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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

   

   
 

Annunciation Monastery

7520 University Drive, Bismarck, ND 58504. 701-255-1520