Welcome Home Ma Mere

After a grace-filled week in Annecy with faculty and staff from our school, Mother is home. Yippie! Mother captured many highlights from her trip with a digital camera -- her first foray into the world of digital photography. We share here a couple of her best shots.

In addition to making friends with our sisters in the Annecy Visitation, Mother brought home a "friend:" sweet little Francois, the white clown-doll made by Sister Gabrielle. To the right of Mother is Sister Margaret Mary, one of the English-speaking sisters in Annecy.

The one-week pilgrimage covered many places sacred to our Holy Founders and the early mothers of our Order. On their last evening in Annecy, the group took a boat ride around lake Annecy. Buildings might be renovated and restored but the elements of nature remain unchanged. One can only wonder how many similar sunsets over the foothills of the Alps inspired St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal with a deep sense of God's presence in all of creation.

Stay tuned for an "album" of Mother's photos on the Monastery's FB page.

Be a Fan!

As some of our astute readers have noticed, a Facebook badge went up in our sidebar this week. Georgetown Visitation Monastery now has a page on FB where readers can access our Mass schedule for the month -- even without having a FB account. A simple listing of the days of the month and the times of Mass is located on our "information" tab. Since our daily Mass schedule does change upon occasion, locals can check the FB schedule for an up-to-date listing of daily Mass for the month.

To see events (such as our soon-to-be-posted "Annual 4th of July Family and Friends BBQ Bash") and to RSVP to them, one needs an account on FB. Those readers with FB accounts can also become "Fans" of the monastery. Wonder what St. Francis de Sales would make of all this "social networking" ... he'd probably make good use of it if he were around today!

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we begin the Year of the Priest. Pope Benedict declared this special time of prayer and celebration so as to encourage priests in their pursuit of spiritual perfection. Below is a minute and a half newsflash about this Jubilee year which begins today. Click here to read the Holy Father's letter to priests. Let us commend our clergy to the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord by our prayers and our actions. At at time when many of our clergy are over-extended in their efforts to meet the needs of the faithful, let us find ways to show our gratitude and support.

"Yes, truly, ... divine love being seated upon our Savior's Heart as upon his royal throne, beholds by the cleft of his pierced side all the hearts of the sons of men: for this Heart being the King of hearts keeps his eyes ever fixed upon hearts."

St. Francis de Sales

Corpus Christi

We were blessed with beautiful weather for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi: a warm day with very low humidity and a light breeze! We share with our readers a few moments of the celebration of Corpus Christi in a three and a half minute video below. Among the highlights not captured on camera was an anecdote in Father's homily. He shared a moving experience from his time as a transitional deacon when he prepared second graders for first holy communion. After carefully explaining all the vestments and sacred objects he asked the second graders what they would tell a non-Christian friend who might "peek" into a Catholic Church and ask "What's going on in there?" A little boy raised his hand and answered, "It's not a 'WHAT' it's a 'WHO!'" From the lips of babes.

One detail we forgot to take into account, as we were planning for Corpus Christi, was our dog. We forgot to tell Nicholas, our faithful watch dog, that the procession would travel along the monastery porch. He seemed a bit startled to see so many "strangers" in his territory. We did not edit out his contribution to the procession. He came in -- right on cue -- as the porch door opened and the procession began. You'll notice that after a few gentle reminders from sisters, he decided that we were a safe bunch up on the porch. Many thanks to all who contributed and participated in yesterday's celebration!

Gardenin' Angels Part II

It almost looks like a garden!

After our first garden party of the season, we've had some other gardenin' angels who have helped to make the 27' x 75' vegetable plot look like a garden. Someone was outside early yesterday morning because an entire bed full of weeds disappeared overnight -- literally! It might have been the squirrels -- offering help for all the produce they eat -- becuase most of our sisters are still sore from Saturday's book-moving-escapade! Pictured below, Sister Mary de Sales, on her way out for a walk, stops for a few minutes to clean some weeds among the tomatoes and onions.

Coming soon ... colorful pictures of the non-edible section of the monastery garden (which is just about everything outside the green fence!)

Nuns Stopping Traffic (and Neighbors!)

It was an ordinary Saturday until 7.15pm when, during recreation, the doorbell rang and the latest "shipment" of the new 400th Anniversary book arrived. Earlier this year we published a new history of the Order of the Visitation in the United States (soon to be available for purchase on line!) Neighbors stopped their cars to take pictures of nuns unloading the 125 cartons of books. Some neighbors even stopped to help!

Our good friend Michelle McAndrews (far right, top picture) was kind enough to use her business truck to collect the 5,000 books from our Monastery in Rockville, Virgina where they had been residing.

Book-signing at a moment's notice!

As neighbors stopped to help, our Sister Archivist decided to inscribe books for each of the recruited book-movers. Sister, along with Mother Mary Berchmans, contributed to several sections of the book.

Who needs a gym membership with housework like this!

When the books were unloaded from the truck, sisters and happy-helpers (recruited neighbors) wheeled them into our vault cellar where another group of sisters strong-armed the boxes into rows and stacks. We figure that at 40 lbs. a carton, the sisters and helpers hauled close to 5,000 lbs. in 45 minutes. Teamwork!

The unloading crew flexes their muscles for the camera.

Thanks to our happy helpers who helped to make light work of a two and a half ton job!

Graduation 2009

With impending thunderstorms safely kept at bay (thanks, no doubt, to fervent prayers from Monday night's Baccalaureate Mass), yesterday morning's graduation was a picture-perfect event. At 11.00am 118 young women arrived at the tent as students; one hour and 55 minutes later, they left as alumnae. We've captured a few highlights to share with our readers. The address to the graduates was delivered by Liz McCartney, class of 1990, CNN's "Hero of the Year" and foundress of the St. Bernard Project. We excerpted a few minutes of Liz' inspiring and amusing remarks about her experiences in New Orleans. In addition, we have included a short sound byte of the student address which traced the journey of the class of 2009 using the metaphor of a diamond being formed in the earth. Do enjoy a visit to the tent on our McNabb field!

Congratulations to the class of 2009!

Transferred Solemnity

Due to the Celebration of Pentecost on Sunday, our celebration of the Solemnity of the Visitation is today, 30 May. As we reflect on the exchange between Mary and Elizabeth, it seems fitting to celebrate their embrace on the eve of the coming of the Holy Spirit. For, "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."

Mary responded with generosity by going "in haste" to be with her cousin Elizabeth. When we respond generously to the invitations to be generous that come our way each day, we share in Mary's journey to Ain Karem. Just as Mary's visit to Elizabeth brought the blessing of the Holy Spirit to her cousin, so our acts of charity and kindness to those around us also bring the blessing of the Holy Spirit to those whom we serve. For it is remarked that the kindest of people are those who themselves have received many kindnesses. And so when we respond generously to the needs of others and show compassion, kindness, patience, etc., we invite them to open their hearts to the many gifts of the Holy Spirit.

We turn our thoughts and prayers to this beautiful exchange between a young maiden, soon to be the Mother of God and her cousin, soon to give birth to the voice that will announce the coming of our salvation. How joyous must have been that first Visitation. As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Visitation and the eve of Pentecost, we pray to be open and willing instruments of the Lord so that we, like Mary and Elizabeth, may be filled with the Holy Spirit. What better a place to find ourselves than awaiting the gifts of the Spirit. And so we pray with our Holy Mother, Saint Jane de Chantal, "Truly, this is the place of our delight and rest."

All is His

In today's Gospel Our Lord, in his prayer, acknowledges that all he has been given has been given to him by the Father. This window into an intimate communication between the Our Lord and his heavenly Father calls us to consider our own lives. All that we have is a gift from the Father. Even our good works are gifts; for the ability to do good works for others is itself a gift in response to the very desire, given by God, to do a good work.

In a culture that rewards independence and praises individualism, we can be tempted to take ownership for many of our gifts. One sign that we may have begun to stake a claim on things which do not "belong" to us is when we feel an attachment to the outcome of tasks or responsibilities entrusted to us. It is natural to want to see our undertakings turn out well: for us and for those whom we serve. But the "turn out" is not ours to control. We will only be held responsible for how we have set about to do our work -- be it our "job" or the duties proper to our state in life such as raising a family, etc. The means we have of doing our work is a gift from the Lord and so the success -- or lack thereof -- belongs entirely to the Lord, as well. Let us ask for the grace to be good stewards of the gifts which the Lord has given to us ... and for the grace to acknowledge that every good gift belongs to Him who created us.

"Oh how blessed are such souls, bold and strong in the undertakings God proposes to them, and also tractable and flexible in giving them over when God so disposes! These are marks of virtue, to leave off doing a good when God pleases, and to return from half way when God's will, which is our guide, ordains it."
St. Francis de Sales

The Good News

"When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world."

Would that more people in our world might feel inclined to agree with the woman in today's Gospel. But perhaps more people do. Check out this encouraging "Good News" from a May 15th Gallup poll. Deo gratias!

Gardenin' Angels

It's that time of year again ... dirty fingernails, waist-high weeds and fruit punch Gatorade: all essential ingredients for a successful garden party! Sister Leonie Therese, pictured above, makes short work of some stubborn weeds.

Every family has an over-achiever. Meet Sister Rosemarie. The weeds see her coming and they flee. Sister covers more ground (pun intended!) as all the rest of the gardenin' angels put together. And when someone comments on her pace she asks, "Don't you see the host of angels who come down and help me when I work?"

Sister Anne Francis and our helpful vocational retreatant make headway in the south west corner of the vegetable garden. Although there are no "pretty flowers" in the vegetable garden, several other gardenin' angels have been beautifying other areas of the monastery garden with splashes of color and bursts of beauty at every turn.

"Besides all this, I bade you gather a little bouquet of devotion, and what I mean is this. When walking in a beautiful garden most people are wont to gather a few flowers as they go, which they keep, and enjoy their scent during the day. So, when the mind explores some mystery in meditation, it is well to pick out one or more points that have specially arrested the attention, and are most likely to be helpful to you through the day, and this should be done at once before quitting the subject of your meditation."
St. Francis de Sales

A Funny (true) Story

In light of today's Feast of St. Matthias, we'd like to share an amusing (and true) conversation that was (over)heard in the monastery -- several years ago -- between one of our sisters and a great friend of our community who is a devout Baptist.  

Our Baptist friend was asking interesting and insightful questions about the Catholic Church. One question she asked was, "I don't understand, if Jesus says, 'You shall not make my Father's house a marketplace,' and he chased out the money changers, why you Catholics have Bingo in some of your Churches."  Since we don't have Bingo here at the monastery, sister tried to reply in a general (and humorous manner).  With a twinkle in her eye, sister said,  "Well, you see, gambling actually has its roots in the Bible."  Our Baptist friend, who knew her bible well, looked her up and down and said, "Just where does gambling come from in the Bible?"  Trying hard to choke back a smile, sister replied, "In the Acts of the Apostles."  Our Baptist friend didn't know whether to laugh or to take out her bible and take on sister.  She didn't have a chance to decide. Sister continued, "Do you remember -- in the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles -- where the they have to replace Judas, so they 'cast lots' and the 'lot fell to Matthias' ... well, that's the root of the word 'lottery' in English ... so you see, the Apostles had a LOTTERY to choose the successor to Judas ... so having Bingo isn't so bad after all."  Our friend looked at sister with a big smile and repeated, "Jesus chased the moneychangers out of the temple and said not to make his Father's house a marketplace.  I don't have a problem with Bingo ... or the lottery ... I just don't understand why you Catholics have it in Church.  Why don't you all just hold it in the parish hall?"  

We must keep in mind that St. Francis de Sales was writing during the 17th century when "games of chance" were, perhaps, not as harmless as today's parish bingo; his remarks, however, are as amusing as they are insightful:

"Such games are unreasonable:—the winner often has neither skill nor industry to boast of, which is contrary to reason. You reply that this is understood by those who play. But though that may prove that you are not wronging anybody, it does not prove that the game is in accordance with reason, as victory ought to be the reward of skill or labor, which it cannot be in mere games of chance. Moreover, though such games may be called a recreation, and are intended as such, they are practically an intense occupation. Is it not an occupation, when a man’s mind is kept on the stretch of close attention, and disturbed by endless anxieties, fears and agitations? Who exercises a more dismal, painful attention than the gambler?"

A Time to Pick, A Time to Prune

With spring well underway and summer quickly approaching, the monastery garden grows ever more colorful each day (thanks, in no small part, to our gardenin' angels: the sisters who plant a flower here, a bulb there and lovely trios of colorful delights that Sister Mary Blogger couldn't begin to pronounce!) Above, Sister Mada-anne prunes a rosebush while Nick, the monastery watchdog , takes a moment from his snoopervising to pose for the camera.

Today's Gospel speaks a very uncomfortable truth in "garden lingo." Our Lord tells us that the Heavenly Vine-grower will discard any branch that does not bear fruit (sound fair enough) and will prune those that do bear fruit (ouch) so that they may bear more fruit. Anyone who has gardened can attest to these maxims. Pumpkin growers who yield fruit that weigh hundreds of pounds are able to do so only because they pinched off all other fruit bearing flowers from their vine. Strawberry farmers who plant a new crop know the importance of pinching the first fruit-bearing flowers so as to ensure a hearty crop for future years.

And so it is very similar in our own lives. We may feel as though we have made progress in a particular area of our spiritual life or that we have been involved in a worthwhile and fruitful ministry and all of a sudden we find ourselves facing an unexpected impasse. We may feel discouraged or hurt; it can be tempting to ask why God would permit such good "progress" to be frustrated. Sometimes this pruning can take the form of ridicule or unjust accusations; other times it can be experienced as tension in some of our relationships. Whatever form it takes, if we stop and look carefully at our situation, we just might find that it is a call to go deeper into our relationship with the Lord -- to trust Him and to depend on Him more than we have in the past. It is these moments of pruning, of being "cut back", that serve as gateways into fertile fields of growth. We need only to trust the Vine-grower as He clips and trims us.

"Be sure that, if they should succeed in rousing any evil impression against you (clipping the beard of your reputation, as it were), your good name will soon revive, and the razor of slander will strengthen your honour, just as the pruning-knife strengthens the vine and causes it to bring forth more abundant fruit."
St. Francis de Sales

Thou Shalt Not Judge

How often we might find ourselves described by today's Gospel: "If anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn them . . ." Our Lord speaks mercifully about those who listen to him but are unable to live out the Gospel virtues. Another translation reads, "I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them." Surely, when we heard the words of the Lord, we do not intend not to keep them, but sometimes we do not always respond to the grace offered us and we fail to follow the Lord as closely as we had intended. It is important to note that the Lord, in the face of our failings, offers us his mercy and he withholds judgment.

For most of us perhaps we can say that the challenge is not only the places in our own lives where we do not keep the Lord's words but actions of those around us: the opportunities we have to judge -- or to refrain from judging -- those in our midst who appear to us to have fallen short of keeping the Lord's words. When we observe the actions of another person -- at home, at work, in school -- we naturally tend to ascribe to him the motives we might have if we were in his shoes. Sometimes these motives are good and other times, if we are honest, they are not as pure as we might like them to be. The catch, however, is that while we can be certain about the motives we might have in a similar situation, we can never know the many factors which contributed to our neighbor's actions. For all we know, our neighbor may have been heroic in overcoming some other temptation and has fallen short in this other way which is visible to us. In all her humility, our neighbor does not share her "victory" over this or that temptation and all we know is what we have observed. The next time we are tempted to judge the actions of our neighbor, let us pray for the grace to respond in the gentle manner of Our Lord.

"Be sure then often to examine your dealings with your neighbor, whether your heart is right towards him, as you would have his towards you, were things reversed—this is the true test of reason. When Trajan was blamed by his confidential friends for making the Imperial presence too accessible, he replied, 'Does it not behoove me to strive to be such an emperor towards my subjects as I should wish to meet with were I a subject?'”
St. Francis de Sales

The Grace to be Changed

In today's Gospel, the Lord speaks haunting words to some of his early followers, "Do you also want to leave?" It is easy to forget that not all of the Lord's followers persevered in their new lifestyle. For just before this question, the evangelist tells us that "many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with him." This is a very sad but often overlooked aspect of discipleship: not all those who set out to follow the Lord respond to the grace of perseverance.

As is the case in many new undertakings, the beginning steps of following the Lord closely are not always difficult ones and, often, they are lined with consolations and tangible graces. At some point, however, we discover that following the Lord is hard work -- and heart work. We come to realize that if we are going to follow Him seriously, we must make changes in our lives. It is not easy to be open to changing the ways we behave, respond, react, think etc. but we learn quickly that the road to discipleship is lined with opportunities to conform our lives ever more closely to the Lord's gentle and humble manner. For the grace to recognize and embrace these opportunities, let us pray. For the grace to resist the temptation to return to our "former way of life" -- be it in how we act, think or spend our time -- let us pray.

"Perseverance is the most desirable gift we can hope for in this life, and the one which, as the Council of Trent says, we cannot have but from the hand of God, who alone can assure him that stands, and help him up that falls."
St. Francis de Sales

Senior Service Day

For the second year in a row, our Fathers' club and senior class teamed up to plan an amazingly successful campus clean-up day. Pictured above, Sister Mary de Sales visits with seniors who are scraping and preparing to paint the railings that run from St. Joseph's Hall down to the athletic center. Pictured below, Sister Mary Roberta takes a moment to chat with a student who is busy transplanting items in the monastery garden.

While we are delighted that the service day was as successful (and enjoyable) as last year, some among our number are sorry to report that for the second year in a row, the white team out-gobbled the gold team in a twinkee-eating contest. We won't report the number of twinkees which were consumed but we'll observe that Salesian moderation was *gently* placed aside for the event!

"All things in moderation, including moderation."
Sister Anne Marie of happy memory

Crab-Free Clergy

With World Day of Prayer for Vocations approaching quickly, it seemed fitting to share this stellar interview with the new Archbishop of New York, His Excellency Timothy M. Dolan. If you have not already heard or seen Raymond Arroyo's interview on The World Over click the link to hear the MP3 file. Archbishop Dolan has an enthusiasm for his new assignment which is both infectious and encouraging. When asked about how he hopes to increase the number of seminarians during his tenure, he spoke of how happiness is contagious; he regrets that sometimes the administrative pressures of running a parish can cause some clergy to appear to be "crabs." By supporting his clergy and providing skill sets to help them manage both pastoral and temporal affairs, he hopes to eliminate the unfortunate (hopefully infrequent) experience of some clergy as "crabby." Do take a moment to listen to this engaging interview. Also, of interest, as we approach the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Holy Father, earlier this year, released his message to the faithful.

Easter Video

As promised, we've got a few sights and sounds of Easter to share with our readers. It's a bit shorter than our Triduum video but it concludes with an unusual finale. It seems that two of our sisters found a creative way out of washing dishes one evening ... and yet a third sister had a camera on hand. Please note, however, that dancing with Easter items on one's head is not a Visitandine tradition (although, given the number of sisters who enjoyed their impromptu performance, it holds great promise!) Do enjoy a three-minute visit to our home for Easter!

The Octave of Easter

In today's Gospel we hear about one of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances to his disciples. As he converses with them -- and comforts them -- he reminds them of the quotation about how the Christ must suffer first and then rise from the dead on the third day. This reality is represented by many examples -- both in nature and in the spiritual life.

In his book, "Jesus of Nazareth" our Holy Father talks about how the grape must suffer the process of pressing before it can be made into wine. So too, we can see how the grain of wheat must be milled before it can be baked into the bread. Just as Our Lord suffered death before his resurrection, in our own spiritual lives we too must undergo a death -- a daily choosing to follow Christ in all the little challenges that come our way: being compassionate to a co-worker who can be irritating, unjamming the xerox machine (even when we didn't jam it ourselves), reaching out to someone who has treated us unkindly, etc. These small deeds are ways in which we "die" to the often-easier choice of doing what is more comfortable.

When we allow ourselves to be suffer some small inconvenience without counting the cost, we follow closely in the way of the Lord's cross. For these daily acts of virtue, when practiced often, will quickly be pressed into wine worthy of sacrifice. And these small sacrifices are not in vain since we know that the Lord's cross was the gateway to his triumph over sin and death. As we sing our Easter Alleluias, let us sing them from a place where we can still cast our eyes on Mount Calvary, the birthplace of our salvation.

"The death and passion of Our Lord is the sweetest and most constraining motive that can animate our hearts in this mortal life."
St. Francis de Sales

Alleluia!

Happy Easter to all our readers! We have a few highlights to share from our Sacred Triduum these past few days. We had record crowds for all celebrations with standing room only on Thursday evening for the Mass of the Lord's Supper. Our celebrant for the Triduum was Fr. Donald Heet, OSFS. Concelebrating on Thursday was Visitation's own Fr. Franco Soma, FSCCB and on Saturday, our venerable neighbor, Fr. James Schall, SJ. Master of Ceremonies (and master-decorator) for all services is our dear friend, Mr. David Gardiner.

Among the highlights we share in the video are the Lamentations which are sung on Good Friday and Holy Saturday morning at Office of Readings and the "crossing" of Sister Rose's hot buns for supper on Good Friday. We take our crosses seriously around here -- especially if there is icing involved! The candles next to the crucifix aren't a fashion faux pas -- orange and red on the same table -- but their color is such because they are made of unbleached beeswax, as suggested for use on Good Friday. We've included a few shots from the Vigil Mass and the "post-Mass" decorations, but we hope to have a few more sights and sounds of Easter later in the week in a follow-up video. It seemed prudent to edit this movie down to 5 minutes, lest it be too long to call it a "highlight video."