Beholding and Blessing

It is traditional for the Mount to have a “blessing of ministries” ritual at its August community meeting. Typically, the prioress blesses each sister and her ministry individually, but that wasn’t possible this year because sisters who live in Kansas City and in Dooley Center are isolated from the monastery to help prevent the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, via Zoom, the sisters recog-nized the work and prayer of each community member and blessed each other.

Before the blessing, Sr. Esther encouraged us to “behold” each other in the scriptural sense of paying attention to something important. We generally think of using sight to “behold,” as illustrated by the following vignette by an anonymous writer in the August 2020 issue of the Sun magazine:

When I asked the custodial staff at my university what the worst aspect of their jobs was, I expected to hear about working alone at night, the tediousness of the tasks, or the low pay. Instead they said it was that they were treated as if they were invisible. No one looked them in the eye or said, “Hello,” or, “Thank you.”

In my experience, the sisters in the monastery are very faithful in seeing and affirming each other. However, to “behold” includes listening as much as seeing. I realized this at the agape and storytelling after our vigil for Sr. Agnes Honz, who died on July 9.

I knew from attending midday prayer and compline in Dooley Center that Sr. Agnes liked to sing. However, I was surprised to learn that she had been in numerous choirs, played both piano and organ, and taught music for years. Not only that, but among her pictures was a photo of her as a high school senior leading Sammy Kaye’s band in The Johnson Rag at a talent show at the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha, Neb. She won first place! I didn’t know all this because I had never taken the time to sit and behold Sr. Agnes by listening to her talk about her life.

From what I gather, Jesus was an excellent beholder. He saw people on the margins, asked what was troubling them, listened, and responded. During the pandemic, many of us have more time to imitate Jesus and behold each other. With God’s grace, this will become an ingrained habit that will help us create a more Christ-centered post-pandemic world.