Author: WalburgaBenedictines

Padre Pio’s Example

September 23, 2022

“You ought to ask the Lord for just one thing: to love Him.”

PADRE PIO
“Joy, with peace, is the sister of charity. Serve the Lord with laughter.”

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

St. Padre Pio is a favorite of many; you cannot but love him.  His whole life was one of suffering, yet he was known to have a great sense of humor.  He also had a righteous temper!  Padre Pio knew what sin was, he knew exactly how it separated people from God, and he took offense at it.

The example of Padre Pio reminds me of what we read in the book of Haggai.  Haggai 1:7 says: “Consider your ways/Reflect on your experience.”  If we are serious about our lives, we will do just that.  Monastic tradition dictates that we reflect on our lives particularly twice a day: at noon and in the evening at Compline. 

“God’s spirit is a spirit of peace, and even when we have serious faults, he grants us a tranquil, humbled, confident pain which depends entirely on his mercy.”

PADRE PIO

We reflect on our day for the purpose of conversion.  It’s not to take into account everybody else’s faults; it’s to account for our own reactions.  I’m responsible for my reactions.  Yes, people can push my buttons: they can be nasty, they can do all kinds of things, but that doesn’t mean that I have to react badly.  The reason we are to consider our ways is so that we can change them.  Beware of going through life saying “it’s everybody else’s fault.”

We also play a part in how we are to our [brothers and] sisters.  Don’t push people’s buttons.  If you know something hurts them, be aware of it.  Go the extra mile to be kind in that area.  Be aware of the weaknesses of one another.  What we can do to help one another, we’re responsible for doing.

“Consider your ways” (Haggai 1:7).  People are saying “Oh no… no-no… it’s not the time for that.  It’s not the time to build the house within” (cf. Haggai 1:2).  That’s what the world says, but God says it is the time.  How are we supposed to do it?  Read again in Haggai, “Go up into the hill country; bring timber, that I may be pleased with it, and that I may be glorified, says the Lord” (Haggai 1:8).  Bring the Cross.  Carry It.  Follow Him.  

Remember Who Christ is in your life.  Keep Him before you daily.  Every moment.  Seek His Face every single moment. 

The Cross of Believing
I will give up my idols of silver and gold
So that my hands may be free to embrace the bronze
Serpent, mounted on the pole,
That is Christ the Lord,
Crucified for the unworthy.
And I will carry this cross wherever I go —
This burden, both sweet and light,
Of believing that this God-man has loved
And given himself up for me,
Satisfying the Divine Justice with his boundless Mercy.
Life can never be the same.

Anonymous Nun

Sister Maria-Rose’s First Profession

September 17, 2022

On September 14, 2022, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, our Sister Mary made her First Profession of Monastic Vows during the Eucharistic Celebration, receiving the name Sister Maria-Rose, and taking Our Lady of Guadalupe as her Patroness. It was a beautiful ceremony, and unique because our Sister Assunta also renewed her simple vows for the final time before making her Solemn Profession next year.

We adore you,
Lord Jesus Christ,
here, and in all your churches
throughout the whole world,
and we bless you,
for by your holy cross you
have redeemed the world.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Moses Being Sent

August 29, 2022

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

Mother Maria-Michael (then Sister Maria-Michael) may have been an unlikely candidate for managing our farm in Boulder since she was one of the smallest Sisters. But the Lord worked mighty deeds, and she was able to do everything she needed to do through His strength working in her.

We know the famous story about God telling Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let His people go.  He says, “Now, go!  I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10).  Don’t you think Moses choked at this command:  “Pharaoh?  I took off from there a few years ago… This isn’t what I had in mind!”  And isn’t it true that in our own lives, God also sends us to those places we don’t really want to go?  The things we’ve run from are the very things we slam into.  We think we’ve left them far behind when we’re in a new place…But there it all is again!  And you sit there saying, “Why?”

Moses says to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Ex 3:11), as in, “Can we talk about somebody else going?”  But God answered, “I will be with you” (Ex 3:12).  There’s the difference.  It’s that now you’re being sent.  You’re being commissioned and now, personally, I will be with you.  There is no fear when God is with us.  I think that’s one of the most important things to remember: don’t be afraid of what God has ordained.  Don’t fear the things of God… even when you have to run right back into the things you were fleeing from, or not really wanting to be around.  Those are the places where He says, “Oh!  Come right in!  I’m here waiting for you.”  It’s something to think about.  God doesn’t want us to fear.  He wants to show His power in weakness because then we’re sure it’s Him. 

It’s nothing for a muscle-man to pick up a car.  But if somebody who weighs 60 pounds and doesn’t look too well, walks over and picks up a car, you would say, “It can’t be him – it must be the Lord!”  So He makes it evident, very often, that it’s His work and not our own.   So never be surprised when you’re asked things beyond what you think you can do.  God says, “This will be great.  Even you will know it is I who am doing it.” 

 …but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Becoming Prayer

July 29, 2022

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

The Sisters bow in reverence during the Divine Office in the chapel. Ideally, we learn to take this reverence and apply it to honoring God in every person and every created thing.

“The clear implication is that, even in our busiest and most engrossing moments, we will never be altogether forgetful of God’s goodness. In fact, the reality of the divine presence will be a kind of constant distraction so that we will occasionally smile, without apparent cause, as people are accustomed to do when they are in love.”

Demetrius Dumm, OSB, Cherish Christ Above All

We know that St. Benedict says in the Rule that one of the signs of a vocation is if the person seeks God.  That’s such an important part of our lives—that we never stop seeking Him.  In the Psalms it says, “Look to the Lord in his Strength, constantly seek His face” (Psalm 105:4).  I think sometimes we have to remember that prayer isn’t just when we’re in the Chapel.  Prayer is being in the presence of God.  That’s something we learn to carry throughout our day.  We learn to be in His presence in the Chapel, and then we love it so much, we desire to become being in His presence.  At the end of our lives, we are to become prayer.  That is our goal: that prayer never leaves us.  As Benedictines, we don’t separate the Work of God (the prayer of the Divine Office) from the rest of our lives.  We take it and we live it continually, wherever we go, whatever we do.  We never stop being the prayer.  And I would say that is the challenge of our day.  To become prayer means that we never ever cease having God in our hearts, on our minds, and on our lips.  But that’s something you grow into.  It takes a lifetime.  I think that’s the beauty of life, that you grow into being fully who you were created to be.  Your life will be holy and beautiful if you allow God to be the center of it. 

In the same Psalm we hear, “Glory in His Holy Name! Rejoice, O hearts, that seek the Lord!” (Psalm 105:3).  There should be a spiritual joy about us.  In spite of whatever is going on, the only things that are really important are those things that are Eternal.  All the rest?  It will vanish, and it won’t mean anything.  But everything that we do that has Eternity attached to it, we need to pay attention to. 

One of the things we have to pay attention to is compassion.  You learn compassion from being with others.  That’s why being in community is so important; you learn to love even those who don’t love you.  But what a gift!  It teaches you truly to love.  Don’t count it amiss when you have trouble with others.  Don’t count it amiss when you have to work a little harder.  Count it a gift.  It will teach you to love with the love of God.  Be sorry for those who never have that chance.  It’s so important to be tried.  It is so important in the monastic life that we work hard to be better than we could ever be alone.  I’m finding that more and more, as I get older, you become more compassionate because you’ve had to struggle through many things.  You also have moments when you realize your mistakes and say, “Oh, I wish I hadn’t done that!”  These experiences teach us to have compassion on others who are in the same situation we were in.  In these cases, how could you not care?

Another Suscipe

July 15, 2022

On July 11, the Solemnity of Saint Benedict, our Sister Maria-Placida renewed her vows for another year. Join us in praying for her as she journeys toward Solemn Profession!

During the vow renewal ceremony, the “Suscpie” is sung by the sister before the altar. The full text of the chant is “Suscipe me, Domine, secundum eloquium tuum, et vivam et non confundas me ab expectatione mea,” which translates, “Uphold me O Lord, as you have promised, that I may live; and disappoint me not in my hope.” Below is a beautiful word about the “Suscpie” from Esther de Waal, a contemporary author on Benedictine spirituality:

The sun shining into the Chapel as Sister Maria-Placida sings her “Suscipe”

We stand daily before God with empty hands, just like the publican. “Suscpie me, accept me O Lord as you have promised and I shall live; do not disappoint me in my hope.” [These words] mean more now that I have learnt that the Latin word comes from the verb sub-capere, to take underneath and so with the idea of supporting, raising, and that in Roman usage it was the word for a father taking up a new-born infant from the ground and thus recognizing it as his own…Accept me, receive me, support me, raise me up – wonderful singing words that say everything that I want to say as a prayer for myself.

Esther de Waal, Living With Contradiction

Walk with Him

June 30, 2022

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

It seems to me that God loves to meet people on a walk.  Starting in Genesis we hear that God walked with Adam and Eve through the gardens.  And we have Jesus meeting the disciples on the road to Emmaus.  And we have Saul on the way to Damascus.  And how many other encounters there have been, we don’t know, but I’m sure there are many.  And I think they still happen today.  Enjoy your walks!  You never know if He is going to be upon you, quickly, and with a great deal of love.  But remember He also walked His Passion.  The Way of the Cross.  And He met each one: His Mother, Veronica, Simeon… Think of all those He encountered on the Way, specifically. 

We have to be able to allow God’s presence, and not pass Him by.  On the road to Emmaus, the disciples had the chance to let Jesus go, and they didn’t.  “Stay with us,” they said.  I think the excitement of every day comes from wondering, “Where am I going to meet Him?” “How am I going to meet Him?”

Jesus wants our lives to be mixed with His.  It’s like in a marriage, how over time a couple even grows to look alike, because they transform each other.  That should be true of all of us.  By the end of our lives we should be transformed.  By doing things so much like Christ we should begin to look like Him.  I wish that for everyone, and for you to have a lovely walk, encountering Him all along your way every day.

Signs of Summer

June 15, 2022

The below “photo story” highlights some of the things that make this season special at our monastery:

The sound of singing birds filling our chapel through the open windows is a sure sign that summer has arrived. This year a Red-winged Blackbird nest was found woven through the grass along the bank of one of the irrigation ditches.

Mowing, weeding, and gardening are very time-intensive during the summer months, but even more so this year since we are in the process of moving the location of the main vegetable garden to be closer to our cloister area.

Wooden crucifix in the Sisters’ Refectory
The Blessed Sacrament as seen from one of the upper loft oratories in our chapel

One of the best things about summer is the liturgical Solemnities that are celebrated, including Pentecost, the Most Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, Saint Benedict, and the Assumption of Mary. In honor of Corpus Christi, here is a beautiful word about the institution of the Eucharist:

Our Lord raised His hands over the apostles, His lips moved in prayer, and He then said: “Do this in commemoration of me”…

By this act Our Lord made possible for all time His stay on earth amongst men, whom He loved to such an excess. And yet He knew with His Divine foresight what that meant for Him. Though He saw that His Body and Blood would be treated with reverence by a multitude of devout souls, yet He realised full well that in many and many an instance in the course of ages He would be placing Himself at the mercy of unworthy and sinful priests who would treat Him with irreverence and sacrilege. He saw in vision all the profanations, outrages and, what was more painful still to His loving heart, the cold indifference that He was to endure…

Love, especially Divine Love, does not halt to calculate and weigh advantage and disadvantage in the balance.

Excerpts from “The Last Supper” by Edward Leen, C.S.Sp.

Loving Like Mary Magdalene

May 18, 2022

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

The story of Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb is so delightful.  She is so intent on finding Jesus.  How long does it take her to notice the angels there?  But they address her with such honor, “Woman, why are you weeping?” (John 20:13).  Heaven is concerned when we are weeping.  They don’t pass it by.  They want to know why we are weeping.  They want to be a part of it.  They want to give us direction.  I wonder how many times we’ve encountered angels and didn’t know it.  It’s a beautiful thing when God breaks through our world and tries to show us the way.  And it’s always to Jesus that we are being pointed. 

Mary Magdalene’s great love for Jesus is so powerful.  She tells the guard that she’ll take His body away; do you know how much a corpse weighs?  Her love would have carried Him.  It is for us to love Him just as much.  It’s for us to care enough to keep searching for Him no matter what.  No matter what our emotions are, or whether we’re having a good day or a bad day, it is for us to continue seeking Him, and listening to what He has to say.

Jesus will call our name.  Be ready to answer.  What are you going to say?  “Teacher”?  “My Love”?  What are you going to answer when He calls your name?  And we also hear Jesus asking Mary Magdalene, “Whom are you looking for?” (John 20:15).  He’s going to be asking us that too.  What is your answer?

At the top of our Stations of the Cross

So I tell you,
her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.

Luke 7:47

Paschal Candles + Exsultet Audio

April 20, 2022

Thanks to the hard work of the Sisters in our paschal candle department, parishes across the state are now burning our hand-painted candles in their churches. Sister Fidelis’ beautiful scene of the tomb on Easter morning was replicated by each artist on candles large and small, depending on what each parish ordered. Paschal candles are used during the Easter Vigil Mass to carry the flame from the Easter fire into the church, and from which every other candle in the church is lit, as a symbol of Christ the true Light enlightening the world and dispelling the darkness of evil.

A very blessed Easter season to all—He is Risen!

Abbess Mother Maria-Michael sings the Exsultet at the Easter Vigil Mass. The final part of this age-old prayer is about the Easter candle, featured in the audio clip above.

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
Upon those who lived in a land of gloom
a light has shone.

Isaiah 9:1

Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him. This was the scripture passage he was reading:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,

and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

In (his) humiliation justice was denied him.

Who will tell of his posterity?

For his life is taken from the earth.”

Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply, “I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself, or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him.

Acts 8:30-35