Middle C

(Writing from the Benedictine Spirituality Workshop and Retreat [BSWR] in Bismarck, ND…)

Middle C is what came to mind as I scanned this startlingly beautiful landscape. The union of earth and sky writes itself across the horizon like a single, flowing line of chant. I expected flat terrain here in North Dakota, and it is mostly flat; but to my surprise there are many hills – gentle, green rises that sing sweet serenades to the massive bluegrey clouds that pass unhurriedly overhead.

From the hilltop just outside the monastery I can see for miles (30, I am told). This feels like the top of the world. Yet the spreading earth seems so solid, so firm, and, well, so reliably here, that it also feels like the foundation of everything, including the sky. Middle C – the center of two musical staves, both source and summit of a scale – is the first analogy that came to mind. A place that both grounds and uplifts.

Middle C also happens to be a good image for what I’m up to here in North Dakota. If you read my last post you know that I’m here at Annunciation Monastery meeting with other “first professed” Benedictines from around the country. We are all preparing for perpetual monastic profession and this workshop is designed to deepen our foundation in the Benedictine charism. For several years now we have each been engaged in monastic formation in our home monasteries – participating in the life of the community, taking classes, and engaging in ministry. These weeks of BSWR are a time to review the fundamentals of Benedictine life and integrate our experience of monastic formation as we each discern this next important step in our journey. It’s kind of like taking a melodic line and returning it to its source, to a place that both grounds and uplifts.

In her presentation on the Liturgy of the Hours yesterday, Sister Magdalena said, “You all know this, but it’s good to have a reminder sometimes.” Although her wonderful presentation was far more than just a reminder, it is indeed “good to have a reminder sometimes.” I can’t imagine a more beautiful land-and-skyscape in which to get both re-grounded and uplifted in this wonderful Benedictine charism.

Postscript: The workshop is more than just classes. We’re enjoying having some down time in which to get to know one another, read and relax, and just “be.” A week-long retreat will conclude the three-week program. A few outings are scheduled, too. Last night we attended a choral concert in the city. Tomorrow we’ll tour a nearby heritage site. And of course we’re getting to know this wonderful Benedictine community here in Bismarck. (I don’t think we will need a class on Benedictine hospitality; we are experiencing it first hand…)

On Sister's Wings

In about 30 minutes, Sister Magdalena and I will depart for the Huntsville airport, board a plane, and begin a 3-legged journey to Bismarck, ND. My bags are packed and sitting at the infirmary door. Car keys are at hand. My room is clean. The garden is tidied. Everything is ready.

Our destination is the annual Benedictine Spirituality Workshop and Retreat. It is being held this year at Annunciation Monastery in Bismarck. The event is for Benedictine women in temporary monastic profession (first profession) who are preparing for final, or perpetual, profession. I am attending as one of the participants, and Sister Magdalena as one of two Co-Directors. The workshop portion lasts about two weeks, followed by a week-long retreat. In total, we will be away for nearly four weeks.

Sister Magdalena and I will travel to Bismarck with a major air carrier, but more importantly we travel on the wings of our Sisters and we depart this morning with their support, love, and prayers. On a practical level, they are covering our many and varied responsibilities around the monastery, providing funds for our travel, and making it logistically possible for us to go. Yet while the logistical assistance is what is most readily noticed, the spiritual support that travels with us is what is most prominent in our awareness.

Each day, near the conclusion of Lauds and Vespers, the leader intones “May the Spirit of the Lord be with us throughout this day.” The community responds, “And with our absent Sisters.”

We will be absent, yet present in the Spirit, and borne up on the wings of God's great love.

Postscript: I will continue to blog from Bismarck. If you wish to keep up with happenings at the monastery while I am away, Facebook users can follow Sister Therese's posts on our Facebook group, Friends of the Benedictine Sisters of Cullman.

Nota Bene

A long, sloping hallway that we call “the passageway” is probably the most ordinary, nondescript, purely functional place in our monastery. A series of potted plants, flooding sunlight, and a few statues brighten the path, but they can’t completely disguise the concrete block walls, square panes, and the painted concrete floor that wraps around the back of the chapel to connect Annunciata Hall with the monastic dining room. It’s one of the plainest, yet also one of the most heavily used areas of the monastery.

Last night, after completing supper dishes with Sr. Lynn Marie, I walked through the passageway, mindlessly reviewing events of the day and in general being somewhat lost in thought. I passed an open windowpane through which the scent of gardenia floated like a sudden gift of spices from the east. The sweet, honeyed aroma awakened me more effectively than any alarm clock, and I suddenly remembered the presence of God. Within the span of a breath, I moved from mindless thought to silent prayer as I made the final turn and began climbing the steps toward my room.

Occasionally, a sign will be posted within the monastery with a preface of “N.B.” Many of you know this to be an abbreviation for the Latin Nota Bene, which means “note well.” It calls us to pay close attention to an announcement of particular importance. Last evening in the passageway, the scent of gardenia was like a fragrant N.B., calling me to note well the presence of God and the beauty of God’s creation within the most ordinary of activities and places.


Postscript: As I typed this I realized how appropriate it is that a statue of the Blessed Mother graces the turn of the passageway, blessing this ordinary, everyday space and our many passages through it. She is one who truly ‘noted well’ the announcement of the angel Gabriel. Sr. Therese took this photo a year or two ago. She called it “a moment of grace in the monastery passageway.” A Nota Bene moment, for certain.

Annuals and perennials

Tonight we begin our annual community retreat. Once a year we pause from our ministries, meetings, routines, and our daily concerns to spend silent time with the One who is our loving Creator and the source of all that we are and will be.

Botanically speaking, monastics are more akin to perennials than annuals. We’re planted here for the long-haul, and keep blooming year after year, and hopefully throughout the year, in all weather and seasons. We also have cycles of growth, and times of hibernation, of fertilization, of pruning, of renewal. In other words, sometimes we need a retreat to draw close to our roots, and our annual community retreat provides such an opportunity.

This week, the house will be quiet. Meals will be in silence. Work will cease, except that which is necessary to keep life and liturgy flowing. Even this keyboard will rest as the keyboardist turns to other places in the house and in her heart. The outdoor areas that typically hold retreatants will host Sisters – reading, walking, reflecting, praying, and simply being alone with God. A series of conferences will stimulate our reflection. The liturgy will take on the resonance of the deep silence which surrounds it. We will rest in the presence of our loving God.


On Friday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, we will emerge from retreat refreshed, renewed, and ready to share its fruits with one another and those with whom we minister. Please keep us in prayer this week, as we will you.

Ora pro nobis.

Celebrate!

The past two days have been so full of celebration that we have nearly stumbled all over ourselves trying to get them all in. On Sunday, we observed the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, then segued into the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Monday. The Visitation is the feast day of three of our Sisters, so special dining room place settings featuring Marian blue were prepared for the celebrants. As is our tradition, cards, well-wishes, special prayer remembrances, and a harmonic rendition of “Happy Feast Day to you…” greeted those celebrating their feast day.

Monday also happened to be a national holiday, so an All-American spread of fried chicken and corn-on-the-cob was on tap for lunch, complete with patriotic table decorations. By mid-afternoon, many of us were dressed up and climbing into cars for a trip down the road to attend the Diaconate ordination of a monk of St. Bernard Abbey. A festive meal followed during which we celebrated and visited with our brother monks, other religious, and friends from around Cullman.

Every monastic community has their own traditions for marking special days. Liturgically, we join with the entire Church in observing the seasons and cycles of the liturgical year. Certain feasts unique to Benedictine houses also fill our calendar and our hearts as we honor with joy and reverence our wonderful Benedictine heritage. We also celebrate liturgically the important milestones in our lives such as religious professions, jubilees, and of course, the deaths of our Sisters who go before us to God.

Major celebrations invariably flow beyond the chapel, and it is here that the unique traditions of a monastic community unfold – whether through community customs of greeting and receiving, special decorations in the dining room, traditional foods for particular occasions, and any number of varied and unique ways of honoring God, celebrating our unity as a monastic community, and rejoicing in the unique heritage passed on to us by our monastic elders.

The liturgy unites us with all the People of God. Our Benedictine Rule and heritage bind us to Benedictines of every time and place. In like fashion, our particular community customs and traditions - both joyful and solemn, formal and informal - help unite us as a community and bind us as one in Christ, in the spirit of St. Benedict, and into this wonderful community.