Christmas Ass

Don't be scandalized, that's what the ancient holy card says, "The Ass." To be exact, it says, "No. 19: The Ass."

We have a Christmas custom in our community -- very likely one which is found in other monasteries as well -- where we draw billets for offices in the Court of the King Jesus. No one seems to recall the origin of these billets, but they are a beloved tradition in our monastery. Each billet has a quotation from scripture, a spiritual description of the office itself as well as a suggested practice and an aspiration. Besides this noble animal, other offices in the Court of King Jesus include the ox, the lamb, the lamp, the straw, the stable owner, St. Joseph and The Blessed Virgin.

This year, the editor of our humble blog was privileged to draw billet No. 19, The Ass. Perhaps it is the Lord's way of calling her to be a bit more humble in the world of push-button publishing. (or, perhaps, to resign from publishing entirely.) What follows is the text of the holy card:

No. 19
The Ass.
---------
THE ASS KNOWETH HIS MASTER'S CRIB
(Is., 1, 8)
--------

At the court of the King JESUS you will have the office of the Ass, which a GOD permitted to be near His crib.

Offer yourself very humbly to this divine King, to be engaged in the most abject services, since you are incapable of sublime and elevated employments. Resign yourself to suffer and to be despised, in imitation of our Lord; say to Him with the prophet King that you are as a beast of burden before Him; ask Him to give you the understanding of Christian truths with humility of mind and heart.

Practice: Love to be unknown and reputed as nothing.
Aspiration: My Saviour, give me the treasure of Thy humility.

Spiritual Blindness

Just as the darkness of night can make it difficult for us to see where we are going on an unlit road, so the spiritual darkness of hatred, anger or jealousy can blind us to the places where the Lord wishes to lead our hearts. In today's first reading, St. John tells us that "whoever hates his brother is in darkness." Harboring feelings of hate, revisiting memories which provoke us to feel angry or enviously resenting the good fortune of others are all recipes for a spiritual fender-bender -- or worse! Negative energy blinds us to the presence of the Lord in our hearts. It turns our thoughts and concerns in on ourselves and, as a result, we become insensitive to the needs of those around us. Today's Gospel gives us an example of what can happen when we resist the temptation toward negativity. We learn that it had been revealed to Simeon "by the Holy Spirit" that he would not die before he saw the Messiah. Only one who is not caught in the snares of spiritual blindness can be poised to receive such good news from the Holy Spirit.

Certainly we are not in the same position as Simeon, awaiting the birth of Israel's Messiah. But we, too, must keep ourselves open to the Lord's message in our lives. The Lord continues to speak to the hearts of those who seek Him. In the little everyday matters which might tempt us to cultivate negative thoughts, let us ask the Lord for the grace to put aside all that is negative and all that will impede our ability to be open to the Lord's voice in our hearts.

"If I am beset with pride or anger, I must above all else strive to cultivate humility and gentleness, and I must turn all my religious exercises,—prayer, sacraments, prudence, constancy, moderation, to the same object."
St. Francis de Sales

Christmas AD 2008

We cheated. We sang Christmas Carols during the third week of Advent; but we couldn't resist! The Young-Lum family came to visit and we had a sing-a-long complete with signs for all the days in the "12 Day of Christmas." The audio (well sung, but poorly recorded on a digital camera) is from our sing-a-long last Friday.

Also captured in our two minute video are shots from our "troublesome tree." The tree in our Assembly room fell over and the angel went flying across the room. It appears she injured herself on a nearby bookcase. Sister Mary de Sales rushed her to the infirmary for some super-glue surgery on her broken wings. Although we do not have any post-op shots of the angel, we do have a picture of a small giraffe ornament who managed to survive the crash and remain upright. Amazing! Some other important preparations include the ordinary tasks of cooking, cleaning, walking the dog and answering the phone. Do enjoy a two-minute Christmas visit.

A happy and holy Christmas to all our readers!

The Rising Sun!

With this fourth Sunday of Advent, we come to the fifth of the Great O Antiphons and we reach back over 350 posts and share a piece from our archives, posted on this day in 2005.

As the calendar is currently arranged, this antiphon is sung on the shortest day of the year. The rising sun, the Oriens, from the Latin verb orior is translated as the "Branch" in the book of Zechariah, which the angel of the Lord announces (3:12). The title Oriens as well as the two which follow, everlasting light and Sun of justice, all link Christ, present with God at the beginning of the world, to the sun which came to be on the fourth day of creation. This same light is experienced as the fulfillment of what Yahweh promised to the people of Israel; for Zechariah, father of St. John the Baptist, announces that God, "from on high will bring the rising Sun to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death" (Lk1:78-9).

Nature's brightest star is but a mere indication of the brightness of the light of Christ. To the people of Israel, the Branch, the one who rises from the stump of Jesse, is the longed-for-Messiah; to those preparing to celebrate the Incarnation of the second person of the Most Holy Trinity, the Branch is the Messiah who has come and who comes again each year, in the hearts of Christians.

As we prepare our hearts to welcome the Lord, let us clothe ourselves in the light which flows from the Sun of justice. Let us seek justice in all our relationships. Justice is what we owe to one another; some relationships are equal -- marriage, siblings, peers, co-workers, etc.; in other relationships it is proper that it be "unequal" -- parents and children, teachers and students, employer and employees, etc. When we examine our relationships, we may find that we "owe" a little more to some people than we ordinarily give. Advent is a wonderful time to ask for the grace to be more generous in our relationships with one another. Let us thank the Lord for the different relationships in our lives and let us strive to be true sons and daughters of the Sun of justice. Come, Lord Jesus.

O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae et sol iustitiae: Veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis.

---

O Rising brightness of everlasting light and Sun of justice: come and enlighten those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O!

Although the "Lion of Judah" didn't make it into the titles used by the Church in the O Antiphons which begin today, we hear in today's readings how the house of Judah is the privileged family from which will come the "Flower of Jesse's Stem" and the "Key of David."

As we begin this sacred octave which prepares our hearts for the coming of the Messiah, we are given seven titles of our Lord upon which to reflect. It is significant to note that each of these Antiphons, divided into two parts: first the title, addressing the Messiah to come and then the second part which begins, in Latin, with the imperative "Veni." Come! We invite the Messiah to come to us each day. We beg him to to set us free, to show us the way, to break our chains, to come quickly!

This is a wonderful pattern for us to consider in our prayers. After addressing the Lord and describing some attribute of his greatness, these antiphons petition Him to come among us. How very much this is needed today. Let us invite the Lord into our lives, our hearts, our world, our families, our relationships. Come, Lord Jesus, come!

O Wisdom, you who proceed forth from the mouth of the Most High, stretching from end to end, ordering all things strongly and sweetly:
Come to teach us the way of prudence.

Dreams Come True

Dreams, that is, for the people whom this hero is helping. Several weeks ago we encouraged shameless voting for our alumna and, "community crusader" Liz McCartney who was nominated as one of CNN's top 10 heroes of the year. Having earned more votes than her nine fellow activists, Liz' St. Bernard Project received the $100,000 award from CNN. Below is Liz' very gracious 40-second acceptance speech.

If you'd like to read more about Liz' work visit the write-up on our school's website and check out the snappy new look on the St. Bernard Project's own website. If you'd like to help the SBP ... or you're just looking for a good deed to do during this Advent season, you can visit the SBP wishlist where wishes can come true for as little as $25 for faucets, $50 for plumbing tools and bigger gifts of $12,000 can rebuild an entire house. Kudos to Liz and her 8,000 volunteers: olive branches of hope to the flood victims of New Orleans!

To Love Like God Loves

In today's Gospel we have the familiar parable of the lost sheep. It may not speak to the experience of those of us whose daily lives do not involve the agrarian chores of shepherding and care of animals but surely it speaks to our sense of the practical. It makes no sense to leave behind 99 sheep to seek out one lone lost animal. In fact, one might be tempted to wonder about the quality of the lost sheep if he couldn't manage to stick with the flock in the first place. This, however, is probably not our Lord's intention in telling us this parable. It is the unreasonableness of God's love that He wishes to show us. God loves us so much that he would leave behind the flock to go in tender search of any single lost soul. The parable does not suggest neglect for the rest of the flock; it suggests lavish -- and perhaps even undeserved -- love for each single member of the flock.

This coming Thursday in the Office of Readings we will hear a selection from St. Peter Chrysologus which speaks of a longing to see God: "Hinc est quod amor qui cupit videre Deum, et si non habet judicium habet tamen studium pietatis." The Breviary renders it loosely: "A love that desires to see God may not have reasonableness on its side, but it is the evidence of filial love." One could fill a page with translations and interpretations of "pietatis" but that ancient Roman sense of "responsibility to the God(s)" carried with it a sense of loyalty, tenderness and kindness. And so, if we desire to see God, to imitate that love with which He loves us, let us put aside the temptation to measure our love for one another by what seems reasonable to us. Let us show our love and our kindness to one another by being unreasonably tender as the Lord was when he went in search of the lost sheep. Imagine how different our families, workplaces, parishes, etc., could be if each person felt as loved and as cared-for as the lost sheep in the parable. Together, ewe and we can change the world, one lost sheep at a time!

Wait ... an Advent Thought!

On Wednesday evening we were treated to a wonderful Advent hour of reflection. Our Sister Archivist dusted off the Advent Sermons of St. Francis de Sales, combined it with a touch of some more contemporary authors and wove it together with her own rich style of reflecting on our Salesian heritage. Her theme: the art of waiting. We share an excerpt from sister's stellar presentation. Among other words of wisdom, Sister suggested that "waiting" is not a very popular activity today:

"Since we are uncomfortable waiting, our impulse is to fill in the time with cell phones and iPods. We have to stay, but we want to get out of the place where we are waiting -- most of all, by doing something . . . . It is important to note that all the figures appearing on the first pages of Luke's Gospel are waiting. Zechariah and Elizabeth are waiting. Mary is waiting. Anna and Simeon have been waiting in the temple for years! The whole opening scene of the Good News is filled with people patiently waiting. . . . And these to whom promises have been made are waiting actively. They aren't just sitting on their hands, awaiting THE moment. They know that what they are waiting for is growing from roots in the ground on which they are standing. The secret of waiting is the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has begun. St. Francis de Sales encourages us to live fully in the present moment. Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah, Anna and Simeon are all ACTIVELY waiting, fully present to the moment, fully confident that something is happening within them."

Come, Lord Jesus!

As we begin this most sacred season of Advent, we might stop to consider what a rich invitation it is for us to examine our own journey. We who seek Christ are all pilgrims on this side of eternity. During this season of preparation, our journey takes us to Bethlehem where we shall marvel at how the Lord comes among us as a child.

Those of us who live in monasteries do not travel a great deal, but when we do, we are struck (sometimes in more ways than one) by the rules and regulations that have been added at airports: shoe removal, food and liquid prohibitions, baggage limits, etc. Recently applied airline regulations may give us some insight into this journey of ours during the season of Advent.

Moses took off his shoes after the Lord appeared to him in the burning bush. He was standing on holy ground. Airports may not be holy ground, but our heart's journey to the manger where the Holy Family is gathered is a journey which can help us to grow in holiness. When we prepare ourselves for the Lord of Lords to be born anew in our hearts, we lay aside all that is unworthy of so great a visitor. Our hearts, if they are ready for the coming of Christ, will be made holy by Him whom we welcome.

Fortunately for us, we do not need to carry large bags when we travel: our wardrobe is simple and our needs are few. One cannot help but to notice, however, that the number and size of bags one may now carry on board an airplane continues to grow smaller. This, too, provides an insight into our pilgrimage to the manger in Bethlehem. When we journey toward Christ we cannot carry extra baggage. Such "baggage" might be: resentment, fear, anger, jealousy, discouragement, etc., and they are all roadblocks along our way. The more baggage we have, the more difficult it can be to stay on the road that will take us to Bethlehem. When we are not weighed down with baggage, we are also free to help others along the way. Let us set out, this Advent season, to throw down our baggage (or at least check it at the curb) and hurry for God is with us and He awaits us at the manger.

Belated Halloween Video

We are a little belated in sharing these highlights with our readers, but we trust that they are still as amusing as they were almost a month ago. Our dear Sister Raphael shares her birthday with the celebration of All Hallows ... and she enjoys every minute of it. This year, our Sister Mada-anne -- in a creative monologue -- appeared to Sister Raphael in a one-nun-skit as a talking lighthouse. (Sister Raphael is very fond of lighthouses!) Later in the skit, the rest of the community donned masks of Sister Raphael. Amid the frivolity and eutrepalia Sister Raphael was heard to exclaim, "I'm being faced with myself!" Do enjoy a two-minute visit to Sister's birthday party!

Renewal of Vows

On Friday, as we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of Mary, we observed our custom of renewing our vows during Mass and signing our vow book during the day. Pictured above is the 1816 vow book as it waits for the next sister to approach it to rewrite and sign her vows.

Having the book out of its glass case for a day is a real treat. One stumbles upon many fascinating pages as she follows the handwritten numbers in the top-right corner of the pages to locate her own page. The very beginning of the book bears the traditional inscription of every Visitation vow book which is taken from the original manuscript in Annecy, written by St. Francis de Sales in 1611. Below is an excerpt from one of our Holy Father's aspirations for Our Order:

"O true God, who will grant me grace for the Almighty to hear my desire that He Himself should write this book, so that I may carry it on my shoulders and put it about me as a crown? . . . Yes, Lord Jesus, hear the cry of my heart for your servants: may you yourself write in this book, and may no Sister ever write her name in it except by your inspiration and in response to your call . . . . In all my soul's aspirations to you I shall call out all the names written in it, and this roll-call will be a hymn of joy and praise to offer up to your Divine Providence as a bouquet of sweet fragrance."
St. Francis de Sales

Shhhhhh .... Sisters at Prayer

"Every year, on November twenty-first, Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, after three days of recollection, all the sisters publicly renew their religious vows, although simply as an act of devotion."
Constitutions of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, chapter XXXII

It may be "simply as an act of devotion" but is, indeed, an important day in the life of our monastery. The 1816 vow book, in which the founding sisters of our monastery wrote their vows, comes out of its glass case and is placed on a table in front of the altar. During Mass we all recite a short renewal formula and then, all during the day, the sisters have a chance to sign their page in the vow book. We even have a visitor's page for sisters who are away from their monastery on this feast and renew their vows with us.

It is fitting -- and particularly meaningful for us -- that November 21st has also been named a day "pro orantibus" -- for those who pray and, in particular, the Church prays for cloistered religious. We leave off here with a prayer from St. Francis de Sales' instructions as he founded our Order:

"Grant, O Jesus, holy and sweet love of our souls, that the year in which each Sister shall inscribe her oblation in this book may be a year of sanctification for her; the day, a day of salvation, the hour an hour of lasting benediction."

AU: Amazing University Students

Just yesterday we were privileged to have 12 AU (that now stands for "Amazing" university students) join us for a day-long discernment retreat. In the morning the group looked at the three vocations of marriage, religious life and a committed single life and in the afternoon they filled their tool bags with some "tools for discernment."

Among the first things that these young women learned (and it wasn't even on the outline for their retreat day) was that there is never a dull moment at the monastery. Yesterday was also our annual Gold-White intramural field hockey game where students battle for "team points" in a hockey game after a rousing pep rally and dance contest. The AU retreatants were informed that they were to be rooting for the gold team; it was a natural choice since the sisters who spent the day with them are all members of the (winning) gold team. We were a bit sad to learn that one of our amazing students was strong-armed into being a white-team supporter.

Please note the large blue area at the bottom of the group picture. It might amuse our faithful readers to know that there were two cameras on self-timer set to photograph the group; one camera was on a 5 pound box of Twizzlers, atop a tin of popcorn and the camera that caught this picture was resting upon a 5 gallon water-cooler jug, balanced on its narrow end. Can readers guess which two subjects in the picture below were the two who came running (er, diving in one instance) into the picture with seconds to spare?

A Peek at the Bazaar

We should probably have titled this post, "A Peek at the sisters at the Bazaar" for we share here some "action" shots of our "Salesnuns" at work. We are sorry not to have pictures of the sisters on the moonbounce but the "take of your shoes and your glasses" sign scared some of us away. Maybe next year!

Mother Mary Berchmans talks to an alumna about the Visitation history book she is selling.

Sister Leonie Therese makes friends and sales. (The camera just missed her modeling one of her brightly-colored scarves!)

Sister Anne Francis minds the "Vocation Visibility Booth" and offers free copies of our ten-minute vocational DVD as well as "Prayer Warrior" magnets.

Sister Maureen assists a customer at her table. So many cards to choose from ... so hard to decide which ones to buy!

A sincere thanks to all our Visi moms (and dads) and volunteers who helped to make Esprit de Noel 2008 such a success!

Bazaar Weekend

Don't worry, we haven't adopted green habits or striped stockings; this is the Esprit de Noel Elf who can be found on just about every signpost on campus. She directs shoppers and volunteers to food, vendors, the (very popular) used book sale and other features of our annual Christmas Bazaar, one of our school's first fund-raisers of the year.

Among countless vendors, one can find the sisters selling their own creations. Sister Leonie Therese is raffling off a hand-painted night table and peddling her embroidery work; Sister Rosemarie is raising money for the Mercy Project, which helps families in her native village of Lare in Kenya; Sister Maureen has added a host of new items to her stationery creations and Mother Mary Berchmans can be found selling copies of the Visitation history book, recently updated and republished in 2004. Stay tuned for pictures of the sisters at work at the bazaar!

Oremus!

Thanks to the diocese of Wilmington, Bishop Malooley, and his predecessor, Bishop Saltarelli, for issuing (and re-issuing) this prayer. Pray! (and vote!)

If you haven't already seen it (or heard it), EWTN hosted a 13-part series on St. Thomas More. Although it was only available through 31 October, Jay Anderson has the files available here.

Litany of St. Thomas More,
Martyr and Patron Saint of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers

V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ, have mercy
R. Christ have mercy
V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ hear us
R. Christ, graciously hear us

V. St. Thomas More, Saint and Martyr,
R. Pray for us (Repeat after each invocation)
St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
St. Thomas More, Patron of Justices, Judges and Magistrates
St. Thomas More, Model of Integrity and Virtue in Public and Private Life
St. Thomas More, Servant of the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ
St. Thomas More, Model of Holiness in the Sacrament of Marriage
St. Thomas More, Teacher of his Children in the Catholic Faith
St. Thomas More, Defender of the Weak and the Poor
St. Thomas More, Promoter of Human Life and Dignity

V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Spare us O Lord
V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Graciously hear us O Lord
V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Have mercy on us

Let us pray:

O Glorious St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, your life of prayer and penance and your zeal for justice, integrity and firm principle in public and family life led you to the path of martyrdom and sainthood. Intercede for our Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, that they may be courageous and effective in their defense and promotion of the sanctity of human life - the foundation of all other human rights. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

Reaping a Harvest of Righteousness

As we begin reading St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, we are reminded of our call to cultivate the soil of our hearts so that it may be well tended enough to grow the "fruit of righteousness." At first glance, the word "righteousness" may not appeal to us as a quality we would like to nurture but when we think of it as being "full of doing the right thing" it may seem more appealing. Very often we know what we should do or how we should act and, being human, we probably also find that we fall short of "doing the right thing" when left to our own devices. Asking God for the help we need to deal with each day's challenges -- those which we can foresee and those which take us by surprise -- is the first step toward cultivating a harvest of righteousness. When we put our hearts at the Lord's disposal by asking for His help, there is no limit to what the Lord can do with us. His grace can help us to respond lovingly in situations which we find difficult; He can make us His instruments in situations we might never have imagined if we had not allowed the Lord to use us for His good works.

St. Francis de Sales encourages us to put our hearts before the Lord every morning before we begin our day and to offer to the Lord all that we will do or undertake. He also encourages us to examine our hearts at the end of the day: two very ancient spiritual practices. His explanation of the end-of-day examination is a happy reminder about the importance of keeping the soil of our hearts well-tilled and ready for His hand to sow the seeds of righteousness.

"If you have done anything good, offer thanks to God; if you have done amiss in thought, word, or deed, ask forgiveness of His Divine Majesty, resolving to confess the fault when opportunity offers, and to be diligent in doing better. Then, commend your body and soul, the Church, your relations and friends, to God. Ask that the Saints and Angels may keep watch over you, and with God’s Blessing go to the rest He has appointed for you. Neither this practice nor that of the morning should ever be omitted; by your morning prayer you open your soul’s windows to the sunshine of Righteousness, and by your evening devotions you close them against the shades of hell."
St. Francis de Sales

U Haul Update!

The secret is out: the U Haul did not contain 8,000 lbs. of meatballs from September's "Monastic Meatball Supper" but it did contain the 8-foot nun-poster where visitors could "picture" themselves with us. Students who stopped at our table had the opportunity to have their picture taken as a Visitation Sister. Travel with us for 2 minutes to the Finnegan Field House at FUS for the largest Vocation Fair in the country. And pray with us that seeds sown will bear fruit.

Special thanks to Lucia Bortz for organizing the event and for the men of the Pre-The program at FUS who served as guardian angels for unloading and loading cars. Our "Noisy Neighbors" had a bigger set of speakers than we and their "rock music" outblasted our DVD's Gregorian Chant, but they were great company for the day (and they gave out cool T-shirts!)

Free music on our 2-minute video courtesy of AudioTreasure.

Meatballs on the Move

It's that time of year again ... when our sisters head to the Franciscan University of Steubenville's annual vocation fair. This year, our monastery's cargo load has grown, as the (dubiously) accurate picture suggests. We haven't packed our community into the U-Haul (FUS asks that each community only send two participants) but we've packed a few new things. In fact, since we couldn't transport the meatballs from the Monastic Meatball Supper which we hosted in late September, we decided to take the next best thing from the supper (not the brownies, either -- there were none left) ... stay tuned to see what the Visi Vocation Van has in tow. Or, if you're local, stop by Finnegan Field House at FUS for a look at our display and close to 100 others as well!

Voting Early and Often

Is anyone else tired of the campaign rhetoric? Here's someone else for whom you can cast a vote and your vote can help make a difference. Georgetown Visitation Alumna Liz McCartney's "St. Bernard Project" has helped to rebuild over 150 homes in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Liz and her project have been selected as a contender for CNN's Hero for 2008 -- an ordinary person who is changing the world. Click here to read about her nomination. Click here to vote (often, please!) And click here to visit the St. Bernard Project homepage. If Liz is selected the St. Bernard project will receive $100,000 from CNN.