Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Off to Kentucky...
Tomorrow morning I leave for a week-long meeting in Louisville. The National Religious Vocation Conference sponsors a bi-annual convocation for vocations ministers from every religious order. It's an opportunity to learn, to network and to encourage one another in this challenging, grace-filled ministry. I will be taking a break from "Monastics On A Journey" to focus my energy on the work that awaits me at the convocation. I ask your prayers for safe travel and for GOD's special blessing on all who will attend the meeting. I return on 10/14 and expect to be back on-line the next morning. Until then...
Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki
Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki
Monday, October 6, 2008
"Don't worry, be happy"...
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has declared this the year of Saint Paul. Popes can do that, you know. (Actually, Sister Veronica and I were at the Church of Saint Paul-Outside-the-Walls, in Rome last winter, when Pope Benedict formally opened the Pauline year. It was wonderful to pray with the Pope and, even more, to pray at the tomb of Saint Paul, himself.)
This year is an opportunity to reflect on Saint Paul’s enormous contribution to the Christian faith. Paul’s insights, born in his encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, help us to process the gospel from the perspective of the resurrection. In his letters to the early Christian community, Saint Paul tried to address their problems, struggles and uncertainties as they tried to make sense of this new faith. These letters are meant for us today. They remain full of truth and good wisdom. This letter to the people of Philippi is one of the most beautiful of Paul’s letters. But it begins with a nearly impossible suggestion: “Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all…”
Wow, no anxiety? This is 2008. This is America. We have raised anxiety to an art form. We need only watch a few TV commercials to see that we worry about everything: plaque on our teeth, gray hair, losing bone density and the healthy function of our digestive tract. Still, there are very serious things to worry about: crisis on Wall Street, good people being put out of their homes, finding a job or selling a house in this economy and who will be our next president.
Anxiety is normal – part of being fully human. So what is Saint Paul suggesting? I think Saint Paul is telling us that faith in Christ should make a substantial difference in our daily lives. “Make your requests known to GOD.” Paul writes. Say your prayers…tell GOD what’s bothering you just like you talk to your best friend. If we do that each day, “Then the peace of GOD that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Blessings and love to you all...
This year is an opportunity to reflect on Saint Paul’s enormous contribution to the Christian faith. Paul’s insights, born in his encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, help us to process the gospel from the perspective of the resurrection. In his letters to the early Christian community, Saint Paul tried to address their problems, struggles and uncertainties as they tried to make sense of this new faith. These letters are meant for us today. They remain full of truth and good wisdom. This letter to the people of Philippi is one of the most beautiful of Paul’s letters. But it begins with a nearly impossible suggestion: “Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all…”
Wow, no anxiety? This is 2008. This is America. We have raised anxiety to an art form. We need only watch a few TV commercials to see that we worry about everything: plaque on our teeth, gray hair, losing bone density and the healthy function of our digestive tract. Still, there are very serious things to worry about: crisis on Wall Street, good people being put out of their homes, finding a job or selling a house in this economy and who will be our next president.
Anxiety is normal – part of being fully human. So what is Saint Paul suggesting? I think Saint Paul is telling us that faith in Christ should make a substantial difference in our daily lives. “Make your requests known to GOD.” Paul writes. Say your prayers…tell GOD what’s bothering you just like you talk to your best friend. If we do that each day, “Then the peace of GOD that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki
Friday, October 3, 2008
A BIG "thank you"...
Gratitude is the posture of the Christian life. The gift of the Paschal Mystery continues to unfold in our lives – day, by day – and for the gift of life that never ends, we can only be grateful and live good lives in response to this enormous mystery.
Last night the Saint Gertrude family gathered to recognize friends who have supported our school so generously. We gathered to say, “thank you” and acknowledge the power of those gifts in the lives of our students. Our donors are faithful friends who believe in the blessing of a SGHS education. They understand that we are still becoming…still growing…still dreaming Saint Gertrude forward. May GOD bless all those who have been so good to our school. They have become partners is GOD’s continuing creative work at Saint Gertrude. The Benedictine Sisters are so very grateful.
Blessings and love to you all…
Sister Vicki
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Praying for our Congress...
Benedictines have been around over 1500 years. A benefit of such longevity is the “long view” of history. We are rarely rattled by theological debates or mandates of contemporary culture. We have witnessed nearly the whole of Christian history and have acclimated to its many graces and struggles.
As we stand before the tumult of our economic system and pray for all those who may be endangered by the poor choices of others, we believe that, ultimately, “this too shall pass.” Crisis comes with opportunity. There are changes to me made and work to be done. It behooves all of us to breathe deeply and remain as calm as possible given the unnerving situation. As hard as calm may seem, “with GOD all things are possible.”
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
Monday, September 29, 2008
"In the presence of the angels, I will praise you, LORD"
Today the Church celebrates the archangels – Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Michael – who gives Satan “the boot” from heaven – figures large in the Book of Revelation. Gabriel, of course, is the messenger sent to a maiden in Nazareth in the Infancy Narratives. And Raphael is the archangel of the Old Testament – a central “character” in the Book of Tobit. Although these three are rather well known to us, there are, of course, the multitudes whose only job is to sing the praises of GOD in glory. I am especially interested in these nameless, faceless voices who sing, “Hosanna in the highest!” before the Maker of all, the eternal Word and their Spirit. What a great job! Imagine…being in the presence of the triune GOD and filling heaven with your joyful song. If angels were not a wholly different creation, I’d want wings myself one day. (Actually, as monastics we have an "angelic charism". When we pray the Liturgy of the Hours three times a day, we believe that we are leaving time to join the unending hymn of praise in heaven. As we chant or recite the psalms, we add our voices to the heavenly host. I like thinking about it - remembering that we are always in the eternal now, always before GOD especially when we pray.)
When I was small – 2 or 3, perhaps – my big sister and I shared a bedroom. I remember having these strange metal bars that my Mom slid between the mattress and box spring to keep me from falling out of bed in the night. (Lizzie was a big girl by then so she was free to escape her rack if she so desired.) Anyway, over each of our beds was a heavy, ceramic angel. Every night we would say our bedtime prayers with my Mother and she would direct our attention to “our” angels who would protect us all night long. She called them our “guardian angels.”
Now, the guardian angels have their own feast day, but I can’t think about angels without remembering their comforting embrace. Some adults still talk their guardian angels. I’m afraid I’ve long since let go of that nightly practice. But, I am grateful for having been raised with the angels – taught from the very beginning that GOD loved me so much that there were actually special beings assigned to care for me and keep me out of trouble. I do remember being in my early twenties – a young high school teacher – and running a stop sign I didn’t see in town. I remember my heart racing as I slowed to a stop and realized what could have happened. And I remember feeling that “someone” had saved me – kept watch as I made a life-threatening mistake. It was one of those “goose bump” moments when you feel the divine in action on your behalf. I am twice that age now. But, I will say a prayer of gratitude tonight as I lay down in bed. I will remember the ceramic angels of my childhood and send some love to my “guardian” who, I am certain, goes before me still.
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
When I was small – 2 or 3, perhaps – my big sister and I shared a bedroom. I remember having these strange metal bars that my Mom slid between the mattress and box spring to keep me from falling out of bed in the night. (Lizzie was a big girl by then so she was free to escape her rack if she so desired.) Anyway, over each of our beds was a heavy, ceramic angel. Every night we would say our bedtime prayers with my Mother and she would direct our attention to “our” angels who would protect us all night long. She called them our “guardian angels.”
Now, the guardian angels have their own feast day, but I can’t think about angels without remembering their comforting embrace. Some adults still talk their guardian angels. I’m afraid I’ve long since let go of that nightly practice. But, I am grateful for having been raised with the angels – taught from the very beginning that GOD loved me so much that there were actually special beings assigned to care for me and keep me out of trouble. I do remember being in my early twenties – a young high school teacher – and running a stop sign I didn’t see in town. I remember my heart racing as I slowed to a stop and realized what could have happened. And I remember feeling that “someone” had saved me – kept watch as I made a life-threatening mistake. It was one of those “goose bump” moments when you feel the divine in action on your behalf. I am twice that age now. But, I will say a prayer of gratitude tonight as I lay down in bed. I will remember the ceramic angels of my childhood and send some love to my “guardian” who, I am certain, goes before me still.
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
Friday, September 26, 2008
"To everything, turn, turn, turn..."
If you are middle-aged (somewhere between 40 and 70,) then the excerpt from Ecclesiastes, in the Lectionary this morning, probably started the juke-box in your mind. The Byrds version of this scripture passage belongs, now, to several generations and takes us all back to some place or time when the power of those words changed us. “To everything (turn, turn, turn,) there is a season (turn, turn, turn,) and a time to every purpose under heaven.” Once a song starts playing in my head, I’ve found there is only one way to make it stop. I need to let it play through to the end. Then, with the last note, I can bid it goodbye for the day. It works for me. Give it a try when you feel possessed by a favorite tune.Although this passage is very familiar to me, the end of today’s First Reading was not. It was a very short verse at the end, that I’ve never really heard before, that grabbed my attention this morning.
“[GOD] has made everything appropriate to its time,
and has put the timeless into their hearts…”
(Eccl. 3:11)
I am in awe of this GOD who created time for our blessing and, at the same time, wired us for eternity. When the seasons of human life shift with birth, death, love and longing, it is wise to remember this verse. In time, we know joy and pain, laughter and suffering. But, we know at our deepest core, that our true home is in GOD’s timeless heart. In prayer, can we enter that time beyond time – the perfection of the present moment in which we simply are before our GOD. May your prayer be blessed with such a stillness and your days, weeks, and years be marked by the gratitude with which you accept all time as gift.
Blessings and love to you all…faithful friends!
- Sister Vicki
(Eccl. 3:11)
I am in awe of this GOD who created time for our blessing and, at the same time, wired us for eternity. When the seasons of human life shift with birth, death, love and longing, it is wise to remember this verse. In time, we know joy and pain, laughter and suffering. But, we know at our deepest core, that our true home is in GOD’s timeless heart. In prayer, can we enter that time beyond time – the perfection of the present moment in which we simply are before our GOD. May your prayer be blessed with such a stillness and your days, weeks, and years be marked by the gratitude with which you accept all time as gift.
Blessings and love to you all…faithful friends!
- Sister Vicki
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Time for some "good zeal"...
The people of Haiti, Cuba and Texas continue to recover from the devastating effects of “Ike”. The American financial system seems on the brink of disaster. And, presidential politics has raised our national blood pressure and sparked graceless disputes among family members and neighbors alike. In times like these people of faith are more important than ever. We are, if we’re willing, icons of hope.
How can we share our faith in these troubled times? Well, for starters, we can do something for the victims of the hurricane – here and on the islands. As a monastic community we make many contributions each year that are mutually agreed upon and reflect our Benedictine values. “Catholic Relief Services” is among those organizations. A contribution to CRS will reach those who need it most outside our borders. To help those in Texas, the domestic branch if this organization is called, “Catholic Charities.”
Although my Dear Old Dad is a CFA – certified financial analyst – I know less than nothing about the workings of Wall Street. I can, however, pray for those who represent me as they struggle to do the right thing. My anger and frustration will get me nowhere. Prayer will change me and, perhaps, change the hearts of those who have been greedy or less than honorable in their financial dealings. Prayer is not the "last resort." It is the best thing we can do for one another – the most powerful sharing of our loving energy, of all that makes us like GOD.
Presidential politics? Well, we can start by being respectful of one another as Election Day draws near. We can have conversations instead of screaming matches. We can allow one another to make a different choice and not try to bludgeon each other into submission. The basic fact is that we all love America and want what is best for her people and the world in which we live. If we, in our heightened state of political fervor, can be civil and gracious to one another, what lovely example we could give our children. Freedom requires participation and prayerful reflection as we use the voice we have been given. May each one of us, as followers of Christ, be the first to show respect to the other (RB 72:4). And maybe, heart by heart, we will change the world with our hope - the hope that is our birthright by baptism and a gift that must be shared.
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
How can we share our faith in these troubled times? Well, for starters, we can do something for the victims of the hurricane – here and on the islands. As a monastic community we make many contributions each year that are mutually agreed upon and reflect our Benedictine values. “Catholic Relief Services” is among those organizations. A contribution to CRS will reach those who need it most outside our borders. To help those in Texas, the domestic branch if this organization is called, “Catholic Charities.”
Although my Dear Old Dad is a CFA – certified financial analyst – I know less than nothing about the workings of Wall Street. I can, however, pray for those who represent me as they struggle to do the right thing. My anger and frustration will get me nowhere. Prayer will change me and, perhaps, change the hearts of those who have been greedy or less than honorable in their financial dealings. Prayer is not the "last resort." It is the best thing we can do for one another – the most powerful sharing of our loving energy, of all that makes us like GOD.
Presidential politics? Well, we can start by being respectful of one another as Election Day draws near. We can have conversations instead of screaming matches. We can allow one another to make a different choice and not try to bludgeon each other into submission. The basic fact is that we all love America and want what is best for her people and the world in which we live. If we, in our heightened state of political fervor, can be civil and gracious to one another, what lovely example we could give our children. Freedom requires participation and prayerful reflection as we use the voice we have been given. May each one of us, as followers of Christ, be the first to show respect to the other (RB 72:4). And maybe, heart by heart, we will change the world with our hope - the hope that is our birthright by baptism and a gift that must be shared.
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
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