Monastery Wildflowers

Triduum!

2010-04-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing choir of angels! Exult all creation around God's throne! Jesus Christ, our king, is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your King! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes forever!

(from the Exultet)

Lenten Retreat!

2010-03-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Fr. Jim Kramper offered the "Lenten Retreat for the Young at Heart" at the Monastery yesterday. What a delightful day! As it was the Feast of the Annunciation, the theme was "Giving Our YES to God's Call." His stories are hysterical, the food was marvelous, and the atmosphere was prayerful.

What was most remarkable was that so many folks wanted to go to reconciliation, we had to get another priest...but still the lines were long. When another priest just happened to drop by, we enlisted his help as well! God provides! Thank Frs. Kramper, Connealy and Sheinost for "giving their YES to God's call!"

Speaking of Quilting

2010-03-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

This is gorgeous. Take a look at Sr. Gabrielle's new creation!

When Life Gives You Scraps.....

2010-03-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

When life gives you scraps, make quilts!

Immaculata Monastery & Spirituality Center was invaded by quilters this past weekend! Admittedly, Sr. Gabrielle Marie, OSB and I share this passion. Take a look at how busy they are on our fourth floor, sewing away.

There are deep spiritual secrets in quilting. No kidding! Have you ever reflected on using leftovers to make something new? Worthless scraps CAN be transformed into a thing of beauty. Any mother can make a Halloween costume out of nothing! Think of making a homemade soup with what you have in the refrigerator or a "mystery casserole" that can feed a hungry family. What looks useless can be transformed.

After all, what good are a few leftover loaves and fishes?

Didn't we just hear, "Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see I am doing something new." (Isaiah 43:18-19)

Consider, also, the self gift of the artist, making a unique and individualized treasure for someone else. A quilt is both a keepsake and legacy that we pass down to future generations; but it's even better than Grandma's china because it has the added advantage of keeping someone warm. Regardless how tattered it is and how many imperfections in the sewing, it is useful.

In our home, the most worn quilt is the most loved, like an elder who has long been faithful to God. It doesn't really matter what it looks like. It still provides comfort and was made with love.

So sew away.....our lives are like quilts with lots of pieces of light and dark colors coming together. We are unique, created anew in Christ, hopefully leaving a legacy of warmth in the world!

Could it be Eastertide?

2010-03-15T13:07:00.001-07:00

We can hardly believe it. Robins? Slushy Streets? More daylight? Temps in the 40's? "Pretty in Pink" Laetare Sunday shouts "rejoice" to sleepy penitents, jarring us from hibernation. The color disturbs our gray days. Something miraculous is at hand. At Immaculata Monastery, "we wait with joyful hope." Grass appears, and the fearless daffodils poke up their heads. Yesterday's readings tell us, "Whoever is in Christ is a new creation."

Yes. Bring it on!

Looking Back and Looking Forward

2010-03-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

It was a very difficult and bleak winter in rural Nebraska. The snowfall and temperatures have been record-breaking. It is the stuff of rural folklore: drifts like mountains, winter winds like tornadoes.

As the sunlight increases and spring approaches, we have an opportunity to look back on the events of the stressful winter season. I am mindful that all good things incubate in darkness.

Although there were hardships, we are hardy and growth happens.

Here's the recap:

Sr. Pia Portmann, OSB was elected and installed as the new prioress. Former prioress, Sr. Kevin Hermsen, OSB is now on a well deserved sabbatical. I was interviewed on Catholic Radio KVSS about programs offered to the rural area by the Spirituality Center, and Sr. Carole Ann did a wonderful presentation on contemplative prayer to the women of the First Congregational Church in Sioux City. All of our bibles studies have been very well attended.

Archbishop George J. Lucas was all set to attend the Anti-Pornography Conference here that was organized by the Archdiocese of Omaha; but that conference was cancelled at the last minute due to hazardous weather. Our first book club was a rousing success, and Novice Gina is now interested in Canon Law after the workshop on that topic offered by Fr. Michael Gutgsell, pastor of St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha. We anxious await the 7th annual Lenten retreat for elders that will be held here on March 25th by the beloved Fr. Jim Kramper of Ewing, Clearwater & Rural St. Johns. So, all in all, the Monastery is busy and the Spirituality Center is growing....despite the difficulties of a long winter.

As Dag Hammarskjold says, "For all that has been, thanks! For all that will be, yes!"

Spiritual Book Club

2010-03-02T06:38:00.000-08:00

Our book club has concluded. We started reading "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver in January. Although we were sometimes postponed by the weather or my trip home to Wisconsin to visit my parents, the gathering was a "graceful" event for all. There's no greater sharing than busy women reflecting honestly on their desire to spend time with the Lord.

Midway through the book club, we decided to change our meeting time so that we could gather with the sisters for Midday Office. It offered a nice conclusion to our discussions.

Also, at our last meeting, we read a one act play called "Sisters" by Graziano Marcheshi from his book "Wheat and Weeds and the Wolf of Gubbio." It was an insightful reflection on the relationship between Mary and Martha. We will start another book club this summer or fall. What should we read? Any suggestions?

Food for Haiti

2010-01-24T16:35:00.000-08:00

A dozen Missionary Benedictine Sisters, including the two novices, were packaging food for Haiti on Saturday in Norfolk. They packed over 90 boxes with 216 meals in each box. That's 19,440 meals. Incredible.

It's one thing to donate money, but yet another to spend hours in an assembly line packaging food for earthquake victims. I have a friend who is writing a book on the "Sanctity of Food." Food does have a holy quality for us in the Heartland. We spend our lives producing food for others. The activity of the sisters is no different.

These meals en route to Haiti are holy indeed, lovingly prepared and packaged with prayer.

Out of Africa

2010-01-22T12:09:00.000-08:00

Yes. That's the map of Uganda.

Today, myself, my sister Meg, her two youngest children Maeve and Jack, and Fr. Michael Mukasa met for lunch at Burger King. Yep. Burger King. Not for the kids, but for Fr. Michael. He loves it.

Fr. Michael teaches theology at the seminary in Kampala, Uganda and "vacations" in Omaha (as odd as that might seem). He's been coming to Nebraska for years now and earned his doctorate here in town. He's the favorite visiting priest at both St. Margaret Mary's Parish (Meg's parish) and mine (St. Wenceslaus). He is simply adored.

And, he loves Burger King. I was happy to get him a chicken sandwich, thinking of all the times and all the clergy I've entertained over the years. This was a far cry from the regular "wine and dine." I was respectful of his simple tastes.

The most interesting part of this "lunch and learn" was listening to his stories of Africa. We discussed the "vocations crisis" here in the United States and listened to him tell of the 150 seminarians at the bulging archdiocesan seminary in Kampala. I bought up the familiar issue of the search for stability as the reason for the surge in vocations. He believes that young men are not seeking stability (the old "three hots and a cot" draw) but are truly prompted by the Holy Spirit.

We cannot dismiss the vocations boom in Africa as being shallow. Would we ever have said that the full seminaries of the 1940's and 1950's in this country were crowded simply because young people were seeking a stable life and the call was not really genuine? Did God not call them too, when life was harder, families were poorer and opportunites fewer? Of course He did! Seemingly, our noisy modern culture makes the call harder to hear. It was noisy in Burger King, but I heard Fr. Michael's admonition loud and clear.

Here's his website: http://www.frmichaelschildren.com/

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

Throughout all of northeastern Nebraska, the driving is horrible but the views are spectacular. Ice covers the trees transforming the monastery grounds into a fairyland. "Ice and snow, Bless the Lord!"

Spiritual Book Club

2010-01-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

The spiritual book club is off to a grand start. We are reading "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver. One group meets at 10am on Wednesdays and the evening group at 7pm. This book title certainly resonates with many frantic "Marthas" who have responsibilities in the home, extended family, farm, workplace, parish and community. Why do we think we can (or should) do it all? This crazed productivity is beyond the "noblesse oblige" of "to whom much has been given, much is expected." It bespeaks, I think, of a nervous insecurity. We feel we have to be all things to all people or the world will collapse....or ,just maybe, someone will think less of us.

At the book club, within a supportive circle of women, we are laying down our burdens. Learning to sit at the feet of the Lord, we laugh at ourselves and take a deep breath. Hopefully we won't pick up all these burdens again when the book club is over. We will be more selective, freeing ourselves for more prayer time and relaxation. It's time to enjoy the beauty of life!

Why Wildflowers?

2010-01-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

Wildflowers, those random beauties, appear where we least expect them. They are God's gifts, occurring without human intervention. Out of nowhere, they surprise us. One day the meadows are blue. The next week, dazzling yellow. How did that happen?

Immaculata Monastery & Spirituality Center is loaded with such miracles. There is magic in the place. Regardless of how much we organize and plan our offerings, beautiful moments occur beyond our designs. Things just happen. God moments. Like stumbling upon a patch of wildflowers....and seeing a beauty that you didn't expect. Take a look at our redbud tree. Surprise!

Welcome!

2010-01-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Monastery Wildflowers, the blog of Immaculata Monastery & Spirituality Center in Norfolk, Nebraska. We are located deep in the heart of rural Nebraska in the town of Norfolk, about one hundred miles northwest of Omaha. This blog will describe the happenings at our Spirituality Center and other musings and prayers. Prepare yourself for some warm Benedictine hospitality. Take a rest from your journey! Welcome!