St. Joseph at Christmas

In the Gospel of Matthew (Mt. 2: 18-25) for the last Sunday of Advent God’s plan for our salvation is at a pivotal moment. Mary is facing a grim future--she was found to be with child. In the Jewish law of the time she and the child could have been stoned or shunned for the rest of their lives, forced to live on the margins in poverty and destitution

At this point God’s plan for salvation depends upon Joseph. And what do we know of Joseph? Joseph is called a righteous man, a carpenter by trade.  He was of the lineage of David through Abraham. He was from Nazareth in Galilee. He was betrothed to Mary.

For a man who is pivotal to our salvation, he is remarkably quiet; he says nothing in Scripture. Basically, that’s all we ever know about Joseph. Except …that he has dreams to which he pays attention, dreams that he interprets as a man of righteousness and relationships as the voice of God breaking into his life.

In the first dream an angel appears and tells him what to do.  Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. It is a righteous thing. You are of the house of David. The Child has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son. You will name him Jesus because he is coming to save his people, your people. from their sins.  This will fulfill the prophecy by Isaiah in which a savior will come,  Emmanuel which means God is with us.

This Gospel has been called the Annunciation to Joseph but Joseph does not get to ask a question or dialogue with the angel. He wakes up and does what the angel tells him to do which is, in essence, extending protection to Mary and the child to be born. The rest of his three his dreams go the same way. In all of them he is told to protect Mary and the child.

Because Joseph says nothing in the Scriptures, it is tempting to assign him our own thoughts and words. And we do. Pope Francis says, “I have a great love for Joseph because he is a man of silence and strength.” Francis continues, “Joseph is a ‘protector’ because he is able to hear God’s  voice and be guided by God’s will; protecting, demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness.  In the Gospels, Saint Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!”

What about our own tenderness and strength? As I was working on this, I had been reading about the impeachment and other political and social news of the day. Tenderness is not in vogue in our society today. Tenderness is a fragile thing. For myself, I can let my ego, judgementalism and inattention to God’s voice get in the way of engaging my tenderness.

As we celebrate Christmas this year of 2019, a year of political and social division, a year of anger and rage, where is our tenderness engaged? During this Christmas season, as we pray for protection from all evil, where is the spirit of the silent, protective, tender Joseph in our lives?

Sr. Deborah Harmeling, OSB

Do You Have a CC?

            I’ve had a CC now for two years or so. It’s the name I chose for my cane: Constant Companion. At times, when I have a short distance to go, for example from one part of a room to another part, I go without it. It’s more daring to go from one room to another room – then realize I don’t have it! Where was I last? Where did I leave it? St. Anthony, help me find my CC – again!

             After a while, I came to a new realization: I’ve always had a CC – all my life, whose name is Jesus. How much better to live with Him in mind, to know that this need is so much stronger than a cane!

            In addition to a guardian angel, I walk with Jesus at my side. He prays with me, as we glorify and thank our Father together for a pretty day, a much-needed rainfall, a safe trip out and back again, healing for a member of my family or anyone else. He’s at my side in the presence of the other Sisters at mealtime, at Mass, and Liturgy of the Hours; in the students I teach, in the kind and considerate co-workers at school. I know His healing presence in those who care for me in the infirmary, and in the doctors that I see.

            Sometimes He is asking me to be patient with others, and with myself, sometimes to share a splinter from His cross. I hear His word proclaimed in liturgy with a message of love, sometimes chastisement, sometimes consolation and hope, especially now in the Advent season. We look forward to celebrate His first coming on Christmas, but in the meantime, Jesus sneaks up on us in so many surprising ways. After all, He said, “Be ready; you don’t know the day or the hour.”

            So now, CC is a reminder of my Constant Companion who is Jesus, always and everywhere. I dare not leave Him behind, for then I truly cannot walk to reach eternal life in His kingdom.

                        Sr. Mary Carol Hellmann, OSB

Airport Awakening

Among the many themes of Advent are longing and patient waiting for a deeper relationship with Christ. My Advent began early. Two incidents occurred, within a month of each other. Both involved patience and waiting at the airport; a ten hour and six-hour delay. Both meant the scheduled evening meetings had to be cancelled. Both occurred at a Chicago airport while trying to connect to flights that offer few connecting ones to my final destination. In both instances I missed the connection only by a matter of minutes – but not for lack of trying! Airport congestion, not weather was the common theme causing delays.

Deep breathing has become my friend. Putting things in perspective becomes even a better friend. Repeating to myself, “In the light of eternity will waiting an extra ten hours matter at all?“ Of course not.

In truthfulness, I did not take the opportunity to consider all the types of waiting one does in life while I was sitting in the airport. I mostly fretted.  Since then, though, I have been considering this event in light of the Advent theme concerning the varieties of waiting that occur in a person’s life.

 There is the anticipatory joy filled waiting: a birth of a new baby, celebrating Christmas with family and friends, an approaching graduation, a wedding. Then there are difficult sometimes anguished waiting: families praying and waiting for sons and daughters in the military, some of whom are serving in dangerous areas, to return home; waiting at the bedside of a dying family member; refugees and immigrants waiting to cross into lands that offer hope and promise; or the out-of-work person waiting for a call back saying she is hired; or the distress of waiting for the results of a biopsy. 

All of these and so many more are real moments of waiting. As we await the Promised One, let us put aside anxiety and long together for the Spirit of God that lives among us today.

Even long delays have potential to awaken. A ten-hour wait in the airport can strengthen empathy and connection with others. Due to my human frailty, however, in the future I will plan to find connecting flights through another airport!

Sr. Aileen Bankemper, OSB

An Advent Moment (in Chapel)

In this quiet moment,

In your space, God,

Inspire us with your spirit,

open in us your Word.

Grace us with a glimpse of your presence:

 soundless, surrounding, enfolding -

an unexpected lighting of dawning darkness.

It is late.  You urge us forth, to seek you other-where.

For how can we know you truly, except in touching sister and brother?

                                   Come, Lord Jesus, come!

       Sr. Sharon Portwood, OSB

Work of God

          St. Benedict tells us in his Rule "to prefer nothing to the work of God".  We also know  that the primary ministry of Benedictines is this work of God.  What is this work of God?  The work of God is our prayer life of the Liturgy of the Hours and also our Lectio Divina.  Benedictines take this work of God very seriously, it is our life-long commitment. 

          The other day I arrived early for the Liturgy of the Hours and was able to see the sisters assemble. One sister, in her 90's, was pushing a wheelchair sister into the chapel. The wheelchair sister was pushing the walker of the helper ahead of the wheelchair. I am always struck by the consistency of the infirmary sisters coming to the liturgy of the hours.The rest of the community eventually gathered.This is the same in the early hours of the morning or at the other prayer times during the day. 

          

          Beside the morning prayer time and evening time, we have two other times during the day, one at noon and one in the evening. Lectio Divina, or praying with the Scriptures, is done privately by each of us during the day.

          What is the Liturgy of the Hours? It is the Divine Office and consists in singing a hymn, praying a selection of Psalms, reading of Scripture, a sung Canticle, the Our Father and a closing prayer. In the morning, the Canticle of Zachary is sung and in the evening, it is the Canticle of Mary. General Intercessions are prayed in the evening, praying for the needs in the world and timely intentions among us. We always have prayer intentions from people on our liturgy board in the hallway that are posted regularly.The word "Liturgy" means "the work of the people."  Here at prayer the work of the people becomes the work of God.  God receives our work and gives it back a hundred fold!

          A quote I discovered recently from the book of Wisdom says:  "Desire therefore my words; long for them and you shall be instructed."  Wisdom 6:11.

          Sr. Barbara Woeste, OSB

November Reflection

This is November—gray, drizzling, chilly, depressing.

I wish it were May—sunny, dazzling, warm, uplifting.

Uh oh, whatever happened to my favorite poem by e.e. cummings?

             i thank You God for most this amazing

             day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything

which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,

and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth

day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay

great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing

breathing any—lifted from the no

of all nothing—human merely being

doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of ears awake and

now the eyes of eyes are opened)

           

How could I doubt that God is here in the gray drizzle of November, any less than in the dazzling warmth of May? 

May the dark dormancy of winter bring the vibrant life of spring.

May each of us enjoy the darkness, the quiet, the down time now, and the light and chatter of spring to come.

God is here. We are God’s beloved in every time, in every temperature and every color.

AMEN.

                          Sr. Nancy Kordenbrock, OSB

BENEDICTINE ALL SAINTS DAY!

     On this day, in my distant past, we celebrated this day, November 13^th, as the “Feast of Benedictine All Saints.”  That was a special day for us Benedictines. After all, there are over 1500 years of women and men Benedictines who have passed on to eternal life over that time. hat would have been countless Saints, canonized or not. St. Paul says, we are all saints of God. Now, of course they are not celebrated separately, but included with the whole Communion of Saints on All Saints Day, and individually through-out the year. 

     St. Benedict & St. Scholastica provided a Gospel way of life for us that has endured through-out the ages for, not only the women and men monastics, but also for the oblates who live out the same charism in their everyday lives. “Preferring nothing to Christ, and allowing Christ to lead us all to life everlasting.” (H.R. Ch. 72:11-12) Christ is our Guide and Leader on this Way.

     How does Christ form and transform us into his disciples?  Just as Jesus did the disciples in Galilee some 2000 years ago.  In his book, Jesus the Gift of Love, Jean Vanier sums up his method: 

Jesus formed these men and women not in a formal way by teaching ideas, skills, or giving them classes in Scripture, but he formed and transformed them by living with them, walking with them, being a model for them.

He loved them and they loved him so naturally they learned from him, to do things as he did them.  He taught them how to live the good news, how to trust the Father and to read the signs of God in all the little events of each day. 

He showed them that faith is trust in God, not ideas about God, and that this faith and trust grow day by day through all that is beautiful as well as through all that is painful, all that reveals our weakness and poverty.He showed them that trust is like a dialogue, a communion between hearts that is continually deepening.

Jesus gave them an example of how to live, how to love, how to welcome the poor, how to become a friend of the powerless, how to be with women and men and with strangers, even the Roman troops, how to be with sinners, tax collectors, and victims of prostitution.

They saw how Jesus lived, simply and poorly, open to each moment and to each situation, open to the will of the Father, and how he was moved and motivated not by a codified, written law, but by the law of love, the love of each person in need. 

  

    Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus formed and transformed the disciples. Filled with that same Spirit we continue that way of life today in our communities and in our homes. Jesus gave us the Spirit as a guarantee of his accompanying us on our journey to the kingdom. In Christ we are formed and transformed into the Communion of Saints with all God’s people and all creation.   ALLELUIA! 

         Sr. Mary Tewes, OSB

Visiting Kentucky's Death Row

          On the day of posting this blog, November 6, 2019, I am visiting the men on Kentucky’s Death Row at the State Penitentiary in Eddyville along with seven other religious women and one man, representing 6 religious communities. A group of us (Religious Communities Against the Death Penalty) have participated in this annual event almost every year since 1997. Our commitment to this practice began with awareness and the need to witness to the value of all life in opposition to the culture of death pervasive in our society.

           At the present time there are twenty-eight men and one woman under the sentence of death in Kentucky. I rejoiced when I just now checked the list online to see that one man whom we have visited for years has been resentenced. Usually “resentenced” means he is now serving “life without possibility of parole” which certainly satisfies the requirements of justice for him and safety for society. According to the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, ninety-seven persons have been sentenced to death in Kentucky. They report that fifty of those sentences have been reversed on appeal or post-conviction.

          Only three men have been executed since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1976 after a hiatus of several years in which the state tried (but failed) to ensure that it was administered fairly. The last execution was eleven years ago of a man who rejected the appeals to which he was entitled and chose to be executed as soon as possible. Many of us see this as a form of state assisted suicide.

          In 2010 a judge ordered a stay of executions in Kentucky while attorneys argued over, among issues, protocols involving drugs used during lethal injection. This has not yet been resolved and, thankfully, there does not seem to be any motivation for resolution at this time. It is our hope and prayer that Kentucky will soon pass legislation to abolish the death penalty and rely upon the other sentencing options to administer appropriate justice to victims and offenders.

          So today we will pray and visit with some men whom we have known for over twenty years even though we see them only once a year. Some are newcomers; our latest friend came in 2014. Usually twelve to sixteen come over to the chapel/visiting room to be with us. We often celebrate Mass with their regular chaplain; today we are glad to have our own Glenmary Father John Rausch preside. It is an awesome experience to pray with men who so sincerely lay their souls bare to God’s mercy and beg for grace upon all persons they have touched in their lives, especially their victims and all who suffer violence.

         After Mass we sit in twos and threes to share what’s new in our lives, our hopes and concerns for about 30-40 minutes. We have come to know about their families and their backgrounds and to appreciate their personalities and their gifts. They always express their profound gratitude to us for coming the distance and for our letting them know that we love and respect them as our brothers in God’s family. They always remind us, more by their example than their words that, “No one deserves to be judged by the worst thing s/he ever did.”

          Sr. Dorothy Schuette, OSB

The Faithful Departed and Purification

          As a postulant in 1964 I recall making multiple visits to chapel to pray for the dead. In order to have each one “count” as a separate visit one had to leave the chapel and come back in. It was probably November 2, and I do not know if it was a monastery custom or a church practice. Certainly there was a “more is better” point of view behind the practice. I could not find its source.

          The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed was instituted by Odilo, Abbot of Cluny in France, in 998. It was accepted in Rome as part of the liturgical year in the 14^th century after the monks spread the custom of this remembrance. The departed who were not quite ready for heaven spent time in purgatory, less an actual place than an opportunity to be purified. Western theology in the Middle Ages focused on the penal and expiatory character of purgatory. Eastern theology explored its mystical nature, as a process of maturation and spiritual growth.

 

          The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but who are still imperfectly purified…undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” How often do we hear ourselves and others say that he or she went straight to God. We are not entitled to judgment, so we testify to the maturation and spiritual growth that has been a witness to us.

          Following the tradition of centuries, we pray for the dead at each Eucharist:

Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face. (Eucharistic Prayer II)

          Two lines from our Liturgy of the Hours readings affirm the belief that God’s love pursues us until we are face to face:

St. Augustine: “…Faith…assures us that when believers die they go but a little distance from us that they may pass to a better state.” (4^th-5^th c.)

St. Catherine of Genoa: “God so transforms the soul that it knows nothing other than God…God will not cease until the soul is brought to its perfection.” (15^th c.)

          I am long past 18 when I made multiple visits to chapel on Nov. 2. My parents have joined the “faithful departed.” These readings and those from the lectionary for this day confirm that:

We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.        (Romans 6:4)

           Sr. Christa Kreinbrink, OSB

Return on Investment

                A year or so ago I started exchanging gratitude text with a friend each day. The text became a source of connection and mutual accountability for taking time each day to acknowledge the positive in our lives. Recently, I’ve taken the practice as routine without much thought on its larger impact. That changed last week.

                In a moment of mindless hurriedness, I locked my keys in the car. What I hoped would result in a quick resolution became a two and half hour wait for assistance.  After my initial frustration with myself my focus shifted. I noticed the beautiful fall afternoon as I waited by the car.  I was aware of a sense of relief that this occurred in a safe area in the daylight. Kind souls let me back into the school I had just left which allowed me to get some work done. 

                After receiving a text that assistance would soon arrive I went back to the car. The next 30 minutes involved several phone calls from the driver trying to figure out exactly where I was after GPS led him astray. During the third phone call he expressed his frustration with being led astray and how he often is called all kinds of names by angry people waiting for assistance.Without pause I responded with a promise not to call him any names or to express anything but gratitude for his assistance. Once he arrived he quickly opened my car and sent me on my way with a warm goodbye and a wish for a safe evening.

                It was only as I was driving home that I paused to think about my awareness and reactions through the afternoon.I realized that a situation that once would have only brought frustration, anger and impatience took on a whole different experience. My gratitude practice with my friend, 20 years of praying the psalms in the monastery, and many other practices over the years have shaped my reactions that afternoon. The return on investment of my time and focus was evident last week. The unwelcomed and unexpected event became an opportunity for gratitude, awareness of grace, and even joy at the kindness of others.

This experience gives me hope to persevere even when I wonder about the impact of my investment.   It also reminds me of my own humanness as I now work on being more mindful (especially when getting out of the car). May each of us persevere in those practices which mold us into more kind, compassionate and grateful human beings!

Sr. Kimberly Porter, OSB

Sauntering toward the light

          Cincinnati is not known as a city that comes alive at night like downtown Chicago or New York City. This past week, however, the region was abuzz, “alight” if you will (pun intended), with the BLINK festival. “BLINK is one of the largest light, art and projection mapping events in the nation. This year it spanned more than 30 city blocks and crossed the historic John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge over the Ohio River. BLINK turned "the region into an outdoor art museum with large-scale projection mapping installations, murals, and immersive art.” While most of this year’s event will remain a mystery to me, I did manage to see the displays on the Covington side of the river. And they did not disappoint.

          While the world’s largest disco ball was a sight to see, there were other stops along the walking tour that prompted a bit more pause. One was the Suspension Bridge. It was stunning. But the more impressive sight was the people crossing the bridge. From my vantage point, I could not hear them or see any features, just silhouettes were visible. Just people. But they just coming, and coming, and coming, slow and steady. It was an endless procession sauntering toward the light. Perhaps there was more to see on the other side—something brighter, more colorful, something new. At the very least, there were many opportunities to see our world differently, if only for a few brief nights.

          Did I walk the bridge? Not a chance. I didn’t want to be caught in that crowd after hearing reports of the bridge swaying! But will I saunter towards the light? I certainly hope so.

          Eileen O'Connell

Feast of the Holy Rosary

In just five more days we will celebrate the feast of the Holy Rosary. It also reminds me of the way I came upon my name as a religious (Sr. Victoria.) In 1946 I was a nun in our high school senior class play about a Catholic Boarding School. How could the director find enough habits to outfit the nuns in the play? The elementary school principal had the answer for me. Her deceased sister, Sr. Victoria, had my perfect fit. I returned the habit, but the name stuck.

Next, I wanted to know from which title of Mary the name was derived. I found the titles in alphabetical order and far to the bottom was “Our Lady of Victory.“ As you might guess, the origin of that title would be another blog! After I graduated high school in 1946 and entered St. Walburg Monastery, the postulant phase ended, and It was time for the novitiate year and for a new name. We were given the opportunity to write three names in order of our preference. Was I ever excited as my first choice, Sr. Victoria’ was announced.

In preparation for the feast on October 7^th, I enjoyed doing a little research on the Holy Rosary. I discovered that the word rosary came from the Latin word, Rosarium, crown of roses or garland of roses. That brought additional thought for me when I say the rosary. I had known that people in very early times counted prayers on a string of beads. I did not know that the Our Father was the prayer repeated 150 times.

In 1214 Our Lady is said to have appeared to St. Dominic, gave him a rosary, and told him to promulgate the rosary for the protection Mary gives the Church in answer to the faithful who pray the rosary. She also told him to substitute the Hail Mary for the Our Fathers and that adding the meditation on the mysteries would help eradicate a current heresy. While this apparition may be legend, there is adequate historical proof that Dominic and the Dominicans who followed him did as Mary requested.

I had no idea that the 150 beads were related to the 150 psalms. Then someone had the idea of separating each set of 10 Hail Mary with an Our Father. In monasteries it became the custom for the uneducated who could not read to substitute the rosary for selections from 150 psalms that the educated prayed several times a day.

. From the 16^th to the early 20^th century the structure of the rosary remained essentially the same. In the early 20^th century the Fatima prayer was added to the end of each decade and became very popular. There were no other changes until 2002 when Pope John Paul II instituted the Luminous Mysteries. For me these were a beautiful addition and brought the mysteries of the rosary full circle.

         Sr. Victoria Eisenman, OSB

Befriending Death

          Recently with increasing age and increasing disabilities I have been contemplating end of life issues at the behest of my primary doctor. Many know that Henri Nouwen and Thomas Merton have been my favorite companions for many years; likewise my spiritual director for 20 years Louis J. Lipps SJ who is currently enjoying his reward in heaven. My OSB Benedictine Monastery has also been rich in fertile ground for contemplation and spiritual enrichment through examples of holy women in their pursuit of holiness in becoming one with Jesus. Much of the following thoughts are coming from reviewing some of my past journaling.

          2 Cor.4:18 “ So fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  It seems that one of the mysteries of life Is that memory may often bring us closer to each other than actual physical presence. Physical presence not only invites but can blocks communication. In our pre-resurrection state our bodies hide as much as they reveal, indeed, many of our conversations only touch on the periphery of our lives while ongoing sharing of deeper thoughts creates this closeness we seek. The more experience in living we have the more we sense that this continuous interplay between both memory and felt presence the closer we become within the body of Jesus Christ. Nouwen mentions times he has sat before the tabernacle for an hour of prayer and meditation which ends up not being a period of serious attentiveness to the divine.

         Mysteries but rather fatigue, distractions, inner restlessness confusion and sleepiness.

That describes my attempts to quiet meditation. However he/I still seek this that knowing That being in the Presence of the Lord and knowing that that He knows me and understands me is still fulfilling. God is truly greater than our/my senses, greater than my seemingly scattered thoughts, and definitely greater than my heart.

       I have become much more attuned to our daily recitation of the Divine Office which we pray

4x daily. Since retiring from work because of these noted disabilities I am not quite as distracted as previous. It is amazing how these psalms inspire us to voice our own deepest feelings and aspirations. Psalm 139 has become my go to psalm with its many lofty thoughts of God’s knowledge of all my thoughts and inability to hide from Him even if I flee to the heavens to get away.

        Happy befriending death.

                    Sr. Joan Gripshover, OSB

An 1859 Train Ride

Our monastery annals say three sisters arrived from Erie, Pennsylvania on June 3, 1859 to begin the foundation of St. Walburg Monastery. On August 2 Sr. Alexia Lechner with another sister arrived. I have always wondered how these first sisters of our community got here. Our annals do not mention their mode of transportation. 

I had in my fantasy that they came down the Ohio River on riverboat and landed at the Covington Public Landing. That fantasy was dashed when I did some research and found that they would have had to come from Pittsburgh to arrive on riverboat.

I next emailed the current archivist, Sr. Theresa Zoky at Mount St. Benedict Monastery in Erie to ask if she had any information about how the early sisters traveled. She said it was oral tradition in the community that the sisters who went to Covington traveled by train. I started to look at the history of trains in the United States in the mid-19^th century.

Quickly finding that history to be more complicated than I could easily comprehend, I did find a map of US trains in 1859 the Library of Congress. But I didn’t have enough information to make sense of it. I needed to find a train historian. In my Internet search I found the Railroad and Locomotive Society and took a chance and emailed Peter Hansen, the editor of Railroad History. To my atonishment he emailed back within two hours with all kinds of information. He told me to look at the Library of Congress map I had already found at . https://www.loc.gov/item/98688395/ . Then he translated the map for me. He said Mother Alexia’s journey mostly likely would have been:

·         Westward on the Cleveland & Erie Rail Road between its namesake cities.·         The Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad, but only between Cleveland and Columbus; the CC&C wouldn’t reach Cincinnati until 1872.

·         The Columbus & Xenia west to Xenia. (I’m not sure why it’s spelled “Yenia” on the map; it’s probably a typo.) 

·         The Little Miami Railroad from Xenia to Cincinnati.

·         A ferry from Cincinnati to Covington. Although the map shows that the Kentucky Central ran between those two points, it’s important to remember that the Roebling Bridge was the first to span the Ohio River at Cincinnati, and it wasn’t finished until 1866. If the railroad advertised service between Cincinnati and Covington, it would have been on a ferry. So-called car ferries, with railroad tracks laid on their decks, were pretty common everywhere in the country before bridges spanned major rivers. [Who knew?] 

So grateful to have received this wonderful information, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know:

• How long the trip would have taken?
• Were tickets arranged according to class?
• What kind of railroad cars were typical of the time?
• Where would the passengers have gotten food?
• Sleeping arrangements and how the trip would have felt?

Sister Alexia Lechner

Peter’s answers were wonderful. The total train ride would have about 28 hrs. Most likely the sisters were in coach class. The cost of the travel varied and I will have to see if the state historical society has any records. The cars were universally of wood construction. In 1859, ventilation would have come from open windows.  Smoke could indeed blow in through the open windows, but in 1859, almost all locomotives were wood burners, so it wouldn’t have been sooty, as later coal smoke was. There were no automatic “knuckle” couplers of the kind used today; couplings were done with an iron pin inserted through an oblong link connecting the cars. This tended to make the cars jostle a great deal when starting and stopping. Another safety feature, air brakes, hadn’t debuted yet; cars were braked by means of a wheel on the outside platform of the car, which were turned by the brakeman upon a whistle signal from the engineer. It was pretty primitive.

            Budget-minded passengers [as of course the sisters would be] often brought their own food. Dining cars didn’t exist in 1859, but trains did stop at trackside eating houses, most of which were of poor quality. Sleeping cars were pretty basic in 1859, where they ran at all. The passenger got a hard wooden platform to lie down upon, and may or may not have had a mattress, bedding, and curtains. Sleeping cars took a quantum leap forward in the next decade, becoming quite luxurious, more private, and attended by well-trained porters. Such innovations were largely absent in 1859, however. It was considered somewhat disreputable for women to use the sleeping cars — and scandalous if the berths didn’t have curtains, which was often the case in 1859. Both Peter and I wonder if the sisters might have stopped overnight along the way, perhaps at a hotel, a convent, or even a rectory.

            Peter’s final suggestion was to read a book titled Wet Britches and Muddy Boots: A History of Travel in Victorian America, published by Indiana University Press and written by John H. White, Jr., curator emeritus of transportation at the Smithsonian. I haven’t read the book yet.

            I was so pleased to get this information about train travel in 1859 and I owe a great debt to Peter Hansen for cheerfully providing all this information. He gave me the insight I wanted in the experience our sisters had in traveling from Erie, Pennsylvania. Thank you, Peter! My next project will be to see what the city of Covington was like when the sisters arrived.

                                  Sr. Deborah Harmeling, OSB

             

Reflections on Dec. 7,’ Sept. 11, and Today’s Fragmented Society

          The other day someone on National Public Radio used the term “fractured” to describe the society we live in today. It caught my ear with its pointed truth.

          I’d been thinking about the anniversary of 9/11/2001 and a catastrophe 60 years earlier, Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. I was reflecting on the similarities and differences between these two horror-filled events and their ensuing years of impact. While the US societies attacked 60 years apart were quite different, there were some basic similarities in the resulting consequences. Both brought unexpected mass destruction and death; both led to war and a major surge in intense patriotism; both were to have an impact that would last many years.

          As I think back to my youth in the years after Pearl Harbor, I remember a simplicity of that time. People didn’t seem to have trouble with easy answers to complex issues. We firmly believed that using ration stamps, saving tin cans, and growing a vegetable garden in our front yard would help win the war. Movies bolstered the country’s confidence by always depicting America as victorious over a diabolical enemy; they assumed that the US was always right and right would always win in the end. The whole country seemed to be bound together with a shared spirit of purpose and vision.

          When Pearl Harbor was bombed, the country was shattered. Since the planes themselves revealed that the enemy was the Japanese government, our president immediately declared war on Japan, and the government developed a “logical” plan to make our country safer. It issued orders that all Japanese-American citizens had to relocate to centers where they could be under continual observation and control by the military and other officials. The suspicion they would betray America for Japan was prevalent. Anyone Asian-looking was suspect because they might be connected with Japan. (One vivid image I have from that time is a photo spread in Life Magazine that illustrated how to distinguish between Japanese and Chinese people. Japanese were the ones to be wary of!)

          Sixty years later, by 9/11/2001, American culture had transformed from a rather homogenous population to one where differences were common; it wasn’t unusual to interact with someone of another color or nationality. Media and other businesses were becoming more focused on the interests and needs of individuals. In the media world, cable tv had grown from small regional entities in the mountains to networks offering hundreds of channels to appeal to countless variety of tastes. The Walkman had launched the personal media boom in 1980 and tv platforms like Facebook and Pinterest were fueling the division of one general audience into millions of audiences.

          Given the change in US culture from one with a kind of communal sense in the ‘40’s to an individuated one 60 years later, one might expect the long term aftermath of the two catastrophes to be very different. Fast-forward to today. Even now, almost 20 years after the 9/11 attack, anyone who even looks Islamic is susceptible to negative treatment because of some people’s fear and attribution of guilt by association. Since 9/11 it seems to be harder for suspicions and fear of the “other” to fade because of the almost continuous tensions and war between the US and many Islamic nations. Exacerbating the situation is the existence of the special prison in Guantanamo and recent US immigration laws and practices.

          What are we to make of all this? One thing is that many of our major problems today have long roots; this means they are not easily solved. There’s no magic wand that will erase distrust of “the other.” Another is that because today’s conflicts are different, so are paths to resolution and peace. Rationing and victory gardens won’t bind a country together when vision and perspectives are miles apart. Still another is that maybe the problems of yesterday were not simple after all, and that the chosen “solutions” weren’t able to heal the roots and the wounds are still with us.

          What to do? Maybe because we are a fractured society, healing has to be approached a fragment or two at a time. Two people or groups listening patiently to each other seems inconsequential when the fracture is so severe. On the other hand, repairing a shattered ceramic vase or cleaning a valuable art masterpiece has to happen one tiny piece at a time.

          When God wanted to heal the wounds of the world and reunite humanity with the divine, there was no earth-shattering grand gesture. Rather one man, his son, came in an unassuming manner to an unassuming part of the world. The planet didn’t come screeching to an end when Jesus gave his life on the cross or even when he rose from the dead. Not many people noticed either event, but the mandate he left us was to do an immense thing in a tiny way: Love one another as I have loved you. May each of us work at world peace, even if it is “just” one fragment at a time.

                               Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

185 Volunteer Hours and Counting

            One hundred-eighty-five hours and counting. This has become the new reality for Sister Ann John Kotch, a Benedictine who lives here at the Monastery. I have the joy of living with her.

After a degree and nine years of enjoying teaching, Sister Ann John heard another call and responded to the Community’s need for registered nurses.  She finished a degree and began her new career at Marcum and Wallace Hospital in Estill County Kentucky serving in many nursing capacities at this small hospital.  She had many tasks and was especially fond of working the Emergency Room and with newborn babies. 

When it was time to move on she worked in healthcare in Northern Kentucky. Sister Ann John started at a Health Clinic for the homeless in Covington Kentucky. She has been duly recognized for her outstanding years of service there. It is not stretching the truth too much to say that she was in love with her work. In addition to working with their medical problems she looked at the whole person providing connections for their needs including clean new socks!  Many a Saturday found her shopping for “her guys”. However, after more than thirty years at the clinic it was time for a change – this time called retirement. 

Sr. Ann John Kotch

But her heart was still with that work. Hence the search for a volunteer service. A wonderful match has been found. She is now working at Faith Community Pharmacy several times a week.  The pharmacy provides medications for those who cannot afford them. She does a wide variety of tasks—whatever is needed. (Just ask her and she will happily tell you all about the many different things she does.) Sister Ann John is especially excited about the time she spends with the clients helping them to understand their medications and how to best to take them. Having already volunteered 185 hours she is still as enthusiastic as ever.

I am grateful for time spent with her and to hear details of her day and her many stories.  I pray that her enthusiasm is catching and I will be one of its recipients.

                                                                  Sr. Mary Rabe, OSB