There’s a well-worn trail through the prairie that leads from the house to the monastery. It’s a path I take each morning as I make my way to join the community for prayer. Each day I witness the progress of autumn as familiar trees along the trail change color, and birds overhead take to flying in formation in the early light. Lately on my walks, I’ve begun to notice seeds. It’s autumn, and everything, everywhere is yielding seed. I don’t know how I missed it before. Years of living in the concrete jungles of New York City have numbed me …
First Impressions: A Time of Harvest
“This is the biggest crop I’ve seen at Holy Wisdom,” Sister Lynne Smith said, referring to the unusually huge bounty of apples from the orchards this year. But she could easily have been talking about this year’s bumper crop of Benedictine Sojourners—six strong, so far. Fall is the season of harvest. But being from New York City, I can forget that food doesn’t grow in the produce aisle of the grocery store! Detached from the slow work of the seasons, I have been surprised by the flurry of activity that must take place as fruit and vegetables ripen in the …