Prayer

Address to Oblates

October 28, 2023

On October 8, 2023, we gathered to celebrate the final oblations of three of our oblates. During the ceremony, Mother Maria-Michael delivered an inspiring address, emphasizing our Benedictine call to stability, obedience, silence, humility and prayer. Below is an abridged form of her address to the community of oblates and nuns of the Abbey of St. Walburga.

I welcome each one of you, and I am so happy for this day, and for our new oblates! I want to thank all of our oblates for pursuing the Benedictine way. I thank you because you are living in the world what we are living here, showing a glimpse of our Abbey to those who may never come here. It is you who bring us out into the world by living the Benedictine spirituality. That is no small thing! We are so grateful that you are doing that important work of living in the world amongst God’s people (and they are God’s people, whether they like it or not!) and being a witness to Christ for them.

What a joy and blessing it is to be united in our love for God and our desire to live lives of holiness by following the precepts of St. Benedict, as given in his Holy Rule. You notice it’s not just a “rule,” it’s not just a way to be; it’s a holy rule. It is a way of life hastening us toward our heavenly home by providing us with tools for the cultivation of virtues. In the Holy Rule of St. Benedict we learn about the great pillars of monastic life, the things that make monastics. One of these pillars is stability, and by this I do not mean that the vocation of oblates is to live with us in our monastery (we don’t have the room anyway!). The Holy Rule helps all of us with establishing stability in our lives, stability in the community in which we pray, stability in the Church, and most especially, stability in Christ. Stability in Christ is not to live in fear and worry about what will happen in the future, or constant regret over the past, but to embrace the sacrament of the present moment. Really, this is a wonderful mark of a Benedictine: If you wake up in the morning and say, “I get to do this again!” “I get to do it as I want, as I will…To follow God.” “I’m not going to hold on to the burdens of what went wrong yesterday; I’m going to wake up fresh, and with the desire for conversion, in order to live this day the best I can.” Because you never know what day will be your last, so try to live each day well. That is truly a Benedictine way of being.

Mother Maria-Michael addresses the oblates making their final vows:
I want to thank you for coming forth to make your final oblation to our Benedictine Abbey of St. Walburga. Continue to get to know St. Walburga; she is an incredible saint. She truly loves God and everything He loves, so she has the holy oil flowing from her bones to this day, as she never ceases loving God’s people and interceding for them.

Another pillar is found in Chapter 5 of the Holy Rule, the chapter on obedience. “The first step of humility is obedience without delay, which comes naturally to those who prefer nothing to the love of Christ. Because of the holy service they have professed…they carry out the superior’s order as promptly as if the command came from God himself.” When you practice obedience in your life, what does it look like? As an oblate, paying attention to what the Abbess says is important, because it is a bond that unites us. It also means obeying the Church, reading the Holy Rule and doing the best you can to live it out. It means obeying your husband, obeying your wife, and not following your own will all the time. If you’ve been doing something a certain way for a really long time, would you be open to changing it? When you go about your day, don’t just do things because that’s what you’ve always done – think again why you do it, why you do the things you do, and maybe you will find that there is something that God wants to be perfected.

Then we have the pillar of silence: “I said I would guard my ways lest I should sin with my tongue” (Holy Rule, Ch. 6). We really should watch our words, because words are a mirror of the heart. What you say matters. St. Benedict also says in Chapter 6, “To speak and to teach is the province of the master, whereas that of the disciple is to be silent and listen.” This is especially true of our time spent in lectio divina (praying with Scripture). Through this, we receive food of our souls. On the Twenty-Sixth Thursday in Ordinary Time, we had a reading at Mass from book of Nehemiah that beautifully emphasized the importance of listening to the Word of God. We read, “The whole people gathered as one in the open pace before the Water Gate, an they called upon Ezra the scribe to bring forth the book of the law of Moses which the Lord prescribed for Israel” (Nehemian 8:1). I like that word “prescribed,” because it’s like a prescription, a medicine for our souls. It was what was prescribed by God. The Scriptures are like medicine for us. They heal, they enlighten, they show us the way…But we have to be silent and listen. We have to give time to God to speak. Nehemiah continues, “He read out of the book from daybreak until midday…and all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law…Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the Lord, their faces to the ground…Then Nehemiah [and Ezra and the Levites] said to all the people: ‘Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep’–for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law…Then all the people went to eat and drink, to distribute portions and to celebrate with great joy, for they understood the words that had been expounded to them” (Nehemian 8:3, 6, 9, 12). There you have a wonderful example of lectio divina, because the people listened, they understood, they cried, and they rejoiced. Sometimes there will be tears with our prayer, but we should never leave the experience without rejoicing, because it is such a gift of God to know and to understand His word to you. It is essential to allow God’s Word to form you, to confirm you, to convict you, and most especially to love you.

Anna-Marie, a niece of one of our Sisters, signs her oblation card

Then we have humility, another one of those great pillars. One aspect of humility is acknowledging one’s faults. How often do you say you’re sorry? It is so important to be able to apologize to people you have hurt and ask their forgiveness. Another of St. Benedict’s points in his chapter on humility is contentment with one’s circumstances (cf. Holy Rule, Ch. 7). Are we content with the circumstances we find ourselves in, or do we spend more time complaining about them than we do facing them and asking God to help us understand them? Do we ask Him what He might be trying to show us through them? Or if He doesn’t wish to reveal His reasoning to you when you ask, can you live with that, and be content anyway because you trust Him? St. Benedict talks about not laughing in Chapter 7 as well, and I believe what he means is that kind of boisterous laughter that prevents you from hearing anything else that’s going on. There is also the laughter that hurts others, which should certainly be avoided. Laughter should never tear another person down; it is good to have a good time and laugh about happy things, but never to laugh in a way that harms another.

The chapters between 8 and 20 of the Holy Rule are about prayer – private and communal – and I want to emphasize the part about reverence in prayer. St. Benedict writes, “Whenever we want to ask some favor of a powerful man, we do it humbly and respectfully, for fear of presumption. How much more important, then, to lay our petitions before the Lord God of all things with the utmost humility and sincere devotion” (Holy Rule, Ch. 20). I think of how the Old Testament prophets like Daniel prayed for the people by saying, “We have sinned…” They didn’t point their fingers and blame the people, but they rather included themselves with the people and said, “We have done this…” Similarly, when we pray for the Church, when we pray for the world (especially when we pray the Divine Office), we too are a part of that Church, a part of that world; and so when we stand before God to pray, we don’t blame others, but pray for them by standing by them and saying, “We have sinned…” “We have done this…” If you pray this way, you will start to see things differently, and it will transform how you pray. Also regarding prayer, St. Benedict quotes the psalmist saying, “Seven times a day I praise Thee” (Holy Rule, Ch. 16). I’m not sure if you have seven times a day to pray the Psalter, but you do have seven times in the day when you can say, “My God, I love You.” How many times do you just stop what you’re doing and acknowledge God’s presence? That is Benedictine.

Oblates make their promises to Mother Maria-Michael, OSB

If our Church today could take these simple things, the Benedictine pillars of stability, obedience, silence, humility and prayer, and place them in the core of the Church, do you think it would look different? Would we hear different things? Let us assist the Church by embracing these pillars in our own lives. I offer this challenge to you, as you make your final oblation, and to all of us – the challenge of living the Benedictine virtues of stability, obedience, silence, humility, and prayer. The sacrifices you will make to live out these precepts of St. Benedict are no small ones, but in faith, we know that, “Never departing from this guidance, then, but faithfully observing his teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom. Amen” (Holy Rule, Prologue). This is what I truly wish for you: the Kingdom of God.

Oblates and nuns of the Abbey of St. Walburga sing the “Receive me, O Lord” chant

Spiritual Taxes

September 27, 2023

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus issued a decree:
Let the governor and the elders of the Jews continue the work on that house of God; they are to rebuild it on its former site. I also issue this decree concerning your dealing with these elders of the Jews in the rebuilding of that house of God: Let these men be repaid for their expenses, in full and without delay from the royal revenue, deriving from the taxes of West-of-Euphrates, so that the work not be interrupted.
I, Darius, have issued this decree; let it be diligently executed.
Ezra 6:3, 7-8, 12

In the book of Ezra, we hear how King Darius encouraged the building of the house of God. Would that our world had leaders that cared about God’s will, and that encouraged the things of God – I think there would be greater peace! In Chapter 2 of the Rule of St. Benedict, we hear what kind of person the Abbot should be: “Above all things, he must be careful not to take lightly the souls committed to his care, or to have more care for fleeting, worldly things than he has for them. Rather, he must always consider that he has undertaken the government of souls, for which he must give an account. And so that he will not complain out of desire for worldly things, he must remember that it is written, ‘seek first the kingdom of God’ and again, ‘nothing is lacking to those who fear him.’” Worldly leaders do have to worry about worldly things to an extent, but I wish I could send all the leaders around the world a copy of the Rule of St. Benedict, to share some insight on how God might help them out. This world belongs to God, and I wish there was more of a sense of serving Him in it. Let us pray hard for our leaders, that they will have a good sense of protecting the things of God, and that they would lead the people of the world to live on a higher plane, soaring with the eagles, rather than giving in to living as earth worms.

As religious, we also have a role to play in helping this change come about. King Darius instructed that the workers should be paid “from the royal revenue, deriving from the taxes of West-of-Euphrates,” (Ezra 6:8). Nobody likes taxes, yet I was thinking of how in the spiritual realm, the religious are the rich. We live in the house of God, we live to do the work of God, and so many others are tasked with doing the work “of the world.” So God taxes the rich, and asks us, “Can I have some of your works? Can I have some of your graces? Can I have some of your prayers to uphold those who are out in the world?” Yes, we are taxed a little bit extra: “Will you wake up a little bit earlier? Will you be on time for the Divine Office? Will you stay one second longer to offer that for the people?” These things are asked of us, because through them, God is “diligently executing” His work. If we give freely of the little extra things the Rule asks of us, if we do them specifically and mindfully, for the good of others, we will truly build up the body of Christ in the way in which we have been asked. We are richly blessed, and it is a joy to pay these taxes.

Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB, celebrated her 45th Anniversary of Monastic Profession on September 8. During Mass, she led the nuns of the Abbey of St. Walburga in singing the “Suscipe” chant (Translation: “Uphold me, O Lord, and I shall live, according to your promise; do not disappoint me in my hope.”)

The Trouble with Birds

August 3, 2023

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up…And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold… Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
Luke 8: 5, 8

Photos of birds at the Abbey of St. Walburga

We hear in Luke’s Gospel about the parable of the sower. As I was thinking about this reading, I thought about how birds usually just peck at one thing at a time. Isn’t that what happens to us in life? The “birds” peck away at the time we have to spend with God. They just take one minute at a time. It’s like when you sit down to do lectio divina and realize that your books are out of place, so you put them back in order – and there goes one seed. And then you see that your bed isn’t made yet, and there goes another couple seeds. And then you’re sitting there drinking your coffee and reading the Word, and then of course you notice a stack of papers that are in the wrong place, so you think you’ll just get them put away quickly, but then there’s another seed gone. Pretty soon, practically all the seeds have been eaten up! You’ve been in your room alright, but what have you been doing there? All those little things that are so hard not to pay attention to.

And I pondered how often this happens to us throughout the day, too. “Acedia” doesn’t mean that you don’t work, but that you’re doing the things you’re not supposed to be doing. How many times do you find yourself running hard in the opposite direction from what you’re really supposed to be doing? In the moment, it seems that “Anything else is better than what I’m supposed to be doing right now.” And yet, being attentive to our present duty it is what God is calling us to. And that takes a great deal of discipline, just to do what you’re supposed to do. Everything else is like the little ravens that are running around picking up the seeds, taking the minutes away from doing what we should be doing. All those little distractions steal from us our time with God, and we should be on guard against them.

I wonder if Martha was tempted by the birds during the dinner at Bethany, when she was busying about with every possible detail of hospitality? Jesus gently reprimanded her to not be so anxious, and that her sister had chosen the “better part” by sitting at His feet. But it seems that Martha took His correction without any bitterness, because we know that she was the first one to come out and meet Jesus when He came to raise Lazarus from the dead. She wasn’t hiding somewhere because she was ashamed of being reprimanded. What a humble soul she must have been. I pray that if we find ourselves tempted by the birds, we will have the courage to turn back to Christ and look to Him for help and guidance.

More photos of birds at the Abbey of St. Walburga

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?

Causes for Rejoicing

July 14, 2021

Between battling the weeds, caring for the cattle, and tending the gardens, summer tends to be a busy season for us; but because of our monastic horarium that provides sacred time for prayer, the balance of “ora et labora” keeps our priorities in check.

On the first day of mowing hay this season, our tractor got stuck in the mud. Thankfully, due to the generosity of our neighbors, it wasn’t long before it was rescued!

The Blessing of Misery

January 31, 2020

A reflection on the first Mass reading for the first Tuesday in Ordinary Time (1 Samuel 1:9-20) by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

In the beautiful story about Hannah, we hear that “in her bitterness she prayed to the Lord, weeping copiously” (1 Sam 1:10). St. Benedict also says that we should weep in our prayer. This weeping happens when we allow something to touch us deeply. Now think of how Hannah could even be grateful for Peninnah (who rubbed Hannah’s barrenness in her face) because she brought her to a deeper prayer. In her bitterness Hannah did not turn away from God; she turned toward God.

We all have our moments of bitterness, of pain, and of sorrow, but the important part is what we do with them. These moments can be the greatest graces in our lives. They can be the things that push us in the right direction. So God allows them. He says, “Yes, this is actually going to be for your good…”

When we hear Hannah saying later in her prayer, “if you remember me, and do not forget me,” we seem to hear her greatest sorrow—that God has forgotten her. It seems that He has remembered Peninnah over and over again, since she had many children, and which seems to prove to Hannah that God has forgotten her. She is noticed by Eli, the temple priest, praying in an unknown way, and Eli judges her. He assumes that she’s drunk, but he takes it back after she explains her situation. Thank God for her humility. She didn’t mind being humble and telling him that she is just a very unhappy woman. She doesn’t lash out at him, she doesn’t scream at him or push him down. Instead she tells him that her prayer is prompted by her deep sorrow and misery.

I think it is simply because of the Lord’s great love for us that He allows us such sorrows. He just wants us to come to Him. And if we won’t come to Him simply, it seems He will allow greater things to happen that will force us to come to Him—because what He really wants is that relationship. So whatever will bring that about, God allows. And He can use any means. Harsh words or the feeling of being judged or unaccepted, God will use for our good. So instead of being upset, we should thank Him. Thank Him that He allowed that thing to happen because it leads us to a greater good, to Him. And then it changes how we see it; instead of being a point sorrow it becomes a point of joy.

Remember that evil only wants to take from God what He loves. So whatever can take you away from prayer, however little it may be, will be used by evil. At the same time, though, anything that brings us back to God is a tool for good. That’s a hard lesson to learn, because we usually want to blame somebody for our sorrows. Blaming someone else so much easier than acknowledging that we weren’t doing what we were supposed to be doing, or we weren’t reaching deeper into God. We look for someone else to blame so that we aren’t blamed. The minute we can start changing that, we’ve changed our lives—we’ve changed our attitude. What a blessing. And so it was with Hannah. Eli blesses her, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” Let’s wish that for one another. Let’s give that blessing. Go in peace, and may the God if Israel grant you what you have asked of Him. That is my prayer for you today.

On Contemplative Prayer

October 22, 2019

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

“Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2715)

The contemplative life is so promoted by the Church because it is the heart of the Church. This is also the reason evil would like to get rid of the contemplative life— It’s what keeps the heart beating. It’s what keeps the flow of blood, of life, the precious Blood of Christ, flowing through the Body of Christ. He has chosen us to live in a contemplative spirit and in a contemplative environment. We are in the monastery not because we are holy but because we want to get there. And we live a life in which we have times together to learn to pray and live in the presence of God so that our eyes do not swerve away from Him. You can live that way at all times. Of course you need to pay attention to your work, but as St. Benedict says in the Prologue of the Holy Rule, “every time you begin a good work, you must pray to him most earnestly to bring it to perfection.” He is the only one who can make it perfect. And “perfect” means the spirit in which you give it. Even if it is a failure in one way, if you give it fully, it is no failure in the eyes of God. In Chapter 7:27 of the Rule we hear, “…At all times the Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see whether any understand and seek God.” There you see the purpose of it all. Do we understand? Do we want to understand? Are we seeking God in all things? “And if every day the angels assigned to us report our deeds to the Lord day and night, then, brothers, we must be vigilant every hour” (Holy Rule, Ch. 7, v. 28). That is the key: vigilance. We must be vigilant in prayer.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a beautiful chapter on contemplative prayer. It says, “The choice of the time and duration of the prayer rises from a determined will, revealing the secrets of the heart. One does not undertake contemplative prayer only when one has the time: one makes time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials or dryness one may encounter” (CCC, 2710). This is known by all of those who have faith and live for God. There are times of dryness when we are tempted to ignore what we are called to, but it is only a temptation. In order to follow through, we have set times of prayer, because that’s what it takes—determination. We remember that no matter how we are, God loves us. He loves us immensely. He longs for us more than we could ever long for him. He waits for us. To come in dryness is to stand by him in the time of trial. It is so powerful. To belong to him when it is most difficult is to stand by him on the cross.

What really matters, and we need to pray for this grace, is that we grow in holiness. Don’t be afraid to ask where you need do better. Don’t be afraid, but face that question head on, so that you can become holy. We have to strive for it. And God loves to lift us up from our sinfulness; so be assured that it is greater for him when we need his passion and death. Use it. Call up on it. God expects this. He hasn’t called us to something he can’t give to us, but we need to ask. Life is short, and at any moment he can bring us to holiness. He can bring us from the very depths to the heights in just one second of desire. That’s all it takes. God is so great, greater than anything. Call upon him. He wills it.

Drawing of a nun at prayer by our Sister Maria-Placida, OSB

Persuade the Heart of Christ

August 19, 2015

A reflection on Matthew 15: 21-28 by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB

Through the scriptures we see that the power of women is their persuasion. Think of all the instances throughout scripture that tell us of the persuasion – both good and bad – of women. Eve did not persuade Adam to be good!

Why are women religious so valuable to the Church? It is the prayer of persuasion. Intercessory prayer is truly the prayer of persuasion. We see it in the Gospel with the Canaanite woman; she persuades Christ himself to do what he did not intend to do. It was her words of confidence – nothing was going to put her off – because she was praying for her daughter, whom she loved. When we pray with that same tenacity, and God hears our conversation, what could not be granted us? We have the power to pray with Mary, that the world be converted and returned to the hands of God. Why do you think evil fights the contemplative life? It has the power to persuade God to save His people.

We have the power of prayer that is mighty. When we go to prayer, when we pray together, we have the power to persuade God. Speak that way! Let our conversations reflect this. When we speak confidently to God, we walk in the trail of Mary and honor our vocation as persuaders of God. That is true intercessory prayer; and no prayer is small. The greater the trust, the greater the answer. Believe it in your heart and you will see your own persuasion over the Heart of Christ.