a clean heart.” What does that mean? My heart didn’t feel “dirty” this morning. My heart was joyful at the prospect of these forty days. I must need a clean heart, or we wouldn’t sing those words on this sacred day. As I was trying to chew on this, I couldn’t help noticing the toddlers and babies in the pews around me. There was a little boy next to me for whispered to his mother, “I don’t want to go to school. I want it to be Saturday. And I want to go to a birthday party and have birthday cake.” I couldn’t help but smile at his mother and share her giggle. In front of me, there was a tiny infant – maybe, three or four months old – in a baby-bucket. He woke up somewhere around the Gospel and his little yawns were absolutely precious. His big brother had a container of pretzels and that seemed to help him focus on Father’s homily. A few pews ahead another baby was grinning at all of us – like it was Christmas.

Children have clean hearts. They are perfectly transparent and without guile. They say what they mean and allow every feeling to surface. Little ones don’t miss much. They are very sensitive to what goes on around them. They show affection freely and ask for what they need. They haven’t made any serious mistakes yet. They haven’t wounded the people they love or disappointed Mom and Dad. They are fully alive and carry in their faces the child Jesus for all to see. On this first day of this holy season, I know exactly what I want. I want a clean heart – a child-like heart. The ashes on my forehead remind me that I have a ways to go, but filled with the graces of Word and wheat, I feel excited about this Lenten journey. And ready for GOD to create in me a clean heart – a heart that loves more faithfully, lives more joyfully and gives all without reserve.

Blessings and love to you all…and Happy Lent!

- Sister Vicki