discernment

October 12, 2011

Come Take a Walk with Me!

Dear Friend,

Come take a walk with me! Autumn days are so proud of their walls of beauty. They call to us wherever we are, to admire the paintings of God. The trees and leaves are beautiful with their various colors. As we stroll down the pathways here at St. Mary’s we see the lake on one side and the woods on the other. When I was in High School I loved Robert Frost’s poem about the woods. Do you recall these lines:

“The woods are lovely dark and deep,
And I have promises to keep.
And I have promises to keep…………..” Continue Reading

September 30, 2011

A Letter to You

Dear Friend,

I wish that at this moment we could have a chat over a cup of coffee or tea.

The last several months I have been talking to God about the next person He will choose to send to our community. Will she be young or over 40?  What will her ministry interests and skills be? Will she be someone who loves teaching school as I did? Could she be someone who  would continue  teaching music to adults and students like I continue doing at age 82? Could she be you? Continue Reading

August 7, 2011

The Fruit of Joy Part III

“The Joy of the Lord is your Strength.” I have often said that I don’t mind hard work, stressful work or long hours if I enjoy my job and have some fun. Most of the time I have been able to work like that. It is a real gift that I have enjoyed my jobs. I know people who really dislike their jobs but the result of being able to provide for their family or get ahead financially brings them joy. I suppose that is one way to recognize the fruit of joy: that what we do is enjoyable or the results give us joy. Continue Reading

August 4, 2011

The Challenges and Joys of Becoming a Sister

Jackie Walsh, recently of Bloomington, Ill., became Sister Jackie at the age of 53 on June 11. She had worked, lived and studied at St. Mary Monastery for three years before receiving her Benedictine pin (given by Prioress Sr. Phyllis McMurray, right). It had been a leap of faith and a labor of love. Continue Reading

July 18, 2011

Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit Part I

Recently I was browsing through Barnes & Noble Bookstore (one of my favorite things to do) and it struck me how many books of daily readings are available. There is an abundance of such titles for women, men, sport enthusiasts and trivia enthusiasts, all designed to leave you with a brief thought to hold during the day. In fact, I probably have a dozen different daily readers on my bookshelf! Continue Reading

June 15, 2011

Nothing Ordinary Here!

Now that Pentecost is over, we have returned to Ordinary Time in the cycle of the Church.  Nothing is ordinary about it, however.  We travel with Jesus as he begins his public ministry of healing, forgiving and preaching the Kingdom of God.  On Pentecost he blesses his disciples with the Spirit that will continue to guide them in their carrying on the ministry of Jesus.  Like Jesus, his disciples are in for a rough time of it. Continue Reading

May 21, 2011

Back from Travels, Welcoming a Guest

It has been a very loooooong month for me.  As Lent ended I got bumped off course when I agreed to give a faculty in-service program.  It was a last minute invitation that I accepted and the amount of preparation through me over the top, so to speak.  Then I gave a student retreat at a local university.  Then I was gone for ten days to a conference that I helped direct so it was a mountain of work.

The point I would like to share is that the reality of life is that we get unbalanced.  Continue Reading