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At our October
oblate meeting, we were blessed to have Phyllis Thompson, all
the way from British Columbia, present a day of recollection.
Her presentation on reconciliation and forgiveness invited
prayerful reflection and conversation among our oblates and
sisters. We are grateful for her powerful message. Below is an
interview with Phyllis Thompson.
Q&A with Phyllis Thompson
How did you
first learn about the Sisters of Annunciation Monastery?
Initially, I
was an oblate of St. Peter’s Abbey in Muenster, Saskatchewan. I
taught English and served as campus minister at the monks’
college during that time. It happened that in 1994, I attended
two workshops on medieval monastic mystics being offered at a
retreat center in Saskatoon. The presenter was Sr. Miriam
Schmitt of Annunciation. She was a wonderful and thorough
presenter, and we kept in touch after that.
Why did you
feel called to transfer your oblation to Annunciation Monastery?
I had planned
to travel from Canada to St. John’s Abbey in Minnesota in Spring
1997. Then the Red River flooded, forcing me to change my
route. I contacted Sr. Miriam to see if I could stay at the
Monastery on my trip to and from Collegeville. I spent three
days at Annunciation each way. This was my first experience
with women monastics, and I was very impressed by the care they
took to meld prayer and music in the liturgies. That really
mattered to me. Their hospitality was wonderful, too.
Then, I
attended the American Benedictine Academy Convention, held at
the University of Mary in 2002. Afterward, I spent eight days
at the Monastery, on a retreat directed by Sr. Miriam. During
that time, I felt called to transfer my oblation to
Annunciation. I can’t articulate why; I just knew that the
place, the community, and I were “a fit.” Only God understands
why, but I’m thankful daily.
How do you
feel nourished and sustained by the Sisters?
Various
Sisters and I keep in touch through phone calls, snail mail, and
e-mail. Certainly with Sr. Miriam whom I consider a mentor. By
way of obligation, too: whenever I give a workshop or retreat,
or submit an article for publication, I feel I represent the
community, so always let the prioress and oblate director know
what I’m doing. I get here at least once a year for no less
than a week so I make my annual retreat; plus the visit allows
me to be sustained by the community’s times of prayer and
liturgies. It’s also a joy to get to know the Sisters better
through social exchanges at meals and other times.
I write
letters to acknowledge events within the monastic community –
deaths, celebrations, special events, and various day-to-day
activities. Some of this information is available on
Annunciation’s website. That and the University’s website I
track regularly.
What
Benedictine practices do you incorporate into each day?
Every
oblate’s schedule is as different as his/her daily routine. But
it’s assumed oblates will strive to engage in morning and
evening prayer each day. I’m a very early riser, so morning is
the best time for me, not just for prayer but for doing
lectio, that daily bit of reflective meditation on a brief
passage of Scripture. At the end of the day, there’s Compline
before bed: it’s a prayer time that matters to me deeply.
Oblates are expected to be faithful to church attendance; my
husband and I honor that. I also do pastoral ministry at a
nearby 180-bed nursing home.
You offered a
Day of Recollection to the oblates in October. Why is the theme
of forgiveness so important?
World events
in the last decade have brought the talk of forgiveness more to
mind because of events like the terrorist attack on 9/11, the
school shootings at Columbine and Nickel Mine, and the genocides
in various countries. Really any place where some brutal
atrocity has occurred. What do you do with those things?
Beyond theologians and spiritual writers, social scientists and
medical experts are researching how forgiveness brings
individuals holistic health and peace.
Forgiveness
and reconciliation are very evident in Benedict’s Rule: not
because he defines them or theorizes about them, but because
they’re integral to the lived-out ritual of Benedictine
community life. Benedict advises the ideal, “Make peace before
the sun goes down.” On one hand, we are to come to each other,
admit wrongdoings, and seek forgiveness. On the other, we are
to forgive as God forgives us. This is difficult, but leaving
issues unsettled isn’t healthy; it’s destructive to a person’s
overall well-being. If we work at forgiveness and
reconciliation, one-on-one in small things, it’s easier to apply
them in the broader venues of family, church, the workplace,
within one’s homeland, even between nations.
How does St.
Benedict speak to you?
Certainly
through his Rule, which also attests to a life permeated by
Scripture. Through various authors, like Esther deWaal, whose
work I read regularly, and good commentaries on the Rule. Sr.
Joan Chittister’s book, The Rule of Benedict: Insights for
the Ages, is a guide I read faithfully. The daily section of
the Rule, plus her reflection, are new to me each time I read
them because I’m in a different space and frame of mind each
time. Benedict also speaks to me through oblate directors and
other oblates. Also, I know some people who aren’t monastics or
oblates, but are very Benedictine – they just don’t know it.
They are my “teachers unawares.”
What are the
benefits of being an oblate of Annunciation Monastery?
The stability
and balanced way of life of the Sisters encourages me to strive
for the same. I feel supported by the Sisters and other oblates
through their prayers, through exchanging ideas and sharing
resources we’ve encountered. We may pray, engage in liturgy,
and do lectio in our separate time zones, but we’re never
really apart. This is very sustaining and consoling.
One final
comment:
The rosary’s “Hail Mary, full of grace” is a variation on the
angel Gabriel’s salutation to Our Lady at the Annunciation.
Years ago on that feast, a priest gave a homily where he
reflected on how Mary was full of graciousness. Time and
contact with this community have taught me about these
Sisters’ graciousness, not just to their guests, but daily to
each other. I continually witness their caring for and
graciousness to each other. They truly live the Rule, and I’m
blessed for the lessons this offers me.
* * * * *
Surprises from a Saint
by
Mary Elizabeth Mason, osb
My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My
ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the
earth, so high are My ways above your ways and My thoughts
above your thoughts
(Isaiah 55:8-9).
The more we know about God, the easier it
is to understand that the Almighty Creator, all-wise and
all-good, is absolutely different from us human beings, limited
as we are in every way. Who among us doesn't feel helpless,
weak, and ineffectual from time to time, if not often?
Helpless, yes, but not hopeless: all who
are baptized into God's family can say with Paul the Apostle, "I
have the strength for everything through God who empowers me"
(Phil. 4:13). Those who attain to holiness, as they grow more
like our Father in heaven, will begin to think thoughts and act
in ways which reveal similar traits: they behave less humanly
and more divinely. That's what saints do.
This point was brought home to me in the
summer of 2002 in Atchison, Kansas. A vanful of us from
Annunciation Monastery, along with dozens of other Benedictines,
mostly from the Midwest, spent a week at Mount Saint Scholastica.
The occasion was a workshop on the Rule of Benedict, presented
by Aquinata Böckman, osb. She is from Tübingen, Germany, but has
taught for many years at the Collegio Sant'Anselmo in Rome. (Her
English is remarkably good-a blessing indeed!)
During those privileged days of study and
reflection, Aquinata pointed out that readers of the Rule are
often struck by the fact that in more than one place are quite
startling ideas. The saintly author, who has told us in the
Prologue that he intends "to establish a school for the Lord's
service," presents directives for life in a monastic community.
He touches on many topics with such reasonableness, clarity, and
grace that his lessons continue to draw disciples even today,
fourteen centuries later.
Let's look at a few examples illustrating how holy people at
times utter thoughts and follow ways which differ from what we
would expect. Indeed, we might at times be inclined to label
them anything but reasonable.
We begin with a passage dealing with the
reception of newcomers to the community, would-be novices.
Benedict has told his readers that monastic life is an
opportunity to "run on the path of God's commandments, our
hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love" (Prol.
49). If, then, someone comes, seeking to live faithfully
according to the Rule, can we not assume that the hospitality
for which monasteries are justifiably known will be extended?
Instead we read in Chapter 58, "Do not grant newcomers to the
monastic life an easy entry, but, as the Apostle says, Test the
spirits to see if they are from God " (I John 4:1). After
persistent knocking for several days, the applicant gains
admittance to the guest quarters as a first step. Only later is
there permission to become a novice.
Mention of
hospitality brings us to Chapter 53, "The Reception of Guests." As one might expect, the Rule provides that
suitable personnel, quarters, and dining facilities be planned
for guests, with the perhaps wry comment, "monasteries are never
without them" (53:16). All is duly arranged: guests receive what
they need for their spiritual and material welfare-even more
readily if they poor. (This is a reminder that Christ comes to
us in the lowliest and least ones: see Matthew 25:40.) Benedict
then springs his surprise by instructing the community-not the
guests--to pray verse 10 of Psalm 48: God, we have received your
mercy in the midst of your temple. For this holy man, an
opportunity to offer hospitality is evidence of divine mercy!
Would we not expect that the strangers received with such
graciousness be the ones to say that verse, rather than their
hosts?
Still another occasion of surprise is in store for
anyone familiar with what monastics traditionally wear. Who
hasn't seen black-robed uniforms in countless forms, from museum
paintings to Xerox ads? It's undoubtedly true that their somber
habits led to Benedictines' being labeled "black monks" in
medieval days, but that was probably a result of practicality
and availability. It is not a requisite of the Rule, where we
read (Chapter 55) that Benedictines' clothing must be suitable
for seasons, but otherwise of whatever color "is available in
the vicinity at reasonable cost." That is one of the reasons why
monastic women of our day are less concerned about uniformity or
color; in fact their clothing is far less expensive than in
pre-Vatican II days, when they were importing Irish linen for
coifs-completely disregarding the Rule on this point.
Next we may consider Benedict's prescriptions for the
treatment of monastics who fail to live up to their obligations
to God and their community because of indolence, lack of
charity, careless handling of materials, disregard for lawful
authority, or other offenses. As we might expect, the Rule
imposes sanctions, from verbal monitions to deprivations and
penalties, culminating in excommunication for the obdurate. When
all other sanctions but excommunication have been vainly
applied, Benedict inserts a surprise: if a superior perceives
that previous efforts were unavailing, there is "an even better
remedy" (RB 28:4): recourse to community prayer for the errant
member. Only a saint, surely, would rely on intercessory prayer
as the most efficacious solution of all.
In Chapter 69, the Rule deals with the matter of
impossible tasks assigned to a monastic. Benedict's high regard
for obedience leads him to say that everyone is to accept
burdensome tasks with "complete gentleness and obedience" and
then make a sincere effort to carry them out. If, however, the
burden proves too much, choose an appropriate time to "explain
patiently" and "without pride, obstinacy, or refusal" why the
situation is
unendurable. If, after this, the superior holds to the original
order, the subject "must in love obey." Surely only a holy
person could expect this docility and faith. But when we look at
monastic history, can anyone deny its efficacy?
As a last example, we turn to a more mundane matter, the sale of
monastery goods. Benedictines usually do not live in dire
poverty; rather, they seek simplicity of life and reverence
earth's goods too much to be wasteful. On the other hand, in
obedience to the Rule (48.8), they live by the work of their
hands in order to supply their own needs and care for those even
poorer. Often there are in the monastery some either too young
or too old and ill to contribute anything by way of material
support, so the principal burden falls on a relatively small
group, including artists or artisans. We read in the Gospels, "the laborer
deserves payment" (Lk 10:7). Holy Benedict agrees, with a
proviso: "The evil of avarice must have no part in establishing
prices, which should therefore always be a little lower than
people outside the monastery are able to set" (RB 57:78-8;
emphasis added). Doesn't Benedict's view seem odd in a culture
that worships big profits as proof of success?
Truly, we can say of saints, their ways are
not our ways. More's the pity.
Mary Elizabeth Mason, osb
August 2004
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