Attention & Contemplation ....by Sr. Raphaela
One of the required components of our blog is to furnish pictures to go with our posts. Sometimes I have the photos in mind when I write my post and sometimes, I go looking for some of my photos that might enhance my post. Capturing images is an intimate engagement with the external world for me. I bought my first digital camera not because I was interested in photography but because I was curious about how I saw beauty.
Read the full post: Attention & Contemplation ....by Sr. Raphaela
Choir Practice ....by Sr. Monika
This afternoon I am getting ready for our Thursday choir practice. This happens in every Benedictine monastery because it takes practice to chant the psalms and canticles in our Book of Praise twice each day. We practice chanting in one voice--no voice standing out louder than others or sounding very different from the rest. St. Benedict wrote in the Rule that our hearts are to be in harmony with our voices. Sometimes our community can chant so heavenly.
Seeing Clearly ....by Sr. Dorothy
From the I Ching… It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events by which the path to success may be recognized. This could also perhaps be described as the path to knowing ourselves. Not an easy path.
We Begin Again Every Day ....by Sr. Paz
St. Benedict tells us in The Rule that we begin again each day. You may wonder what nuns and monks do in the monastery every day? St. Benedict answered this question many centuries ago: We fall and get up, fall and get up, always. This New Year is a gift, a new opportunity, to begin again, anew, to stand up again. With new hopes, new challenges, new opportunities, to begin again fresh.
Still Shopping ....by Sr. Anna-Camille
I am the Sisters Speak Week 5 blogger, so I only write every few months. My last two posts were about my experiences as the Main Kitchen grocery shopper. It’s been almost exactly 6 months since I began this adventure, and I thought after two blog posts there really couldn’t be anything else to say. I was wrong. So, I am hoping you are able to bear with me through one more post about shopping.
Foggy Solstice Daybreak ...by Sr. Raphaela
"Deep night, Dark night Night of the longest sigh. . . " --from the poem "Winter Solstice" by Mary Saracino It was the breaking of the shortest day leading into the longest night, the night of the longest sigh--the winter solstice. The weather channel had declared for that morning “Beware of patches of dense fog.
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Wait ....by Sr. Monika
I was born in the front seat of our car. Dad made it to the hospital driveway. The doctor and nurses came outside on that early, snowy February morning to help Mom and me. One nurse took my 11 month old sister, one nurse took me, one nurse took Mom, and Dad went to the ER to have his broken thumb looked at.
A Mysterious Visitor
Last month I had two unusual encounters with an owl. One afternoon, in the monastery dining room, I heard an unusual snapping of branches and flapping of wings. I ran to one of the windows and discovered a baby owl that was learning to fly. It was a Barred Owl that caused commotion among the sisters. We were afraid it would end up on the ground.
Stories We Tell Ourselves ....by Sr. Dorothy
I don't know who wrote this story and don't recall where I found it. If you happen to know its author, please get in touch and I will give credit. The Queen's Choice Once upon a time, in a kingdom that probably never really existed, a woman was caught stealing some coins from a local merchant in the market.
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Thankful for Autumn! ....by Sr. Raphaela
I love this time of the year! We have returned to standard time and my circadian rhythms are able to breathe easier again. I experience the invigorating crispness of the clear darkness of early morning, steam coming from my mouth and nose as I take the bin of used coffee grounds out to the compost. The majority of the leaves have fallen to the ground, allowing the deciduous trees to show off their sculpted, naked physiques.
Read the full post: Thankful for Autumn! ....by Sr. Raphaela
