June means graduations...

Last night I attended the commencement exercises of Saint Gertrude High School Class of 2008. It was my second graduation, but this one felt a whole lot different. After spending nine months with the SGHS community, my ability to celebrate the achievements of this class and our faculty was greatly enhanced. Sharing the day-to-day life of a school community changes the heart and allows love to grow. I will miss these wonderful young women, but I trust that their years at SGHS have given them the skills they need to succeed and the strength of our Benedictine values to live well before GOD.

One of the highlights of the evening for me was hearing Sister Charlotte Lange, OSB, give the graduation address. Sister Charlotte was principal of SGHS for nearly thirty years and retired at the end of this class’ freshmen year. Her return was natural as it was her 50th anniversary of her graduation from Saint Gertrude, but she was specially invited to address this class and give them some wisdom for the road. Her delightful speech made the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia proud! She received several standing ovations. It was a great night for SGHS and for our community.

Today, I pray GOD’s blessing on these young women as they begin a new leg of their journey. In the words of the prophet, Micah, may they “do justice, love tenderly and walk humbly with [their] GOD.” (Micah 6:8)

Blessings and love to you all…

- Sister Vicki

No place like it...

I am home at the monastery for THREE WHOLE WEEKS! Clearly, I am happy about that fact. I found myself beginning to cry before Morning Prayer – NOT because it was 6:00 am, but because I was HOME – praying with a big circle-full of sisters. One great grace of living on mission is realizing just how much our common life means to me. A three-week dose of the monastery is just what I need to regroup and renew my own promise of stability. Last night I called the convent in Richmond because I missed the sisters I’ve been living with for the last nine months. But there is something about this place that speaks a new word to my heart. I took a walk this afternoon to nurture my friendship with these acres. I hope you enjoy the beauty of Bristow.

Blessings and love to you all…

- Sister Vicki

PS – If you’d like to reach me by e-mail, I’d love to hear from you. vocations@osbva.org

Sacred Heart of JESUS

I’m certain you’ve heard someone say, “She has a heart as big as the world.” We use that description when the depth and breadth of someone’s loving defies the boundaries of our own capacity to do good. Usually, this person seems to have a corner on compassion – a greater share of empathy and basic human kindness. The great solemnity we celebrate today - the Sacred Heart of JESUS - is a fine day to be especially grateful for those wonderful lovers in our lives. Without them we could not begin to understand the love JESUS has for each of one of us and for all of us.

The image adored by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (and, Saint Gertude of Helfta before her,) is startling. It is not a Hallmark heart, or a child’s paper Valentine. It is the human heart exposed, eviscerated and obvious. It reminds me more of what I saw in Anatomy & Physiology class in high school. (I was green the better part of Junior year!)

Still, there is something that comforts me in this image. JESUS holds out his human heart – a heart that beat faithfully and broke from time to time. His very human heart understands the depths of sorrow and the euphoria of love. He felt his heart pound with excitement and fear – even to its very last beat. I know that the devotion to the Sacred Heart is three-fold: human, spiritual and divine. But it’s the human part – his capacity for love and loss, and the need he had for his very next breath – that captivates me.

Today, as we attempt to grasp the love it takes a lifetime to accept, I will pray for three very special women in my life whose hearts are vulnerable – physically, literally vulnerable. I will ask this gentle JESUS to bless their days with peace and their nights with good rest. I will ask him to give them deep joy in the present moment and take away any fears about tomorrow. For this same JESUS is Lord and master of all creation. And we will not breath our last until our hearts have been completely filled with his risen love. Is there someone you want to pray for today?

Blessings and love to you all…

- Sister Vicki

http://www.sisterbloggers.blogspot.com/

From Today's Gospel...

Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands,with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.

On Saturday a serious candidate for entrance to our community drove for five hours to take her three cats to some loving friends. She said goodbye to them – even as she hopes to visit them there someday. It was a hard goodbye and even harder to return home and experience their absence. She did this because one cannot enter a monastery with pets – even when they are deeply loved, as these three have been. We must be free…ready to embrace the life that is to come in community. This is one of the very hardest realities of coming to the monastic life today. I ask your prayers for our candidate – who we may one day call, ‘sister’ – and for all the women in discernment with us. May they each have the grace and courage to leave behind what they must to embrace the Benedictine way. May they know the joy of community and the certainty that they have chosen the right path – narrow though it may be. I am in awe of the women who are coming to join us. They are truly eager to seek GOD and willing to do what is necessary to prepare the soil for a good harvest. God is blessing our house…and I am so very grateful!

Blessings and love,
- Sister Vicki

www.sisterbloggers.blogspot.com

The Prioress' Council...

"If less important business of the monastery is to be transacted, the prioress and abbot shall take counsel with the elders only, as it is written: 'Do nothing without counsel and you will not be sorry afterwards.' (Sirach 32:24)"


In chapter three of the Holy Rule, Saint Benedict encourages the prioress to surround herself with a small group of sisters willing to advise her on important matters. These "elders", or Council Members, support the prioress in her ministry by listening, advising and helping to bear the many burdens of the office.


The Monastery Norms of our Constitution require five members: two council members elected by the community to sit for a period of two years (with an additional term possible), and three members appointed by the prioress. Council members assist the prioress in implementing the community's four-year plan. They accept leadership of a Deanery and facillitate small-group sharing on various topics. They represent the community at major events. Whether appointed or elected, they exemplify the Benedictine values our community cherishes so deeply. It is no small honor or small responsibility to be on the prioress' Council.

This morning, I was asked to give a vocation report to the Council. (Sister Denise was asked to report on our Live-In Program.) It was very exciting to meet with them all around the great, square table in the Formation Room. I was a little nervous at first, but then, found myself in the rhythm of regular conversation with my sisters. After my report was given, I asked if they'd mind a few photos for the blog. They happily obliged.


Blessings and love to you all...


- Sister Vicki


http://www.sisterbloggers.blogspot.com/

"Top Chef" Cincinnati...

Greetings, friends… I’ve just returned from a three-day trip to Cincinnati, OH – home of one of our WID’s (women in discernment.) The “family visit” is a wonderful part of my job. As a candidate becomes more serious in her interest in our life and considers entering our community, it is customary for the Vocation Director to meet the parents (or children, depending.) It is always wonderful to see someone in their “natural environment” – the family. And, hopefully, it gives the family a sense of who we are as Benedictine Sisters. Hopefully, when a family meets one of us, they begin to see their child or parent as part of this larger thing – monastic community. It is always an opportunity to ask questions, give voice to some fears and grow in mutual relationship. I am grateful for the hospitality I received. Here are some of the great tastes of Cincinnati. I ESPECIALLY loved the 4-way chili! “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!”

Blessings and love to you all…

- Sister Vicki

http://www.sisterbloggers.blogspot.com/

SGHS Seniors visit the Monastery...