Comic Relief

This is not a joke. This really happened.

This past weekend, two of our sisters took our postulants to rural West Virginia for a weekend in our retreat cabin. They report having had good weather and having seen lots of beautiful wildlife including a deer family who came very close to the cabin to graze providing quite a show for the group during supper (this was cleverly named "dinner theater" by one of the postulants). In addition, there were a number of birds who snacked on dill pickle flavored sunflower seeds and chirped songs of gratitude after eating.

Despite their accounts of these lovely sightings, upon returning they had only the following two pictures to share. The first one is of the back of a truck that was (apparently) four cars in front of them on I-70 during their trip home. (Click on the picture if you can't read the name on the truck.) This picture raises a question which is perhaps best left unanswered: who was driving the car? ... or, who was steering the car while the driver was taking pictures?

This second picture was taken in the closest pocket of civilization to the retreat cabin: a metropolis called Great Cacapon: population 1,379 according to the 2000 census. The United Methodist Church that posted the sign in the second picture is about 35 minutes closer to our retreat cabin than the nearest Catholic Church. We are relived to learn, however, that our sisters stopped only long enough to take a picture of the sign!

Garden Babies

For several weeks now, we've been enjoying fresh lettuce and string beans -- and the squirrels have been nice enough to limit their taste-testing to a finite number of plants so that we, too, may enjoy the harvest. Just this week, three of our fruiting plants put forth their "first fruits" ... and at risk of boring our readers with plant photos, we have some baby pictures to share. (Click on an image to enlarge it.)

This is a baby watermelon. The markings on its skin are delicate and exquisite!

This is a baby cucumber, a distant cousin of the watermelon.

This is a baby tomato, most likely a "Tiger Tom" variety. When mature, it will be slightly smaller than a tennis ball, quite round for a homegrown heirloom tomato and it will have yellow stripes on its reddish orange skin. Almost too attractive to eat!

"E" is for Everlasting

"E" is for everlasting, like the down-to-earth wisdom that one finds in the "Spiritual Conferences of St. Francis de Sales." As part of our monthly spotlight on St. Francis de Sales, we feature Sister Mary de Sales and her favorite work by her namesake: the "Spiritual Conferences."

The "Spiritual Conferences of St. Francis de Sales" (commonly referred to in Salesian circles as "The Conferences") are, perhaps, one of the least well-known works of the patron saint of journalism. The 21 conferences were talks that St. Francis de Sales gave to the early sisters of the Visitation; they were not composed for publication. In fact, the conferences were all delivered orally and recorded by our early sisters. Many parts of the conferences seem to be in response to questions which the sisters asked; other parts appear to be spiritual talks which were delivered on a special occasion. The sources for the conferences are from two of our early sisters, Sister Claude-Agnes Joly de la Roche and Sister Marie-Marguerite Michel who, despite little time for leisure, recorded the conferences as faithfully as their memories allowed. Each sister had a different style of writing, the former had a knack for preserving the theological points and organizational structure of a conference and the latter, a preference for anecdotes and practical examples.

Pictured above, Sister Mary de Sales poses with a well-used copy of the conferences. Sister loves the practical day-to-day examples that illustrate the gentle spirit which which St. Francis de Sales encouraged us to live. With good reason, they are her favorite works by Our Holy Founder.

"You must not, then, be astonished or discouraged when you commit some fault or imperfection before your sisters . . . . You may have been guilty of some fault of silliness, it is true; but it was before your sisters, who love you dearly, who can very well bear with you in your faults, and who will feel more compassion for you than indignation against you."

St. Francis de Sales

Conference IV (On Cordiality)

Belated Fathers' Day

Today's Gospel has the Lord teaching us the "Our Father".... and we're seizing the opportunity to post a belated Fathers' Day tribute. One of our faculty members shared this video with us and we thought it was too good not to share with our readers. There are many videos about this amazing father-son team; this one is from the NBC "Today's Heroes" series. It is a remarkable story about a father's devotion to his son. It is a little over five minutes (but it may require more than five tissues!)

New Additions!

O Happy occasion: on Friday evening, in a ceremony in choir before Vespers, we received two postulants who will begin their formation this coming week. Geraldine and Catherine received medals of St. Francis de Sales and assumed their places in choir just prior to second Vespers for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.

Pictured below, Geraldine receives her medal from Mother Philomena while Catherine, right, looks on:

Catherine and Geri, below, pose in the novitiate library with Sister Mary Berchmans, the Mistress of Postulants.

Please help us pray in gratitude for our new additions: for them and for more additions!

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart

Photograph of the widow in our Chapel of the Sacred Heart by Michael Hoyt, used with permission and gratitude.

When the Lord asks "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?" we have no record of a response from his audience. We are so accustomed to this parable, however, that the Lord's response may not strike us in the same way it struck his hearers the first time the story was told. No one in his right mind would leave ninety-nine sheep to search for the lone stray. If he did, he would probably lose many more sheep -- to say nothing of his job! Such a practical concern never plagued the mind of the Good Shepherd; his only concern is love. To show the expansive love of his Most Sacred Heart, our Lord uses this most extraordinary example of his care of each member of his flock. Not a single one of us is beyond the reach of His care and His grace.

"Let us be charitable and humble in our thoughts as well as in our words. If we are more faithful to this, the Sacred Heart will be more liberal of His graces than He has ever been."
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Nursery School Progress Report

Since our nursery school graduation (23 tomato transplants moved from the monastery into the vegetable garden) several weeks ago, we have seen great growth. We have had several visitors -- hungry squirrels, perhaps -- who have performed some quality control tests, sampling the lettuce and fennel plants during the first few weeks of their growth. They have assured us that the produce is safe to consume and fortunately, they have found an alternate source of food, allowing us to share in the fresh lettuce and green beans! Sister Mary Roberta is pictured below washing fresh lettuce and below her is a shot of the garden from the tomato patch. Stay tuned for summer garden updates!

From the Mailbag (II)

We have another question from the mailbag (comment box, really) and it's a great one! A guest wrote in and asked the difference between a Feast and a Solemnity. In responding in the comment box, we realized that there are much more articulate explanations in an article from "The Catechist." Click here to read their snappy explanation.

Just as a side note, there are times when a particular country, diocese, religious order, etc., has permission to celebrate a certain Memorial or Feast with greater solemnity. In our case, we celebrate the "Feast" of the Visitation, the "Memorial" of St. Francis de Sales, and the "Commemoration" of St. Jane de Chantal as Solemnities. In addition, we celebrate the "Commemoration" of St. Margaret Mary as a Feast. It keeps us (and our chaplains) on our toes!

The Poor Among Us

Today's first reading begins our week-long reading from the book of Tobit (the book formerly known as Tobias). The stories in this book take place in the city of Nineveh after the Assyrians had captured Israel. Tobit sends his son Tobiah into the streets to find a poor person with whom he may share his festive meal. This act of munificence leads Tobit to a greater act of charity when, later in the reading, he buries a dead kinsman despite the heckling of his neighbors.

Tobit himself was an exile and, in his good fortune of having a fine dinner prepared for him, he seeks to share it with one who is less fortunate than he. For many of us, we are able to be generous to the poor around us by participating in programs which are organized to feed the homeless or homebound. Our students, faculty and staff collaborate with a number of different outreach initiatives to feed the hungry. In addition to those who are physically or economically poor -- for whom programs are established -- we have others in our midst who are poor in ways that often go unnoticed. Every workplace has someone who is a little more "left out" of things than others. These, too, are the poor. Their poverty may be more private than one whose poverty is physical or material but, often, it can be more painful. Let us reach out to the poor among us who are sometimes a great deal closer than we expect.

"Converse willingly with the poor, be pleased to have them near you, be often in their company."
St. Francis de Sales

The Solemnity of the Visitation

Photo of the Chapel window -- Copyright: Michael Hoyt (used with permission and gratitude).

Most of us who are avowed Christians are good at giving. Generous sharing of time, talent and resources is an attractive and endearing quality which we are taught to practice from when we are children. What some of us "good givers" are not always so skilled at doing is receiving graciously. It is easy for most of us to be the generous giver and offer to do a favor, run an errand, etc. It is not always so easy for us to accept the kindness of others. Being a good recipient is a mark of virtue -- the little virtue of graciousness. There are many people who are very generous but who are not gracious in the face of others' generosity. The little virtue of graciousness is an attractive virtue to cultivate.

In today's Gospel for the Solemnity of the Visitation (Feast for the Church, Solemnity for our Order) we have an example of a gracious recipient in the person of Elizabeth. Scholars and historians help us to imagine the enormity of the journey that Mary undertook after the Annunciation; a three day walk into the hill country of Judah to Ein Karim. Perhaps some of us, in Elizabeth's sandals, might have responded differently: "Mary, what on earth are you doing here?" or "Do you know how dangerous it was for you to travel here? You shouldn't have!" Instead, Elizabeth responds, "Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy!" Elizabeth is the portrait of graciousness in her welcome to Mary. A lesson for all of us who seek to follow the Lord more closely. The next time someone offers to give us a ride, do a chore, pick up a check, let us remember that gracious gratitude is a virtuous way to meet the generosity of another.

Referring to the founding of our first Monastery -- but equally descriptive of the mystery for which it was named -- Saint Francis de Sales remarks:

"The spirit of the Visitation is one of humility towards God and gentleness and sweetness towards our neighbor."

Return to the Ordinary

As we return to Ordinary Time today we are presented with the account of the rich young man. It is striking to be reminded that Jesus looked on him with love. Surely Jesus knew the plight of this young man; he knew his heart's attachment to his riches and he knew that this man was not able to answer the call to follow Him more closely; still, the Lord looked on him with love. It is very easy for us, in our daily interactions with others, to dismiss those whose actions we think we can predict. "Oh, all she ever does is complain!" "He never has anything nice to say," etc. We are challenged to look at those in our daily lives -- most especially those with whom we are most familiar -- with the same eyes of love that Jesus looked upon the rich young man. Let us ask for the grace to practice daily acts of kindness and gentleness toward all those we meet -- and especially toward those whom we are tempted to "dismiss."

Here we share a few thoughts on living the little virtues that make everyday life a little more pleasant for those around us. These virtues are based upon the teachings of St. Francis de Sales and were made popular in the literature of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. A number of years ago, our Sister Anne Marie made bookmarks out of them to disseminate the powerful -- yet albeit simple -- message:

To others' little acts of selfishness and unfairness:

ENDURE PATIENTLY.

Amid your shortcomings and limitations:

SEE THE BRIGHT SIDE.

When others are curt with you:

SHOW GOOD HUMOR.

At the tiresome tempers of others:

STAY CHEERFULLY EXCUSING.

When someone turns you down:

PUT ON A GOOD FACE.

If someone helps when you'd rather do it yourself:

BE APPRECIATIVE.

When answering others:

SPEAK GENTLY AND SHOW COURTESY.

"D" is for Deciduous

In keeping with our monthly spotlight on St. Francis de Sales, we have a word of wisdom from our distinguished tree-grower, Sister Mary Bernardine. Sister B -- as the students call her -- delights in watching trees grow from tiny acorns or small shoots. Sister's tree-farm includes many deciduous types (we had to get the "D" in there somehow!) such as the ash tree she is examining in the picture.

Sister Bernardine is famous for telling jokes to her homeroom or passing cartoons around during recreation. Sister can make anyone laugh -- even without her "Squeaky Clean" joke book -- she's great for a wink or a smile or a witty word just when one least expects it. When asked for a favorite quotation of St. Francis de Sales, she shared the following:

"Friends practice a gentle and sincere courtesy which offends no one and obliges all, which seeks love rather than prestige."

Solid advice from a man who had many friends! Stay tuned for next month's focus on St. Francis de Sales from Sister Mary de Sales.

Turning the Tables

It's time to turn the tables. Sister Anne E is always chasing the rest of the community around with a camera ... and, amid funny happenings, can be heard to say, "Don't move, let me get the camera, this will make a great photo for the blog." (Community members -- likewise -- when posing as subjects of a photograph, can be heard to say, "Please don't put this on the blog!")

Recently, Stone photography "caught" Sister in action as assistant coach to the JV softball team (which boasted a 14-2 record) this past spring season.

Warming up the pitcher between innings...

Coaching third base...

Nicholas, the monastery guard dog, sports his team uniform shirt and gets a high-five from Mother Philomena between innings.

The Ascension

Many dioceses are still celebrating the Solemnity of the Ascension today. So, this post will be our "Sunday" post -- just a few days early, in union with those who celebrate today.

In the first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, we see a discrepancy between the apostles' vision and Jesus' vision of the kingdom. The disciples are asking when Jesus will restore the nation of Israel and Jesus is encouraging them to spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the surrounding nations. Thankfully, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the will of God was carried out -- despite the limited vision of the apostles.

And so it is with us: very often our idea of how something might work out or how a conflict might be resolved is different from God's vision. Like the disciples, we, too, are invited to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us in our actions (and reactions!) Let us commend all that we undertake: small or great, certain or uncertain, work or leisure, to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the promised gift for which we wait.

"By a wondrous infusion of His grace into our hearts He makes our works become His . . . since we are members of a Head of which He is the Spirit and since we are engrafted on a tree of which He is the divine sap."

St. Francis de Sales

Christmas in May?

Mothers' Day doesn't usually come during the Advent or Christmas seasons, but no so this year. (Well, not exactly, but almost.) St. Nicholas made a guest appearance at recreation last night as visiting Carmelite, Sister Ana, from the Port Tobacco Carmel showed us her latest icon. Sister has been with us for the past week while attending an intensive icon-writing workshop at a nearby Russian Orthodox church.

Sister shared with us that the icon of St. Nicholas was selected for this particular workshop because it allowed the instructors to teach nine different technical skills -- such as applying the gold leaf with vodka. (One could almost make a skit out of that, "Reverend Mother, may I have some money to buy vodka? I need it to finish an icon!")

The vestments of St. Nicholas reveal great attention to detail (not to mention vodka-laden gold!). Click on the picture for a closer look at this exquisite work. We have greatly enjoyed having sister with us for the past week and we hope that another workshop brings her to our home again soon!

To learn more about the Carmelite nuns of Port Tobacco, click here.

Way to Grow!

It's that time of year again when the smell of spring is a welcome one as windows are open (and pollen is ubiquitous!?) We were a little late, this year, in getting our tomato seeds started but it is almost as if they knew they were late. In a record 4 days the seeds germinated and the first few began to break the surface. Below, sister prepares to give the transplants a drink (and below that, a shot of a satisfied customer!) Last year there were 24 successful nursery school graduates; stay tuned for updates on the progress of this year's baby tomatoes.

"The Church is a garden patterned with unlimited flowers."
St. Francis de Sales

A Spiritual Work of Heart

In today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we read how, even after they were persecuted, Paul and Barnabas were "filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." Such docility to the will of God indicates a great freedom of heart -- a grace and a gift. They probably didn't schedule a persecution into their speaking tour but they accepted it and continued their ministry in a spirit of joy that allowed them to "shake it off" -- as our students like to say -- and move on.

St. Francis de Sales, at the risk of being misunderstood, wrote a great deal about cultivating a liberty of spirit. Such a liberty, St. Francis de Sales tells us, is found between, "two opposite vices: instability and constraint." A person who is unstable might stray from something virtuous or good for an insignificant reason or simply for the sake of introducing variety into her life; a person who is constrained might step over a needy person to get to the chapel lest she be late for her meditation. Liberty of Spirit abides between these two extremes. Amid the busyness of daily obligations, it is easy to become inordinately attached to our routines, our spiritual devotions or our preferred way of carrying out our daily responsibilities. As Paul and Barnabas showed great detachment (and joy!) in the face of persecution, so we are invited to cultivate a freedom of heart, a liberty of spirit in our daily activities.

"The effects of this freedom are a great inner serenity, a great gentleness and willingness to yield . . . . Try interrupting the meditation of someone who is very attached to her spiritual exercises and you will see her upset, flustered, taken aback. A person who has this true freedom will leave her prayer, unruffled and gracious toward the person who has unexpectedly disturbed her."

St. Francis de Sales

Children of Mary

This past weekend we welcomed over 300 alumnae for our annual alumnae reunion. Among the stories and anecdotes that were shared was a very humorous account from some students who attended our junior college in the 1960's. They recalled a classmate who, upon returning from a date with a boy, was exchanging a good-bye on the doorstep of the school building and just as he was about to give her a good-night kiss, their osculation was interrupted by the creek of the wicket and the voice of a sister who said, "You are a child of Mary, you owe that boy nothing!" Classmates recount the occasion with great laughter and fond memories of the ever-present eyes of the sister who was portress.

For those who have never seen a wicket (or who associate it with the British version of baseball) it is the small window in our front door which allows us to view a visitor before opening the door. (It is also the name of school's newspaper.) Below, Sister Mary de Sales peeks through the wicket of the monastery's front door. Fortunately, since the wicket through which Sister is looking is located at the monastery's entrance, we need not worry about ending such amorous encounters!

A happy and holy month of May to all our faithful readers. May Our Lady watch over all of her children as a loving Mother and a faithful protector!

"Honor, venerate and respect with special love the holy and glorious Virgin Mary who, being the Mother of Jesus Christ our Brother, is also in truth our very mother."

St. Francis de Sales

World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Today is world day of prayer for vocations. We have long believed that the best advertisement for vocations are happy religious. Here, among other smiling faces, we share our three sisters who were professed this past year. Sister Mary Roberta stands with Mother Philomena and Sister Anne Elizabeth and Sister Maureen are pictured on the left. As we pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, we pray for all those who are called that they may have the courage and generosity to respond, in freedom, to the Lord's sweet voice.

"Happy the soul that loves prayer and perseveres in it despite every difficulty!"

St. Jane de Chantal

"C" is for Common Sense

It's time for our monthly spotlight on St. Francis de Sales. In keeping with this year's focus on our Holy Founder, our Sister Mary Berchmans shares a few pearls of wisdom. (For previous posts click here for March and here for February.) The video is only a minute and a half ... a micro dose of Salesian spirituality (and, perhaps as St. Francis de Sales would have it since he was well known for his short chapters!)

Second To Nun

Yesterday afternoon our Visi Crew team dedicated a new shell and named it "Second to Nun" in honor of our dear Sister Anne Marie. One of our school chaplains, Father Stephano, a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo was on hand to bless the boat. Representing the monastery at the blessing were Sister Jacqueline, Sister Mary de Sales, who spoke a few words about Sister Anne Marie and Sister Maureen de Chantal, the "photonun" who captured the moment!

When they are not out on the water, our crew team can be seen working out in the gym at 6.00 on school mornings. Those of us in the monastery know well what it is like when morning comes quickly after a day's work -- be it in school or in the monastery and we tip our caps -- our veils -- to the members of our award-winning crew team. Go Cubs!

The Holy Spirit and the School Bus

One of our faithful chaplains loves to tell us the story of a school bus that a local high school uses to take their athletes to away games. One year it was dubious as to whether or not the legendary school bus would pass its annual inspection. The athletic director, not having extra money in his budget, spoke to the mechanic about how much it would cost to make the "bare minimum" number of repairs to get through inspection. When word got out that the school bus was in danger of not passing inspection, a very generous parent (of an athlete) offered to pay to repair the school bus. On hearing the good news, the athletic director responded, "That would be wonderful. We need new brakes, a new exhaust system, the air conditioner hasn't worked in a few years and while we're at it. . . ." When it was no longer on his budget, the athletic director listed many things that he would like to have repaired on the school bus. And so it is with the Lord -- our chaplain reminds us -- it is He who gives his gifts to us. We learn in today's Gospel that the Lord "does not ration his gift of the Spirit." When we ask the Lord for graces that we need we should not ask as though it were up to us to "pay the bill" -- so to speak. We should ask freely for all the graces we need and we should trust that he who does not ration His gifts, He who cannot be outdone in generosity, will be lavish in His response. One example might look like this: "Lord, please help me to smile at so-and-so at work. I have such a hard time getting along with him, help me to smile today." That might be okay if we ourselves are "paying the bill" because a smile might be all we can muster if it were up to us. When we're riding on the Holy Spirit's bus ticket we can say, "Lord, I can't stand to look at so-and-so; please give me the grace to reach out to him in love...not just a smile but a kind word or even a kind gesture."

"Between meditation and contemplation there is the prayer of petition . . . . True prayers of petition are made by grace -- when we ask for something which is not due us at all, and when we ask it of someone who is far superior to us, as God is."
St. Francis de Sales

Octave of Easter

Every year during the Octave of Easter, the Church replaces the usual responses to the readings during the Liturgy of the Hours with the antiphon, "This is the day" from Psalm 118. Here we share the polyphonic version that we use at Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. (We use a simpler version at other hours.) Our first foray into the moving medium of video!

All Eyes on Jesus

Jesus asks his disciples, in today's Gospel, "And why do questions arise in your hearts?" It is hard to imagine how the disciples must have felt. And we have no window into an answer since Luke does not give us any indication that they had a chance to reply. Jesus immediately shows them his wounds to reassure them that it is indeed he himself. A reminder to us all that a posture which keeps our eyes focused on the Lord is essential. Later in the Gospel we learn that "he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." Only when we have fixed our gaze on the Lord can we be in a position to have our minds and hearts opened to his word.

When the rubber hits the proverbial road of life, this is a helpful practice. We might be tempted to become frustrated with an inconsiderate co-worker; we might struggle to maintain our patience with a family member whose memory is failing; perhaps a friend is feeling under the weather and is unusually ornery. Sometimes we are faced with a challenging decision and we are unsure about how we should act. St. Francis de Sales, in giving advice about how to make a decision in accord with God's will, recommends that once we have consulted a few trusted people, we make a firm decision and -- keeping our eyes on the Lord -- stand firm, not allowing questions to distract us.

". . . come to a decision in the name of God. After that we must not call our choice in doubt, but devoutly, peacefully, and firmly keep and sustain it . . . Once our resolution has been holily made, we must never doubt the holiness of its execution."

St. Francis de Sales

Lux Mundi

We wish our readers a Happy and Holy Eastertide! And here we share a few photos from our Vigil Mass and a short reflection on the Easter Lily by St. Francis de Sales:

In the Vigil of the Lord's Resurrection in the Holy Night of Easter, our faithful server, David Gardiner assists Rev. Stephen Fields, SJ as he lights the incense from the fire. (It was a windy night and lighting the fire proved a challenge -- even to the best of boy scouts!)

Once inside, Father stops outside the chapel door to intone, "Christ our Light!" a second time.

Prior to the Vigil Mass, our Sister Leonie Therese -- faithful sacristan -- arranges a gift of lilies in our ante choir.

Few varieties of flowers get as much attention in religious art as the lily -- and not just any lily, day lily, water lily, tiger lily -- the Easter Lily. St. Francis de Sales, using the lily to illustrate the virtue of charity, had the following to say:

"Charity, therefore, includes the seven gifts. It resembles a splendid lily that has six petals whiter than snow, and in its center the beautiful little golden hammers of wisdom which drive into our hearts the loving taste and savor of the goodness of the Father, our Creator, of the mercy of the Son, our Redeemer, and of the sweetness of the Holy Spirit, our sanctifier."

Sacred Triduum 2007

We welcome our locals to join us for these most holy days. (And we shall resume blogging after the Triduum.)

Our schedule for public liturgies during the Sacred Triduum is as follows:

Holy Thursday:
Mass of the Lord's Supper 5.00pm (Chapel of the Sacred Heart)
Night Prayer 8.00pm
The Blessed Sacrament will be reposed until Midnight in the Visitation Parlor.
Good Friday:
Office of Readings 7.30am
Morning Prayer 9.00am
Midday Prayer 12.00
Commemoration of the Lord's Passion 3.00 (Chapel of the Sacred Heart)
Night Prayer 7.15pm

Holy Saturday:
Office of Readings 7.30am
Morning Prayer 9.00am
Midday Prayer 11.40am
Evening Prayer 5.00pm
Vigil Mass in the Holy Night of Easter 8.00pm

"What was our Lord doing during those three hours on the cross? He was offering sacrifices of praise. . . . O God! How many loving tears He shed during those three hours . . . how many and what kinds of pains pierced through the Sacred Heart of my Savior!"

St. Francis de Sales - Sermon on Good Friday 1622

Solemn Profession in Brooklyn

As we begin this most holy of weeks, we pause to share with our readers a few highlights from the profession of Sister Mary Cecilia Cho, VHM of our Monastery in Brooklyn. Sister is pictured above, standing outside the monastery choir, next to the statue of St. Margaret Mary. Three of us traveled, last Sunday, to be present for the occasion.

The Solemn Profession Liturgy was celebrated by one of their newly-consecrated auxiliaries, Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano,DD who was ordained a bishop in August 2006 and given the titular see of Inis Cathaig. Concelebrants included three Redemptorists from their nearby community. The homilist was Reverend Joseph R. Gibino, STM, PhD, a diocesan priest who is serves as one of the chaplains to the monastery. Father Gibino, who is also Sister Mary Cecilia's spiritual director, delivered a beautiful homily on love as he reflected on the Gospel reading (John 8:1-11). Following the homily, Sister pronounced her vows into the hands of Mother Susan Marie, superior of the monastery and received the crucifix of profession and a candle, lit from the paschal candle.

In his closing remarks, Bishop Caggiano turned to the sisters' choir and, addressing Sister Mary Cecilia said, "Action that is not born in a spirit of prayer and receptivity to God's will is not going to accomplish much! Thank you for your response to God." And as we begin this most solemn of weeks, we reflect on how true those words really are. May all our actions be rooted in a spirit of prayer and devotion as we commemorate the death and resurrection of our Lord.

A blessed holy week to all our readers (monastery schedule coming soon!!) To learn more about our monastery of Brooklyn, click here.

Belated Jubilee

This past Saturday we celebrated the Golden Jubilee of our dear Sister Mary Austin. She is pictured above in the kitchen (hence the apron!). There are many things for which our community is grateful on the happy occasion of her Jubilee but at the top of the list are Sister's gentle presence, her devotion and her love.

On a more practical level, we admire (and some of us even envy) her culinary skills. Treats and desserts seem effortless. Perhaps one of her more skillful desserts was a squash cobbler that most of us thought was an apple pie. Someone who was working in the kitchen leaked the secret ingredient by teasing that we were having vegetables for dessert. Sister had most of us fooled -- and enjoying our "apple pie" when we learned the truth! Last but not least, Sister Mary Austin is always ready to take on a partner for a game of Canasta -- play at your own risk -- shark on the loose!

We are a bit tardy in sharing this wonderful event since three of our number left bright and early the next morning to be with our Sisters in Brooklyn for a Solemn profession (pictures forthcoming!)

"B" is for Birds

In keeping with our effort to spotlight St. Francis de Sales on the 24th of each month, we are treated to a word from our resident sacristan (and zookeeper), Sister Leonie Therese. Sister Leonie is pictured above with St. Francis de Sales – and Soltico the canary is in her hands. Here she shares with us her delight at how St. Francis de Sales writes about creation:

“I like how St. Francis de Sales was very protective of God’s creation and all things in nature – animals and plants alike. He uses them to tell stories and give examples which reveal God’s love for us and his goodness. In writings about him we are told that the birds used to fly into his hands while he was praying the Divine Office. He saw in each creature the potential to give glory to God simply by its existence. From the birds that sing to the cows that give milk (and cheese and butter) St. Francis de Sales saw creation as reflecting the beauty of its creator.”

“It is a sin to harm animals’ lives for the sole satisfaction of injuring them because it robs them of the joy of mere existence which is bestowed upon them by God for his glory.”
St. Francis de Sales

Coming Soon to a Chapel Near You: Jesus!

We realize that the violet vestments at Mass indicate that we are in Lent - not Advent - but we can still say that Jesus is "coming soon" to our Chapel of St. Joseph in the retreat passage of our newly renovated monastery.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, we will have a procession up to the 4th floor chapel to dedicate it and repose the Blessed Sacrament. Below is a photo of the picture of St. Joseph on the east wall of the chapel.

Pictured below is the altar, awaiting the arrival of the tabernacle (pictures forthcoming). In the foreground of the picture is a prie dieu which was used by the first sister, Mother Josephine Teresa "Alice" Lalor, who began our monastery in 1799 with Archbishop Leonard Neale.

The Chapel of St. Joseph is such a beautiful place to pray, we suspect that our own sisters may be lining up to spend a weekend in the retreat passage!

"Saint Joseph had a very great share in the treasure, Our Lord and Master, which he guarded in his house!"

St. Francis de Sales

Ouch!

In today's first reading from the prophet Jeremiah, we hear a harsh report about the Lord's chosen people: "This is the nation that does not listen to the voice of the Lord, its God, or take correction." Accepting correction graciously is a challenge for anyone. It can be very difficult to listen to someone delineate our faults accurately and it is even more difficult if we perceive that the correction is unmerited. Be it an accurate or inaccurate reproof, the Lord will bless us for listening patiently to one who seeks to correct us. If a correction is issued kindly as a gesture of love it is much easier to try to accept it graciously -- a grace in itself! Though we should be slow to correct our neighbors, let us pray for the grace to accept correction in a spirit of gratitude.

"It seems a great thing when we accept correction from our Superiors. But from equals, one cannot bear it: the heart swells and reacts because this one who is my equal has no authority to admonish me . . . . it is here that we find one of the principal points of humility and perfection of the Christian life."

St. Francis de Sales

Save the Baby Humans!

Recently, as our Visi moms have been working diligently to prepare for our annual dollars-for-scholars fund-raising gala, they received the offer of a golden retriever puppy to be included among the items for the auction. This seemed to be a wonderfully lively addition to the 100+ items for the auction until early this past week. Our school administration as well as our gala chairperson were inundated with hundreds of emails from animal rights activists clamoring that this was an unethical manner of treating a puppy. Among the 300+ emails that our Sister Mary Berchmans received was a surly reproach suggesting that having the puppy as part of the fund raiser was tantamount to having homeless people as part of the live auction. In response to the uproar, our administration issued a very well-stated response and withdrew the puppy from the auction. As we pondered this situation, many of us wondered if those who became angry over this well-intentioned auction item are as passionate about saving baby humans as they are about puppies. Below is a very touching rap-video which is pro-life, (pro-baby humans!). Do share it with others if you like it. It may speak to our young people in ways that we cannot imagine. If it does not appear at the bottom of this post, click here to view it.

Irksome Temptations

It is a consolation, in one way, to read in today's Gospel that even the disciples themselves were not above the temptation of resentment. As the mother of James and John asks Jesus to reserve for them places of honor in his kingdom, Jesus hints at the suffering which awaits him. One can almost imagine the early-Church grapevine as news of Zebedee's wife and her request filtered down to the rest of the group. Matthew tells us that, "When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers." Surely we can all relate to how the ten were feeling. Perhaps we have been passed over for a promotion or a special assignment at work; perhaps we have watched as someone whom we estimate to be unqualified or inexperienced is given an opportunity to move ahead at work or in school. Negotiating a variety of different emotions in the face of such an experience is very natural, as the apostles show us. Irksome

Even though the Gospel does not provide us with an insider account into how each of the ten apostles felt about the two whose mother asked that they have places of honor, it might be safe to guess that their emotions ranged from anger and resentment to envy and jealousy. And knowing that such strong reactions, especially envy and resentment -- within a small group such as the apostles -- are are recipe for discord and unrest, Jesus is quick to respond. Urging the disciples to seek to be servants instead of lords, he paints a very different picture of places of honor in his kingdom. When we notice, in the depths of our hearts, a stirring of these unsettling emotions, let us be encouraged that many before us have battled these temptations.

"It is an easy thing to abstain from murder, but it is very difficult to avoid those angry outbursts which are incessantly aroused within us. . . .In short, these lesser temptations -- anger, suspicion, jealousy, envy, levity, folly, vanity, deception, impure thoughts -- are the continual trials of the most fervent and devout persons."

St. Francis de Sales

Via Crucis - part II

This is a continutation of our previous post about the symbols which are etched into our crosses. The front side, pictured above, has the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek. (Click here for a prior post with some more information.) The double cross above the "H" symbolizes union: our union with Christ and the union of Christ with His Church. The two flames (on either side of the cross piece) represent the living fire of love that animates our lives. The three nails represent the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The olive branch eminating from Mt. Sinai, which is found on both sides of the cross, reminds us daily of God's peace and his mercy.

"The Everlasting God has, in His wisdom, foreseen from eternity the cross He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost Heart."

St. Francis de Sales

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow . . .

On Sunday afternoon we had a rather unexpected snowfall. Pictured above, Sister Mary Berchmans interests Nicholas in a game of catch with a snowball.

The view from the second floor porch. A winter wonderland, indeed!

"A" is for Archivist

Preparations for our 400th anniversary have begun and as we approach 2010 our Religious Assistant to the Holy See, Father Valentin Viguera, has suggested that the years leading up to this great jubilee be marked by a theme. For 2007 he proposes our Holy Founder, Saint Francis de Sales. In a letter from his feast, 24 January 2007, Father Viguera suggests that we disseminate the spirituality of Saint Francis de Sales in a variety of ways. In the spirit of this request, our blog will post a feature about Saint Francis on the 24th of every month. In this first post, our archivist, Sister Mada-anne, reflects upon one of her favorite quotations:

"St. Francis de Sales wrote frequently about work.Here's a favorite: 'Flies trouble us by their numbers,not their strength; in the same way, little things trouble us more than great things by their very number. Accept the duties that come to you peacefully, taking them one by one . . .' The Georgetown Visitation Monastery Archives contain--literally--millions of manuscripts and papers, some important, some not. All of them must be preserved and catalogued so that the information they contain will be accessible to researchers and scholars. Even more important to the community is the archivist's duty to make sure that the traditions of the monastery itself are handed down from generation to generation intact, and that's a challenge, but also, fun! The office of Archivist is a dream job, especially since it also involves keeping track of the art works in the community. This is a favorite: (note the statue she is touching ... right next to the mouse pad featuring our Holy Founders) a marvelous woodcarving of St. Francis de Sales done in1985 and presented to the sisters by its creator, artist Nancy Hanel. This wonderfully lively statue presides over the archives, with occasional forays into the chapel, or the choir, or the schoolroom--a most important reminder of our living heritage, and, incidentally, the all time favorite of the archivist. "

Coming soon (coming eventually...) a video tour of the new monastery archives.

Via Crucis - part I

Often we are asked about the symbols on the pectoral cross that we wear. We thought Lent might be an appropriate time to share some of this. Pictures above is one side of our cross. We wear a cross (and not a crucifix) because those who wear it are expected to supply the corpus through our own lives of sacrifice. "MA" are the first two letters of the name "Mary." The three flames (on either side of the "MA" and below the heart) symbolize faith, hope and charity. The mountain at the very bottom is Mt. Sinai, representing the old covenant and the Olive branch emanating from the mountain is the symbol of the Lord's peace and mercy. The double cross and heart out of which it is etched is somewhat unclear to us since we have recorded the words of St. Francis de Sales to St. Jane de Chantal: "Let us take for our coat of arms a single heart surmounted by a crown of thorns."

"Crosses of our invention are never worth much; we make them ourselves. The crosses we encounter in the streets are excellent but still better are those we find at home."

St. Francis de Sales

Like a Good Neighbor . . .

No, it's not an insurance company -- even better, it's our very own Sister Mary Raphael, pictured at left with Sister Leonie Therese. Sister Raphael, at 94 years young has a sharp mind and a keen sense of humor and just yesterday she added yet another hat (veil??) to the many different responsibilities and jobs she has enjoyed in her 60 plus years as a Visitandine: "Crimebuster!"

This is not a joke -- this really happened: Sister was looking out her window and noticed two suspicious figures climbing the lattice work of a nearby house. Not visible from the street, but visible from her third-floor window, the two figures appeared to be breaking into the house. The police arrived shortly thereafter.

Although we're not yet using the new blogger's label feature, if this post had a label it would be "Life in the monastery is never boring" (part III).

St. Claude de la Columbiere

To the left is a photo (courtesy of Michael Hoyt) of our chapel's stained glass window of St. Claude de la Columbiere and the Sacred Heart of Our Lord.

St. Claude's early life and formative years have some common threads with our Holy Founders, having spent some of his time in studying in Lyon and completed his training at the College of Clermont in Paris.

In 1675, after pronouncing his Solemn vows as a Jesuit, St. Claude became rector of the college at Paray-le-monial and, later, the spiritual director of our Holy Sister, St. Margaret Mary.

This devout apostle of the Sacred Heart was sent to London less than two years after his arrival in Pary-le-monial. Just two short years into his time in London he was arrested on false charges and spent three weeks in prison after which he returned to France -- after being exiled from England. St. Claude died at the age of 41 in Paray-le-monial.

Interestingly, the Church has made him the patron saint of toy-makers. (Does anybody know why? We sure don't!)

In the Heart of Jesus God shows that he wants to be understood in his absolute desire to love, forgive and save; in the Heart of Jesus God teaches that the Church, in her ministry and Magisterium, must always be loving and sensitive, never aggressive or oppressive, although she must always condemn evil and correct error; in the Heart of Jesus God has us understand that it is necessary to share in his work of salvation through the "apostolate of prayer'' and "commitment to reparation."

Pope John Paul II - On the canonization of St. Claude in 1992

Wow!

As most readers probably know: this week is Catholic Blog Awards Week. Thanks to some faithful readers who nominated Live + Jesus! in several different categories. Wow! Don't forget to stop by the cyber-voting booth and vote for your favorite blogs; there are lots to choose from in many different categories. For those who are new to voting, you register to create a login by providing your email address and then cybercatholic emails you a link to log into the site.

From the Mailbag

This is a bit of false advertising: it's not exactly a mailbag, it's a postal container we use for our mail and this "reader question" didn't exactly arrive in the postal container, it came via E-mail. Taking a picture of the computer and saying, "From the community E-mail inbox" just didn't have the same ring to it!

A reader wrote in asking how, in the Salesian tradition, we reconcile a docility to the will of God with the "liberty of spirit" which is found in the writings of St. Francis de Sales. A fabulous question!

To clarify, St. Francis de Sales speaks of the two wills of God. He suggests that we refer to those things which we know the Lord wants us to do as His "signified will" and those things which the Lord permits (but does not necessarily desire) as His "permissive" will. Amid the Lord's permissive will (such as finding the copy machine jammed when we are in a hurry -- to use an everyday example) we are encouraged to remember and observe the Lord's signified will. Surely the Lord did not desire the copy machine to jam; he did, however, permit it to become jammed. As we struggle to accept this, we are encouraged to remember the precepts of good Christian behavior ... such as refraining from the temptation to dismember the person whom we suspect may have caused such a mini-disaster.

Within this context of striving to accept the circumstances in which we find ourselves, how does "liberty of spirit" fit? An example or two of this spiritual gift:

There are suggested methods of introducing a Visitandine novice to a deeper method of prayer when she begins her formation. There is, however, a note in our constitutions that if some other method of prayer seems to work more effectively for one particular novice, the novice mistress, using her judgment, should have a great liberty of spirit to encourage this.

An everyday example: in our rule of life, we are obliged to make one hour of meditation prior to the first community exercise of the day and one half hour in the afternoon. In addition, we are to make one half hour of spiritual reading at some time during the day. Perhaps a sister intended to make her spiritual reading at 4.30pm in the Chapel. If, shortly into her reading, she discovered a guest entering the chapel who needed to be consoled, we hope she would have the liberty of spirit to approach the visitor and ask if she could be of help. And more so, that she would have the liberty of spirit to see her response to circumstances which the Lord permitted as a service, a prayer pleasing to the Lord. Surely one would not plan to do spiritual reading at a time when we expect a visitor -- but, rather, we would try to have the inner freedom to accept the circumstances which we cannot control and allow the Lord to use us as He pleases.

Liberty of spirit is a freedom of heart that allows us to detach ourselves from the "outcome" that we would like to see in a given situation. Perhaps the sister, setting out to do her spiritual reading at 4.30pm, had imagined herself finishing a certain chapter in her book by the time the bell for Vespers is rung. Through the grace of liberty of spirit, however, she is detached from that "outcome" and open to whatever the Lord's permissive will has in store.

"Walk in the presence of God in a holy and absolute liberty of spirit."
St. Jane de Chantal

St. Francis de Sales on Creation

And then God created . . . the pilgrim.

We have been reading the creation account in Genesis this week and the last two days, in particular, we have read the creation of man. In his own exegesis of the creation account (Genesis ch. 1 in particular), Saint Francis de Sales links the use of reason -- the distinguished wisdom -- of man to our status as pilgrims.

" . . . God has not only bestowed th[is favor of dominion] upon man, but He has also given him full power over all sorts of accidents and events . . . . by the use of reason, he will remain firm and constant amid all the various events and accidents of this mortal life. Let the weather be fine of let it rain, let the air be calm or let the wind blow, the wise man pays no attention to it, knowing well that nothing in this life is lasting, and that this is not a place of rest."

It may be easy to pay little attention to the wind or rain (or snow!) but when the winds blow sand in our eyes and we are faced with difficult circumstances, it is more difficult to "pay no attention." In fact, it may seem foolish, at times, to pay no attention to a situation or circumstance which is troubling to us. This is when the reminder of our "status" as pilgrims will serve us well.

Homecoming!

Yesterday afternoon we welcomed home the last of the "exiles" as our Sister Rosemarie returned from an extended visit to her village in Africa. In fact, we thought that perhaps Sister brought the entire village home with her, in her luggage, which was so heavy (see photo) that it took four sisters (one standing IN the trunk, two helping and one standing nearby ... laughing) to unload the car!

It was a thrill to watch Sister look around the "new" monastery after we deposited her luggage in her new room. Below, she is pictured with Mother Philomena and Sister Mary Roberta in the background.
While she was visiting her village in Lare, Kenya, Sister Rosemarie was able to see, firsthand, the progress of the Mercy Center Project which she, an ocean away from her home, initiated through the generous benefactors who helped her.

Stay tuned for a tour of the new archives and more "new monastery" photos -- coming this week!