Remembering Sr. Philomene

Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This truth certainly applies to Sr. Philomene Glotzbach, who died on July 18.

Sr. Philomene epitomized Benedictine hospitality; it’s hard to believe she could have welcomed Jesus himself with any more warmth and wholeheartedness than she offered to those who came through the doors of Mount St. Scholastica. She had a grandmotherly spirit in that she delighted in the people she met and was very encouraging and affirming. This characteristic was a wonderful gift for her primary school students, because it gave them a foun-dation of being valued and cared for. It was a gift to the community’s postulants and novices as well, as I can attest.

In addition to beaming at me every time she encountered me in the hallway, Sr. Philomene lifted my spirits, and those of the community and our guests, through the flower arrangements she placed on each table in the dining room in the summer and fall months. This simple act (which entailed more work than we can imagine) added graciousness and beauty to our daily lives and reminded us of the goodness of God’s creation.

We will never forget how Sr. Philomene made us feel—like we are beloved children of God. I’m happy that she is now basking in the beams of God’s love herself.

An Attitude of Hospitality

I’m currently visiting my friend Martha in St. Louis, where the local gas company is installing outdoor meters at all the houses in her neighborhood, requiring much digging of holes in yards and streets. Consequently, the roads and sidewalks are dotted with orange utility signs, flag markers, and cones, piles of gravel, stacks of metal plates, and bobcat vehicles. The project is noisy and inconvenient, and it is easy to grumble about it.

My attitude changed when, as I took a walk this morning, I saw a young boy squatting near a utility worker, who was patiently answering the boy’s his questions as he dug a hole. In the midst of doing a hot and dirty job, the man responded to a child’s curiosity with grace and what could even be termed hospitality—welcoming the boy into his work space, as it were. We usually think of hospitality as welcoming guests into our home, but hospitality is an approach to life that we can practice wherever we are and in the midst of whatever we are doing.

Encountering this worker also reminded me that I rarely think about the efforts of people who labor to keep gas and electricity and water flowing so all of us can live comfortably. When I write up my weekly prayer list of needs for healing, special intentions, birthdays, and death anniversaries, I need to add an intention for the public workers I generally take for granted—fire fighters, police officers, prison employees, utility workers, parks crews, and city administrative workers, for example. It’s the hospitable thing to do.

The Design of God's Heart

In anticipation of the feast of St. Benedict tomorrow, July 11, I have been pondering the following observation by Sr. Joan Chittister: “No on knows much about Benedict and Scholastica as historical individuals, true. But what we do know is that they stood in the midst of a decaying society and refused to go into decay with it.”

Like saints Benedict and Scholastica, we are living in a time of blatant greed, corruption, and misuse of earth’s resources, and much of our society is responding by seeking escape through entertainment and various addictions. However, we can choose a different response by walking the path of humility instead of self-aggrandizement, simplicity rather than consumption, and compassion rather than disdain.

It’s hard not to fret about the harm being done in our world, but we can take comfort from the words of Psalm 33, which says, “The Lord brought to nought the plans of nations; God foils the designs of peoples. But the plan of the Lord stands forever; the design of God’s heart, through all generations.” As with saints Benedict and Scholastica, we can seek to live in right relationship with God, each other, and the earth and trust that the design of God’s heart will prevail.

Lessons in the School of the Lord's Service

Here is a haiku I wrote in the “Be careful what you pray for” series:

Waiting for berries

to ripen: Why did I pray

to God for patience?

We know what experiences we need to mature in the spiritual life, and if we know it, God does too. Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised when life provides opportunities to practice forbearance, control our anger, slow down, or learn we are not the center of the universe. We, with God’s assistance, call forth those experiences because that is the only way to learn patience, peace, simplicity, and humility and integrate them into our life. Contemplating these qualities is not sufficient to make them part of us—we need to engage them physically and emotionally in concert with other people and the earth.

Therefore, the next time you face a trying situation, offer it the respect you would give to any teacher. It has appeared to assist you as you progress in life, our common vocational school for the fine arts of love and service.

Our Mission Continues

The other day in the prison I led a discussion about Sunday’s Gospel, which describes how Jesus sent some of his disciples out in pairs to prepare the way for him in area villages. I found an image with Jesus in the center and pairs of disciples facing outward in all directions and asked the men what they noticed about the picture. One inmate said, “The disciples look excited.” “Why do you think that is?” I said. “Because they have a mission,” he replied. “Here, we just sit around all day with nothing to do. But when you have a mission, you have purpose in your life—a reason to get up in the morning.”

     

     Sometimes our jobs give us a specific mission—to teach, to heal, to counsel. However, all Christians should have a sense of mission that flows from knowing Christ. As Joan Chittister says, “Contemplation…not only brings us face to face with God, it brings us, as well, face to face with the world, and then it brings us face to face with the self; and then, of course, something must be done. Something must be filled up, added to, freed from, begun again, ended at once, changed, or created or healed, because nothing stays the same once we have found the God within. . . . We become connected to everything, to everyone. From contemplation comes not only the consciousness of the universal connectedness of life, but the courage to model it as well.”

     That is the mission of all Christians—to recognize the connectedness of all life within the body of Christ and then to live out the consequences of that connectedness by welcoming, serving, and loving others. It is a mission that lasts a lifetime and can be practiced wherever we are and no matter who we are with. As Fr. Duane Roy often says at the end of mass, “The mass is ended; our mission continues.” May your missionary work today be blessed!

A Map of the Way

When I prepare to go on a trip, I always go to MapQuest to look at my route and print out directions so I know exactly how to get there. Therefore, I can relate to the question the apostle Thomas asks when Jesus says, “Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas doesn’t pretend to understand what Jesus is talking about but asks plainly, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus responds, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” 

In a manner of speaking, Jesus offered himself as a map to Thomas and to all of us. Where Jesus the Christ is, we will find truth and life with our God. And the way to be united with Christ is to do what Jesus did—in the words of the prophet Micah, “To act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Jesus assisted the downtrodden, offered forgiveness, and humbly sought to do what God asked of him. Our own acts of justice and forgiveness and the times we practice humility are our mile markers, our landmarks, in following the way of Jesus; they let us know we are on the right path.

Christ is very much our companion on life’s journey. As Jesus said, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our dwelling with them.” Rather than asking us to go to a particular place to find God, Christ dwells in us so wherever we go, God already is present. Thus we can explore the delights of the world in the company of our intinerant and yet ever-present God.

Saying Yes to New Life

One thing I learned from the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Sisters Mary Ethel Burley, Gertrude Nagel, and Cyprian Vondras is that God is forever making things new in our lives, even after 75 years of vowed religious life!

By renewing their monastic vows in the presence of the community, these sisters once again committed themselves to seeking God through stability, fidelity to the monastic way of life, and obedience. This openness to allowing God to continue to work in their lives well into their ninth decade is a breathtaking example of trust and humility.

No matter how many years we’ve been on the spiritual path, God always has more to reveal to us and continually offers us opportunities both to experience love and compassion and extend it to others. May we, like Sisters Mary Ethel, Gertrude, and Cyprian, have the courage to continue to say yes to the new life that God offers at each stage of life’s journey.