Of Time Made Holy

       In 1976 the Conference of Benedictine Prioresses published a statement by this name which stressed the importance of our public prayer, the Divine Office or what St. Benedict calls the Work of God. The document was reissued in 2001. All times are holy but our communal prayer gets special recognition.

     A time I consider more holy is fast approaching. (Does holiness have a more or less?) Our monastery will start its annual retreat this Sunday. It should be a time in which we give more attention to the holy of our lives. Beginning Sunday evening we will attempt to slow down and to alter our routine to give greater attention to our spirituality—a time to draw closer to God and as a result to each other. There will be fewer tasks and more quiet to enable extra time for private prayer, reflection, and input of a spiritual nature. We will have less talking and less noise. Our meals will be in silence.

     We are blessed by the presence of Fr. Joel Rippinger, a Benedictine monk from Marmion Abbey in Illinois I have read articles by Fr. Joel and have always thought it would be good to meet him. He is an experienced retreat director and is well versed in spiritual direction. Fr. Joel is a scholar of the history of Benedictines especially in the United States. (You may Google him to learn more!) Approximately 10 times over the following five days Fr. Joel will speak to us from his knowledge and his experience.

     I look forward to spiritual reminders and expect them to be laced with great stories  I expect a booster shot and should not be disappointed. I know from experience that the closing meal on Friday evening will be full of excitement, louder than usual. We will move into the future with more energy.

          Sr. Mary Rabe, OSB