Sacred Stones, Sacred Stories

Today we honor seven jubilarians.  Sisters Maryellen Riley, Bede Luetkemeyer, Mary Jane Romero, Laurentia Doyle, Benita Luetkemeyer and Anita Valdez all celebrate their diamond or 60th Monastic Profession. Sister Cheryl Morehead celebrates her silver jubilee.

Since we are all in Clyde for our assembly, we will celebrate as one in our Adoration Chapel.  Following the banquet at the Lord’s table, we will share common table for a brunch and a day of great rejoicing.

Sisters Maryellen and Benita reside in our healthcare facility, Our Lady of Rickenbach, and work as they are able.  Sisters Bede, Mary Jane and Anita are sisters from our Tucson monastery where they serve the community in prayer, liturgy and sewing vestments.  Sisters Laurentia and Cheryl live in Clyde and serve in the altar bread department and in leadership and grounds maintenance, respectively.

Let us give thanks for these faithful women who have given their lives to God, and they have been a blessing to us, the church and the world for it.  We thank God for them and their fruitfulness!

In January, several of our Sisters attended a workshop hosted by the Sisters of Mount Scholastica in Atchison, Kan. The workshop focused on the benefit and drawbacks of limitations in the life of a Benedictine monastery.

(Foreground from left) Sister Jane and Sister Virginia Anne; (standing) Sister Cathleen Marie

Sister Marietta (left) and Sister Laurentia

Sister Manuela Scheiba, OSB, from Alexanderdorf, Germany, spoke at the gathering of Benedictine Prioresses in Norfolk, Neb. Then on Monday, two sisters from Atchison drove Sister Manuela over the Missouri River to view our monastery and Conception Abbey.

Hopefully this will be the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Sister Manuela and her wisdom. We welcome both wholeheartedly.

Fra Angelico, St. Lawrence giving alms, (detail), Cappella Niccolina, Palazzi Pontifici, Vatican

Today is the Feast of St. Lawrence. Our Sister Laurentia shares a bit about about her namesake:

Lawrence was a deacon in Rome in the year 258.  Pope Sixtus ll put him in charge of the treasury of the Church. He suspected that the Roman emperor would be looking for anything of value in the churches, so he sold such goods and distributed the money to the poor, the lame, the blind, to all those in need.

When the Roman prefect ordered Lawrence to surrender the treasures of the Church, Lawrence replied it would take three days to collect them. On the third day, Lawrence showed the prefect the poor, the lame, the blind and told him, “These are the treasures of the Church.”

The prefect was so enraged that he ordered Lawrence to be put to death.  One tradition tells us he was roasted to death on a red-hot gridiron over a slow fire in order to prolong the pain.  His willingness to suffer, to die for Christ, allowed him to make light of his pain and prompted him to say to his executioners, “You can turn me over now.  I’m done on this side.”  He was turned over, his face to the fire.

Even in the face of torture and death, he remained faithful to Christ and to His teachings that we take care of those who need our help and compassion.