Sacred Stones, Sacred Stories

Mother Maria Thomas, OSB

Our Sisters at the San Benito Monastery in Dayton, Wyoming, celebrated the 80th birthday of special friend, Mother Maria Thomas, on July 23.

Mother Maria is the retired abbess of St. Walburga Abbey in Virginia Dale, Colorado. She spent five months with us at San Benito.

It is always with such joy and gratitude we spend these special moments with dear friends and sisters in monastic life.

Our San Benito Monastery in Dayton, Wyoming, honored its oblates the Saturday after the Feast of St. Benedict. Participants renewed their oblation after Mass, with Father Charles Robinson as celebrant.

The day ended with a wonderful picnic!

St. Anne with the Virgin and Child and St. Joachim by Joos van Cleve

Today is the memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of our Blessed Virgin Mary.

Who are your parents? Where did they come from? What did they do during their lifetimes?

The answers to these questions are known for pretty much every well-known person these days. That is how some people rate their status and importance – how big a splash did I make in the tabloids or on the evening news? Reporters are snooping around for every morsel of information about so-and-so’s parents, siblings, etc.

What information we know about the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents is astoundingly lacking. Even their names have escaped notice and are based upon a source that did not even know Jesus, Mary, Joseph or their extended families. How reliable can the source be? We need to take our cues from Mary.

Our Blessed Mother was holy and religious, a devout Jewess maiden keeping the laws and precepts of the long-lived traditions. Could a woman who was prayerful, devoted to her family and her faith be the product of anything less than a good example, anything else than the loving wisdom of generations past? We think not.

Thus, whatever Mary’s parents’ names were, today we honor their roles in forming Mary in the faith and keeping the faith alive. As good parents they passed on their love of God, their faith in his covenant, and their trust in the Holy One.

Joachim and Anne modeled fidelity for Mary and I am sure for others who lived in their midst. We all know people who teach by example more than by word. May more people emulate Joachim’s and Anne’s faithful examples and help the faith live on for generations to come.

St. James the Elder by Rembrandt

Better known as a son of thunder, St. James the Greater is the brother of St. John the Evangelist. He was a fisherman before Jesus called him to lead others to a life of faith and love of God. James was one of the three disciples with Jesus on the mountain of Transfiguration as well as in the garden of Gethsemani.

James’s faith was deep and his passion for Christ great, sometimes so great that he had to learn how to moderate it and deal kindly with others.

James was apparently the first of the apostles to be martyred. “About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also.” (Acts 12:1-3a)

Many of you have heard of and/or traveled the road to Compostela, Spain. This route is named in honor of St. James, which translates to Santiago in Spanish. Tradition holds that the cathedral is near the place that the body of St. James was secretly laid to rest. He is the patron saint of Spain, veterinarians, equestrians and blacksmiths.

Today we honor St. James for his faith and his life that proclaimed the gospel. He loved the Lord fiercely. May we too give up all and follow our Savior to the cross and beyond.

Our first Tucson convent

This photo is courtesy of Jim, brother to our dear Sister Mary Elizabeth. Jim and his wife, Sue, recently traveled from California to visit Sister Mary Elizabeth at our Tucson, Ariz., community.

Jim took this shot of the Steinfeld Mansion, which was our first home when we arrived in Tucson in 1935. Back then, we purchased the house, its furnishings and 2.5 acres of land for the price of just $26,500.

Sister Dolores wrote in “In Your Midst: The Story of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration” – “There was not enough room for all (sisters) to have a bedroom, so six sisters had to sleep on the second floor porch over the inside patio for the duration of their stay at 300 North Main Street.”

She added, “The fact that this fledgling monastery was in the heart of the city, unlike Clyde and Mundelein in their rural areas, made it more accessible to people. And from the very beginning people came.”

It is to our delight that while our monastery has moved since, people still flock to our chapel to join us in prayer and friendship. But it’s always nice to remember those early Sisters and how they turned a mansion into a monastery all those years ago.

“This is where our early pioneers lived and adored our dear Lord,” Sister Mary Elizabeth said. “Not far from this area, there are a number of skyscrapers that have been built in the 21st century!”

Tucson has changed and grown over the years, but our adoration of the Blessed Sacrament still remains very strong today.

Check out the 2013 issue of VISION when it hits the shelves on August 1 and you might spot a familiar face….

Our Sister Maria Victoria is profiled! We are so very proud of her and thrilled VISION asked her to share her vocation story with those who are discerning a religious vocation. We are joyful for her talents and contributions to our Congregation.

St. Benedict instructs us to follow a life filled with Ora et Labora, Work and Prayer. Handcrafting products for Monastery Creations is a large part of that, so we are always grateful for extra hands, especially at our smallest community, San Benito Monastery in Dayton, Wyo.

Recently, Jane Medved and her sister, Susann, helped Sisters Hope and Regina label 320 jars of arnica salve.

Arnica is a flower that is only found in the mountains. Sister Hope and Jean and Jim McCabe helped pick the flowers on a Sunday afternoon. On the following Thursday, Sister Hope, Sister Josetta, Barbara Ransbottom and Jean picked hundreds more!

Arnica is used for pain and inflammation. Sister Hope handcrafts it into salve, each year increasing production. You can learn more about this wonderful product here.

This beautiful photo was taken by Sister Hope who lives at our San Benito Monastery in Dayton, Wyo.

She spotted this gorgeous site about 5:30 a.m. one day while in the mountains on retreat. The effect is called Alpine Glow, where a sunrise (or setting sun) sheds golden light upon the green trees in the background.

“My mouth fell open when I saw it,” Sister Hope said. Once again proving we can see God’s beauty everywhere we look.

Have a great day!

Please keep our Clyde Sisters in prayer as they begin the discernment process today to elect their new prioress for the community. Sister Sean has led them nobly throughout her term of service.

During the next three days, they will make the choice on who will lead their community during the next four years.

Click here to learn about St. Benedict tells us about what qualities a Benedictine leader should possess.

This coming Monday we will begin the discernment and election process of the Clyde prioress, the house superior.  We spent Friday discerning goals and directions we need to be about for the next four years.  Now we prayerfully enter into the time of discerning and electing the sister who can lead us on this next phase of our communal and personal journey to union with Christ.

The Tucson community will be entering in the same discernment and election process at the end of the month.  Then Sr. Pat will appoint the superior of our Dayton community.

These are not decisions we make lightly.  We truly open the ears of our hearts to listen to the voice of God.  Without doing this we could have the blind leading the blind.  The Rule of Benedict states, “ In the electing of a prioress let the office be conferred on the one who is chosen with the fear of God.” (RB 64)  We trust in the Spirit’s guidance and step forward together.

We ask for your prayerful support for all of us, and we ask you to bless with grace whomever God has called forth to serve.  We humbly thank you for your support.