St. Joseph Shelter

Today is our last day, and Sr. Agatha stops by Shalom to say hello on her way to St. Joseph's Shelter. I realize that I have not yet visited the shelter that the monastery operates for homeless families, so I accompany her across the street to the repurposed college dorms. There is room for 10 families, but there are few people in the common room downstairs when we arrive.

I meet a young mother who has an active tw0-year-old son and a four-month old daughter. The father has a temporary job two hours south in Roseburg while he attends construction school in Portland. I also meet Jay, a boy who has just finished second grade and lives with his grandparents. He often spends his afternoons at the shelter for company.

Jay and I work on a jigsaw puzzle. As he matches pieces, I work with him to expand his language. He has to think of the word for the edge piece, "straight," but he can't come up with "corner." So we count the corners of the table, and he calculates how many corner pieces we still have to find for the puzzle. After we finish, I return to Shalom.

Obedience

Tonight after dinner, we linger and talk with Sr. Joan. At one point in our conversation, the discussion turns to obedience in the monastery. She remarks that it is one thing to be obedient to the prioress, but it another --- more difficult --- thing to be obedient to each other. To illustrate, she compares the obedience Tom and I have to each other as husband and wife to the obedience that parents have to their children. At first I am confused, thinking of how many parents overindulge their children and neglect to set limits for them. Why should a parent be obedient to the child?

Sr. Joan clarifies as she explains that when a baby cries in the night, a mother will leave her husband's side to attend to the child. She is being obedient to the child in the sense that she is listening to its cries, being mindful of its needs, and tending to them. In this sense, a mother is also praying when she rocks the child, coos to it, and sits in the silent night mindful of the life she is holding.

In the same way, the sisters are obedient to each other. They listen to each other, with deep heartfelt awareness of the others' joys and needs. They are obedient when they are mindful, and this mindfulness brings the harmony and peace we sense that so deeply pervades life in the monastery. Of course, irritations and frictions still exist, but they are momentary blips in the fabric of life at Queen of Angels.

For me, the sisters --- each and every one in her own way--- live in obedience in this new sense of community that I am beginning to understand. It is a gift I hope to bring with me to share with the others in my secular life, at home, at school, and in the larger world. God has been so good to let me experience life at the monastery. I am blessed in countless ways!

Marion County Fair

We leave after breakfast for the Marion County Fair held in Salem, a short 20-minute drive. Also the site of the state fair in August, the fairgrounds have ample parking and light traffic. We don't have to stand in line to get our tickets and start in Columbia Hall, where the commercial, fine arts, home crafts and city exhibits are located.

The number of entries astounds us --- only one table setting, one home-baked pie, a few jars of jam, no vegetables or fruits in competition. I ask one exhibiter the population of Marion County. Its about 350,000, about the size of Bakersfield. No wonder the fair is smaller than the Kern County Fair. Another couple tells us that a lot of people save their entries for the state fair in just a month.

At any rate, we still enjoy seeing the exhibits. The animals and their 4H owners are always fun. We chat with a woman who is spinning wool from the alpacas behind her. Little children squeal in the petting zoo, but their voices are almost drowned out by the piglet, goose, and goats. There are even dogs racing over hurdles to grab a tennis ball in one of the grass areas. Everyone seems to be having as good a time as we are.

We sample barbecued pork and a homemade sausage, Italian ice, roasted nuts, and a local beer. I finally find replacements for my neck cooler that finally gave out in the Caribbean.

Mission Benedict

Tom walks across the street to Mission Benedict during his afternoon break. Open only on Fridays, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., the mission is in one of the old college buildings and houses the storage for the food and clothing bank as well as donated furniture. Everything is well-organized in preparation for serving the needy.

He watches as a volunteer follows a mother around as she selects needed items. He notices the communication gap and wonders how many of the sisters and volunteers can speak Spanish. Teaching a basic-phrase Spanish class might be an area of ministry for us on our return.

Feast of St. Benedict

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Benedict. There is a festive atmosphere because many of the sisters professed their vows on this feast day, and today is an important anniversary for them. Father Ordo even makes a witticism about enjoying the day in "monastic fashion." Breakfast is not silent, and Sr. Mechtilde has baked a special pastry in honor of the day.

I am busy at Shalom, finishing up Sr. Joan's project with her spiritual direction trainees and various data bases. I finish the display for the iris rhizomes and other partially done projects. I feel the impending end of our time here, and I don't want to leave. Each meal, we have a chance to deepen our relationships with the sisters. They are such authentic loving people. I'm going to miss each of them.

All Is Vanity

For the last several days, the readings for Morning Prayer have been taken from Ecclesiastes.

King Solomon says, “All is vanity and a chasing after the wind.” He compares all our striving on earth for pleasure, riches, power, and recognition to be in vain compared to seeking what truly lasts.

I encourage each of us to read this book of the Bible and ponder its message for our lives today.

Birthday Celebration

Tonight we drive to Portland after our afternoon duties instead of going to Evening Prayer. We pick up Lisa and her friend Janey and drive to Janey's house to see Lisa's vegetable and herb plantings in Janey's garden. We meet Gaza, Janey's dog of whom I have heard so much.

We eat as Sweet Basil, one of Lisa's favorite restaurants in honor of her birthday this Friday. Everything we order is delicious. We have a make-your-own-lettuce-wrap appetizer, pumpkin curry, spicy sea scallops and a dish with fried basil and other vegetables. For dessert, we order a Snow Angel with coconut ice cream and exotic toppings. Yum!

Cape Mears and Seaside

Next is Cape Mears Lighthouse, perched high above the coast, and the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast because of its altitude. We climb the 26 steps and look out over the rugged coastline. It is so windy we have to put on our jackets.

We drive through Cannon Beach to Seaside in hopes of spotting Tillamook Head lighthouse, situated on a rock outcropping offshore. No luck, it is too foggy. We have a tasty dinner at Girtles and then return home via Portland and Tigaard.

Tillamook

Tillamook Cheese Factory is our next destination. After lunch that includes cheese of course, we take the self-guided tour. The yellow sodium lights in the factory turn the interior to the color of cheese.

Then we get to sample the cheeses. Surprisingly, our favorite is the cheese curds, which are not yet officially cheese yet. We even buy a bag of curds in the gift shop to take home with us.

Then we go to Cape Lookout for a quick drive through the park to take pictures of the coastline. I have just enough time for a quick sketch.

Oregon Coast 2

Today we head for Lincoln City again, this time with the intent of driving north. Eileen is with us, eager to see the Oregon coastline. She marvels at the forests of evergreens that grow clear to the ocean, so different from her Texas gulf shores.

We drive to Pacific City and stop to sample the beers at the Pelican Brewing Company. Each brew is distinctive and delicious. Tom buys a bright yellow T-shirt, and I check out the gift shop nearby.

Then we go to Cape Lookout for a quick drive through the park to take pictures of the coastline. I have just enough time for a quick sketch.

For Everything There Is a Season

At Mass today we heard the familiar quotation from Ecclesiastes.

This is our season for growing. Each day brings us another opportunity to practice love and charity, patience and obedience.

Fireworks

We arrive at John F. Kennedy High School stadium at 8:00 just as the flag is being raised; then the national anthem plays. Families are arranging blankets and folding chairs on the football field, while the community band is setting up. We are grateful for the hint to bring pillows for the hard bleacher seats as we enjoy the lively music of the outdoor concert. Afterwards, I walk several times around the track with Michele, one of the young women here for Monastic Week. As we chat, we further our friendship.

The fireworks display begins after 10:00 p.m. because it stays light so late in Oregon. It is more than 30 minutes of sparkling bursts of light in a glorious celebration of our country’s independence. Here is a clip of the fireworks:

Hometown Parade

Today is the Fourth of July. At breakfast, the sisters tell us to assemble at the St. Joseph Garden to walk down together to see the parade. It’s a true small-town experience. As we near the corner, we see a fire truck loaded with kids sitting on top. Down a side street, the parade participants are lining up. We pass lines of people sitting in lawn chairs on the sidewalk, chatting or petting their dogs. We turn to watch the Glockenspiel, but the music is mostly drowned out by the buzz of conversation.

The crowd is relaxed, with no jostling. Tots sit on fathers’ shoulders, and school-age children scamper in and out of the street. We rise for the Star Spangled Banner, sung by a local girl with a lovely voice. The parade itself is slow-paced, with an emcee who is amplified and easy to hear. He identifies each car, tractor, and float – often giving tidbits of information about the riders. The Grand Marshal is a high school graduate returning to visit her sister, who still lives in Mt. Angel.

There are banner girls who toss candy to the people on the curbs. Candy is flung from the vintage cars and tractors, lovingly restored and introduced by name and year. John Deere tractors of up to eighty years ago are still running, some pulling the flatbed floats with 4H members or local business owners and their families. We cheer for the brightly decorated red pickup carrying some of the sisters riding inside and on lawn chairs in the back. Civic pride is evident in the smiles and generous strewing of candy. The Mt. Angel Oktoberfest is another proud entry, showing ethnic costumes along with the German restaurants.

Spiritual Direction

After a bit of time working at Shalom, I meet with Sr. Jo for an hour of spiritual direction. I have decided, since she did not want to meet with us as a couple as we were accustomed, I would see this as a time of personal integration, of trying to connect the myriad experiences that have happened to me in the past months.

She asks me what I hope to get out of our time together, and I begin to speak, letting the Spirit bring up the memories and yearnings. I recount the books I have read and the ones I have begun here at Mt. Angel. I bemoan that I seem to pick up one title only to begin another that speaks to me. At the present moment, I am juggling Merton’s The Inner Experience, Life and Holiness, and two volumes of his poems. I’ve also started reading some of the selections of A Tremor of Bliss, about the saints. All this while still trying to finish Palmer’s, The Active Life and Rohr’s Everything Belongs, that I began in Gilroy!

Then I begin talking about my vocation of teaching. I lament that I lose my patience --- and sometimes my temper--- with my students. As much as I want to a Christ-like servant, I fail so often. Sr, Jo reminds me that I am human, and we continue to discuss my aspirations for the coming school year.

By the end of our time together, I feel that I not only know myself better, but I have learned about Sr. Jo. I want to continue my reading ---but with less frenzy. I need to take more time to let the ideas sink into my soul and reflect on their meaning for the direction I am to take in my life. That is what spiritual direction is about: having a spiritual companion who listens to the deepest yearnings of my heart and helps me to understand and articulate them so I can truly find and follow God’s will for my life.

Feast of St. Thomas

As important as birthdays at the monastery are the feasts of one’s patron saint. Today is the feast of St. Thomas, known as the Doubter and the Twin. Tom is wished blessings throughout the day. Before dinner, Sr. Mechtilde leads us in prayer in the dining hall. She and the rest of the community sing Tom a blessing on his saint’s day. Another aspect of the grace that comes with living in community!

Monastery Mustard

We get to make mustard! Yes, the sisters really do cook up the mustard that they sell at Shalom’s Bookstore and other places. Today it will be a small batch of Jubilant Blueberry and a large batch of Devoutly Dill.

From top left, clockwise: Sr. Marcella stirs and checks the temperature. Volunteers Michele and Eileen apply labels. Sr. Immaculatas pour the dill mustard into the jars. Sr. Terry advises volunteer Austin. While Sr. Marietta (standing) talks with Sr. Alberta, Sr. Jo uses the air gun to shrink-fit the seals on the lids. Tom tries his hand at attaching labels, but he ends up packing the jars in the cases. Sr. Christine (rear) and Sr. Dorothy apply labels as Sr. Agatha sets the seals on the lids. Sr. Julia pours the blueberry mustard into jars.

We make three dozen jars of blueberry and more than a dozen cases of dill.
What fun!