It has been a crazy week since I last posted! It has started to hit me that I leave a week from today to the beautiful Pacific Northwest...a scary but wonderful certainty. Our retreat ends on Friday morning, so it feels like this is the end of our first step on the journey. We've been welcomed into the Benedictine way of life in a place we know, and now we are going off to share this life in a different place with a different community. I can't believe the time is here, upon us!
In the past week, Ashley, Daisy, and I have continued learning from the Sisters, not only in our scheduled presentations and meetings, but every moment as we share meals, prayer, and laughter. One of our favorite memories was visiting the St. Scholastica Convent in St. Cloud where the retired sisters of the St. Ben's community live. We were amazed at the loving community and vibrant prayer life the sisters there share, and all three of us were moved to tears when the wise and wonderful sisters sang their blessing over us. They still have so much love to give. We also enjoyed a day off to visit friends and family in St. Cloud - I got to play cards and go for a walk and spend a little time away from St. Ben's. We're usually busy from about 7 am until 8 or 9 pm, so it was wonderful to have a whole afternoon free!
Our days have been filled with a flood of wisdom and knowledge from the Sisters here. We've learned about sustainability and stewardship from S. Mara (a favorite prof of both Ashley's and mine), with whom we discussed questions to ask when we arrive at our new sites in order to be respectful and open. We learned from S. Mary Rachel about Reiki (a natural healing practice) and even got a little treatment! And today, at lunch, I got to visit with S. Margaret Mary, who grew up in Washington and worked through the monastery in Lacey for 20 years. She was so delightful and eager to share her love for her home state. All the sisters continue to be extremely welcoming, hospitable, and loving - we've had so many awesome meals (special thanks to S. Trish for last night's spaghetti)!
We talked with S. Nancy, the prioress, yesterday afternoon, and she asked us to share the most important thing we've learned on our retreat. My answer (and my lesson for this post) was something like this:
After spending a week and a half with the sisters, I have learned what it really means to love. Each and every sister I have met welcomes me with open arms (literally); is genuinely interested in who I am, where I have been, and where I am going; and assures me that she will be here, praying for me, while I'm gone. Every sister loves me without knowing anything about me, and I know she will continue to love me no matter what. Even though I am a stranger, every sister is ready to take me in, as if I were her dearest and most honored friend - as if, says St. Benedict, I were Christ. I am so humbled and so blessed to be able to call the sisters of this community my friends.
The next time I write, I'll be in Washington! The next step on this new journey is coming quickly, but I think I'm ready for it!
No comments:
Post a Comment