Love

Easter Journal, 2012

Love one another as I have loved you.

You did not choose me; I chose you.

Abide in my love.

            I try.

            I believe.

            I do.

            I’ve found it in this monastery.

                       Sr. Mary Catherine Wenstrup, OSB

Making Space

             As spring unfolds I find a growing desire to make space.   Sometimes it is literally making space as I spring clean at home or settle into my recently moved office at work.  Daily I make space in my schedule for prayer, appointments, walking, or time with friends.  More recently the invitation to make space is in my own attitudes and perspectives.  

            In the shifting of my internal attitudes and perspectives I become keenly aware of the challenge of being stretched in my understanding to create space for a wider perspective.  In this space, I come to see possibility where the view was once limited.  In this space, compassion is fostered towards others and self as we mutually work with our respective attitudes and perspectives.  In this space, moments are graced with God’s presence and the movement of the Spirit. 

            Perhaps this is the beauty of spring… for how can I doubt the possibility of change and growth as spring’s beauty leads to summer and supports both my external and internal work to create more space for God’s work in my own life.

            Sr. Kimberly Porter, OSB

Power and Pitfalls of Non-verbal Communication

     The other day as we began morning prayer, I made the sign of the cross and was suddenly struck with the power of this silent act. What hit me wasn’t the meaning, but rather how much an unadorned action can say:

* I believe in Christ’s saving act

            * I believe in and live Christianity

            * I acknowledge how much God loves me

            * I am committed at this moment to both

                      personal and communal prayer … 

     I could go on, but you get the idea. An intriguing development, though, was that this flash of insight later took me further afield. My background in communication kicked in, and I thought about other forms of non-verbal communication. These often silent actions also have multiple meanings but are much more easily misunderstood. 

     Here are some examples of wordless communication and a few multiple meanings:

*Silence in a conversation – Agreement… Disapproval

            … Questioning .... No comment …

*A shrug – Don’t know …Don’t care… Doesn’t  

           matter … Who knows …

*A smile – Gladness … Embarrassment… Self-   

           consciousness .... Nervousness ….

*A frown – Puzzlement … Sadness … Disagreement…

           Aching joints or an upset stomach ... 

     Interpreting silence, facial expressions, or voice intonations can lead to greater empathy in listening to someone’s story. On the other hand, it can be a tricky business. I think all of us need to be a little less certain of what we think we are hearing in a conversation; we need to check it out. This is especially true when people are strangers or there is a history of friction. 

     As with church rituals, the non-verbal fleshes out human interaction with much richness. Ritual actions in worship, however, can fall prey to becoming repetitive, even mindless. The non-verbal elements of our interpersonal interactions can lead us into traps of their own, such as a false sense of certainty about others. 

     Both these forms of silent communication need attention now and then. This Easter season may be a good time to refresh the nuances of both good worship and good  listening.

      Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

“Do This In Remembrance of Me”

Easter is the greatest feast in our Liturgical calendar.

The Easter Season will officially end on Pentecost Sunday or will it? Easter really continues in our memory

all year long!

At each Mass that we attend, we remember Jesus’ death and resurrection and each Mass makes Easter present to us again.

The Greek word for remembering is “anamnesis”.  This remembering is not just a passive process but one by which we actually enter into the Paschal Mystery (the life, death, resurrection and ascension

of Jesus).

I like to think this way about the Mass. We know that God is beyond time and space.  What Jesus did in the past is present to God in our present. Our Mass makes Jesus’ life, death and resurrection present

to us now.

Through the Mass, we make Jesus’ saving deeds present to us today.  We are sent forth from each Mass to continue to make Christ present in our lives and in the lives of all the people we meet.

           Sr. Barbara Woeste, OSB

Journeys of Hospitality

     Obviously, the purpose of taking a trip, especially a long one, is to reach the destination, the process may require unexpected adjustments along the way. Changes of plans, different climate, foods and modes of transportation are some factors to consider. Specifically, world travel affords many opportunities to to experience unfamiliar languages, customs and peoples. 

     I have had the opportunity to live in or visit three very different cultures. In 1965 four of us, Sisters Annita, Nicholas, Stephanie and I, opened a mission in Pomata, Peru, on he shore of Lake Titicaca high in the Andes. While living among the native Aymara people, we taught religion and cared for the sick. There in small, dark mud-floored classrooms and an under-supplied clinic, we “madrecitas” learned from the simple and warmhearted hospitality of the campesinos we served. 

     In 1985I accompanied a woman from Cincinnati to Nepal to visit a mutual Jesuit friend there and to learn about the Catholic mission in this third-world, mainly Buddhist country. We were edified by the religious fervor of the people, especially a Buddhist nun with whom we conversed in Kathmandu. We were also impressed by the respect of the children and their welcome to foreigners. 

     A third journey to Namibia with Sr. Mary Catherine in the winter of 2001best illustrated a community’s practice of hospitality. The Benedictine Sisters of Oshikuku shared their provisions, celebrations, prayers and their joy so wholeheartedly with us. For example, would you expect ice cubes in the African Heat? Or a special trip to a pharmacy for cold medicine, something beyond my expectation. As a “self-sufficient” American there, receiving hospitality was more difficult for me than giving it. 

     Upon reflection I know that the memory of these journeys still helps me realize that I need to accept hospitality gratefully from others, in order to respond hospitably to the Christ in them. 

Sr. Martha Walther, OSB    

Lent Is Over. Now What?

      Alleluia!  Christ is risen! Lent is over. Now what? True. The celebration of the day of Easter is over, but the season of Easter has 50 more days or seven weeks to go! How will we celebrate another 50 days ending with the feast of Pentecost?

      St. Benedict mentions in the 49^th chapter of his Rule that the life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent; however, few have the strength for this. I got the idea that I could let my life be a continuous Lent in a small way by simply choosing one practice that I would like to become part of my ongoing life style. It is a way of attempting to make each Lent transformative, and I believe it does. 

     I came across a website suggesting ways to celebrate the Easter season not just on the Sundays and special feasts during the season but ways to be aware of the Easter season every day throughout the 50 days. The suggestions excited me and I hope to keep the season in mind daily until Pentecost. Below are some of the ideas that I thought would work for me.

·        Use a special candle at meals or during private prayer to recall the light of the

                     Risen Christ.

·        Add an Alleluia to your meal prayers or other prayers.

·        Keep fresh flowers around.

·        Use a special container for the newly blessed water from Church.

·        Say a prayer to the Holy Spirit every day in anticipation of Pentecost.

·        If you live with one or more people, exchange the old Easter greeting and response: “Christ is risen!—He is risen indeed.”

·        Be creative and come up with other ideas.

Have a joyous and grace-filled Easter Season.

Sr. Victoria Eisenman, OSB

Sin: motives and attitudes

     On Tuesday of Holy Week our chaplain contrasted the betrayals of Judas and Peter. Judas’ sin of betrayal was premeditated, whereas Peter’s betrayal was a sin arising from fear and a desire to protect himself from identification with Jesus, lest he suffer the same fate. Having more affection for Peter I was excusing him as I listened. After all, even when one commits murder, the punishment for coldly calculated premeditation is worse than that for an impulsive killing done in the heat of passion. I was making this comparison, still absolving Peter, when I tuned back in to the homily for the application being made to our own lives.
     When we sin rashly and impulsively, we need to examine the motive and attitude that led to it. Oh. That would mean perhaps I should not be so quick to make light of my catty remark that “just slipped out” or the omission of a kind act that I think no one will notice. Look at the motive and the attitude that formed the breeding ground for the hasty sins of which I considered myself less culpable. That shed a new ray of light. But it is still ok to have affection for Peter.
     Sr. Christa Kreinbink, OSB