Yes, There was Ireland






  

So much has happened here in our monastery  since my return from Ireland on June 6 that  the three week sojourn there seems, on one hand, a distant dream. But on the other, the faces met, the experiences shared, the warmth lavished upon me are as close to me now as they were in that brief time.

The community at the Redemptoristine monastery in Dublin was truly a home away from home. The prioress, Sr. Gabrielle, could not do enough to welcome me, to facilitate my teaching effort, to allow true bonds to be formed between myself and the sisters of the community. She even saw to it that I received quick treatment for a sinus infection. Should you wish to see the website of the Dublin monastery here is the link: http://www.rednuns.com/  Look for the link on their site to the web-cam in their chapel. Yesterday, Sr. Maria Sidorova professed first vows and a video of the Mass should be up on their website.

I was invited to Dublin to present some talks regarding the mystical inspiration of our foundress, Venerable Maria Celeste Crostarosa and how her spirituality is reflected in our current Constitution and Statues, also called 'The Rule'. But I also know that Sr. Gabrielle is very eager to promote unity in our international Order of autonomous monasteries. One way to do that is to have experience Redemptoristine life in other monasteries of the Order and form relationships with the sisters who live in those houses.

Although our Church, especially at the parish level, struggles to provide good adult education, almost thirty years ago I experienced a great blessing in a series of presentations in my parish entitled "Introduction to Scripture Scholarship". The gifted presenter, a sister in the Congregation of Religious of Jesus and Mary, enlightened us with all of the information we needed in order to begin serious study of scripture - historical background of the period, literary genres in the Bible, surrounding culture, problems of authorship, difficulties of translation from ancient languages, influence of recent archaeological discoveries, and comparison of various modern translations.

As I presented my material  material in Dublin I came to think of the effort as "An Inroduction to the Study of the Mystical Inspiration of Maria Celeste." Much of what I had to say was not new to the sisters but it was newly arranged, contained new twists and vocabulary and applied some modern psychological insights. We talked about the nature of mysticism, the time honored mystical tradition in our Church and how Maria Celeste stands firmly in this tradition. We spoke of the social, cultural and historical milieu of Naples in the first half of the 18th century. We compared translations of Maria Celeste's many written works and saw, once again, the challenge of the work of translation. And we took a good look at Maria Celeste's mystical inspiration as it delineates the process of surrender to God, devotion to constant awareness of Jesus Chirst, and the gradual transformation into the very being of Jesus to which it all may lead. We express our charism as that of becoming "a living memory of Jesus Christ". Finally, energized by being 'dipped' into all things Celestian, we examined our Constitutions and Stautes and found the mystical inspiration of our foundress reaching out to us on every page.

To do research and to teach was a personal blessing. To meet these wonderful sisters was pure joy. To experience Redemptorsistine life with them; to pray and sing, rejoice and intercede with them; was renewing and fortifying.

And yes, there was Ireland. I know now why Ireland wins hearts and keeps them.

Solemnity of St. John the Baptist - Sunday June 24

Feast Day of Sister Moira Quinn
of the Lamb of God

We rejoice with Sister Moira today and thank our loving God for her presence in our community. Junior in age but not experience, she is our immediate past prioress for six years and now serves as vicar or sub-prioress. She is an accomplished artist, liturgical dancer and party planner extraordinaire. She was a professional hairdresser and helps to keep us looking well-clipped and neatly coiffed by the generosity of her talent. And you may have noticed that she is a published author too. Her novel, Here I Am, displays her creative imagination, the depth of her faith and hints at aspects of her own contemplative journey. Moira is an inspiration in so many ways; as a cancer survivor, as a most willing and giving sister in community, as a Redemptoristine daughter of Maria Celeste Crostarosa faithfully pursuing the ideal of being a living memory of Jesus Christ.

Sister Moira is also a gift to her parents, a faithful support and willing ear to her three sisters and three brothers-in-law, and loving aunt to eight nieces and nephews.

While she serves as menu planner, food shopper and sometimes cook and helps to steer us along by membership on the Prioress's Council, she is also serving as Chairperson of the Metropolitan Association of Contemplative Communities. In this effort she is extending forty years of this organization's history of providing a vehicle for mutual support, continuing education and religious formation for contemplatives in NYC tri-state area. And did I say she can sing too?

Sister Moira, many blessings to you and yours today and prayers for all of the special intentions you hold close to your heart as you live each day in the heart of our Redeemer.

The Spiritual 'Estate' of a Contemplative Nun

Sister Mary Catherine Parks, OSsR
1912-2003

"Put on the mind of Christ,

that is, his attitudes,

from which will flow

all his words and deeds.

Only then will we be able to say:

Now, not I, but Christ lives in me,

and Christ will say to us:

"Now I can make of you

a viva memoria of me."

from "A Pool in a Deep Forest" by

Sr. Mary Catherine Parks, OSsR

Sister Mary Catherine Parks was 'a late vocation'. She chose to follow her call to religious life and leave the exciting milieu of post-W.W.II Washington, D.C. where she met and worked with many who challenged and inspired her including Eleanor Roosevelt. In the early 50s she entered the Redemptoristine Monastery in Toronto, Canada - the place she expected to be her home for the rest of her life. But in a few short years she would be the superior of a group of six nuns commissioned with the task of responding to the Redemptorist invitation to establish a Redemptoristine foundation on the grounds of their seminary in Esopus, New York on the banks of the Hudson.

She was second oldest in the group. Her age, education, work experience, commitment to Jesus Christ and the contemplative life suited her for the endeavor. None of the sisters realized at the time that, hard on the heels of their adjustment to new surroundings and autonomy as an independent monastery, even greater challenges would come with the call to renewal of religious life following the Second Vatican Council.

Because she entered at an age well into her 30s, Sister Mary Catherine never expected to see the 50th anniversary of her profession of vows. But she arrived at that milestone and was joined in celebration by her sisters and members of her family. Upon her death, four years ago today, her beloved friend in community, Sister Peg Banville, found issues of the Redemptorist publication Spiritus Patris, in which there appeared some of Sister Mary Catherine's spiritual reflections. We have gathered those reflections together and published them in a small book entitled A Pool in a Deep Forest. I share here some excerpts, views into how one contemplative nun experienced moments of the spiritual journey and the graces with which she was most blessed throughout her life.

In the depth of my being, there has been, as it were, a maypole, and I have been indiscriminately pursuing the multiplicity of projects and activities swirling on its streamers: important and unimportant ones, personal and communal duties, and mere desires concerning myself, others, and my community, as though I must take care of all of them at one time. Now I must destroy this wild maypole and raise in its stead a tree of life, a Christ-pole, on which I will discover each day activities planned for me by the Lord, for there is no limit to the ambiance of his will; it touches the least thing in our lives.

To surrender self-autonomy and all our agendas to Christ so that he can establish his Kingdom within us is our only hope for inner peace, integration, and fulfillment as a person. The me that is thus fulfilled will then be another Christ. That me is then a shadow of Jesus and a prism of his love; yet it will not be I; it will be Christ living in me.

As I aged I hoped that I would be better. On the contrary, I find my lion, though weaker, still difficult to control. I thank God for his patience with me and pray he will continue to be patient, as I try in my community arena to make my lion and lamb lie down together, side by side, beside Jesus and my sisters. For nothing is impossible for God.