Day by Day

It is hard to believe that Advent is upon us.  Sadly, in our culture, there is no space for Advent.  We seem to start celebrating Christmas right after Thanksgiving.  Here at the monastery, we don't start singing carols or decorating for Christmas until after December 17th.  It is important for us not to lose the sense of watchful waiting that Advent gives us.

Sr. Sean gave a reflection prior to the First Sunday of Advent.  In it, she mentioned that most things worth having require a time of waiting - from the simple anticipation of a baking loaf of bread, to the waiting for seeds to sprout and plants to bear fruit, to the eager joyfulness that comes from awaiting the birth of child.  How we choose to use the time of waiting is where grace enters into the picture.

We can be anxious and fretful, impatient and sullen.  Or we can choose to embrace the waiting and make it a part of our joy.  This is the hope of Advent.  Jesus is coming.  He comes at every moment of our lives - are we watching for Him?  He will come again in glory - are we hastening the coming of the Kingdom? 

I pray that you all can enter a bit into the sacred space of Advent.  Take time to be still and wait  - and maybe in the stillness and quiet we will able to hear His footsteps as he comes to knock up on the door of our hearts.

Advent blessings!

Well, I am sitting here quite contented after our Thanksgiving feast.  I am not stuffed to the point of uncomfortable and I am grateful! 

I love Thanksgiving Day.   I love the idea of having a whole day where we give thanks for what we have.  Of course, we should give thanks everyday but I love that we have set apart a day as a nation to give thanks.  We are richly blessed as a country and it is right to give thanks.

I have much for which to be thankful- my sisters in community and my family, health and security, food and shelter, wealth enough for all that I need and many "luxuries" besides.  But above all, I am grateful for my call to this life and the great grace of knowing Christ and being found in Him.  He is the source of all goodness and blessing and I am humbled to be His servant.

Below is my favorite prayer - may we all be blessed with grateful hearts this day and always.   HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thou that has given me so much

Grant one more thing – a grateful heart.

Not thankful when it pleaseth me

As if Thy blessings have spare days

But such a heart

Whose very pulse is praise.

-                                                                          -George Herbert

Hello Internets!  I am back on the blog!

I just completed my eight day retreat.  It was wonderful.  I didn't go anywhere special - just right here in the monastery.  When the sisters are on retreat here we are allowed to set our own prayer schedule and keep silence and solitude which I did.  As much as I love our times of prayer in chapel together it was good to have a chance to pray silently and privately. It is good to have that time to focus intensely on our personal relationship with God.   These eight days were a tremendously blessed time for me.  Praise the Lord!

This Sunday is one of my favorite feasts - Our Lord Jesus Christ the KING!  He has already won the battle and the Kingdom is at hand.  All too often I forget that and let Satan tempt me with his lies that things are hopeless.  But that is not so!  Jesus reigns - He has a right to rule and His rule is right! Beloved friends, whatever hardship or trials you may be facing know that Jesus will see you through and if you are in a place of joy and happiness - give Him thanks! 

I will be praying for you all as we head into this Thanksgiving week.  May we all have hearts filled with joy and gladness and gratitude for the good gifts God has given us!  Have a great Thanksgiving!

I wanted to post this earlier today but alas...

Please go VOTE today!  We have a great freedom in this country in the ability to elect our leaders.  Many have died to earn and protect this right.  Let's honor their sacrifice and make history today!

God bless America!

Once again, I apologize for my long blog pause.  I keep hoping things will settle down and I will be able to devote time more consistently to this blog.  So far that has yet to happen.  I will just snatch time here and there and somehow it will all work out!

About two weeks ago, I officially hung up my apron and hat and handed over the reins of the Altar Bread Department (or AB as we call it).  I have worked in our AB since I entered as a postulant nine years ago. It is a significant change for me not to be a part of the daily production or management.  In light of my new duties, I am grateful to be relieved of the responsibility but there is much I will miss about it. 

I will miss our much beloved lay staff.  We have 13 employees in our AB.  They are all from the local area and most of them have worked in the AB since long before I entered.  One recently completed her 25th year with us.  They are a loyal and dedicated bunch, I have relied on them a great deal this last year as I was learning the ropes in managing the department.

I will miss working with the other sisters.  The AB is one of the job assignments we give our newest members and also a place where there are tasks that our more elder sisters can do as well. There is plenty to do for those of us in-between, too!  I have enjoyed working with the whole range of them - the energy and enthusiasm of our postulants is a joy for me and the great wisdom and perserverance of our elders inspires me.

And I will miss the work itself.  I love our Altar Bread ministry.  I love the whole process of watching the flour become bread and then hosts that are sent out.  I feel a deep connection to all those who receive our breads.  It is way that I can somehow grasp that great mystery which is the Body of Christ.  My work in the AB has helped me understand and love the Eucharist. For that, I am deeply grateful.

As hard as it is to let go, I know that it is in good hands.  Sr. Rita and Sr. Sophia are more organized that I can ever hope to be and they will do a great job as Managers.  Even though I won't physically have a hand in the work anymore, I continue to pray that God will bless and prosper the work of our hands. Ultimately I know it is all in His hands and there is no better place for it to be! 

I realized that I have been remiss in keeping you informed about our major renovations and building deconstruction.  Well, I don't have to worry anymore because a few of our sisters decided to start a blog to help you all keep abreast of the latest news in that sphere.  Here is a link to their blog: Sacred Stones Sacred Stories.  I hope you enjoy it...  I notice that they figured out how to post pictures on their blog... hmmm, I will have to see if they can help me do that on this one. 

In other news, I recently attended the Benedictine Subprioresses Conference at Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana.  There were 26 in attendance from across the U.S.  It was a time of rest, renewal, and sharing among other sisters who hold the position of subprioress in their monastery.  I was grateful for the chance to be with them. 

On October 3rd, I will end my time in the Altar Bread Department.  I have been the manager for the last year but I have worked in the department for the last eight years!  So, this is a significant shift in my schedule.  I will have more time to devote to assiting Sr. Sean as we begin the intensive work of clearing out the monastery in preparation for deconstruction and renovation.  I will miss my daily interaction with our devoted staff but I know that I will be able to pop in from time to time to stay in touch.

Fall is officially here.  The weather has been simply beautiful here in Clyde.  The mornings start with just a hint of winter chill but soon give way to warm days.  The evenings are deliciously cool and the trees are getting their first touches of gold and red.  I hope where ever you are you can take a moment and savor the beauty of the changing season and give thanks to God who planned such a beautiful world for us!

One Saturday each month is designated as a "renewal day".   We live an intensely communal life - we work together, pray together, and eat together every day.  Naturally, there are times when we absent from community events- doctor's appointments, homevisits, or an occassional workshop.  For the most part, however, we are here together every day, all day.  Since most of the members of our community are introverts, there needs to be some times and days when we can have more solitude and silence to renew our energies.  Our monthly renewal day is one of those times. 

Our schedule is much the same as a regular day - Lauds and Mass in the morning, Vespers in the evening.  The little hours of Day Hour and Compline are not prayed in common to give the sisters longer stretches of unscheduled time.  Throughout the day we try to maintain silence as much as possible.  There is no paging on renewal days, we don't run the vacuum nor do laundry.   We acknowledge each other with a smile or nod rather than a verbal greeting.  Any necessary conversation is done in a very quiet and subdued tone so as not to disturb others.  On this day, we usually have only one meal prepared for the sisters and it is eaten in silence.  It is not a time for TV or entertainment but a chance to spend more time in prayer or other spiritually renewing pursuits.  These might include writing letters, working on a hobby or craft.  For example, I sometimes use these days to make a few rosaries, other sisters might paint, do pottery, paper crafts, etc.  When the weather is nice, it is a great time to go for a long walk or bike ride or to just sit outside and let God speak through His marvelous creation. 

Renewal days are great thing.  I highly recommend them to everyone.  At least, try to get in a renewal hour once in a while! 

Hello Internet Friends!

Sorry for the long blog pause.  My life has taken on an extra dimension of craziness these last few weeks.  Here is what I have been up to:

Learning the ropes in my new job - I think I am going to enjoy my new role as subprioress.  I am a people oriented person.  I like listening to people, I am attentive to feelings and moods, and I can be organized.  I think that being subprioress will strengthen and utilize some natural skills I have and will also call forth from me abilities that I will need to consciously work on to do well.  It will be a time of learning and growing and I think that is a good thing. 

Keeping up in my old job - The Altar Bread Department is doing well.  We FINALLY have some breads in the freezer - this is a great thing!  We had been a little nervous that we wouldn't get any breads in the freezer before Christmas but we did!  I know that I won't be able to do both jobs of AB Manager and subprioress so I am enjoying these last few weeks with my staff.  They are a great bunch and I will miss seeing them on a daily basis. 

Watching the Olympics - I LOVE the Olympics for lots of reasons.  I guess they always trigger fond memories of watching the games with my dad when I was little.  Another reason, I am a patriot at heart.  I am proud of my country and the athletes who represent us.  I love hearing the athlete's stories and the odds they have had to overcome to get to the games.  But more than all that - I love the unity the Olympics foster.  There is something neat about seeing the countries in the Opening Ceremonies all separated by nation and then entering the Closing Ceremonies in a hodgepodge of nationalities and uniforms.  It gives me hope that somehow we can overcome all our differences and policies and just PLAY together and celebrate the marvel of the human body.  It is an AWESOME thing.

Visiting family - I grew up in St. Louis but moved to Texas when I was in high school and spent some time in California before I entered the convent.  My parents currently live in Nashville and so I usually go there for my homevisits.  But last weekend, a cousin in St. Louis was getting married so it was a great chance to see some of my family that I hadn't seen in years.  I had a great time visiting and laughing with my sisters and cousins and playing with their babies. 

Now I am back at the monastery and settling into my old routine.  It was good to get away and it was good to come home.  Other than that, there is nothing else terribly exciting happening.  Will hopefully post again sooner!  Hope you are all well (all 5 of you that read this blog!).

A lot can change in a week.  As some of you may know, we have finally elected a new prioress here in Clyde.  Sr. Sean was elected on July 15th and officially installed on the 16th.  She is the elected superior in the Clyde Monastery.  You can read more about her here (scroll down she is towards the end). 

As prioress, she is responsible for the temporal and spiritual goods of the monastery.  She gives the blessings in chapel and at table.  She is the one we go to when we need permission for leaving the monastery or to purchase something.  She has an assistant, the subprioress, whom she appoints with the approval of the Prioress General.  The subprioress assists the prioress in her duties and fills in for her in her absence.

So...guess who was appointed subprioress? 

Me. 

It was a big surprise to everyone.  When Sr. Sean asked me she needed an answer fairly quickly.  I went to chapel and told the Lord - "OK if this is NOT your will you have 30 minutes to let me know!"  I was scared but I knew I couldn't say no because of fear.  I thought about it and realized that I was scared because I lacked experience and because I didn't want this to be an ego trip.  As I often do when faced with a difficult decision I turned to Scripture. 

I came to Psalm 19 and as I was reading it a calm came over me.  These are the two passages that spoke to me. 

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. (vs 7)

Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. (vs 12-13)

In the first, I was calmed because I knew that if I stayed in God's Word, He would give me the wisdom I needed.  I am young and inexperienced but God will provide what I need.  And the second passage, reminded me again, that if I am faithful to my lectio and pray with the Scriptures, God will not allow me to become too proud in this new position or have any hidden ego agenda. 

As I prayed with these words, peace washed over me, the peace that only comes when we are safe under the umbrella of God's authority.  So, I told Sr. Sean that I would accept her appointment.

This a big change for me and I am not quite sure yet how it will all unfold.  But, I know that God is faithful - and that is where I will put my trust.  I count on your prayers, too.

I try to keep this blog mostly about things that happen in the monastery but sometimes I have some cute family stories that I will share, too. 

I have 4 nieces and 5 nephews.  My sister's daughters are the youngest nieces - they are 4 1/2 and 3 1/2.  My sister told me this story about them.

Recently at the dinner table. Zahra (the older of the two) said "Is God in this food?"  Kavi (the younger one) then asked, "Was God in the grocery store?"  My sister said, "well God isn't a person you can see...."  And Zahra said, "I know, God is love, but you said Daddy cooked this food with love and that love was the secret ingredient.  So is God in this food?"  My sister replied "Well, I guess in a way God is in this food."  Zahra said, "Good, because then He can get into our hearts!"

My sister told me about this website called www.wordle.net

You can enter the address of your blog and it creates a graphic with the words you use most. 

You can see mine here.

I love the 4th of July.  I know that there is much wrong with the American government and I don't support many of things that have been done in our name by our elected officials.  But I love our country - I love the idealism and hope that we are founded upon and that we carry into each generation. 

I think much of my love for the USA comes from my parents.  As immigrants, they have seen firsthand what life outside the US is like.  They know the many blessings that are afforded to the citizens of this country.  They encouraged us to participate in our government and not to take the blessings of liberty for granted. 

The 4th in the monastery is a simple day.  Mass and morning and evening prayer are full of prayers of thanksgiving for God's blessings on our nation and for peace for all countries.   I am grateful as I am aware that in some places in our world - we would not be able to live this religious life as we are free to do here in the US.  We also have a picnic meal at noon and the rest of the day is leisure time.  Its is a restful day.

I think another reason I love the 4th is because its is 3 days before my birthday!  Today I turned 36!   I think birthdays are great.  I don't mind getting older (so far)!  Birthdays in the monastery are fun.  You get included in a special intercession at morning prayer, the sisters sing a blessing over you and sing "Happy Birthday" to you at the noon meal, and throughout the day individual sisters leave you notes and greetings of love and affection.  I love life and I am grateful that God has so richly blessed mine. 

Every year on my birthday, I ask God for something.  I try to think of things that I know are for sure in His Will for me.  This year my prayer is that God will bless me with a heart that desires Him alone.  May He hear my prayer!

One of the frequent questions we get from young women interested in entering our community and others wanting to know more about our life is this -  Can your family come visit?

The answer is YES!  We each get one "homevisit" per year to go visit our family but our families are always welcome to come visit us here.  My father, sister, brother-in-law, and brother were here last weekend for a short visit.  My dad flew in from in Nashville, the rest of the gang drove in from St. Louis.  It was a great time. 

My family enjoys fishing - my dad especially.  He is an excellent fisherman and has helped us control the fish population in our little pond for several years now. ;)  And with the exception of a few really small fish, we keep 'em and cook 'em!  My ethnic background is East Indian. (In fact, I am a first generation American.)  I didn't fully appreciate the Indian food we had everyday growing up but I sure miss it now.  So, when my dad and family come we always have an Indian meal of fried fish, rice, and lentils.  YUM!!!! 

This visit was even more fun since Sr. Ruth's family was visiting at the same time.  Her sister-in-law, niece and nephews were here for the weekend, too. So both families fished together.  Her nephew caught a huge bass and my family cooked it up for him. It was great.

I love having my family here as guests.  I find that I actually get to spend more time visiting and talking with them here than when I go home. There really isn't much else to do here - whereas when I am home with them there is much more activity.  I also enjoy visits from the families of other sisters.  It is so interesting to hear stories from the people that knew them before they entered and to see the family resemblances and inherited traits. 

Having guests is exhausting -but it's the good kind of tired.  I always feel a little sad to see my family leave not knowing if my Dad will be able to make the trip again (he's 86).  But mostly, I just feel deep gratitude -thankful for the gift of my family and my monastic community and grateful to have these two parts of my life intersect for a few days.  God is so good!

After all the meetings of the past two weeks and hosting our sisters from the other houses, we were all wiped out.  Sr. Pat and Sr. Cheryl had wisely scheduled a recreation day so that we could all just relax and recover from the busy schedule and the many changes that these last weeks brought.  Yesterday was our communal "flop day."

There is a beautiful lake, Lake Mozingo, about a twenty minute drive away from the convent.  (Some would be able to tell you how big it is and how the lake came to be after the '93 flood, etc - I am not the one.)  We had rented a large pavilion and about 40 of us headed out to the lake for the day.   Since we only have 4 cars and a van - it took a couple of trips to get every one there.  I was part of the first crew - we took advantage of our early arrival to put tablecloths on the picnic tables and hung a few balloons to give the place a festive atmosphere.  The rest of the gang arrived soon after and we enjoyed a variety of activities.

Several sisters brought along games such as Scrabble, Skip-Bo, and cards.  There was a path that led to the water and a floating dock - so many spent time watching the boats and seeing the sun sparkle on the water.  There was ample grass space for Norwegian horseshoes, kite flying, and wiffle ball.  There was also a lovely playground a few yards from the shelter complete with swings, a slide, and teeter-totters.  There were also wooded areas with paths for walking.  So - there was something for everyone to enjoy.  God blessed us with wonderful weather for most of the day.

At noon, a couple of sisters drove into town and picked up KFC for the gang.  This balanced nicely the chips and cookies and other picnic food we had brought with us from the convent.  After the meal - many continued to play and relax and others were ready to head home.  The sisters that were driving were taking us home by way of Dairy Queen - a sweet treat to end the day.

There were nine sisters left in the pavilion waiting for the drivers to return for the last load of us when we heard thunder.  Our sunny skies turned dark and the wind picked up.  Soon, we were huddled in the middle of the pavilion trying to stay dry from the blowing rain.  The drivers didn't arrive back before a torrential downpour began - there was even hail!   Even though they drove right up to the shelter - we all got soaked to the skin getting to the car.  Most of us decided to forego the DQ and just head straight home since we were chattering with cold. 

In spite of the rain and hail, it was for me a perfect day.  I loved spending time outside with all my sisters.  I got to visit and play games with many sisters with whom I don't spend as much time.  I got to indulge my inner child with the swings and slides.  Every where I looked my eyes were filled with the wonder and beauty of God's great creation.  It was a day when I could step out of my regularly scheduled life and get a better perspective so I can see the bigger picture.  And that is always a good thing.

"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages. Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever. Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. O Israel, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Holy ones of humble heart, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."

                                                      (excerpts from Chapter 3 of the Book of Daniel)

The General Chapter is finished!  It was an exhausting and enlightening two weeks of meetings.  The Holy Spirit was with us and it was heartening to see how He moved and flowed among as we prayed and shared and made some major decisions.

You will probably soon read about this elsewhere on our website - we elected a new General Council!  Sr. Pat Nyquist was elected our Prioress General.  Her new council is made up of Sisters Ruth Elaine, Cheryl, and Dawn Annette.   Tomorrow they will be officially installed and we will promise them our obedience and our support. 

That is all the news I have for now.  Thanks for all your prayers.  They helped!  I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend!  God bless each of you with the same.