Godly Vision

Matthew reports that “Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented” (Mt 11:20). No doubt in later years, the people of those towns told stories of the itinerant preacher who passed through and healed their sick, but when Jesus was with them, they did not seem to appreciate his words and his marvelous deeds. His gifts of compassion and wisdom did not change their lives.

It is human nature to have keener hindsight than sight in the present moment. As Jacob said, “The Lord was here and I did not know it!” (Genesis 28:16). Truly, we can echo his cry every day as we look back at the kindnesses that have been visited upon us. The scriptures tell us that “God is lasting love” (Psalm 136) and “God’s mercy endures forever” (Jeremiah 33:11), so we should expect to see God acting in our lives. We need to train ourselves to be aware of that love and mercy in the moment so it can infuse our lives with gratitude and help us to live in right relationship with others and the earth.

Let’s learn from our ancestor Jacob’s experience so we instead can say, “The Lord is here, and my heart is filled with awe and joy in the presence of God, my savior!”

Sacred Stories

I am currently attending a 3-week Benedictine Spirituality Workshop and Retreat at Saint Benedict’s Monastery in Bristow, Va., with seven other female scholastics from across the country. Affectionately known as “vow camp,” the purpose of the retreat is to discern and pray about taking the next step in Benedictine formation, which is to make final profession of vows.

Yesterday each participant described how her call to Benedictine life unfolded. The variety in our paths was remarkable: one started discerning in college, whereas others didn’t feel called to explore Benedictine life until they were in their fifties. Several had entered another religious order and left because it wasn’t a good fit. Some were cradle Catholics, and others were converts to the Catholic faith. Some were influenced by their families or teachers; for others, it was their ministry or prayer that led them to the monastery. Despite our diversity, we all ended up as Benedictines. God indeed works in mysterious ways!

After each person relayed her story, we sang the following refrain:

We come to share our story
We come to break the bread
We come to know our rising 

          from the dead

I happened to be sitting across from a painting of saints Benedict and Scholastica, and it occurred to me that the song reflected what happened in their last meeting. They shared what was happening in their monasteries and in their hearts, they broke bread together, and they reassured each other about the new life that was to come, which was confirmed when Benedict saw Scholastica’s soul rising to heaven in the form of a dove several days later.

All meetings with others are holy, because God is always present with us. Breaking open our lives together by sharing stories and food helps us trust in the new life to come, in whatever form it takes. Thus I’m grateful for this gathering of Benedictine women and know that God will guide us on our monastic path in the years to come.