Celebrating Our Dwelling Places

After my parents were married, their first home was in Ottawa, Kansas, where my father worked for a jewelry store in his first job as a watch repairman. Four years later they moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, my mom’s hometown. When my folks returned to Ottawa to visit friends, they would always drive by their former house to see if the fence dad built was still standing (it was) and to check on the trees they had planted.

We invest a lot of ourselves in the buildings we inhabit; the memories we create there become part of who we are and are markers of our lifelong journey of becoming. It’s no wonder we find it difficult to let go of buildings that have been important parts of our lives.

Today Mount St. Scholastica said a final farewell to St. Ann’s, a 9-bedroom building originally built to house workmen with no other home. Over 90+ years, St. Ann’s provided lodging for generations of laborers, college students, volunteers, and sisters. However, as Judith Sutera, OSB, reminded us, “their spirit is not in that one house but in all the grounds and buildings and works that they have created to sustain us.” Sr. Judith also offered this perspective:

“We are in our buildings for as long as they serve us well. We are of our buildings because architecture shapes our interactions and sensory perceptions. But we never are our buildings. Wherever we are is to be a place of spirit and truth.”

Because Benedictines recognize that God is constantly making things new, we attempt to practice conversatio morum — not clinging to what is at the moment but being open to the new ways God is working in our lives. That spirit of letting go sometimes means letting go of former dwelling places that no longer serve us. Gratitude for the blessings those places provided helps us to remember, to celebrate, and to move forward with confidence in God’s continued providence.