Each Stage of the Journey

We hear in today's first reading about the cloud and fire which marked the Lord's presence to the Israelites at "each stage of their journey." These words are the final words in the book of Exodus; it is a fitting conclusion for a book whose title means, literally, "the road out." The Israelites undertook their journey in light of the Lord's guidance. They watched for the cloud to lift in order to proceed and when the cloud did not lift, they stayed in place.

It may strike us today as silly to think of stopping and waiting -- during a long journey -- when proceeding consistently would seem to ensure a more expeditious arrival. We might, however, learn something from the attentiveness of the Israelites. Sometimes we get stuck in traffic and are frustrated as to why we are held up on our way. Perhaps we are planning a trip with our family and the dates we desire are not convenient. We may never know, on this side of eternity, what troubles the Lord spares us or what delights he prepares for us as he permits our own "plans" to be subject to circumstances which are beyond our control. If we begin each day, each task, each event, each "stage" of our journey with a prayer to God, dedicating our work and our rest, our praying and playing and our every effort to His glory, we will be less likely to see "stopping and waiting" as a nuisance. We may not get a cloud by day and a fire by night to guide us, but we will have the assurance that every moment of our day is offered as a prayer to our loving God.

Here we share a prayer of St. Francis de Sales which he used to consecrate his daily life to the Lord. To this day Visitation Sisters, Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and their friends, alumnae and alumni -- and many other members of the Salesian family -- begin their days with this prayer.

"My God, I give you this day. I offer you, now, all of the good that I shall do and I promise to accept, for love of you, all of the difficulty that I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to you. Amen."
St. Francis de Sales' "Direction of Intention"

Service and Sisterhood

Last week some of our sisters helped to cook for the students participating in the week-long service program called "Vistory." (Despite what it looks like, it's not a compound of "Visitation" and "History" ... it's an acronym that includes some of the following words: Visitation, service, responsive, youth, etc., and Sister Mary Blogger can't quite put all the words together in the correct order!) Above, some of the students pose with sisters in the parking lot: a mid-point between the gym (sleeping quarters) and the student dining room (the feedbox). The week-long program focuses on service, Salesian spirituality and sisterhood.

Above, students install drywall at DC's Habitat for Humanity site. Below, a group of "Vistorians" flexes their muscles after some intense walking on an afternoon scavenger hunt. We were sorry to see our Vistory visitors leave us, but we look forward to staying in touch with them until the next Vistory service week. Next stop for Vistory: St. Paul, MN.

"The essence of prayer is not to be found in always being on our knees but in keeping our wills clearly united to God's will in all events. The soul which holds itself ready and open to yield itself obediently on any occasion ... can do this even while sweeping the floor." (or installing dry wall!)
St. Francis de Sales

Beyond Bondage

Today's first reading provides a wonderful metaphor for the spiritual life: Moses trusted the Lord and risked losing the "status quo" -- staying in Egypt as slaves -- for an opportunity to pursue freedom from slavery. In our own lives, we sometimes need to move beyond what has become "routine" in order to grow in virtue.

One can almost hear the Israelites clamoring as "they complained to Moses,'Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, 'Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians’? Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert.'" The Israelites would have preferred to stay in bondage as slaves of the Egyptians than to risk the life they knew in order to pursue freedom.

Perhaps there is some area in our own lives where we are reluctant to change what is "comfortable." Maybe there is a coworker or fellow parishioner whose company we find tiresome or irritating. It may be comfortable to avoid his company on a regular basis. We may have developed a habit of successfully avoiding this person. We might, however, consider risking our comfort to reach out in charity to someone we would much prefer to avoid. If what is "comfortable" does not lead us toward virtue, we must be on our guard that it does not tempt us to be uncharitable to our neighbors. These little daily opportunities may seem small compared to the plight of the Israelites; on the contrary, they are not small when we consider the long-lasting effects of remaining "comfortable" when virtue may be calling us forth.

When we leave behind our comfort and trust the in the Lord's providence, may we hear Moses' words in our hearts: "Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today."

"A trifling inaccuracy, a little hastiness in word or action, some small excess in mirth, in dress, in gaiety, may not be very important, if these are heeded immediately and swept out as spiritual cobwebs;—but if they are permitted to linger in the heart, or, worse still, if we take pleasure in them and indulge them, our honey will soon be spoilt, and the hive of our conscience will be cumbered and damaged. But I ask again, how can a generous heart take delight in anything it knows to be displeasing to its God, or wish to do what offends Him?"

St. Francis de Sales

Vistory Visitors

This week our campus hosts 49 students -- 33 from our other Visitation schools -- who, together with some of our own students, spend a week doing Christian service in Washington DC. Above, our Sister Mary de Sales prepares Tuesday's supper with visiting Sister Sharon Elizabeth from our monastery in Toledo. We've been a little quiet on the push-button publishing front ... making meatballs is hard work!

While the students are here on campus, they sleep on the floor of our gymnasium and spend their evenings doing activities which complement their service with "sisterhood and spirituality." They pray and play, have discussion groups, large group activities and relax together. Above is an aerial shot of their tie-dyed tee-shirts. We'll chalk that up to a "sisterhood" activity!

Family Reunion

Perhaps the waiting area outside the pearly gates will have movies, scenes from the bible, -- as only heaven could have witnessed them -- for the souls waiting to be called to judgment. And maybe -- one can only dream -- there will be a marquis that reads: "Genesis 43-45. " If there is, this blogger will be waiting in the front row for the feature presentation!

If you've never read the entirety of the "family reunion" in Genesis, it's worth starting in chapter 43. If you have time, you can go all the way back to chapter 37 when Joseph is 17 years old or -- better still -- to chapter 30, where Joseph is born; he is the first of Jacob's two sons born to Rachel. (Rachel later died after giving birth to Benjamin, Joseph's brother.)

Today's first reading, of necessity, edits out a great deal of the story of Joseph's reunion with his brothers and -- most poignantly -- with his brother Benjamin. It is well worth a read through the previous chapter(s) -- a Hollywood screenwriter would be hard-pressed to find a better script for a family drama: sibling rivalry, deception, abandonment, an unlikely rise to power, and forgiveness ... to name just a few themes! Treat yourself to a read ... or view this 9 minute clip, courtesy of You Tube.

Vermiculture and Leftover Veggies

A couple of years ago, we decided to add "cold composting" to our already fruitful process of outdoor composting. In the hallway just off the porch we have been hosting a "worm chalet" where hundreds (and probably thousands) of Redworms (red wigglers) live. Unlike the worms found in the gardens and woodlands of North America, these earthworms are not earthmovers they are composting worms. They eat leftover (cooked) vegetables, leftover rice and pasta, coffee grounds and tea bags and -- since everyone needs fiber in their diet -- shredded paper and cardboard, too. After several months of eating and digesting, the worms produce "black gold" ... know in gardening shops as "worm castings" and, more descriptively as "worm poop." Ever few months it is necessary to separate the worms from their castings and locate them in a tray of fresh "food-n-fiber." Above, Sister Philomena sorts through a pile of worm castings.

South American Redworms are not nearly as big as their North American cousins, so a mature worm does not look impressively big -- but they sure do work hard!

Above is a tray ready for some worms. In the center looks like the leftovers from mashed carrots and around the carrots are paper shreddings from the business office shredding machine. After the worms are deposited in the tray and before the "chalet" roof is placed on top, a little peat moss is sprinkled on top to absorb any excess moisture.

A few months later, the above tray is ready for sorting. The worms have worked hard: eat, sleep, digest, have baby-worms, eat, sleep, digest, have baby-worms. We realize that an apiary might be a more "Salesian" hobby, given St. Francis de Sales' fondness for bees ... but it might be important to note that earthworms have 5 hearts. St. Francis de Sales, had he known that, would no doubt have had some spiritual metaphors concerning our hard-working wigglers!

Don't Eat the Flowers!

As promised, a few posts ago, we are delighted to share some pictures of the non-edible (and very beautiful) plantings that our sisters have been tending this summer. Above is a close-up of flowers in a pot which will decorate the path leading up to our soon-to-arrive statue of Our Lady.

At the crossroads of the paths in the garden are splashes of color such as the group pictured above. Sister Mary Blogger couldn't begin to name all the beautiful flowers which are springing up, but she sure does enjoy the variety of colors and sizes.

Sister Mary Flower-Gardener has designed a "prairie planting" with some beautiful and delicate additions. Enlarged to the left of the photo is "Gaura" and to the right of the photo a desert flower which requires little water. The magnolia tree in the right side of the photo provides shade for St. Joseph and gainful employment for many a sister looking to help in the garden!

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

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