It’s July, full heat bearing down. I am dizzied by the lightness of being, buzzing and blossoming in the prairie. If you haven’t read it already do enjoy Greg Armstrong’s marvelously descriptive ode to the flora on the monastery grounds this time of year (Nature Notes Summer 2013). It seems a day does not pass that I am not exclaiming to whoever is in earshot, Wow – unbelievable! How can such lush beauty be so conspicuous where just three short months ago dead stalks covered acres of barren field? My way to Morning Prayer through the prairie now is quite …
Welcome Home
Now that I have been here for almost three months, the question most often posed to me has changed from, What is your day like? (see All in Time, Part II) to, How are you doing (i.e., now that the initial flush of newness is fading)? I hear myself say, “I am still finding my way, but I feel very much at home.” At home… I recently watched The Hobbit on DVD. In J. R .R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic, hobbit Bilbo Baggins leaves his beloved shire, gently nudged by his friend the wizard Gandalf, and finds himself on an “unexpected journey” …
All in Time – Part II
What is your day like? This is the primary question I get from folks as they learn that I am a “Benedictine Sojourner.” So, here’s a snapshot. The big picture is that every day is framed by prayer in community: morning prayer, midday prayer and evening prayer. These periods, the Liturgy of the Hours, include sung and recited psalms, hymns, readings from Scripture and other writings, intercessory prayer and silence. Joined to these in the morning and evening is Centering Prayer, wordless prayer in the presence of God. Even before our gathered prayer in the morning, I spend time in …
All in Time – Part I
I am walking into the sun. I am struck with this thought as I am temporarily blinded on my way to the monastery this morning. I am by no means experiencing a dramatic post-resurrection vision like Paul on the road to Damascus; it is just that the sun has been such a rare sighting since my arrival at Holy Wisdom Monastery in early April. It is now May. Spring is finally here, I think. And after a little over a month I am cheerfully settling into my Sojourner Year (though still arriving over the long term – see my introductory …
A New Thing
Hello from Trish Stefanik, the newest Benedictine Sojourner. I have arrived. At the monastery, that is; I have a long way to go to acclimate to a new part of the country, get to know a whole new community of people and enter into a new way of life. Not to mention, learn what light switch turns on what light, where the dishes and utensils are kept in the kitchen, and how to get around the oratory, offices, buildings, the prairie and a new town. Whew. Yes, arriving will take time. I am very grateful that the sisters and the …
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