Saturday Morning Prayer,1970

It was you I heard that morning -
a bird singing early
in the days between spring rain

and summer heat.
I wanted to rise with the sun,
smell the sweetness of the morning,
walk with you

in the dew-soaked grasses.
I wanted to dig in the soil,
scatter seed,
pat the earth with the palm of my hand
and share in the mystery of your life.
But I was a child in nightclothes
kicking off the blanket,
stretching in wonder
at the gift

of a brand new day.

Vicki Ix, OSB

"In the name of the Farmer..."

Today, the Feast of the Presentation, the universal Church celebrates “consecrated life.” [It will be explicitly named in prayer this Sunday.] Implicit is the lifting up of religious life in its many forms: apostolic, cloistered, monastic [which for us means contemplation and action]. I am usually eager to wave the vocation “flag” on this day and link the offering of so many lives to GOD with the offering of Jesus at the temple. Perhaps it is age, wisdom or just a more earthy sense of the mystery of vocation, but I am someplace else today. I am thinking that GOD calls every woman and man to fullness of life in Christ. By baptism our journey is inextricably linked to his. Though dormant throughout much of life, the grace of our baptism is always with us - one reason I believe infant baptism to be so important. This grace lies fallow like a seed in the cold ground awaiting the warmth of the sun. Then, as we encounter the living GOD somewhere in our journey – in human love, in the depths of grief or the beauty of Earth – the seed splits open and we are on our way. [One lovely thing about seeds is that they know exactly what to do after that. Grace knows, too. Grace is the love that carries us forward as we learn to listen to the Word.] Once the process kicks in, it remains a matter of adequate water and the passing of time. We are the ones who have to water the seed of faith in us. We need to embrace Scripture in some way, make time to be with GOD as we do with other important relationships, and we need to attach our solitary selves to a community of believers. It’s either very simple or, at times, a serious struggle to live the God-life. But because we have consecrated our lives to GOD, GOD will show us the way. So today, when I should be coming out with catchy vocation slogans, I am focused on the great mystery of GOD’s call in every life – the beauty and wonder of it. And, I am praying for every person who has not yet felt the sun’s rays through the soil of human life. The sun is always there. And GOD, the farmer, will not rest until we all begin to sprout shoots and bear good fruit. The harvest is too important. It is the very reign of GOD in every human heart.

Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

Living now what is to come...

The second reading today caught my heart – my imagination. St. Paul is writing to the people of Corinth but his passion around the Second Coming feels very specific to our monastic life.

I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.

We who follow the Rule of Benedict do believe that the world is “passing away.” God’s reign, God’s kingdom is breaking through. Because we want to live ready for his coming, we don't take a marriage partner. We embrace celibate loving – love that is for all. Celibacy frees us to focus on the “bigger picture” of salvation and point to the love that is more than any human expression in time. Because we believe that Christ comes now - in each day, in each moment, in each breath – we practice eternal peace. We accept what is – the joy, the pain, the beauty, wonder and mystery of the human heart – and we trust that it all belongs in our personal or collective story. Because our real treasure is the love of Christ, we hold everything here in common. No thing must preoccupy us – tempt us from the singular joy of believing we are precious.

We love the world in all its fractured, terrible beauty but we recognize that it is not our true home. We have set our sights on Zion – the New Jerusalem – the beauty of God’s face. Until we get there, we keep on – together. We gather to pray, to eat, and to share the everyday sweetness of life lived in the Presence. We live aware of grace - how God’s love shapes us gently but firmly into something more wonderful than the sum of our parts. We live with urgency – Christ is here among us. We can let the world, as we have each known it, "pass away." No longer defined by what we did there, we delight in what we are becoming here – the Body of Christ. Hands, hearts, eyes of love for the world – we pray to be a sign that God is near, God cares, God comes and God is making all things new.

Blessing and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

Your Kingdom coming...

There are moments here when the reign of God seems to burst in – shake us from the stupor of “to do” lists, worry and dis-ease and remind us that the Kingdom is, in fact, among us. Those moments are priceless. They make life really real – even for just a few moments. We had such an in-breaking here on Sunday afternoon when a gentle woman went from “stranger” to “sister”. I felt it. I saw it in the faces of my sisters gathered in our circle. I heard it in the joyful voices parting in harmony.

As I sat next to our newest member, I had the sense that this great step in her faith journey was allowing something to be perceived in ours – a taste of resurrection, a dawning of some new grace. Perhaps, as one sister said, days like this remind us all of why we came to the monastery and why we remain. I believe that to be true because days like this one confront us with the reality of God’s love for us. It’s literally right in our faces as we open the door to welcome the seeker into our midst. Maybe, it is this love – unending, enveloping and certain – that we feel when we gain a new sister. The risen Christ becomes especially tangible in the welcome of a novice - incarnate. In this presence there is deep is joy, lasting peace. This presence is the love that flows between us and among us – especially in the unbridled hope that wraps the gift of a new vocation. I felt it – felt something stirring in our hearts – what Benedict calls, “the inexpressible delight of love (RB Prologue, 49).” This is a taste of heaven here – our glimpse of what waits for us eternally - this same joy, this mysterious peace. Yes, the reign of God is begun among us. It is here – now – in the threshold places, in the beginning and end of things, in the love and the loss felt with equal measure. It is breaking through all that distracts us from loving or intends to be the true measure of our usefulness. Listen…learn…love. It is really that simple. Dear sister, child of God, welcome to your life with us in Christ.

[Read more about Sister Mary Frances at http://www.osbva.org/.]

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki

Now, Lord...

Old Simeon made me laugh this morning. The Feast of the Holy Family tells the story of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. There, Simeon and Anna see what sages have long foretold – the Christ of God. It is a moment of recognition, joy and surrender. Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. Maybe, it’s the translation [NABRE] but it sounds a bit bossy to me. Simeon reminds me of myself. “Now, Lord, I’m ready to ______blank______.” “Now, Lord, could you _____blank____?” What makes Simeon so lovable is his utter conviction that his life had a purpose. God gently revealed a truth to him – as only God can do. Simeon knew that he would see the messiah. So, when the moment came he believed his last breath would be imminent. The narrative never tells us if the faithful old man goes “in peace.” It’s not really important, is it? Simeon is so close to God that he knows salvation is coming. He knows it like I know my birthday or the color of my mother’s eyes. Simeon understands that this knowledge is not for him but for people of faith who have waited centuries for Love to come and visit us. Everything we know about God’s love is meant to be shared. And, like old Simeon, our lives have purpose in the coming of the kingdom. If salvation history could be views as a jig-saw puzzle, most of us would be blue sky or indiscriminate border pieces. Even if we are not the beautiful pieces that make up the tableau – the Mary or the Joseph – we have a role to play in the completion of God’s plan. Each Christian life fits in there somewhere. Each human being brought to the waters of baptism carries a message for the world – a message that only we can deliver in our choices, our loving, where we give our time and energy. Like Simeon we know that Christ is coming. At our last breath – when he comes for us – we will know Simeon’s deep joy.

Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki

A poem...

Christmas
It’s a season not a day.

From the first star
to Jordan’s bank
a message:

Peace.
Justice.
Love.

Be at peace…
because God so loved the world.

Do justice…
because all flesh is holy.

Love…
because nothing else matters.

T-minus 8 hours!

We celebrate Midnight Mass - at midnight. Fewer and fewer parishes do. I love it. I love the absolute darkness, the stars shining bright and the beautiful candles that line the driveway! We are nearly ready. We've been decorating, cleaning and polishing for three days. If it weren't for some very good friends, we'd be lost. The scrambling is all part of the excitement that's building in our house. The change from purple and pink to greens, red ribbons and a host of angels takes energy and imagination. Praise God, we've got a lot of both! At 5:00 PM we will pray EPI of the Nativity, then bless our tree and exchange gifts. [Each sister has one present under the tree!] Then, as darkness falls, we prepare our hearts for the midnight liturgy. Know that all of our friends, oblates and benefactors will be remembered this night and throughout the Christmas season.

Blessings and love to you all...

- Sister Vicki