Then and Now

      When I entered our community three months after high school graduation in 1946, I talked to my 8th grade teacher, Sr. Rita Kettman, who offered to arrange a meeting with the superior and to accompany me. I felt sure that God was calling me to religious life; however, I had no clue what it would be like. The only thing I assumed was that I would be saying pretty many prayers. I had never before been in the monastery building or what the accommodations would be like, nor did it matter. I just wanted to be a nun. I loved and admired all the nuns who had taught me and I wanted to be like them. This was a far cry from how the process is handled today.

          When sharing with the six other postulants how we had decided to become a nun, some said they had always wanted to be a nun. They liked to play teaching school while draping their heads with a veil (frequently a diaper.) I liked to do things that I saw nuns doing, e.g,, I had made a habit of making a visit to church after school. Some of my teachers were also there. They frequently extended their arms in the form of across seemingly saying some prayers. So when I prayed at home sometime, I imitated what the nuns did. I would go to my parent’s bedroom, extend my arms and say some prayers. One evening my mother happened to walk in and saw me. I was startled when I heard her call to my brother, “Jerry, Come help me with your sister. She’s having a fit!"

          I was very surprised to discover that all of our prayers were said in Latin. They were quite lengthy, and my four years of high-school Latin were of little help. It was enough for me to know that we were praising God and to assume that God was pleased. At some point we were given a diurnal with each page in two columns, one side in Latin and the other with the English translation. Heaven sent! All our prayers today are in English. What a pleasure to praise God in our native tongue and to remember some of God's words to say throughout the day.

          I was delighted to find that we could have visitors one Sunday a month. It was the custom that we would not go home again except for one chosen day prior to our receiving the habit. Seldom was a lay person seen in the monastery. Blessing of blessings! We now have the opportunity to welcome lay visitors and to show what our charism of hospitality looks like in practice. It is commonplace to receive a note from visitors complementing on our hospitality.

          While focusing on the a few of the contrasts between then and now, I need to add that there are many aspects at the core of religious life that have never changed and that fill us with joy. A few examples would be our community prayers, our love for one another, our common vision, and on and on. I will save that for another blog.

               
Sr. Victoria Eisenman, OSB