Knock of Faith

On July 22^nd, with three knocks at the enclosure door, Genevieve Rose entered the monastery as a postulant! The excitement, apprehension, and plethora of emotions that come with one’s entrance day, all surround (or enhance) that crucial, distilled moment of faith when one steps from the world to the cloister. It has been stated that the primary formation of cloistered nuns is a formation in faith. This very essential core of the Christian life is to take root and blossom for the good of the Church in the lives of all who live the monastic life. Faith is certainly exercised by all followers of Christ, or else we are not Christians at all… but sometimes when reading the Gospel passages about the faith that is ‘small as a mustard seed’ – that faith that ‘moves mountains,’ we can ask: ‘what does that kind of faith look like in everyday life?’ We don’t need to search beyond those favorite stories in scripture where David’s faith in God took the form of five smooth stones when he faced a gigantic insulter of the Almighty. Obviously he knew that as he was fighting for his Lord, God would be fighting for him. Our Lady cannot be overlooked in this regard, her ‘fiat mihi – be it done unto me,’ in total faith struck at the very foundation of the mountain of iniquity of the whole human race, and in time this mountain would ‘be cast into the sea’ of her Son’s mercy. And last week, we saw our new Sister’s faith take root as she knocked at the cloister door. Small beginnings, yes – but with God all things are possible! Please pray for Sr. Genevieve Rose as she wholeheartedly gives herself to this new life in faith!

Berries... and More

It’s been a good while since there has been a posting here …many things slow down in this southern heat, but not time! As the daily work of the monastery begins to include attending to the produce spilling in from the garden, life gets more ‘colorful’ (literally!) and the psalms in choir more vivid: ‘the earth has yielded it’s fruit, for God our God has blessed us.’ Right now the ‘fruit of the week’ is blueberries! These little plump morsels are being used in a myriad of recipes. One blessing of having an abundance of one kind of fruit is that it affords the opportunity to have something as thrilling as instructions in the art of pie baking. One of our eldest Sisters is a true genius in the kitchen! Being served blueberries in various forms at breakfast, lunch and supper is no hardship; there is just that other dimension that cannot be forgotten. Some hardworking persons forage through the bushes to bring in buckets of fruit (and all the other veggies as well)! Any ‘spare hands’ are eagerly welcomed out in the backyard berry-ville. Certainly it was these types of real life situations that Our Lord used to illustrate some of His most urgent teachings or to give His instructions: “Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest!” When there is no one to bring in ‘the harvest’ the inevitable happens – rotting food, spoiled vegetables and wasted labor. In a world dependent on these things, the terrible result of a lost harvest is hunger, and perhaps death. This has crucial application in the spiritual realm that is far from alien to our own lives. Without laborers and shepherds in the Lord’s harvest, the plagues of spiritual hunger, weakness and death is never far off. Thankfully we have a true, faithful and untiring shepherd in Pope Benedict XVI – ‘a humble laborer in the Lord’s vineyard’ to whose example we look as we seek to serve the Lord ‘in spirit and truth.’ Lord send out laborers for your harvest, bless those sent out in your Name & let us serve you as you see fit!

The photo is from an early blueberry survey... not a shot of the full scale harvesting! To those who made generous offers to help us pick blueberries, the 'blueberry patch' is within our cloistered yard - but we are grateful for your thoughtfulness just the same!!