Mother’s Reflections – Page 3 – Abbey of St. Walburga

My Lord and My God

July 20, 2023

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

This year our community has adopted the practice of all-day exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Mondays, with the particular intention of praying for our Holy Father and for priests. Spending extra time in adoration is like giving the widow’s mite, because as everyone knows, time is one of the most precious things to us. So when we give the little that we have, it is no small thing.

It’s so difficult today to be a priest, and equally so to be a religious. It’s just not so valued, and it’s even fought against. And so we need to pray, because we are the heartbeat of the Church with our prayer. A strong heart brings gives to all the members; without that, major organs die. That is how important our prayer is. So when you go to adore Christ in the Eucharist, it makes no difference if you feel glorious about it or if you feel just the opposite; the important part is just being there. Whatever prayer Christ puts in your heart – if you say the rosary, if you just sit there and be with Him, if you read the Scriptures – whatever it be, do it wholly. Even if you sit there and just repeat the words of St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God,” that would be enough. But let your heart say it. And the priests, our pope, in their hearts will hear that heartbeat. May we help it to beat strong.

About the photos: In honor of the National Eucharistic Revival (running from Corpus Christi 2022 to Pentecost 2025), we recently changed the décor of our chapel, hanging behind the tabernacle the tapestry of the Last Supper. This tapestry, hand woven by a nun at our motherhouse in Germany, was originally in our chapel at Boulder, but when we moved to Virginia Dale it would not fit in the space along with our large clay crucifix. But by replacing that large crucifix with the smaller one we had been using in our refectory, we were able to have the Last Supper tapestry return to the chapel sanctuary.

In the process of hanging the tapestry and crucifix

St. John the Baptist’s Humility

June 23, 2023

A reflection for the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

“The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”
St. John the Baptist speaking of Jesus in John 3:29-30

Nuns of the Abbey of St. Walburga fishing at a nearby reservoir, reminiscent of John’s mission field: baptizing in the Jordan River

John the Baptist must have been a very humble man. Everyone surely knew the story surrounding his birth – how his father Zechariah became mute when he was serving in the temple because he did not believe the angel who told him about the destiny of his unborn son (cf. Luke 1:5-25), but regained his speech when John was born. Scripture says that, “then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to hear saying, ‘What, then, will this child be?’ For surely the hand of the Lord was with him” (Luke 1:65-66). But did John let this fame get to him? No. Instead, we know that he wore camel’s hair and survived on locusts and wild honey when he grew up! (cf. Mark 1:6). He stayed humble all his life, and pointed to Jesus when He came to the Jordan River to be baptized, telling his followers, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world…the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel” (John 1: 29,31). And at the end of his life, when he was imprisoned for telling King Herod that it was wrong to marry his brother’s wife (cf. Mark 6:17-20), John had the humility to ask Christ for confirmation of His identity. “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Matt. 11:3). He wasn’t afraid to humble himself to find the right path. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he wasn’t certain of the truth, and he had the courage to ask Jesus for help.

Humility is the work of a lifetime, and like John, we do not know the day nor the hour of our death. But if one strives to live humbly, he too will come to that “perfect love of God which casts out fear. And all those precepts which formerly he had not observed without fear, he will now begin to keep by reason of that love, without any effort, as though naturally and by habit. No longer will his motive be the fear of hell, but rather the love of Christ, good habit and delight in the virtues which the Lord will deign to show forth by the Holy Spirit in His servant now cleansed from vice and sin” (Holy Rule of St. Benedict, Ch. 7 on Humility).

On the Eucharist

June 10, 2023

A reflection for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

Around the year 90 AD, the Didache recounts how important the Eucharistic celebration was for the early Christians:

“On the Lord’s Day of the Lord gather together, break bread and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure. Let no one who has a quarrel with his neighbor join you until he is reconciled by the Lord: ‘In every place and time let there be offered to me a clean sacrifice.”

Also, around 110 AD, St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote beautifully of the Eucharist:

“I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the Bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire His Blood, which is love incorruptible.”
(Letter to the Romans 7:3)

“Take care, then, to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you do, you do according to God: For there is one flesh of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup in the union of His Blood; one altar, as there is one bishop with the presbytery…”
(Letter to the Philadelphians 4:1)

“They [i.e. the Gnostics] abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in his goodness, raised up again.”
(Letter to Smyrnians 7:1)

And of course we have St. Justin Martyr’s (c. 100-165 AD) account of the Eucharistic celebration:

“For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nourished, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus.”
(First Apology, 66)

Origen (185-254 AD) writes of the care and concern for every particle of the Eucharist, that it would not fall on the ground:

“You are accustomed to take part in the divine mysteries, so you know how, when you have received the body of the Lord, you reverently exercise every care lest a particle of it fall, and lest anything of the consecrated gift perish….how is it that you think neglecting the word of God a lesser crime than neglecting his body?”
(Homilies on Exodus 13:3)

Oh that we had that much care and concern as the Church fathers and early Christians did for the Eucharist. But it begins with seeds. If a field has been heavily trampled upon, farmers have to re-seed it. It strengthens the old seed and makes it come up reinvigorated. We should be that seed. If we show reverence, adore the Eucharist, forgive everyone before we receive Him, have faith and belief, and most especially love, we plant the seeds to reinvigorate the Church. We should not be afraid to be vulnerable – even though it is the thing we most often want to run away from, it is often how God uses us most powerfully. If we learn to embrace this, we are like the seed that dies and is broken open, so that it may flourish. Become a seed. Become a saint. That is what God is looking for to reinvigorate His Church, that it may flourish.

Last year’s Corpus Christi procession at the Abbey of St. Walburga

On Christ’s Ascension

May 24, 2023

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

In John 15 and 16, Jesus tells his apostles that He is about to return to His Father – I can imagine there was a great heaviness in His voice due to His imminent passion and death, but then it seems that a light breaks through the darkness when He speaks of the coming of the Paraclete. He tells his apostles to actually get excited, because He is about to send them the Holy Spirit. And we should be excited, too. We should feel the excitement of this time leading up to Pentecost. Jesus has died for you. Jesus has risen for you. Heaven has been opened for you. And Jesus continues to pour out His Holy Spirit on you. What a glory. What a joy!

Some lovely “Ascension clouds” over the Abbey of St. Walburga

Luke tells us of Jesus’ Ascension in his Gospel: “Then he led them [out] as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God” (Luke 24:50-53). Let us do the same as the apostles – let us go to church, full of excitement for what’s coming, a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Let us imitate the zeal of the apostles in the early Church, who lived as though Jesus would return any minute.

We also hear a description of the Ascension in the Acts of the Apostles: “When they had gathered together they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He answered them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven’” (Acts 1:6-11). So, I encourage you, every once in a while, remember to look up at the sky. Is He there? One day, He really will come, whether it is in our lifetime or not. The fact that it’s going to happen is glorious – And we will be taken up to meet Him in the clouds (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:17). Think about this! We should be excited to hear about these things and ponder them, and respond by living full of expectation for His coming. I hope we can all live with the spark of joy that this news brings, because the world needs the joy of God.

“The departing Jesus does not make his way to some distant star. He enters into communion of power and life with the living God, into God’s dominion over space… Because Jesus is with the Father, he has not gone away but remains close to us. Now he is no longer in one particular place in the world as he had been before the ‘Ascension’: now, through his power over space, he is present and accessible to all—throughout history and in every place… ‘We have come to know a threefold coming of the Lord. The third coming takes place between the other two…his first coming was in the flesh and in weakness, this intermediary coming is in the spirit and in power, the last coming will be in glory and majesty’ (In Adventu Domini [by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux]).”
Pope Benedict XVI, “Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week”

Monastic Poverty Regarding Food

May 10, 2023

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

The idol of body image is very common in the world today. If people cared half as much about what their souls looked like as what their bodies looked like, we would be one holy people! But the monastic diet is different—we receive whatever we are given, and with gratitude. It is one of the ways in which we express monastic poverty. Monastic poverty regarding food is to accept what you are given with thanksgiving (except if you have a serious allergy!). According to St. Benedict, there should be balance and moderation in all things, and that means there is a time for fasting, and a time for feasting. Haven’t you heard that the acronym BMW stands for “Benedictine Moderation Works”? For we know from St. Gregory’s writings that the Lord sent a priest to St. Benedict on Easter Sunday with prepared delicacies, in order that His servant (St. Benedict) got a share in the feast day meal. So it isn’t that God doesn’t want us to have feast days, but rather that He doesn’t want our bellies to be our gods. Let us be aware of this temptation, so that we can fight the idolatry of body image in our world. It is a great witness today that we are just grateful for everything we get, and in this way we not only feed our bodies, but our souls as well.

A feast day specialty — a berry tart in honor of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart

Easter Peace

April 29, 2023

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

I love how the first thing out of Jesus’ mouth to His Apostles after His resurrection is, “Peace be with you” (John 20:18). When I think of what “peace” means, I think it’s not so much about what’s going on outside as what’s going on inside. It’s the ultimate trust in God – believing that He is in control, and that no matter what happens, He has allowed it, and is taking care of it completely. I think that’s what gives God the greatest glory – when we truly trust Him to take care. Maybe it won’t be taken care of according to my timeline, but it’s His timeline that matters, not mine! I have to have confidence that it’s in His hands. I don’t have to worry about it. Sometimes we like to take back the things we’ve handed over to Him, saying, “Thanks for holding onto it, but now I’ll take care of it again!” But to place things in His hands and then really leave it there…That is truly a wonderful gift we can offer to God.

Easter is a time to give thanks, and praise Him for His power, and believe so confidently in that power. And then nothing can take your peace away. Nothing. The only thing that can take it away is if you give it away, in the sense that you allow somebody to take it, because you give somebody or something more power than your confidence in God. The peace of Christ in unshakeable, and I wish that Easter peace to everybody today.

May your peace be as unshakeable as this plant bursting through the asphalt this Easter

On Red/White Martyrdom

March 17, 2023

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

Watercolor of the stream running through the Abbey property

I was reading a little bit about the history of relics, and discovered that in the first centuries after Christ’s life, they would build altars over the places where martyrs were killed for the Christian faith. It is from that practice that we get the tradition of placing relics in the altars of Catholic churches when they are being constructed. It is good to remember those who have gone before us and laid down their lives for Christ; those martyrdoms are what our Church is built on. And it is good to remember that there are many unknown martyrs, who Christ knows so well.

I think especially of the white martyrs – the monastics. We are called to be martyrs, and give ourselves up for the love of Christ. We embody in a particular way the Gospel passage where Jesus’ relatives think He is “out of his mind” (cf. Mark 3:21). Isn’t that what some people think about martyrs? “Why are you dying for that?!” Similarly, many people wonder about people who choose to live the monastic life: “Why are you doing that?!” There is the red martyrdom, where blood is shed, and only God can give the grace for someone to have the courage for that. Only God can give the grace for someone to embrace white martyrdom, too. To live so closely to each other in community, serving each other even when there are difficulties and personality clashes, denying our self-will, following a schedule every day – these are all little martyrdoms that our world does not understand. The world may think we are a little crazy, but thank the Lord! Our ways are meant to be different than the world’s.

Really, every person is called to a type of martyrdom. Marriage is a type of martyrdom. Any vocation can be a martyrdom if lived well, because every vocation is meant to bring us to holiness, to bring us closer to Christ, to bring us to imitate Him Who gave up His life for the love of others. Being faithful to whatever God calls us to is the important thing, and that is one thing that is very mysterious to our culture: fidelity. Thank the Lord if people call you a little crazy, because they called Jesus a little crazy, too.

Their action resembles the snow which, covering the heights, is melted by the warm rays of the sun, and descends in life-giving streams to fertilise the valleys and plains.
Dom Columba Marmion, OSB, Sponsa Verbi

Stepping Out

February 28, 2023

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

We all know the story of Christ calling St. Peter out to walk on water. When the apostles saw Jesus walking on the sea toward them, Peter said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water” (Matt. 14:28). Christ tells him to “come,” so he steps out of the boat onto the water, but then he begins to sink and cries out. This episode shows how evil tries to make us doubt. That is one of the tools that evil tries to use against us – to doubt our faith, to doubt God’s love for us – and that is not from God.

When Jesus stretches out his hand to catch Peter from downing and says, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:31), I don’t think He was rebuking Peter in a harsh way, or criticizing Peter for messing up again. I think Jesus was simply saying, “What made you think I wasn’t calling you forth? Don’t depend on yourself, but keep your eyes on Me, and follow through with confidence. You can trust Me.”

There is a point when we should actually doubt ourselves, and that is if we haven’t prayed. But if we have prayed first, and we feel confident about receiving direction from the Lord, then we should continue with confidence, and not let anything make us turn to the left or to the right. It is for us to put our trust in God, and not fear, and never take our eyes off Him. And if ever we begin to doubt, we should immediately call upon Him, like St. Peter did, and He will take care.

Our Sister Maria of Jesus, OSB, stepping out in faith and love, professed her solemn monastic vows on February 10! Adding to the already glorious occasion of the Solemnity of Saint Scholastica, Sister Maria’s profession day was a truly blessed and joyous one, and we were happy that so many of her loved ones were able to join us for the celebration. Click here to read an article from the Denver Catholic about Sister Maria’s Solemn Profession.

Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila calls Sister Maria forth to begin the rite of monastic profession
Sister Maria processes to the front of the church carrying her profession candle
During the Archbishop’s homily
Professing her monastic vows in the hands of Mother Maria-Michael
Singing her “Suscipe”
The Archbishop prays the prayer of monastic consecration over Sister Maria
Clothed with her new veil and cuculla (choir robe)
The Archbishop places her ring on her finger
Singing the “Ipsi Sum”
Presenting her candle to the Archbishop
The perfect picture to describe the motto Sister Maria took: “Looking to Jesus, Who emptied Himself”
The Archbishop’s closing remarks
Mother Maria-Michael and Sister Maria processing out of the chapel at the close of the celebration

All photos courtesy of André Escaleira, Jr. / Denver Catholic

A 2023 Resolution: Kindness

January 21, 2023

A reflection for the New Year by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

In 1 Corinthians 2:10, St. Paul says, “Brothers and sisters: The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.” You know what he doesn’t say? He doesn’t say that the Spirit criticizes; he doesn’t say that the Spirit murmurs. He just says that the Spirit scrutinizes.

What’s the difference? To scrutinize means to examine or inspect closely. You really, really look hard at it. To criticize actually means to indicate the faults of someone or something in a disapproving way. That’s criticizing, and a murmur is a soft, indistinct sound by a person or a group speaking quietly at a distance.

When there’s something in you that starts criticizing everything about yourself, I think you need to turn it off and not listen to it. There’s a time when we can critique ourselves, which means to look and be able to see a balance of good and bad. But criticizing yourself – to speak so negatively – I don’t think that’s what God wants for us.

We need to pay attention to these things because usually what you do to yourself, you will do to others. When you’re really hard on yourself, guess what? You won’t notice when you’re hard on someone else. And you don’t even mean it, but it’s just your way of thinking that’s come out.

Then, in 1 Corinthians 4:5 St. Paul says, “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness, and will manifest the motives of our hearts.” But the more wonderful thing is that he goes on to add, “And then everyone will receive praise from God.” He’s actually anticipating praise! What a way to live! Do you live like that? When we have that way of living, anticipating good, it changes how we hear and see things. Instead of seeing black, we see that the dawn is coming; instead of seeing just the negative, we give the positive the first place.

In your desire to achieve great holiness, it’s in making those little changes. It’s the little things that make a lifetime. Think of that today: the little voice with which you speak to yourself. How is it? Know, however you’re speaking to yourself, everyone else will become aware of it. So don’t judge yourself or others too harshly. You too must know that you have a good intent. You too must know that, deep within you, you really mean well, and so does your neighbor.

Be kind to yourself, and you’ll be kind to others.

Photos from our chapel this Christmas season

…Give his people knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the loving kindness of our God

by which the daybreak from on high will visit us

to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.
Luke 1:77-79

Advent: He Is Coming!

December 17, 2022

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

One of the first readings the Church gives us during Advent is from the book of Revelation: “‘These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits, sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.’ ‘Behold, I am coming soon.’” (Rev. 22:6-7). And that’s Advent. He is coming soon. Either we will see Him when He comes in the clouds, or we will see Him when we die and He comes to us, but one way or another we will see Him! Am I ready? Am I ready to see Him? I think that we should have great joy when we think about this, not because we are confident in ourselves, but because we are confident in Him. We should put great confidence in Him alone.

Then we will have a great sense of joy about His coming, and we will strive to live for Christ purposefully at every moment, so that when He comes we are ready. Part of that means being present to our prayer very purposefully, being present to each other very purposefully, giving a good example very purposefully. Take the time to notice one another. Don’t be too busy to notice those who are closest to you – those you whom you may take for granted. Take the time to encourage one another. Now is the time. Now is the real time of joyful conversion. Don’t wait, even an hour. Begin. Let each moment be a new beginning. And then how bright would this world be – how bright!

I also want to point out that in one of the special collects (prayers) that the Church has during Advent, we implore the Lord that “when He comes and knocks, He may find us watchful in prayer and exultant in His praise.” He comes and knocks in a special way during this season, and it is for us to ask ourselves, “How does God knock on my soul? Is my soul attentive? What are the deepest desires of my soul?” The season of Advent is the season of silence, so that you can be aware of what is going on in your soul, not only the negative things, but also the joyful things. What do you do throughout the day that makes Christ say, “I’m so happy I knocked on your door!”? The silence of Advent is a joyful silence, kept so that we can hear His footsteps when He comes, so that we can hear His voice. It’s a happy waiting, like a child at Christmas waiting for Santa Claus to make noise on the roof. It’s that sense of waiting in expectation, of asking: “When is it going to happen?” You don’t want to miss it. That’s the joyful silence of this season.

And if anyone feels like a lost sheep this Advent, just remember the importance of crying out to the Good Shepherd to be found. Why would someone not cry out? Shame? Pride? Self-reliance? But the Lord hears the cry of the poor, and He wants to find you and be found by you this Advent. So remember to cry out to Him, and let yourself be found.