Silence and Word

“A word is dead when it is said, some say
I say it just begins to live that day.”    Emily Dickinson

          Emily Dickenson, a master of words, would probably agree with St. Benedict’s advice that we should choose our words with care. Has anyone ever encouraged you: “Take heed of what you say”, or “Speak from your heart”?  How many times have you heard, “A wise man (woman) is known by the fewness of his (her) words”?

          St. Benedict understood the power of words and of silence.  He lived three  years as a hermit before his journey moved him along a communal path.  He was well grounded in silence; silence that leads to awareness and deepens communion with God, with others.

          In chapter 4 of his Rule, he refers to speech: “Never give a hollow greeting of peace….speak the truth with heart and tongue” (RB 4 2:25, 28), and,”Do not grumble or speak ill of others.”(RB 4 39-40) And again, “Guard your lips from harmful or deceptive speech”.  (RB 4 51)

          In chapter 6, Benedict speaks of restraint.”I have resolved to keep watch over my ways that I may never sin with my tongue.” (Ps. 38)   He condemns vulgarity and gossip and malicious speech.  But more to the point here, he upholds an environment in the monastery conducive to seeking God.

          In community, we know that it takes deliberate times of brief or prolonged practice to walk in the silence that leads to awareness.  This third week of lent our communal  reflection topic is speech.   May the Word live on and flower in each and all of us as we continue our journey!     Sr. Sharon Portwood, OSB

Attitude of Gratitude

       As yet another snow storm approaches I am trying mightily to maintain or hone my “attitude of gratitude.” 

        One of my favorite poems by e.e. cummings begins “i thank You God for most this amazing day…” I have always tried to keep that thought through the events of each day. I often continue the line in my mind with the other things for which I thank God. Some days it’s easier to do than others. 

       I had knee replacement surgery at the end of January and throughout my recovery I was always grateful for the nurses, aides, therapists and others who cared for me at the hospital but most especially in our infirmary. To know that I could get help when I needed it (or before I even knew I needed it) was a real blessing. For all those loving people I am forever thankful. 

       As my sister battles cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy, I have to work harder to be grateful. Seeing her suffering and the uncertainty of the outcomes of the severe treatments is teaching me that my gratitude must widen to include the difficult and sad. Knowing that there is a greater plan than my own gives me hope. I wish for only good times but try to be open to what happens now as well as what I hope for. 

       I encourage you to join me in saying, “i thank You God for most this amazing day” and …

       Sr. Nancy Kordenbrock, OSB

Feast of St. Walburg

    Today (February 25) is the Feastday of St Walburg who is the titular patron of our St Walburg Monastery here in Villa Hills,Ky.
    Walburga lived in the eighth century. She was recruited by her uncle, St Boniface to go to Germany to help evangelize this country.  She established Benedictine Monasteries for monks and for nuns.  She welcomed the sick and the poor, healing their illnesses and comforting them.  Even today an oily dew like substance oozes from her bones with healing powers.
    Today as we celebrate this feast of Walburg  may we her spiritual daughters continue to celebrate the presence  of Jesus Christ and serve Him in the young and the old, the sick and the poor, the stranger and the guest.       
    St. Walburga, Thank you for being our guide today as you were to many in the 8th century. 
        Sr. Joan Gripshover, OSB




St Walburg, by your life  of prayer and work, God blessed you
 with the power to heal, to make souls and bodies whole.

Intercede for us that we and those we love may be healed  of sickness and sorrow.
May God hear you and send the healing grace we need, through your  powerful intercession. Amen

Unfinished Tasks, Unsolved Problems and Unfulfilled Hopes

          I usually get up quite early in the morning to do a series of physical exercises and spiritual exercises (lectio)  If time runs short I do the physical exercises because I know that I will not do them at a later time. The spiritual exercises can be done later in the day.            
         But, no matter the time, when I try to pray I am bombarded by numerous "other things."  "I have to get this done." " Someone is waiting for this." "Don't forget to do that," and on and on.  What ever happened to the grace of the present moment?  Where is it? Are all these "other things" the "evil spirits" of our era of multi-tasking?  I have no answer. Out of this quandary came the answer in the prayer at the end of Evening Prayer.                                   

   "God our Creator, by your loving design

  the world passes safely into darkness

 and returns again to light.

  We give into your hands our unfinished tasks,

 our unsolved problems

 and our unfulfilled hopes.

We commend each other and those who are needy to your care,

 knowing that you bring all things to completion.

 We pray in the name of Jesus Christ,

 who is our unfailing light and hope

 and abides with you and the Holy Spirit,

 now and forever.   

                                                     Sister Kathleen Ryan, OSB 

The Men in My Life

 

            Yes, I am a woman religious, but I do have men in my life.
             First, there was my Daddy, then six brothers, various priests as spiritual directors or retreat directors, my organ teachers, and finally, the men on Death Row. I also had one visitor at the Guest House whom I’ll never forget. That isn’t all, but these are some who have made an impression on me. Each one could be an engaging story on its own.            We are to receive guests as the person of Christ, and in my job as hospitality director for the Guest House, there are many opportunities. One solitary man on a pilgrimage, like a Don Quixote, had a dream for saving starving children. He spoke gently, prayed and ate with us. Yet he was truly a stranger, a vagrant, one whom we might shun, and send on his way. Did I see Christ in him? Yes I did. My only release from guilt was to reflect on the experience by writing about him.
            After visiting the men on Death Row at Eddyville, one of them has considered me a friend for several years. He is a poet, and author of several short stories. He writes to me regularly, and shares a great deal about himself and his family. I am old enough to be his mother, who is still alive, elderly, poor, suffering from cancer, living in a coal-mining town in the mountains on the other side of the state, so far away from him! And he worries about her. “I was in prison, and you visited me,” I hope to hear some day.
            I think of my organ teachers often when I’m sitting on the bench, knowing that I worked so hard on those Bach preludes years ago and seldom get to play them now. Today it would not sound at all like it did when I first learned them, I am so out of practice, but there are the notations from my accomplished teachers on the music, and I am reminded of their expertise and advice, and I am grateful. Will I be accountable for the use of my talent?            And my brothers – two of them have passed on to eternity; the other four, who were such Katzenjammers when we were growing up, are now proud and loving grandfathers. We have such a great time when we get together, though each of them has his own crosses to bear. (I do have three sisters who have provided me with wonderful brothers-in-law!) It is only in these later years, that I realize the tender side of my brothers, when they’ve been able to show their feelings more freely.
            I will always be thankful to the religious men who guided me through some rough times, and who continue to live the Benedictine way in their own communities, as well as to some of our diocesan priests with whom I’ve worked over the years. For example, the changes resulting from Vatican II impacted women religious in unexpected ways, and we are still reeling. Let us thank God for, and continue to pray for good priests.            Finally, there’s Daddy, always the strong one, the provider, the advisor, yet weak and helpless on his deathbed as we watched and prayed with him. Even there, he had a lesson to teach us: don’t wait so long to say, “I love you.” This followed earlier ones: “Do it today, don’t put it off;” “Never give up;” “Label those photographs.”
            So, these are men in my life, each one unique, each one provided by God for a purpose, and I am indebted, and appreciative of them.        Sr. Mary Carol Hellmann, OSB

What are we to do?

The first week of February has been a week full of disparate images and ideas that have stimulated a wide range of emotions in me.

On February 3 the Vatican Information Service issued three bulletins:

            February 2, the Feast of the Presentation, was the Day for Consecrated Life when Pope Francis presided at Eucharist with the members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life. In his homily Pope Francis remarked that Christ “became like his brothers and sisters in every respect.” He exhorted members of religious life to “bring others to Jesus.”

                       February 3 Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of Oscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador, “killed in hatred of the faith on 24 March 1908.”

                      February 3 a press conference was held “to present the first International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. The Day will be held on 8 February, the feast day of Sudanese slave St. Josephine Bakhita who, after being freed, became a Canossian Sister and was canonized in 2000.” The day will be entitled “A light against human trafficking.”

                     And on February 3 the Islamic State published a video online showing a man standing in a cage engulfed in flames. The man was the Jordanian pilot  Moaz al-Kasasbeh who was being held hostage by the Islamic State.

            What are we to think? What are we to feel? What are we to do?

            Christ became like us in every respect. We see Christ in religious women and men who have committed their lives to the love of Christ; we see Christ in the Christian martyrs, who died for their faith; we see Christ in those bound by the chains of slavery and human trafficking; we see Christ in the young Muslim boy burnt alive. And to our consternation and confusion Christ, through his Incarnation as human, calls us to see him in those who commit horrific acts of cruelty and violence.

            Once when I was hurt badly by another person, in my anger and hurt, I came to the disconcerting spiritual reality that God loved and cared for that person as much as God loved and cared for me. God loves the people of the Islamic State as much as God loves those they persecute. God yearns for their welfare and their spiritual salvation as much as God yearns for ours. And all we can do before the God of infinite love is pray that they and we may be delivered from the chains of hatred, vengeance and violence.

                        Sr. Deborah Harmeling, OSB

Do YOU Hear the Call?

The Church’s liturgy, Eucharist and Liturgy of the Hours, this past Sunday was ALL about hearing a call.

• Morning Prayer—we heard the call of Moses who answered, “Here I am.”
•   First reading at Eucharist—the call of young Eli who responded, “Your servant is listening:.
•  John’s Gospel—Jesus’ invitation his first followers to come and see. They came and called more to come.
•  Evening Prayer—Paul urged us to consider our call.

     I was a bit defensive at the end of my morning lectio. I wanted God (and you too) to know that I did hear a call in my youth. Coming to experience Christ living among the members of our monastery and learning to serve others is the best decision I ever made. Reflecting on Paul’s urging to reconsider my call today, I say happily that I’d do it all over again. The marvel of being called didn't end on the day I entered. Thank God!  

 

PS: The community is hosting a "Listen Retreat for Single Women"weekend on February 27-March 1. Contact Sr. Cathy Bauer at 859-331-6324 or email her at bauerosb@yahoo.com for more information.