Pilgrimage!

We didn't wear shells around our necks, but we might have wished we had fans around them, as the temperature hit a mid-day high of 104F. Despite yesterday's oppressive weather, our Archivist, Sister Mada-anne led a small group on her "Southern Maryland Tour" of our monastery's roots in the United States.

We began with a visit to the Carmelites at Port Tobacco. Charles Neale, brother of Leonard Neale, brought them to the Maryland in 1790. The first few months of their foundation, they spent at Neale family estate, Chandler's Hope, just a short distance from their current location in Port Tobacco. We are pictured below with some of their community in their library. Click here to learn more about this delightful community.

Our next stop was St. Ignatius Church, where we attended 12noon Mass and enjoyed our picnic lunch in the (air conditioned) dining room of their manor house. Click here to learn more about St. Thomas Manor. Manor houses were built when it was illegal for Catholic Churches to be open to the public in the state of Maryland. The "house" was private but it permitted one to gain entrance into the Church or Chapel attached to it.

Below is a view of the cemetery at St. Thomas Manor. Among the early Catholic families buried there including members of the Neale family, the Digges family, and the Matthews family, one will find a large memorial to the Jesuits who came over on the Ark and the Dove in 1641.

Our last stop -- for prayer, quiet and a history lesson -- was St. Francis Xavier Church in nearby Newtown. Below, Catherine exits the Church as we begin our journey home.

Small and Modest

Small and modest -- that's the tomato. A very humble "first fruit" of our garden. (To be accurate, the lettuce and cucumbers have been arriving for weeks, but they're fresh tomatoes which delight both the cook and the rest of the community!) At risk of abusing the patience of our readers, we share a couple more garden shots:

"Tiger Tom" is an heirloom variety. This plant was "born" in our second floor storage room (since the former room for seed-starting is now an electrical closet!) This was Tom's baby picture from our previous "Garden Babies" post.

It wouldn't be fair to say that the "Tom" is the only modest one in the picture. Mother Philomena, former biology teacher, examines Tom's unique stripes.

Support natural family planting: grow open pollinated varieties!

Hidden Treasure

Today's Gospel about the merchant in search of fine pearls and the man who finds the hidden treasure point our souls toward the Kingdom of God. They remind us of the inestimable riches awaiting those who heed carefully the Gospel message.

A short excerpt from the Exhortations of St. Jane de Chantal calls our minds and hearts to a similar posture of responding to the Lord:

"To have chosen Jesus for the only object of your love,

is to have promised that your hearts shall have no other affections

than to please Him, to love and serve Him,

and that all your desires shall be for Jesus,

all your solicitudes for Jesus,

all your thoughts for Jesus,

in a word, all your soul and all your facilities for Jesus alone,

Whom, of your pure, unrestrained and free will,

you have chosen for the only Spouse of your hearts,

and the sole object of your love."

For those who have changed their lives after encountering the Lord, He, indeed, is the pearl of great price.

Feline Feature!

There have been two "purrfectly" amazing stories about cats in the media recently. If you have not already seen them, do follow the links; they are wonderful stories.

1. A man accidentally locked his cat in a room with two ducklings and when he realized this, he opened the door to find that his cat had adopted the ducklings. Click here for the story.


2. Oscar the cat has been more accurate than doctors and nurses in "sensing" when patients in "his" hospice care unit are about to die. Click here for the story.

F is for Father

This month's spotlight on St. Francis de Sales features our Sister Jacqueline who writes about three important men in her life ... and the "man in the middle" is St. Francis de Sales.

Sister's introduction to St. Francis de Sales came through her father, the late John Burke, Sr. who is the "first man" she credits with nourishing her spiritual life. Her father began attending daily Mass at the Visitation Monastery in St. Paul, Minnesota following the untimely death of her four-year-old brother James. Mr. Burke's attendance at daily Mass both inspired his daughter and led others -- mostly neighbors -- to follow his example. Several people returned to the Church and the sacraments thanks to Mr. Burke's witness. Little did he realize it, but his seat in the Monastery chapel found him right under a window of St. Francis de Sales. Just as St. Francis de Sales watched over Mr. Burke so the Sisters of the Visitation watched over his four daughters who were their students.

Our dear Sister Jacqueline began school at the Visitation at age five. Sister describes her life prior to the convent as one teeming with social events, parties and boys. From her bedroom window she could see the bell tower of the monastery and she reports that the tower was a meaningful -- if not "nagging" -- presence during those years. In the summer after her junior year after a visiting to a missionary community, Sister suspected that the Lord was calling her to what was in her front yard. So, she promptly went to the convent to meet with the superior Mother Jane Margaret Cullinan and confided her vocation to her. Mother told her to come back in a year and she enjoyed a carefree last year of high school: dances, parties and boyfriends galore. (Not altogether unlike her namesake, Sister Jacqueline Favre, one of St. Jane de Chantal's two companions in the foundation of our order.)

St. Francis de Sales, whom she came to know more intimately after entering the monastery was the first saint she "met" who really spoke to her. The miracle and grace of that relationship, Sister adds, is that he continues to be the saint of her life. He is the "man in the middle" as he was introduced to her by her Father and his devotion to daily Mass at the Monastery. The "third man" who has been an important companion for Sister joined the journey during her last years of novitiate: St. Augustine. She was first introduced to him in a reading of his Confessions and he has been a welcome companion ever since.

We share here one of Sister's favorite quotation from each of these three men.

"To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement."

St. Augustine

----
"Abide steadfastly in your determination to cling simply to God trusting in his eternal love for you."

St. Francis de Sales
----
"Stick with him (Jesus), kid and you'll wear diamonds."

John Burke, Sr.

Those of us who are privileged to live with Sister Jacqueline all know how closely she clings to the Lord and we're sure that her father is right ... the Lord will have a crown of diamonds awaiting her and their luster will be out of this world!

On the Virtue of Gentleness

In Thursday's Gospel we heard Jesus invite us to imitate him who is "meek and humble of heart." And in today's Gospel we hear the words of prophet Isaiah describe the promised Messiah as one who will carry out his mission in gentleness: "He will not contend or cry out, / nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. / A bruised reed he will not break, / a smoldering wick he will not quench . . ."

It is quite possible to be generous and self-sacrificing without being kind and gentle. St. Francis de Sales had a great deal to say about even-tempered gentleness and the importance of practicing all virtues in a spirit of gentleness and kindness. In a letter to one of our early Mothers, he wrote the following, which serves as a "gentle reminder" to all of us!

"Almost everyone finds some virtues easy to practice and others harder, and everyone extols the virtue which they find easy and tried to exaggerate the difficulty of the others. . . . An even temper, gentleness and sweetness are more rare than perfect chastity but no less desirable for that. I command these virtues to you, my very dear daughter, because the flame of good example depends on them as on oil in lamp; nothing edifies others more than a loving good temper."

Garden Party

The last few rainstorms we've had brought about a growth spurt for many of our flowering (and fruiting friends) in the garden -- to say nothing of the weeds! Sister Mada-anne visits the vegetable patch snips a few herbs in the process.

Sister checks out the growth of the watermelon -- called "termelon" for short. Click here to see its baby picture.

Some of the tomato plants are growing so vigorously that they needed extra support. (If there are a few 'stop signs' around campus missing their poles, they can be found in the garden!)

Last but not least, Sister snips some lavender and anise for a window arrangement in the Archive Office.

Homespun Humor

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Henry, an 11th Century king (duke, then emperor) of Bavaria. While we do not have a particular devotion to St. Henry, his wife happens to be a household name in our monastery. ??!!

St. Henry was married to St. Cunegunda. There are several different accounts associated with the name "St. Cunegunda" -- sometimes spelled with a "K" and sometimes with a double "n." The wife of St. Henry is also sometimes confused with St. Kinga, the patroness of Poland whose name, in English is sometimes represented as "Cunegunda." For some reason, however, the name "Cunegunda" is used in our community when we anticipate a sister's first vows and the giving of her religious name. Although we do not have any "Sister Mary Cunegundas" in our cemetery, we often tease the soon-to-be-professed that "Sister Mary Cunegunda" would make a nice name -- second only, perhaps to Sister Mary Quodvultdeus.

Little is known about the saintly wife of "Good King Henry" but sources indicate that both she and her husband were devout and prayerful people who showed generosity to the poor -- a worthy reason to be remembered (and to be a household name!)

Daily Diversions

In our community we have a rule of thumb regarding unplanned and unassigned works - for lack of a better explanation: "An act of charity is anything that takes less than 5 minutes." Note: the "five minute" time frame varies between three minutes and fifteen minutes, depending upon who is asked! If we are asked to do something that would take longer than "an act of charity" or which might preclude one of our daily responsibilities, it is appropriate for us to get permission. This rule of thumb is not to limit our generosity in responding to the needs of our sisters, but to protect, in a sense, the time needed for the chores or works assigned to each of us.

In today's Gospel, Jesus is "interrupted" by a man whose daughter has just died. Jesus responds promtly and immediately follows the official to his home -- while pausing along the way to encourage the woman who was healed by the touch of his cloak (a drive-by miracle?). In the exchange between Jesus and the official we see an example of Jesus' willingess to be interrupted and to respond to the needs of those around him.

Perhaps for us a big challenge is not only responding to the needs of those around us -- and especially the unforeseen requests that may come our way -- but responding in a way that does not betray our inconvenience. Sometimes we genuinely want to help someone who asks us but other times, perhaps, we want to help someone only becuase we know it is the right thing to do. In the case of the latter we can be tempted to communicate our frustration at being interrupted. If this pitfall seems familiar, we might take heart and listen to the timeless advice of St. Francis de Sales in his conference on obedience which he gave to our early sisters. His words speak not only to the one who is asked to do an act of charity but to the one who has asked:

"Supposing, however, that a sister should ask us to do something, and that we, being taken by surprise, should show some repugnance to doing it, the sister must not take umbrage, nor even seem to notice it; neither must she beg us not to do what she had asked, for it is not in our power to prevent our color, our eyes, our behavior, from betraying the struggle going on within us, even while our reason consents to do the thing; for these are messengers who come unsummoned, and who, even when we bid them to depart, seldom do anything of the sort. Why, then, should this sister be unwilling to let me do what she had asked, simply because I show some repugnance to doing it? She ought to be glad that I should gain this profit for my soul."

One Year Later

"Come, let us worship the Lord, all things live for him."

Invitatory from the Office of the Dead

Today we commemorate the fist anniversary of death of our dear Sister Anne Marie. When a sister dies, we celebrate the Office of the Dead in her honor -- usually the day after she has died. We again celebrate the Office of the Dead for a sister on the first anniversary of her death. In addition to marking the death of a sister, a pope or our local archbishop, the Office of the Dead is sung on All Souls' Day, 2 November, every year.

Every year after her first anniversary, sister will be remembered as part of our necrology. We commemorate the deaths of the sisters who have lived and died in our community at Morning Prayer (or sometimes Evening Prayer).

Our local readers will all be familiar with these remarks, but for the benefit of others, we share here a few of Sister Anne Marie's ten famous words of wisdom. They are featured on the poster which helped her to raise money when the Chapel needed to be restored after the fire of 1993:

"Never tell your age, or they'll put you on a shelf; besides, a woman who will tell her age can't keep a secret."

"Moderation in all things . . . including moderation."

"Never volunteer dearie, you'll get the job for life."

(Actually, Sister Anne Marie would qualify this even further, telling our sisters in formation that an act of charity done three times becomes an obligation!)

"The answer is no. Now, what's the question, Sister?"

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