Companions on the Journey

          On Saturday, November 1, we celebrate the Feast Day of All Saints.  This feast is a celebration of the Communion of Saints and all the saints of the Church’s Liturgical Year, those with assigned days and those not celebrated on any particular day.  It is an inclusive celebration for “all saints” in general. We remember the lives of these saints and how they grew in holiness.  Sometimes we try to imitate their virtues. We all have our favorite saints.
          November 2 is the feast day of All Souls Day, and we remember all who have died, our relatives, community and friends. We pray for them and ask them to also intercede for us who are still on our journey. The older I get, the more people there are to remember on All Souls Day, my parents, friends, community and co-workers.
          Recently, on October 23, our community lost a friend and companion, Sr. Betty Cahill.  She is greatly missed and will certainly be remembered on All Souls Day

           Sr. Barbara Woeste

            

The Communion of saints

              The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality notes that “the wider communion of saints unites across the boundaries of time and space. This communion includes those at the margins as well as those in the mainstream of Christian Traditions.”

               The canonized saints as well as the unlisted saints make up a large canopy over us that strengthen and encourages us to create the path/way that can lead each of us individually to reach the full communion of saints within the Body of Christ. A uniting factor is an uncompromising commitment with a willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of reaching a perfect relationship with God within the communion of the Trinity.

               Some of the variety of Saints in October liturgies are:

               Oct. 1. St. Theresa of Lisieux who in 1873 wrote “I am only a very little soul who can only offer very little things to Our Lord.”

               Oct. 15. St. Theresa of Avila (1515) wrote volumes on the stages of prayer with a great sense of humor. Once her travelling carriage turned over and she fell into streams of muddy water, exclaiming to God; “How could you let this happen?” God replied, “This is how I treat my friends.” Her answer: “No wonder you have so few of them.”

               Oct. 17. St. Ignatius of Antioch (107) wrote on his way to Rome to be martyred by the being to beasts. “Let me be fodder for wild beasts if that is how I can get to God. I am God’s wheat and I am being ground by the teeth of wild beasts to make a pure loaf for Christ.”

               As we reflect upon these saints and many more, let remembere the Letter to the Hebrews 12:1ff. “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes on Jesus, the leader and perfection of faith.”

                              Sr. Joan Gripshover, OSB

St. Walburg Monastery's Great Cloud of Witnesses

     Daily at Evening Prayer this community intercedes for its deceased--Sisters, relatives, friends--with  special reminder of of a Sister who died on that particular day. Each time we enter chapel from the infirmary we pass two large charts of necrology, a listing of the dead who served God and this community. The first death occurred in 1863; the last in September, 2011--a total of 286 sisters! My life in this community has brought me into contact, one way or another with 196 of these women. Sr. Mary Jane Andrews died in 1945 and Sr. Ruth Yost in 2011. A favorite early morning or late afternoon walk takes me to our cemetery located up the road behind the monastery. It is a place of peace, quiet and beauty. But as we celebrate the the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, a trip to our cemetery becomes for me an annual pilgrimage. It is so easy to remember!

     A short walk shows, in the distance, the crucifixion sculpture, a gift of the St.Walburg Academy alumnae in 1930. It tops the hillside and overlooks all the graves below and around. First to be buried in this cemetery was Mother Walburga Saelinger, second prioress of St.Walburg Monastery, who died in 1928. those who preceded her in death are buried in Mother of God cemetery in Latonia, and their names are engraved on a plaque near the crucifixion scene. A casual walk among the graves and frequent stops at special markers revive memories and deepest appreciation of my early Benedictine teachers at Holy Cross and my monastic community at St. Walburg's. A private pilgrimage in these early days of November makes me feel part of that "great cloud of witnesses" spoken of in Hebrews 12:1 into which, with the grace of God and the help of my monastic community, I hope to join. After all St. Benedict prays in Chapter 72 of the Rule that Christ may lead us all together to everlasting life.
                                                                                 Sr. Andrea Collopy, OSB