Sacred Stones, Sacred Stories

Sister Ramona shares her thoughts about her patron saint, St Raymond Nonnatus….

Before I was given the name Sister Ramona at my First Profession, I don’t recall knowing about St. Raymond Nonnatus, my patron, but feel blessed and protected by him.

When born in Spain in 1204, he was taken from his mother’s womb after she died. Thus, giving him the name Non (not) Natus (born).

When at Clyde assigned to help Sister Priscilla renovate the niches of the saints we have in our Relic Chapel, I saw the relic of St. Ramon (St. Raymond). The photo of him revealed a padlock and the Blessed Sacrament.

The padlock was to signify that he was so successful in preaching about Christ and having slaves released in Algiers that the Mohammedan authorities had his lips pierced and locked with a padlock.  He even offered his life in place of a hostage who could not pay for his freedom.

Legend has it that when dying of fever on the way to Rome, angels gave St. Ramon Holy Communion as nourishment.

(photo courtesy of the AP and ABC News)

God of creation, You created water for life, yet water destroys life. Bless those whose lives and livelihoods are compromised by water in the flooding in Vermont, Delaware, New York and the Missouri River Valley.

Comfort those grieving, angry, homeless and afraid; be with them and remind that that, despite this crisis, You will never leave them or forsake them, though it may feel this way. Bless those affected by flood waters with new life and help, that they may rebuild what is lost in You. Amen.

What a difference a few months make.

In December this is what a section of our monastery looked like after workers began installing the ground systems for the new geothermal system:

And this is what it looks like now:

This area was a mud bog for many months but has since grown back to its grassy covering, hiding the geothermal loops underground.  The field is a welcome sight and will be next to the new circular entry drive:

The drive doesn’t look like much right now but in time will be just as welcoming.

Today we keep in special prayer all those affected by recent storms, including Hurricane Irene, and those of the past, such as Hurricane Katrina.

It hardly seems possible that it’s been six years since Hurricane Katrina forever changed the landscape – and the people – of the Gulf area. For them, we pray each day gets brighter, that the flame of eternal hope never extinguishes, that the empty spaces of home and hearth are filled once again and that those whose lives still haven’t returned to normal keep their faith and are surrounded by helpful hands and caring hearts.

Psalm 140:12 - I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.

Psalm 143:8 - Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.

As we continue to clean up from last week’s storm, life goes on. We pray. We work. We live.

BINGO!

Several of our older Sisters at Our Lady of Rickenbach enjoyed a fierce game of Bingo one morning. Spending time in community, whether praying or playing, is always a joyful time!

Sisters Bernardine (left) and Lucilla scan their cards for a winner.

Sister Bernadine shows her reward after winning a couple of games.

Glass and hail flying at 100 miles an hour can do damage to walls as well as windows. At last count, we have lost 114 windows!

During last Thursday’s storms, the rooms that were carved out of other large spaces in the main building that have north-facing windows sustained quite a bit of damage – broken windows, glass and debris-embedded walls and a twisted wall in a couple of situations.

Carpet that was laid down a week or so before the storm is now scattered with pieces of glass and will need to be replaced. Fortunately, our construction foreman assures us this won’t put us too far behind schedule, and we hope to move back in to the main house around October.

The old ambulatory had several windows damaged and one temporary wall knocked over. Water and glass damaged the backsides of cabinets but nothing too badly.

The small chapel off our Adoration Chapel where we set up the manger scene each Advent lost many of its Austrian-made window panes.

These places are dear to us, but not as dear as community members, family, friends and neighbors. Once again, we are grateful for God sparing us the loss of someone who could not be repaired or replaced. These people are blessings and will continue to be as we live this life dedicated to loving God above all else.

Six Benedictine Sisters (and great friends) from Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kan., joined us Monday to help pick up the multitude of glass pieces littering walkways and lawns.

Here are some of them with our Sister Cheryl (third from right) and our Sister Judy (far right). We are so grateful to them for all their help and friendship!

Our Clyde monastery is known for its beautiful landscaping, flowers, trees and large expanses of lawn. All have been ravaged during Thursday’s storms.

Several trees were uprooted or broken in two like a toothpick.

A small section of yard between our south pond and the cemetery can be renamed “Broken Tree Alley.” 

A twisted trunk reveals the power of 100-mph straight-line winds.

We lost this tree outside our Adoration Chapel, near what we call Lower Hall.

Flowers and gardens were torn apart. Lawns were strewn with debris and glass. We WILL have a beautiful place once again. Right now the beauty is hidden, much like the beauty of faith is hidden until an epiphany.

A garden of flowers under the watchful eye and skilled hands of Sister Mary Edward once was lush and multi-hued.

Sister Mary Edward’s garden and flowers have been ravaged.

Now it looks like a weed patch. Mother Nature’s gentle hand will take its course, and we will help it along. In a short time you will find once again roses, bleeding hearts, peonies, clematis, petunias, sweet peas as well as irises.

This old beautiful maple sat on the edge of the grass outside our Apple House, near an employee parking lot. It turned a brilliant gold in the fall and shed leaves for weeks.

We regret losing these majestic pieces of our beauty. They will be hard to replace, like old friends. We trust that God has a plan for all of this.

Hail-damaged stained glass window in Clyde’s Sorrowful Mother Chapel.

It was an ordinary Thursday in August until about 7:15 p.m. Winds picked up. Thunder and lightning crashed through the sky. Then rain came and finally large, marble-sized hail. Horizontal hail came at us so fast a wall of white obliterated the trees and buildings standing less than 100 yards away. The damage is minimal considering the power of the storm and the fact that the storm had two passes through our corner of Missouri.

We want to assure everyone that the Sisters are okay and thank God that none of us sustained any injuries from the storm and all are safe.

Many of our workmen and their families came as soon as they were able to help us board up windows to stem water penetration. Our nursing staff on duty made sure the elder Sisters were safe and sound. One Sister slept through the entire event. Several altar bread employees spent hours helping us clear parking areas, stairways and driveways of debris and glass. We are grateful for all the help we received. May God reward everyone’s generosity.

Just one of the dozens of trees lost or damaged.

Relic Chapel stained glass window was destroyed.

More than 40 windows were blown out at the main house, Our Lady of Rickenbach, the guest house and office buildings, the soap house and the altar bread department.

This is a series of pictures of the OLR chapel where we have been gathering for daily Divine Office and Eucharist.

Broken windows in Our Lady of Rickenbach’s chapel.

Soaked carpet, battered plants and lots of glass.

Sisters worked tirelessly to clean up our worship space so that we could pray our evening office Friday evening. We did just that without electricity but with a lot of feeling and mindfulness.

Our Lady of Rickenbach’s chapel after the clean up efforts.

Praise and prayer are always necessary, especially during chaotic and difficult times. The time spent together praying helped assuage our battered hearts and we slept soundly.

Abraham’s Journey by Jozsef Molnar, depicting the trek northward of Abraham, Sarah and others

To honor her Name Day, Sister Sarah shares about her patron, Sarah of Hebrew Scriptures:

The matriarch Sarah is regarded as a prophetess.  Her gifts of prophecy were greater even than Abraham’s since she saw that the God’s covenant would be given through Isaac.

Thus, she sought to protect Isaac throughout her life.  It may have been Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac that caused her death since we find out about her death immediately after that episode.

“The span of Sarah’s life was one hundred and twenty-seven years” (Gen. 23:1).  The English translation is faulty. In Hebrew, the word “year” is written at every term.  Hence, the Midrash explains every term by itself as a complete number.

The Midrash says that at the age of 100, Sarah was a woman of 20 as regards to sin. That is, she may be regarded as having never sinned  since she had not then reached the age when she was subject to punishment.  When Sarah was 20 she was as beautiful as when she was 7.

The best Scripture quote yet is, “Heed the demands of Sarah, no matter what she is asking of you” (Gen. 21:12).