Holding lightly

              Recently I was knitting the heel of sock and found myself struggling with the yarn.I realized tension in my grip had increased making my stitches too tight for the yarn to pass freely through. In the art of knitting a balance of tension and freedom and is needed for the creation an even gauge throughout the project. Realizing what was happening I eased my tension and the heel was created with much more ease. 

During the past couple of weeks, I’ve been experimenting with what would happen if I held other things with a lighter touch. In a conversation with a co-worker holding lightly to my own opinion created space for understanding and creatively problem solving together. Holding lightly to my do list, led a fun evening of cards with my sisters. In both of these experiences, I walked away with a sense of connection and joy at the exchange. I also experienced a sense of being energized rather than drained from the tension of my own agenda.

I’m going to continue to be curious to, to experiment with holding life with a lighter touch in both serious, lighter and mundane moments. I look forward to seeing what emerges in myself, with others and in my relationship with God. Care to join the experiment? 

Sr. Kimberly Porter, OSB    

Listen Carefully

Listen carefully…

            Rule of Saint Benedict

       It is hard to write a blog today that will be made public without thinking about what is publicly taking place in our country. Yet two statements come to mind that I share with you. The first two words at the beginning of the Prologue to the Rule of Saint Benedict are “Listen carefully.” Benedict goes on to instruct us to “listen with the ear of your heart.” That is usually easier said than done, especially if one is expected to withhold making a final judgment until all the talking and discernment are concluded and it is time to vote.

       I am also reminded of a statement made some years ago by Sr. Augusta M. Raabe, OSB, who wrote that “…discernment is the process by which a person distinguishes his (her) own inner promptings, and therefore, the source of his (her) motivation." We each know how difficult it can be to listen and name the source of what motivates us to act or not; to speak or not. For sure, it motivates me to pray for all involved.

     Sr. Mary Catherine Wenstrup, OSB

Catholic Schools Week 2020

          Anticipation is rising in the monastery and excitement is on the horizon (well 10 days away).  Every year at this time we prepare for special young visitors.  The last week of January is Catholic School Week.This year it is Monday January 27 through Friday January 30. To help celebrate the event, the elementary students of Villa Madonna Academy will be coming across the road to share with us. 

          Each class gets its own time slot with one or two groups coming each day. The teachers and students prepare an activity that showcases some of their skills and allows time to interact with the Sisters. This year we can look forward to Bingo with the kindergarten students as they demonstrate knowledge of numbers and letters. There will also be a special Benedictine Bingo with the 5^th graders.  The caller describes a Benedictine value or an historical fact about the life and times of St. Benedict. The players must know the answer and hope to find it on their card.  This provides opportunity for lots of shared stories. Activities of other classes will remain surprises.

Sr. Martha Walther with children in
2019 Catholic Schools Week

         The children come in the morning and so our own lunch conversation is especially animated as we share the amazing skills, knowledge and cute things that were demonstrated earlier in the day.  Stories abound. We try to recall being that young and wondering if at that age we could do what they can do.

          On the brink of another Catholic School Week, I contemplate the message of Jesus, “Let the little children come unto me.”  Did Jesus get the same joy that we do? Was He thrilled by their response to Him? I think out of love for us He taught us to welcome the little ones as He did.

        Sr. Mary Rabe, OSB

Every Gift – a Present and a Presence

     Ever wonder who gave the first Christmas present? There’s a simple answer: God!

      God’s was the gift of Infinite Self through the gift of an infant Son. It was a Present of Presence! It was the Divine Self reaching into an imperfect world and becoming eternally present, changing the world forever. From now on any person’s gift would be a sign of humanity’s feeble attempt to replicate God’s amazing gift  of Self to us, a sign of love reaching across boundaries of all kinds.

     Think of how many times each of us has given or witnessed a gift being given. How often do we recognize the profundity it represents? One common image where, if we pay attention, we can see below the surface, is one where a small child gives a grandparent a favorite rock, a wilting dandelion, or an indecipherable drawing. The child doesn’t have the tools to express him or herself, but an adult can see the love. When this happens, usually two smiles add light to the world because God’s presence is once again visible.

     But it isn’t just these intimate human moments that echo God’s first gift:

A smile or a helping hand in a difficult situation;

a sandwich to a hungry man;

a donation to a cause when funds are running low;

the attempt to stop an argument or fight between friends;

these are all signs where God’s love is taking on human dimensions, a Christmas gift in or out of season.

     Not all gifts emerge from self-giving love. Some stem from a sense of duty, some because of other reasons. No giving though, whatever its motivation, can escape being an echo of God’s first Gift. As written in St. John’s first letter (4:7-10), “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us and sent his Son…”

     All our life long we give/receive gifts and see others’ with them. Every present carries with it the presence of its giver. Every one is a stand-in for the giver and an echo of God’s gift that first Christmas. May every smile or hand in need remind us of the presence of God’s love in our midst.

         Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

Mary, the Holy Mother of God

           I am reminded of this Feast Day, every time I take my post as greeter at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, KY.  My desk is in view of The Marian Window. This is one of the largest stained-glass windows in the world of a religious nature.It is 67 feet high and 24 feet wide at its base, and divided into four sections: the Litany of Loretto, The Crowning of Mary, The Council of Ephesus, and Sixteen Saints.

          The top section depicts various titles named in the “Litany of the Blessed Mother:” Mystical Rose, Tower of David, Seat of Wisdom, Cause of our Joy, etc. It is inspired by Marian litanies from the twelfth century on, and was approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.

           Below that, the Crowning of Mary commemorates the “Queenship of Mary”. We use this title as we pray the “Salve Regina,” or the “Hail, Holy Queen.”  This title was promulgated on October 11, 1954, by Pope Pius XII, well after this window was installed in our Cathedral, by 1920. Jesus crowning Mary as “Queen of Heaven and Earth” occupies the center of this window.

           In the lower section we see a crowded room of dignitaries gathered for the Council of Ephesus, in the city of that name (in modern Turkey) in A.D. 431. St. Cyril of Alexandria presided at the Council, representing the bishop of Rome, Celestine I. Here it was decided, against those who claimed otherwise, that “the Blessed Virgin is truly Theotokos, (Mother of God). In other words, Ephesus affirmed that the two natures of Jesus (human and divine) in one person are distinct but not separable

           It is this Feast of Mary, named “The Holy Mother of God”, that we celebrate as a Solemnity each year on January 1, New Year’s Day!

          The bottom of this long window is a row of sixteen saints, some of whom were quoted by the Council Fathers at Ephesus. In the spirit of Ephesus some defended orthodoxy or the rights of the Church, while others had particular devotion to the Blessed Mother. We are familiar with many of these:  Isaiah, Evangelists John and Luke, Popes Leo I and Gregory the Great, Saints Augustine, Dominic, Ambrose, Bernard, Jerome and others.

          Today at the Monastery our Prioress begins the Eucharistic Liturgy with a

      Proclamation for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

     People of God, we gather today in wonder and praise. 

      We glory that the age-old promise has been fulfilled.

       We marvel at the mystery of God-with-us;

       We ponder the human face of love divine, and

       We celebrate the endless  fidelity year after year and age after

                         age.

      Like Mary, let us praise this infinite blessing wrapped in the 

                         frailty of earth.

      Like Mary, let us treasure this richness and nurture its graces,

           and like Mary, let us hold for all to see the gift of salvation 

           brought by this child for us and for all the world.

      People of God, we are gathered in wonder and praise.

         (text: Colleen Winston, OSB, 2001,2006. St. Walburg Monastery, Villa Hills, KY  41017.  All rights reserved.)

          Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, now and through out this New Year 2020!

                                         

                                                        Sr. Mary Tewes, OSB