What they got right...

Last weekend the Second Coming had more visibility than the Good Year blimp over the Super Bowl. Like most of the world, I found the countdown to the end of the world very interesting. Good people were caught up in an apocalyptic movement and driven to save as many souls as possible before the “event.” I found it strange that people who clearly love Jesus had not integrated all of his teachings: “Only my Father in heaven knows the day and the hour.” I found it sad that many believed the window of salvation was closing. In the days after the predicted end, some were just dazed and confused. Others reconfigured the message assuring us that some opportunity for salvation had come and gone. Still more went home physically exhausted from the mission. It was more than easy to make fun of them. Talk show hosts and evening news personalities had much to say as the clock moved successfully into a new day. There was so much in the message that felt wrong. But, I want to raise up one thing these “doomsday” Christians got right. God wants every soul to come to faith.

All created souls belong to God. We get lost in earthly life. We forget where we came from or lose sight of where we are going. God sent Jesus to share our journey and assure us that God’s love is stronger than death. We are redeemed. We need only to recognize it, embrace it, claim it and live in risen love. No one knows when Christ will come again. But he will. And it will be a great day. All people will know that he is the way, the truth and the life. For now we remain in his love – like branches clinging to the vine. And we live unafraid, filled with Easter peace. “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” And we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

"What can you do?"

In this morning’s gospel, the people ask Jesus an interesting question: “What can you do?” I found myself smiling. Poor Jesus lived in an age of great teachers and magicians. They all had wisdom for sale and even a few tricks or “signs” that bolstered belief. The people didn’t understand who they had in their midst. You and I get to read the gospel backwards – through the lens of the resurrection. We know and believe. We want to tell them, “Wake up! He’s the one!” But their question is all too human and there are times in every life that we ask the Lord, “What can you do?” There are times when our prayers feel unanswered – when we wonder why GOD doesn’t act. People die, natural disasters occur, acts of evil and violence continue – we want a sign that GOD is still GOD. When the people threw GOD’s gift of manna in Jesus’ face, hoping it would encourage him to work a miracle; Jesus – the Word made flesh – chose to give them the truth instead. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Many heard it and but only some believed it in their hearts. This one sentence is more powerful than any wonder. The truth contained is so deep it is nearly beyond our comprehension. Jesus is the true bread sent from heaven – he is all that we need to sustain us on the human sojourn. In his dying he freely gave his body – literally – the supreme act of surrender and solidarity with we who must one day walk that path. In his rising Jesus freed us from the fear of death. It will not have the last word. It is not the enemy. It is a gateway – a portal to joy in GOD’s presence. The Lord’s self-emptying love is the love of the Father – a love that gives all, that heals all, that rights all. It is a love we can touch and taste and savor in the Eucharist – the bread given us by the One who wants to be with us here and now. Whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim his death – the death which released us from its power – until he comes again in glory. “What can you do?” Oh, how I hope all the world will come to know what the Lord Jesus has done and can do in every human heart.

Easter peace and risen love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

ART: Resurrection, St Paul de Meythet Church, by Arcabas (Jean-Marie Pirot), 1998

What resurrection looks like...

Sunday, May 1st, marked eight months since “the accident.” Although this event affected three of my sisters irrevocably, I’ve been thinking about how we as community have also been changed. In some ways it feels like it was yesterday and in other ways like a very bad dream. “For then you shall forget your misery, or recall it like waters that have ebbed away. (Job 11:16).”

Because I have the privilege of sharing life with Sister Charlotte in Richmond, I am keenly aware of her physical and spiritual transformation. Sister is working four days a week at Bon Secours, St. Mary’s Hospital. Having been on the receiving end of “good help” in the ICU and step-down unit there, Sister Charlotte is able to walk with the sick and suffering in a new way. She is, for me, an icon of the resurrection – a glimpse of God’s grace at work in the hearts of all who prayed her back to life. Sister Charlotte’s courage in recovery and determination to find the blessings in this tragedy make her an exceptional woman of faith – in the world and in my life.

Sister Connie Ruth has made wonderful strides, literally - from wheelchair to cane and from our monastery Infirmary back to her own room. Throughout these months of recovery, she has been grateful for every kindness shown by nurses and sisters alike. Sister Connie Ruth beams when she talks of her time in Richmond – both at our high school and at the convent. Sister made new friends wherever she went in the city – most especially at Zacharias Ganey Health Institute. Although Sister Connie Ruth will not be returning to the mission house, she is serving the monastic community – contributing to the daily labor as her recovery permits.

This past Easter has new meaning for us as a community and certainly for the two sisters who have tasted new life. We are living in gratitude for the love and prayers of so many. We are able to lend our love and prayers to those who suffer now. Our hearts are with the people of Alabama who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods to tornadoes this past week. We are tethered by prayer to the Benedictine sisters there at Sacred Heart Monastery as they continue to live without power or light – even as they reach out to those around them who have been devastated. We pray to God for the victims of war – the innocent and the guilty. Lament and psalms of confidence are sung side by side. The cross and open grave herald the new order in which we are all bound together in Christ – one Body, though many parts. In the "Great 50 Days" of Easter joy, let us all be peace and risen love for one another. Let us live now what will be ours for eternity. “Then your life shall be brighter than the noonday; its gloom shall become as the morning, and you shall be secure, because there is hope (Job 11:17-18a).”

- Sister Vicki

The graces of Triduum...

The graces of Triduum often surprise me. Ever-ancient, ever-new, this seamless liturgy takes three days to complete. Like the Christians of the fourth century, we remember and enact anew the mystery of our salvation. This means that something is accomplished in us as we do this important work of praise and thanksgiving. Somehow, this memorial increases the measure of God’s grace at work in us – draws us more deeply into the reality of the risen Christ among us. It’s very hard to put words around this truth. Because we are still bound to bodies, there is a veil that separates us from the fullness of God. Yet, through these powerful rites we encounter the living God in moments – flashes of insight.

This year, perhaps because of the events of last August, our community seemed very in touch with the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice and the grief of those who loved Him so. It was good to be silent, as the prophet says in the Lamentations. The silence we shared had character and depth. It wasn’t empty silence. It was like diving deep in the ocean – separated so that we could breath – but together. When the great silence ended Saturday evening, we were ready to speak again, but I had the longing – even yet – for what could be shared in the absence of words.

As we gathered at the New Fire, the gathering joy overflowed in song: “Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega; his are the seasons and the ages: to him glory and dominion through endless ages. Amen. By his wounds holy and glorious, may he guard and preserve us. Christ, the Lord, Amen!” Then, Sister Andrea sang the Exultet – the ancient hymn/story of the Easter mystery. “This is the night...” Sister is the only one among us who can do justice to the beauty of this chant. The glow of candlelight in the faces of women I love only added to the richness of the moment.

On Easter Sunday morning, we were sleepy from the late night Vigil, but energized by the astounding beauty of the Chapel in daylight. Sister Laurence, Sister Mary and several dear friends transformed the sanctuary into a flowering garden. We will immerse ourselves in this beauty for 50 days. It is our taste of paradise – the Eden reclaimed for us by Christ.

Easter Blessings and risen love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

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