Abbey of St. Walburga
Over at St. Walburga’s Abbey, in Virginia Dale, Colorado, they are celebrating the entrance of another young woman into their novitiate, where she was clothed in the Benedictine Habit. They have some great pictures of their joyful new novice, Sr. Kathryn. Nuns in this community take their new names-in-religion upon first vows.
I am struck, though, by the wonderful talk given pre-clothing by the Abbess, Mother Maria-Michael, who said:
A vocation isn’t something we decide we have. It’s a God-given gift. In clothing a new novice our community expresses that it has discerned that the novice is searching for God, and so is invited more fully into the life of the Abbey of St. Walburga. During this time of trial for her, she will be asked to truly live a life of conversion, obedience, and stability. All of these things will bring her to a point in her life in which she will discover that our greatest trials will be to live with our own weaknesses. For at first it will appear that it’s everybody else’s fault and then over a period of time, by the light of Christ, we are able to recognize that it’s harder to live with ourselves and our weaknesses– it isn’t about everybody else. That discovery takes a lifetime, a lifetime of self-knowledge. And it takes courage. To live with one another, to forgive one another and to appreciate one another. That’s what will happen.
I have heard other novice mistresses and nuns say something very similar -that the most challenging part of monastic life is discovering and admitting to ones own failings; a monastic’s ability to persevere in the life, even with the gift of grace, depends greatly on the ability to confront the great I AM but also the smaller (and more troublesome) little “i am” of ourselves. It is when a vocation holds or breaks.
But of course, this is also true in the vocation of marriage. It only works -really works- when one has the humility to say to one’s spouse (and it’s sometimes so difficult) “it’s me. I screwed up. Can you forgive me,” and (even more difficult) “let me learn from you.”
Approaching a vocation -or any calling- must contain an element of humility, of not knowing everything, of being cognizant of the fact that no matter how much you think you may know, or how in control you may be, there is a great deal more you do not know, and your control is an illusion.
Life is not very easy. The older I get, the more I realize that I know almost nothing. The only good thing about that is, by knowing nothing, I am content to be taught, and to be more open to being open.
Speaking of Benedictines, one of my non-Catholic readers -I am sorry, I have forgotten which- had shot me an email looking for more details about the actual ceremony and ritual surrounding this recent clothing. I supplied what information I could, but recently the Catholic Key published a terrific article that gives a much more detailed report, for anyone interested.
Also, our Passionist friends in Kentucky give us a peek into their novitiate (most monastics have different living quarters for novices and professed nuns, as the novitiate -with its comings and goings- can be a busy place. Lovely pics and they’re convincing me to invest in pink candles!
And a bit of news on Apostolic Orders (Active Sisters) from Rocco.
That is one of the deep pleasures of the book In This House of Brede. Watching as Phillipa over comes all those little I am. As she recovers from chicken pox (chicken pox!) after being lovingly tended by someone she had tried to avoid she asks, “How many skins must one shed?”
Katherine
The longer I’m married (and it hasn’t been for very long, only one year), the more I see the need for that daily, out-loud, and serious utterance to come from my mouth: “I’m sorry.” And even more beautiful, just as you’ve said: “Let me (gulp) learn from you.” I hope to make my marriage a happy and long one by remembering to make those ideas a part of our daily life together.
Thank you for such a beautiful reflection on vocations.
Marriage cannot be it’s best without humility — easier said than done in times of stress and angst and all that marriage demands from a couple. For a little inspiration read “A Short Guide to a Happy Marriage” about behaviors so important, particularly when the tough times come in a marriage, which they will. Come by and visit @ http://www.ashortguidetoahappymarriage.com
I greet the community of St. Walburga in Colorado! In 2005 I had been at St. Walburga’s Abbey in Bavaria, Germany. Sr. Kathryn, may God’s richest blessing be with you!