Mercy – Abbey of St. Walburga

Advent: Putting Your House in Order

December 6, 2024

A reflection by our Abbess, Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

I love reading the great prophets during Advent. In Isaiah, we hear the story of Hezekiah and how his time to die has come, so he turns and faces the wall and prays. It reminds me of children when they are in trouble, how they go stand in the corner, and I’m sure in one way their hearts are praying, too, “Oh God let this be over!” But upon hearing Hezekiah’s prayer, God adds fifteen more years to his life. The part that stands out to me in this reading, though, is when God says to him, “Put your house in order, for you are about to die” (Isaiah 38:1).

Advent is about putting your house in order, which is why the monastic life is considered a perpetual Advent – we are continually preparing ourselves to see Christ, awaiting His coming with eager expectation. All the more so during this season of Advent. It’s about living a life that has everything directed toward heaven. Focus on the things which will last for all eternity. Don’t waste your time thinking about things that don’t really matter.

When preparing our hearts for Christmas this year, and pondering what gift we are to bring the Lord, let us remember that He says in scripture, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13). Mercy is to go beyond ourselves, to go beyond our judgments, to give room for what we don’t know. You may have heard the saying, “Chaste as angels, proud as devils.” Don’t justify yourself by saying that you fasted all day and so you’re fine, and then go and judge everyone all the way down the hall. Then what have you really done? Nothing, you’re just hungry and it hasn’t helped you a bit. No, we should stand humbly before God. We need to acknowledge our faults and sins. We can’t just point fingers and say to God, “Well look at them!”, because God does, and He is looking at you, too. If you choose to be merciful you will receive mercy (cf. Luke 6:37).

Remember the power of blessing as one of the greatest gifts. Sister Angelika, when she was working outside, would see a plane fly over and automatically pray for all the people in it, and ask for God to bless them. Now that’s a big heart. That’s how we should choose to live – thinking for the good of others. Pray for people. Do your part to change yourself. Others will follow suit, and you’ll notice it. It’s the nicest thing to have someone say, “Boy, you’re different” in a good way. In a house where we live so close in community, it’s far more powerful to live mercifully than to fast all day. If you can do both, well blessed are you. But mercy is more powerful.

Arise, all ye nobles and peasants; Mary invites all, rich and poor, just and sinners, to enter the cave of Bethlehem, to adore and to kiss the feet of her new-born Son. Go in, then, all ye devout souls; go and see the Creator of heaven and earth on a little hay, under the form of a little Infant; but so beautiful that he sheds all around rays of light. Now that he is born and is lying on the straw, the cave is no longer horrible, but is become a paradise. Let us enter; let us not be afraid.
From “The Discourse for Christmas Night,” by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Swimming in Mercy

May 29, 2024

A reflection by our Abbess, Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

In the book of Ezekiel, we hear about the “wonderful stream” that is shown to Ezekiel by an angel, which gets measured out several times and keeps getting deeper and deeper, until Ezekiel can no longer cross it because he would have to swim (Ezekiel 47:3-5). We then hear how the river empties into the salt waters of the sea, which it makes fresh (Ezekiel 47:8), and that the source of these waters is none other than the sanctuary itself (Ezekiel 47:12). This image reminds me of the line in the hymn we sing on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception: “Sinners, we honor thy sinless perfection/Fallen and weak, for thy pity we plead/Grant us the shield of thy sovereign protection/Measure thine aid by the depth of our need.” Measure thine aid by the depth of our need. Isn’t that the picture we get in Ezekiel? The depth of sin in the world seems to grow greater and greater, but God’s mercy cannot be outdone. If we ask, He will teach us to swim—in His mercy. He will never abandon us. Ever. We can count on His mercy when we cry out, truly, from the depth of our being. He will save us.

The depth of our sin is never too great for Him. After Christ’s passion and death on the cross, when a lance was thrust into His side and “blood and water flowed out” (John 19:34), the floodgates of mercy were opened. And His mercy continues to pour out onto the earth, and it is ours for the taking. But it is a choice to put out our arms to mercy, which is not always easy to do, because it requires so much humility to admit that we need it. But if we think of ourselves as little children, crying, “Pick me up! Save me!” because we can’t get over the chasm on our own, then we are among those souls who are open and ready to receive His mercy. As we approach the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, may we all ask for this gift as little children, confident in the love of our Father, and His desire to forgive our every fault, and to carry us in His arms, very close to His tender heart.

Public Domain icon of Jesus saving St. Peter from downing
[Flickr / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license]

Eyes on the Prize

March 24, 2020

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

I think one of the keys to a meaningful life is to remember things that are eternal. St. Benedict talks about this in his Rule. In the Prologue he exhorts us to “keep your eyes on eternity,” and in Chapter 72 he writes, “let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.” St. Benedict loves that everlasting life. He wants us to keep it in our minds, a constant reminder of our ultimate goal. And remember that eternity with God is the place where we are fully ourselves, completely healed from our wounds, and able to love God and each other freely and perfectly. That is the kingdom we want to come to earth as it is in heaven!

What is your goal? If you’re trying to drive in a straight line you have to keep your focus on a single point in the distance. If you don’t, you’ll end up like me the time I was driving a tractor and I looked up to see a huge bird that flew overhead. You should have seen the swerve in the field. I had to continually go back to try and straighten it up and compensate here and there to try to make it look nice. But there’s more to it than that when it comes to our souls. If we aren’t focused, the swerve can be detrimental. It’s not something you can fix without God’s help or without setting your sight purposefully.

We do our part by living our lives well. Through our prayer and the purity of our life, God can take those things and use them where He wills. It is a mystery—we do not need to understand how He does it—the purpose is to believe. I don’t need to know exactly how, nor does He need my permission. It is only my “yes” that is necessary. Mary didn’t understand everything about the Incarnation or Crucifixion of her Son. She did not ask, “Can I see a book on how to do all of this? Can I see an instruction manual before getting back to You?” There was none of that. There was just pure faith.

Of course there will be times that we mess up, take our eyes off our goal, and refuse the calls to conversion and healing that are meant to lead us to becoming truly ourselves. This is what it means to be human! God does not expect anything different from us. I love the saying that “saints are sinners that kept on trying.” The important part is whether or not we persevere in returning to God whenever our conscience informs us of our wrongdoing. Look at King David. He sinned royally—committing adultery, murder, and who knows what else—but when we read in 1 Kings 11 how David was remembered, we don’t hear about his failures, but only that his heart was “entirely with the Lord,” and that he followed God “unreservedly.” David committed a terrible crime, but he never despaired of God’s love for him and His forgiveness toward those who turn to Him as truly remorseful children. Let us also never despair of God’s mercy.