Some Flavor

I've been thinking for a while that I should describe the atmosphere of St. Placid's, not just what I do every day.  And since this week has been pretty ordinary, I think now is a good time!

The most significantly different thing about life at a monastery is: Prayer!  (Surprise, I know.)  The community has praise 3 times a day and mass right before supper.  My favorite part of praise is singing the psalms - we sing all 150 in a month, and we say Psalm 130 every day before lunch.  We sing in Gregorian chant modes, of which there are 8 (4 minor, 4 major), and my favorite is Mode 7.  It's the happiest, I think.  My old Gregorian chant professor, Fr. Anthony, would be so proud!  My second-favorite part of praise is hearing selections from the work of Hildegaard of Bingen.  She was a medieval mystic who had all these visions, and her words are always inspiring.  The windows of the chapel look out on incredibly green trees, and they kind of glow when it's raining, like they have their own green light.  The chapel also has skylights, so when it's raining you can see the drops streaming down (I know I probably shouldn't be looking around so much during praise...).  And yes, it rains a lot during praise.  My third (and final) favorite part of praise is the flowers in front of the lectern - S. Monika (I think) makes an arrangement from our gardens every week, and they are always so beautiful! 

Another important part of the flavor of St. Placid's is the sisters themselves (another shock, I know - but it's the little things that matter)!  A day is not complete without an "Oh sure" (pronounced "shuu-ah") from S. Anamaria, a "Go-osh" (that dash represents a slide down at least an octave) and a huge laugh from S. Redempta, an incredulous, jaw-dropped face from S. Sharon, a "lovely" textile S. Monika has found, a comment about the terrible blue jays (actually Stellar Jays, Dad) from S. Damaris, and a "he-he, ho-ho" from S. Mary as she works on the puzzle.  There are so many others, too - S. Nathalie holding the chapel door open for me, S. Dorothy working on my computer, Sherry telling a story in her Texan accent, S. Margaret Ann asking me where my sweater is, S. Rosemarie feeling sorry for the blue jays S. Damaris chases away, S. Lucy's gentle, blue-eyed smile, S. Laura talking about books and writing, S. Mary Giles and I laughing about Monty Python, S. Therese capably bustling around, S. Maureen wiping tables after dinner, Beate's animated German accent, Camille's penchant for cooking... It's a pretty small community, but every personality and voice has a place. 

Another interesting (and incredibly shocking again, I know) part of living here is, well, we're all women!  The only voice I hear regularly that goes below middle C is that of our priest, Fr. Gerard.  He talks really-really fast, reads really-really fast, sings bass harmony to all our songs, and gives funny, insightful homilies on Sundays (the rest of the week we just have silence).  It's still surprising to me how fast mass goes, especially since we pray so slowly and meditatively during the rest of the day.  I like it, though - it's a good balance.  We pause a lot whenever we pray (which is why I have so much time to stare out the windows), and it is a really calming and re-energizing time for me.  The really cool part about living with all women, though, is the language we use - not just for God, but for each other.  For example, I have been steadily working on my knitting my blue scarf.  It is very noticeably my first effort at knitting, and all the rest of the sisters who knit are AMAZING, but whenever I work on my little scarf, everyone sincerely encourages and affirms how lovely and wonderful it is.  They all take time to notice what each other are doing and what others care about, and they make sure to thank and compliment each other.  It's not that the other places I've lived haven't done that, but we do it here ALL the time - it's an inherent part of every relationship, every day, and it's sincere. 

Community life last from 8 in the morning (when prayers begin) to 8 at night (when everyone leaves the community room).  The rest of the day, for me about 2 hours on either end of the community day, is pretty much quiet - it's nice to have time to wake up and to unwind.  We watch tv and movies in a cozy little upstairs room that has a "couch of temptation" (her words) where S. Redempta sometimes gets so comfortable she falls asleep!  And I'm getting used to only seeing a tiny bit of the sky (which is gray more often than not) and trying to appreciate it because it means the flowers and the greenery are that much brighter when the sun shines. 

I think those are all lessons, so I'm not going to write a separate one.  Peace and love!