After a vigorous week with the kids :), it was wonderful to come home to the quiet of the monastery and chapel. Sometimes nothing sounds better than … nothing! I also was renewed by a visit from a couple of dear friends.
Nancy and Maggie live in Cedar Rapids, where I lived and taught before entering religious life. We are blessed to have found each other. We have supported, listened, cared, loved and prayed for each other. Continue Reading
Lately I have had a number of people ask how I knew I had a call to religious life.
Boy, I always find this hard to explain. I can explain how I chose this particular community. It felt like home; I was comfortable.
But the call itself? That’s hard to articulate.
Routine and habit can so control our lives that our perception of ultimate realities can become dull.
We can miss important moments when we don’t expect them. We can miss clues to problems … to questions … to opportunities to change our lives.
If you are a single Catholic woman and find yourself stuck in a dull routine and habit, check in with God … and ask yourself if you’re being called to something new. Might it be a religious vocation! Read more!
In today’s society, we do not deal well with the mystery. Mysteries are to be solved, not accepted and even – the horror! – embraced.
We read and watch mysteries with great excitement (sometimes we skip to the end to find out who done it). Scientists explore mysteries to get to the bottom of why. Our culture demands to know … everything.
Sometimes, though, we forget about the importance of faith … and trusting our path in life.
Wow! My Final Profession was wonderful and beautiful. I think I am still trying to decide if it was all real! Continue Reading
We all have songs that move us in ways we can’t articulate or even understand. Right? 🙂
One of mine is “The Whisper,” by New Kids on the Block. (Okay, I’m showing my age, but hey.) Continue Reading
The other day I was reading a reflection on the passage, “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” (Mt 21:22) It was written by Fr. J. Anthony Giambrone, O.P., who said, “To pray faithfully is like knocking untiringly at God’s door….”
Sometimes my students remind me that the little things in life can mean the most! On Friday, for instance, we were eating oranges for snack when one of the children said, “This orange is perfect. There must be a God!” Continue Reading
Between my ministry as a Catholic school teacher and my life as a Catholic Sister, people often ask whether I have any time for fun.
I usually laugh, because – although teaching preschoolers is a lot of work too – I think I have the most fun ministry you can have.
And I laugh because – although being a Catholic Benedictine Sister requires getting up for prayers way earlier than I would if left on my own – my life here is such a blessing! Continue Reading
Most of us like to work on jigsaw puzzles, so we have several going throughout the house. Here's Sr. Jackie and me working on one in our living group.
Here I am at home today doing some of the usual weekend routines that I have always done – cleaning, doing laundry and preparing a little school work. As a Benedictine Sister, I also am doing some work that was not part of my usual Saturday morning routine – at least not before I turned 36!
That is, I went to Lauds at 9:00 a.m. (blessedly later than the 6:30 a.m. Lauds of the school week!), and after lunch I came to the liturgy office to work on a Liturgy of the Hours Book for the Office of the Dead. It is a big project and I have been working on it for almost a year. Continue Reading
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