Holy Week

Sr. Mary Tewes

      Beginning with the procession into Chapel on Passion Sunday with our palms and hymn, we are lead to review our lives as disciples of the Christ we follow, especially this week.  Holy Mother Church gives us such powerful readings and rituals each day of this holiest of weeks carrying us through the Triduum to the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection, next Saturday Evening.

      In reviewing the year, I am grateful for the wonderful opportunity I had accompanying our Benedictine Oblates on the study of Chapter 7 of the Holy Rule, on “Humility,” using a book by Fr. Michael Casey, OSB “A Guide to Living in the Truth: Saint Benedict’s Teaching on Humility.” Beginning in November, this study has led us on through the Advent-Christmas Season, through Lent, and will go into the Easter Season. 

      Oblate Dottie Due lead the first session with a prayer she compiled from various sources on humility.  I asked Dottie if I could share her prayer which we used opening other sessions as well. Key to her prayer was Jesus telling us, 

               “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29)

Benedictine Oblate Dottie Due

Prayer:  “Gracious God, in Jesus we witness your humility, and in your Spirit we know ourselves to be called to humble service.  Break our pride, remove our fear, and heal us in our blindness.  Grant to each of us the grace of humility, so that we might realize the truth of our being and the glory of your majesty.  As we gather to discuss the book we have been reading, may your Spirit fill us with the wisdom that might lead us down a path of understanding the humility that St. Benedict calls us to embrace in our lives.

God you are present at every moment of our lives.  You see us for what we are, blessed and limited, gifted and in need of healing.  Keep us close to the earth.  Empower us to bless you for our weaknesses and our strengths.  May we say yes to your creation and to how we are made.  Reveal to us your love and mercy that we might come to understand our true identity.  Gift us with humility, the virtue of authentic self-knowledge. Then in our lowliness, we will ascend to you.

Gentle Jesus, by accepting the plan of redemption and by giving up your life for us, you have taught us humility.  Strengthen us so that we can follow in your way.  Make us true disciples of the cross.  May our humility overflow into joy, the delight of sharing our entire lives with you.

May what we reflect on and discuss together, become a part of our lives so we can become more like you, Jesus, meek and humble of heart.  Amen.” 

      I see now that the work/study we did together was a perfect preparation for celebrating the Paschal Mystery this week. And on Saturday we will get to add our “Alleluia”!

         Sr. Mary Tewes

Feast of St. Benedict

     Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Benedict.  March 21 is the date of St. Benedict's death. It is estimated

that St. Benedict lived about 68 years, if we go by the traditional date of his birth to his death,

480 A.D. to 548 A.D. Benedictines all over the world will celebrate his life and legacy on his

Feast Day.

     As members of St. Benedict's Order, we are blessed with a love of Scripture and a love of the Liturgy, both in the Eucharist and the Divine Office. From this flows our ministry. We are called to see and serve Christ in others.

     The Rule of St. Benedict is a classic for his time and ours.The Rule is very Christocentric and is a step by step guide for Monastic living and for Christian living.For Benedict, spirituality is in the dust of daily living.

     Even though St. Benedict borrowed from other rules around in his time, the writing is uniquely his and adapted to his community. One can see Benedict's spiritual growth in Christ likeness and holiness when reading from chapter 1 to chapter 73. Hopefully one can see our Benedictine growth in holiness as we strive to live the Rule of St. Benedict and the monastic life.

     If you would like to learn more about the Rule of St. Benedict and his rule in your life, you could become an Oblate (men and women of various lifestyles, who are bonded together to "truly seek God" according to the vision of St. Benedict) or perhaps a member of our community.  Sr. Mary

Tewes is our Oblate director and Sr. Cathy Bauer is our Vocation Director. Visit our website at www.stwalburg.org.

                         Sr. Barbara Woeste, OSB

"That All May Be One"

            On March 13 with millions of other TV viewers I watched Pope Francis’ first worldwide appearance. So an Argentine Jesuit, devoted to a simple lifestyle, was chosen as the leader of the whole Catholic Church! Might this event predict a new era of Catholicism? I wonder if Pope Francis will also inspire a new vision of ecumenism during his pontificate.

            Having served as executive secretary of the Northern Kentucky Interfaith Commission in 1976-85, I have had the privilege of ecumenical relationships with many Protestant pastors and congregations in our area. Recently I received a call from Clarence Lassetter, a former pastor of Ft. Mitchell Baptist Church and past president of the Interfaith Commission. Our retired Bishop William A. Hughes had died and Clarence asked me to accompany him and his wife to the visitation for Bishop Hughes at our Cathedral. Clarence added, “We want to pay our last respects to our friend, Bill Hughes.”

            Clarence’s informal way of relating to the Bishop reminded me of an occasion when the Lassetters had invited him to their home for an Interfaith gathering of new clergy in town, and Bishop Hughes came. Now, Clarence and Gean wanted to express their farewell to their friend by a final visit to him. It was an occasion for me to recognize and appreciate the ecumenical contributions of people of one God and one faith.

            I pray that Pope Francis might initiate grace-filled ecumenical happenings during his leadership of the Catholic Church “that all may be one.”

                        Sr. Martha Walther, OSB

The Prodigal

       Sunday, March 10, is the fourth Sunday of Lent, and the readings seem to shout the theme of reconciliation. We hear the story of the prodigal son. It is a story most all of us know well enough to repeat. I read in a commentary by Scott Hahn that, “It is the story of Israel and of the human race. It is the story of every believer.”  

      The only person in the story with whom I want to identify is the Father. What does that say about me? In the culture of the time of the story, the Father would have been considered very foolish indeed. Actually, he was a prodigal father. He was allowing the son to cut himself off from the family, remove himself from the traditional expectation to care for the father in his old age, and to remove himself from the family and community. I am only willing to identify with that part of the Father who dashed out to reconcile with the son and throw a party. 

      How about identifying with one of the sons? Well, maybe the Prodigal Son. At least he came back home. What was his motive? Was it real sorrow or a stomach in great need of being filled? 

      Here I am trying to pray and getting myself backed into a corner. Of course, my motives are not always the purest. Of course I sin and temporarily forget my Baptismal birthright. Amazingly, my story remains true to the Gospel. The Father nudges me and frequently even runs to remind me I am being graced to be reconciled; graced to come back to Him. Even the desire to be reconciled is initiated by the Father. 

      I will soon make a Lenten Confession, experience the warmth of the Father’s embrace and truly strive to be God’s obedient child again. What does the story say to you? 

      Sr. Victoria Eisenman, OSB
Addendum: A sister who read this blog noticed I had not mentioned the 2nd son. Another sister asked me why. Upon reflection I realized that I was in a hurry and didn't take the time to deal with that part of my shadow.I have my friends to be thankful for that insight.

The Color Purple

      No, not the movie or the book. While gazing at Sr. Emmanuel’s Lenten banner in chapel, I was struck by its purpleness. Knowing that purple is a color both of royalty and of penitence, I wondered if there was a connection. It is not immediately obvious. 

      Ancient royal purple was produced by the dye made from the gland of a tiny sea snail, the murex (See cloth at left.). Beginning in about 1500 BC, the citizens of Tyre and Sidon developed the dye through a long, difficult and expensive process requiring thousands of snails. Because of the expense, the use of Tyrian or imperial purple was restricted to kings, nobles, priests and magistrates. The color was rich, bright and colorfast, varying in hues from crimson to violet. 

     Cardinals in the Catholic church wore purple until 1464, when Pope Paul II changed the color to crimson, as Tyrian purple was no longer available. Bishops wore purple, but not of the imperial hue. In time a broader spectrum of colors became available. The Council of Trent in the 16^th century standardized liturgical colors, assigning purple to Advent and Lent. 

     Liturgical clothing expresses the church’s life in Christ. White serves as symbol of the resurrected Christ. Red, of Christ’s love, the blood of the martyrs, and the fire of the Spirit. The darker, more somber color of purple connotes the church’s share in the kingship of Christ realized through Christ’s suffering and death. Our use of purple, then, is a sign both of penitence in these seasons of preparation, and of expectation of the coming of Christ, when all colors will be united into the white of resurrected glory.

Sr. Christa Kreinbrink, OSB

Be merciful O Lord, for we have sinned.

     This psalm antiphon (in the title above) for Ash Wednesday Mass says so much to me as the psalmist speaks so well to God on my behalf.

     My relationship with God has grown over the years and yet the posture of asking for mercy is most basic for me and I pour all of my trust in God’s loving providence for me in this petition. I have sinned. I take responsibility for failing to respond appropriately and adequately to God’s love, and instead so often chose my own desire for prestige, power, possessions (cf Jesus’ temptations). And taking this responsibility implies the willingness to make needed changes with God’s help.

     Can I chalk it up to maturity that I do not need to think of myself as perfect, that I no longer need others to think I am perfect? Perhaps it’s the natural maturity of aging. But probably even spiritual growth just takes time. At any rate, it’s easier for me now than it was when I was younger, to admit my faults and failings to myself, to God and to others.

     Another dimension of Lenten practice is that we participate in this penitential season together – “we have sinned”. There is something strengthening, even comforting about the mutual support and mutual desire for healing among others who are “in the same boat”. (Read here: “The Bark of Peter”.)

     As I continue my Lenten prayer, Be merciful O Lord, for we have sinned, I will keep you in mind.

        Sr. Dorothy Schuette, OSB

    

"Look forward to Easter with joy and spiritual longing"

            There is a country song entitled, “Live Like You Were Dying.” On Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, the Church presents us with a similar invitation, “Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” These words of the Church are stark and they, like the song, remind us that we are going to die. When Tim McGraw, the author of the song, discovered that he was going to die he went skydiving and Rocky Mountain climbing. He also loved deeper, spoke sweeter and gave forgiveness he’d been denying. During Lent the Church’s invitation also calls for such a renewal of one’s life. 

            Regarding the renewal of my life, the odds are against my going sky diving but I will read, again, what St. Benedict writes in chapter 49 of the Holy Rule on the observance of Lent. “The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent. Since few, however, have the strength for this, we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times. Benedict encourages us to “add to the usual manner of our service something by way of private prayer and abstinence from food and drink so that each of us will have something above the prescribed measure to offer to God with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” I have several practical ideas of how to wash away some of the negligences of my manner of living the monastic life and I will resolve to do them this Lent. As for adding to the usual measure of my service I will be on the lookout for circumstances that will call me to do just that. 

            In the past I have not looked forward to Lent as I do to Advent. But in the process of this writing, through a chat with a friend and the words of a country song, I have come to another resolution, again from the Rule of St. Benedict. I will offer my Lenten resolutions to God “…with the joy of the Holy Spirit” and I will “…look forward to Holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing.” In Lent, as in Advent, the accent is on joy and longing. I resolve to keep that in mind. Sister Justina Franxman, OSB