Since my arrival at the Mount, a number of Sisters have
started conversations with me by saying, “Stop me if I’ve told you this story
before….” I think they are worried they will bore me, without recognizing that our
most-repeated stories are the ones that are the most sacred!
In The Book of
Awakening, Mark Nepo comments, “Often we repeat stories, not because we are
forgetful or indulgent, but because there is too much meaning to digest in one
expression. So we keep sharing the story that presses on our heart until we
understand it all.”
In class this week, Sr. Mary Irene Nowell asked if we had a
favorite Psalm, and once again I found myself telling a tale from my pilgrimage
to Wales this past spring, before I joined the Mount as a postulant. I was absorbing
the stunning beauty of the sea and cliffs at Aberdaron and thought to myself, “I
should take my inheritance from my parents and buy a little cottage here—or at
least go visit all the beautiful places in the world. And what am I doing
instead? Moving to dusty little old Atchison!” Soon thereafter I went to
morning prayer, and Sr. Therese Elias directed us to turn to Psalm 16, where I
read, “God, you measure out my portion, the shape of my future; you mark off
the best place for me to enjoy my inheritance.”
That story presses on my heart for a number of reasons. First,
never before have I had such a clear, direct, speedy, and humorous response
from God; second, it gave me a sense of peace about my decision to join the
Mount community; and third, it provided the insight that being a Benedictine at
Atchison is my inheritance. No wonder I need to keep repeating the story.
Part of the call of community is to keep telling our stories
and to listen to the stories of others “with the ear of the heart.” You want me
to stop you if I’ve heard your story before? That would be very un-Benedictine
of me, wouldn’t it?
No comments:
Post a Comment