"The kindness of strangers..."

I think he was homeless. I stopped in a STARBUCKS® for caffeine and Wi-Fi on my way to a meeting in Baltimore. The traffic north of Richmond was normal until I got to the “mixing bowl” – a strange intersection of highways just below the Wilson Bridge. I lost some serious time there so when I got to the coffee shop, I needed to log on fast to answer the inquiries of the day. I bought a tall, normal coffee. (Their new blend, “Pike Place”, is Fair Trade and “green” in it’s production. AND, it’s smooth and easy – it won’t fight you every sip of the way. It’s the first of their coffees I really enjoy and it cost’s under $2.)

I had just sat down and opened the laptop when a man behind me interjected. “Are you trying to get wireless?” “Yes,” I answered. “Won’t work. They don’t have it here. They had all kinds of problems with it and now this store is scheduled to close.” Crestfallen, and trying not to act like the techno-nun I have become, I thanked him for saving me the frustration of searching for a non-existent signal. Then, came an act of random kindness. “If you move to the counter in the back of the store, you can get the signal from the coffee place across the parking lot. It’s free. Lots’a people do it.”

I smiled – BIG, thanked him for his goodness and began to collect my stuff. I looked over at this giant of a man. He was BIG – like “Bluto” in the Popeye cartoon. He wore a simple pair of trousers and a t-shirt. His hair was buzzed close to his head. My helpful new friend seemed about 50 – give or take 5 years. He had a newspaper, a BIG white coffee cup of his own, a small DVD player and ear buds. He seemed ready to spend some serious time there. I looked at the floor beside his table and I saw a small satchel…and a sleeping roll.

Was he homeless? I don’t know for sure. He seemed to know the staff – acted like a STARBUCKS® regular. I had the thought that he might wake up somewhere out in the world and then come in for coffee, a clean restroom and the feeling of being like everyone else, sipping, reading the paper, and easing into consciousness.

I moved to the back of the store and happily logged in. I took care of several e-mails and answered the cell once. I noticed “Bluto” getting a second cup. Then, he was at my side asking, “Did it work? Great. Thought so.” I thanked him again. As he walked back to the place he had staked out, I wanted to do something for him. I wanted to buy him breakfast or talk with him for a while. That felt wrong somehow. He was the one doing for me that day - the kind stranger taking the time to make someone else’s day brighter. I thought if I brought him food, it would somehow turn the tables and he’d be the “homeless man” again, and I would be the saint. No. I decided to do what people everywhere seem to be doing in these hard times – a small gesture of care. I left the man at the counter $3 for my friend’s next cup of coffee. The young man said it would cost $2.07. I told him to keep the change if “Bluto” didn’t order something more – for helping me to thank him with dignity. I left through the back door and said a prayer for all who find themselves in desperate circumstance. May GOD bless this gentle-hearted man and keep him safe and warm. "Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see your face. Open my eyes, LORD. Help me to see." (Jesse Manibusen, OCP)

Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

A metaphor...

I am working from the convent in Richmond today. We returned here, yesterday afternoon, from a wonderful weekend at the monastery. Friday, I met with two of the women in our “Live-In” Program. We had a Chapter Meeting on Saturday. That’s when the whole community gathers for official business. Then, in the evening, many of us attended the LHS Gala – a major fundraiser for our elementary school. Sunday – my favorite day to be home – we prayed Morning Prayer, celebrated the Eucharist and ate a big, Southern brunch. I met with another woman in our LIP after the meal. Then, it was time to bag my bag of tricks and head to Warrenton where I visited St. John the Evangelist Church. I’ve been teaching one CCD class on “vocations” each year for the past four or five, I think. One of our oblates, Debby Fancher, Obl. SB, is the instructor (as well as the liturgist/music minister for the parish.) After class…I headed south once more.

I really do love this ministry. I love the teaching, the weekend programs, the outreach in schools. Most of all I love the one-on-one time I have with women in discernment. I said to one of them this weekend that I often feel like an air traffic controller. (My brother, Andrew, is a pilot so I often think about things aeronautical.)

Women who are in discernment with us, at various levels, “circle the runway” for various periods of time before they “come in for a landing” and enter the monastery. Some come in fast and hot like the NASA shuttle. For them, things seem to fall into place more quickly than you’d expect. These women have a certainty of purpose, a real clarity about GOD’s will for them. Some women remind me of gliders who soar quietly and descend slowly, gently, gracefully. They are content to allow things to move forward naturally. They trust the persistent whisper and the loving nudge of the Spirit. They are happy to let the plan slowly unfold. Some women hit bad weather. Strong winds and major “turbulence” slow their “approach.” Often, their flight plan has some glitches – things that need to be taken care, or circumstances beyond their control that test patience and the veracity of their call. The ones that send me reeling are the Stealth® planes – people who come in under my radar and totally surprise me with their interest in monastic life. All of a sudden they descend through the clouds, needing little help with their landing gear. They’ve been doing much of the “checklist” on their own.

Unlike real Flight Traffic Controllers, I can make a mistake, without dire consequences. Women in discernment tend to be very forgiving as we are in a mutual process of discovery – moving within the mystery of God’s desires. But, when they "touch down" safely and begin their life with us, the joy of this ministry really kicks in. We have three planes in the hanger now. (I guess that could be a metaphor for Initial Formation.) Several are circling above us. Only GOD knows if and when they will land. But, I trust in the Spirit who is, literally, the wind beneath their wings.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

Another wrong turn...

I got lost on Tuesday. (It happens more than I want to admit in the age of MAPQUEST©.) My destination was Radford University – specifically, the awesome Catholic Campus Ministry house at Radford. It was a wrong turn I made as soon as I got off the interstate. Now, when I say I was “lost”, that means that this “J” on the Meiers-Briggs©, who always leaves room for error, didn’t leave enough room in my travel plan to get this lost. (I wound up being 30 minutes late, but arrived safe and sound.) Oddly enough, the further I went on this country road, the more the beauty around me began to defeat my rising anxiety. I had this thought: “GOD knows where I need to be and what I need to do, so I should just enjoy being lost until I find my way.” And, I did. I even slowed down enough to take a few photos. Virginia is so beautiful…especially after a REAL snow.

Lent is a great time to consider the other “wrong turns” I’ve made recently. Preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is never a struggle for me. I don’t really obsess about my sins, but as the opportunity for the sacrament approaches, they seem to rise to the surface of my consciousness. It’s a good thing – a helpful grace, I think. Usually, I find myself trying to find some pattern in the list of nitty-gritty failings, both to save Father some time, and work on what’s really at the heart of my failings. There is always a bigger picture – some "tragic flaw" that keeps holding me back in my quest for holiness. That’s why I can honestly say that I love my sins – even as I repent. They are often my best teachers. Without a little red ink on the paper, how can you see what went wrong? How can you aim for a better version of your self – the self GOD made you to be? My sins have changed over the years, but they never cease to remind me that all is grace. GOD never leaves me lost – so far off the path that I can’t turn around. Being open to the sacrament is like being willing to stop and ask for directions. And like the road I found myself on the other afternoon, there is a strange beauty in our sins. They, like nothing else, turn our hearts to the only One who can make all things new again (Revelation 21:5) – wash us bright as snow (Psalm 51:9).

Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

Another "snow day"...

Well, they closed school again because of icy conditions and power outages throughout the city. (Yippee!) I am working from the convent until about noon when I will head to another college for an evening program. I am particularly excited to visit Radford University as one of our women in the "Live-In" Program is a graduate. Karen tells me that the CCM (Catholic Campus Ministry) program is very vibrant - alive in the Spirit. I am speaking on the lenten practice of fasting to students who regularly attend "Faith, Food & Fellowship" meetings that go from 6:30 PM until 10:00 PM. I love that the gathering ends with Evening Prayer. (I'd call it Night Prayer, but I'm an old lady!) I should be back in the office, good weather permitting, Wednesday afternoon. Prayers, for safe travel and an inspired tongue, would be greatly appreciated.

Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki

More snow...(smiling)

We’re snowed in. Yup. No school in Richmond today. We’ve got eleven inches! It’s so beautiful…pure white, dry powder. (It’s too dry to make a snow-nun, but a dream to shovel. I took two ©Tylenol before I helped to dig Sister Charlotte out this morning.) I wish I could show it to you, but I can’t download the photos until I get back to the office. Trust me. GOD’s capacity to delight us knows no bounds.

My work at Christendom College went well. I made it back to the monastery for Sunday Eucharist. It had already snowed in the Blue Ridge. It took me nearly 30 minutes to travel down our mountain to the main road - lots of Hail Mary’s and low gear all the way.

Christendom is a fine school. The young men and women there really love the Lord. This was my third visit in the last five years. A new library graces the campus. It is beautiful in a medieval sort of way and fully functional in terms of 21st century technology. (Our Sister Connie Ruth can’t wait to get at the patristic collection!) I am grateful for having been invited to participate in the discernment weekend - glad to have met so many wonderful young people.

Blessings and love to you all...
Sister Vicki

On the road...

Friends,
I will be at Christendom College for their vocation fair until Sunday. Look for a blog sometime Monday afternoon. Please keep me and the students there in your prayers this weekend.

Blessings and love to you all...
- Sister Vicki

Happy LENT...

OK...I have to say that I'm a bit homesick for the monastery today. Our Morning Prayer on Ash Wednesday is so beautiful and, for good reason, it's also a private liturgy. The prioress give us a Lenten Exhortation. That's a fancy way of saying she talks to us about the forty days. Then, the sisters day aloud the things that we are sorry for - the sins against community, really. This usually fills me with feeling because we are so honest, so vulnerable in this tender moment. We offer one another the same mercy GOD offers to each of us. This liturgy touches us all deeply. Then, we place our lenten resolutions in a basket. Sister takes them to her office and reads them carefully. The resolutions are returned to us within the day with Sister Cecilia's comments and blessings. It's an ancient monastic tradition that we continue to honor. I love it... Fortunately, for a 21st century Benedictine, there is e-mail! I heard from Sister Cecilia already. And, she attached the Exhortation which I have already read. It is one of her best. Sister encourages us to use these 40 days to hone the monastic practices, to give ourselves to them anew out of love for Christ. Her words always encourage me. Sister writes, "We have to live this life intentionally. We cannot just attend, or just be, we must BECOME." That's certainly why I came to the monastery - to keep becoming.

So, I wish each of you a joyful, holy Lent. May each morning bring new resolve to live the gospel with passion and courage. May we meet at the foot of the cross, ready to share the holiest of days. May we run on the path of GOD's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love (Rule of Benedict, Prologue 49).

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki