***updated to fix a bad link - thanks for the heads up Lisa!

Greetings from yours truly - the slacker blogger!

I have been meaning to pop on here and at least say hello but alas and alack - you can see that didn’t happen.  I just felt like I didn’t have anything worthwhile to say.  However,  I am hoping that will change soon.

An internet friend of mine started a new website and asked me to contribute articles every once in a while.  I showed the site to our leadership and got the okay to write for it.  I think some of you might find it interesting and helpful - it is called a A Martha’s Heart.   Anyway - hop over there and look around.  My first article will be in the Dining Room section on Sept 8th. 

While we are talking about blogs.   I thought I would share with you some of my favorites. 

Living Proof Ministries - Beth Moore’s blog.  She writes about Jesus and everyday life.  Her daughters also post here.  Beth’s blog is always a source of either inspiration or amusement.  Her teachings have been a huge influence and encouragement in my life.  I will always been a devoted fan!

Aggie Catholics - written mainly by Marcel LeJeune who works at the campus parish at Texas A&M University.  Marcel and I were friends when we were students at A&M.  He writes about many issues relevant to the Church today.  He has a great Catholic Q&A section on his blog.

Conversion Diary - a former atheist now Catholic writes about life in the trenches as a Catholic mom and wife.  She is an excellent writer and covers topics from scorpions to scapulars!  What I like about this blog is that Jennifer brings up interesting questions and topics for her readers which often leads to interesting discussion in the comments.

Word on Fire - I guess technically this isn’t a blog but I love this site.  Fr. Robert Barron comments on many topics in our culture to day and their relevance to Catholics.  His commentary covers the latest movies to the deepest truths of the Church.  He makes the Church’s teachings understandable. 

There are quite a few other friends whose blogs I check regularly.  But I am not including them here because they are more about family and friends and wouldn’t necessarily mean much unless you knew them! 

Anyway - its a great big world out there in cyberspace.  Its a fun place to visit but remember real life happens away from the computer!    UNplug often!

Our monastery in Tucson

It has been a little over two months since I moved to our monastery in Tucson.   The sisters here have been kind and welcoming; they have gone out of their way to prepare a space for me and our postulant.   I am now familiar with the daily schedule here, my body seems to have adjusted to the dry heat and I don’t feel parched all the time, and the initial fatigue from the altitude seems to have abated.  So, for all practical purposes I have settled into my new abode.

So, I ask myself….why am I still homesick for Clyde?  I am enjoying Tucson.  I am investing myself in the community and I truly believe I will thrive here.  But a small part of me is always mindful of my connection to Clyde.  As I have thought and prayed about this, the Lord helped me understand that it was a GOOD thing for me to be homesick.  What He impressed upon my heart is that my homesickness for Clyde should be a reminder of a deeper longing.   It should remind me of my desire for my true home, the Kingdom of Heaven.

I had never thought about it but if we are truly believe that our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20) as Scripture teaches us then we should be homesick for it.  I believe God wants us to thrive here on earth.  He gives us companions to journey with us and graces to sustain us.  God also wants us to remember where we are headed and what our ultimate destiny is.  He wants us to keep heaven always in our thoughts  so that all we do will be for the sake of the heavenly Kingdom.  As often as my thoughts return to Clyde and my loved ones there, the Lord nudges me to aim my sights a little higher and long for my eternal homeland.

Indeed, Thy Kingdom come….

Canon law dictates that all those in religious life make 8 days of retreat each year.  So, for the last eleven years I have been blessed with the time and space to do just that!  It is such a gift.  On July 23rd I began my eight day silent retreat and completed it on the 30th.  Well, let me clarify.  I did meet with a spiritual director once a day for about 30 minutes but other than that… I didn’t have any other conversations.  It was heaven!  In our convent, when you are on retreat you can make your own schedule.  You don’t have to go to any of the common prayers or meals.  So one might ask… well, what do you DO then?

Here’s what I did:

I slept in!!  Well, at least til 6 or 6:30 (which is late for me!!).  Then I got up and had breakfast.

I went to morning Mass at a local parish.  If it wasn’t too hot out I walked there.  It was a lovely way to begin the day.   My spiritual director had given me some Scripture passages to pray with and so I would read them several times and then think and meditate on them while I walked.

When I came back from Mass I would rest a little.  It is surprising…the slowing down during retreat and not rushing to be anywhere or do anything makes me sleepy.  So I allowed my body the rest it needed.  After two days, my body felt really rested and I had loads of energy!

I would take time to read over my Scripture for the day and perhaps journal about it.  Late morning, I met with my director.  We talked about what insights I had gotten from the passage, where it lead me in prayer.  Given what I had shared with her, she would pick another few passages for me.  She said that these were just guides and if my prayer led me to other parts of the Bible then go with the Spirit!

I did read some other things as well as the Holy Scriptures.  The first, “Believing God” by Beth Moore.  I was actually doing her workbook for the study.  I had read the book and listened to the teachings… I just never did my homework!!  So that was part of my retreat and I LOVED it.  I had the time and space to do 2 or 3 days at a time. 

I also read the book “Eat this Book” by Eugene Peterson.  I haven’t finished it yet but I love how he teaches about the need to read Scripture slowly and prayerfully so that it becomes part of us. 

Lastly, I read the Chronicles of Narnia.  Would you believe I hadn’t read them yet.  I am not a huge lover of fantasy but I did enjoy these books. I think if I had read them when I was younger I wouldn’t have appreciated them as much because I wouldn’t have understood all the symbolism.  I love the Christ figure - Aslan, the Lion.   King of the Beasts - indeed!

We have our main meal at noon so I would take my food and eat in solitude and silence.  After that it was time for another rest.   In the afternoon I would try to do some craft work.  I make rosaries and little cards and things.  It’s perfect because my hands are occupied enough that I don’t get sleepy but I don’t have to concentrate intensely either.  I either listened to music or perhaps some recorded Scripture teachings.

I would have a light evening meal and spend some time praying and reading some more before going to bed.  It was just lovely all the way around.   It went by too fast - I am already looking forward to next year’s retreat!

And as for the graces I received?… well, I imagine I will be discovering them throughout the days to come.  Overwhelmingly, all my prayer and reflection lead to sincere gratitude for all that God has done for me and how He has been present and active in my life.  I was humbled and at the same time lifted up to a place of greater trust and deeper love for God.  

So, I return to “ordinary” life in the convent but with extraordinary joy!   Praised be Jesus Christ - forever, AMEN!

1.   Burt’s Bee’s Bath and Body Oil has literally saved my skin in this desert!  I love the smellof it and that it absorbs well and doesn’t leave me feeling overly greasy.

2.  We still haven’t seen any rain here in Tucson.  It is supposed to be the monsoon season but nary a drop has fallen.   It’s not a good thing since this is the ONLY rain we will get all year. 

3.  Can’t believe that is already the middle of July - heck, the middle of 2010!!!!  Where, oh where does the time go?   Honestly, sometimes I feel like I just entered the convent… how can I possibly be the formation director?!?!  Eleven years goes by in a flash. 

4.  I am finally starting to feel settled here in Tucson.  It really does take a while to get used to the climate and altitude.  I felt so sluggish for a while - now I am back up to speed. Thanks be to God!

5.  I just finished reading a really great book.  It’s called “My Life with the Saints” by James Martin, SJ.  It is part memoir and part biography.  Fr. Martin talks about several saints that have been important to him while he was training to become a Jesuit.  He tells a good deal about the saint and also the effect that saint has had in his life.  All in all a lovely book that I highly recommend. 

6.  I had my first taste of menudo yesterday.  Menudo is a Mexican (Spanish??) soup made with tripe (the lining of a cow’s stomach).  It was interesting - it had pieces of tripe and hominy in it.  The broth was very good but I didn’t care for the texture of the tripe.   Have you seen that show “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman”?  I think its on the travel channel.  I like to think I am open to trying new things but then I watch that show and realized I wouldn’t 3/4 of the stuff that he does.  Guess I am more reserved in the food arena than I thought.

7.  Bishop Kicanas is coming to our monastery tomorrow to bless our shrine and fountain.  I am eager to meet him as I have heard many wonderful things about him.  He was just in Washington D.C. this week to testify before a commission on immgration reform.  It’s a tricky topic.  I agree a nation has a right to protect its borders and know who is entering the country.  At the same time, all of our families are immigrants.  We have to reform our immigration laws and make it easier for people to legally enter the country.  Moral justice demands that we share our bread with the hungry and make the stranger welcome.

That’s it for this week!  Have a great weekend!