Phone: 703-361-0106

Email: oblates@osbva.org

OBLATES St. Benedict Monastery, 9535 Linton Hall Rd, Bristow, VA 20136

Summer 2010

Did you happen to notice that school supplies are appearing in all the stores already?? Summer is over insofar as retailers are concerned. Day-to-day living is not on the rushed agenda of so many. As Benedictines, however, we are guided to live in the now, tomorrow will come when it comes. We do not want to miss the once-in-a-lifetime that is today.

As we have been planning what will be happening when fall does come, we’ve also had time to look at the past – such as the 30 years of Oblates with the Sisters and last May’s oblation ceremonies.

We can celebrate the special times in our lives as Benedictines but we need to celebrate most of all the ordinary. The Rule is aimed at teaching us how to live lovingly while being mindful of what has been called “the in-between of common days.”

Almita Bey-Carrion from our Nevada deanery recently forwarded a home video of a man who rescued an injured baby hummingbird. He nursed it back to health with great dedication and was rewarded not only with the bird’s recovery but the incredible joy of seeing the bird’s mother bird sitting on his hand while it fed its baby. Watching the video, the viewer is struck by the stillness of the man as the mama bird approaches and then lands on his hand. Patience, dedication and still-ness – all Benedictine qualities.

This year’s theme is ”Running with Expanding Hearts.” Using chapters from the book of the same title by Mary Reuter, OSB, we’ll explore how the daily gives us the opportunity to grow spiritually. A little teaser: Have you ever thought salad dressing could create a spiritual moment? (You’ll have to read the book to see how Sr. Mary experienced it.) Using Jesus as our teaching model, various Sisters will reflect on parables that relate to the chapters in the book.

So, then let us, in the words of the psalmist, sit under our fig tree and give praise for the day that is now.

Greetings from Sr. Charlotte Lee and Kathy Frick, Oblate Co-Directors

Books for this year

“Running With Ex-panding Heart. Meet-ing God in everyday Life.” By, Mary Reuter, O.S.B., reflec-tions given by Oblates

Parables Of Jesus : Reflections given by Benedictine Sisters

Lord, wait for me.

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Noteworthy News from Sr. Charlotte and Kathy

On July 16, Sr. Charlotte traveled to Roanoke Va. to be with our Bedford Deanery, and to facilitate a retreat for them. The theme of the retreat was “Making Room for your Self.” The hospitality of our oblates was excellent as usual and the food was delicious. The variety and array of salads were not only beautiful to look at but also delicious to taste . A big thank you to all who welcomed me and participated in setting up the room and providing all we needed to make the retreat a success.

A special thank you to Nancy Eck who graciously welcomed me to her home and provided a place for me to lay my head and rest as I prepared for the day of retreat. Let us all keep Rita Zimmermann, and her family in our prayers as they grieve the loss of her father, Edward Ryan. May he rest in peace. Sue Davy of the Bris-tow Group also lost her father this summer so let us keep him and all our beloved dead in our prayers.

Mark your calendars for October 30 for the bi-annual Regional Oblate Day. Oblates and friends from Virginia, Maryland, and District of Columbia will gather at St. Benedict’s Monastery, here in Bristow, for a day of group-sharing and fellowship. Our keynote speaker this year is Sr. Cecilia, our prioress. More details will follow but this promises to be a day you won’t want to miss!

While you have your calendars out – circle and highlight November 13 for our Annual Oblate Retreat. Fr. Raymond Studzinski, OBS, will be our presenter. If you haven’t had an opportunity to read his recent book, Reading to Live: The Evolving Practice of Lectio Divina, you might want to do so. The book is not on the mechanics of lectio, but rather its history and impact on Christian spirituality. Fr. Raymond is the usual celebrant for Sunday Mass at the Monastery and a monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. Widely-read and a gifted speaker, Fr. Raymond is certain to make the retreat a memorable event.

Oblate Meeting Schedule 2010 – 2011

Bristow Richmond

Sept. 11, 2010 Sept. 18,2010

October 9, 2010 October 16, 2010

Nov. 11, 2010 November 11, 2010

Dec. 11,2010 Dec. 18, 2010

Jan. 8, 2011 Jan. 15, 2011

Feb. 12, 2011 Feb. 19,2011

Mar. 5, 2011 Mar. 19, 2011

April 9, 2011 April 16, 2011

May 14, 2011 May 14, 2011

October 30, 2010. Speaker, Sister Cecilia Dwyer, O.S.B Retreat, November 11, 2010, Presenter, Father Raymond Studzinski, O.S.B Regional Oblate meeting, held at Saint Benedict Monastery, Bristow VA.

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Have you ever noticed that some word or person comes up in conversation and the next thing you know; you see or hear it everywhere? We’ve just spent a year reading and talking about hospitality in all its various forms. So it was in late May when Sr. Charlotte Lee and I went to Nevada to celebrate with the deanery the reception of two novices and to conduct the annual retreat. From the moment we got off the plane, Hospitality with a capital H was the name of the game!! Almita Bey-Carrion and her husband Ruben met us at the airport and offered us the hospitality of their home during our stay. Ruben and Almita were just the kinds of hosts you enjoy – attentive but not hovering, lively conversationalists, and always willing to be flexible as schedules changed. (Watch out when playing cards with Ruben, though, he is very, very good.) Sr. Charlotte and I were treated to special meals every day (and sometimes twice a day) by various groups of oblates. Everything was delicious and both Sister and I will be dreaming of some of them for a long time to come. The oblates’ hospitality of the heart is lavish toward Sr. Charlotte Lee and me and to each other. This is a group of people who genuinely care about one another and have taken the time to become a part of each others’ lives. We had the opportunity to visit in the homes of various oblates while we were there. On a dinner visit with Lin Wilder and her husband, we learned just how scattered geographically the members of the Nevada deanery are. It seemed as though we drove forever. Lin has a lovely home tucked beneath a mountain with a desert vista that is as beautiful as it is humbling. Indeed, all of Nevada reminded me that humility in the face of God’s creation is a very appropriate stance as is a sense of awe at the beauty there. I love mountains so I was con-stantly delighted with the scenery. One afternoon, Almita and Ruben took us for a ride around Lake Tahoe, which is an incredible sight.

We had a very enjoyable visit with Amma Rosemarie Ficco. Rosemarie shared so many stories about her days as a sister at Bristow. It was marvelous – and eye-opening – to learn about some of the sister’s early years. The grace-filled women we see at the monastery now were once very lively young women struggling to learn the way of St. Benedict. The stories reminded me that we all have to start our journey somewhere and each step is one closer to what we want to be.

The deanery was kind enough to ask me to do the retreat presentation this year. I told them at the beginning of the Saturday retreat that a room full of people and a microphone in my hand was my idea of heaven. They laughed, but the day turned out to be overflowing with laughter and shar-ing. The oblates had such wonderful insights into aspects of the retreat topic of “Humility, Trust and Love – Living the Rule.” Carrying on table hospitality, all of us had a delightful lunch, complete with two celebratory cakes, and lots of conversation.

Hospitality lived out in Nevada

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I was born with a vocation to the Benedictine way of life! My dear Mom, God rest her soul, wanted to be a Benedictine missionary in South America. Being one of the oldest of eight children, my grandmother needed her at home: Thus my vocation. I was raised in a Benedictine parish and was always im-pressed by the peacefulness and joy of the monks as they prayed the Divine Office walking the church aisles or the sidewalk outside. In the summer of 1947, I visited Bristow with a friend who had a sister there. I fell in love with the monastery and in September, 1948 I entered as a postulant. After serving 22 years as an active member of the community, I left to take my catholic principles to the public schools of Virginia. When Sister Ernestine and Andrea approached me about becoming an oblate, I was delighted! In February, 1980 I made my final oblation. The document hangs in my home. During the summer of 2002, I sought the opportunity to begin a group, in beautiful Nevada, following the wisdom of Saint Benedict. With the blessing of our pastor, Father Bill Nadeau, and the guidance of Sisters Eileen and Andrea, our Benedictine journey began. We have truly been blessed with steady growth over these eight years. To say that my life has been full and rewarding is an under-statement! Now that I am in to the winter of my life, and have more time for lectio and reflection, I think over my eighty plus years and say a heartfelt thanks to the Lord and all who had such a great influence on me. May the Lord continue to bless our community and send many more to follow the wisdom of Saint Benedict.

From Amma Rosemarie, Nevada Deanery

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Today, those making their act of oblation are uniting themselves with untold number of female and male monastics dating from the 6th Century. Each of those predecessors knocked at the door of a monastery and asked for admission. Some came to embrace the vowed life; some of them, like you, came for the richness of the Benedictine life as it is lived out in the world. You’ve had to be serious in your asking. You have had to be diligent in your journey to this day. You have grown personally and you have grown into this community of Benedictines. There is an important reason why we make our act of oblation before the whole community in the oratory. We make public witness of our desire to grow closer to God and we acknowledge that we be-lieve that through the Benedictine way of life that growth will be easier and deeper. Just as we were told as children that we are known by the company we keep, today we want to acknowledge that this community of women and men are living what we want to become.

Benedict urges that we “quietly encourage each other,” (RB 22) and that “all . . . serve one another in love” (RB 35). Oblate Rachel Srubas defines community as being comprised of belonging, relationship and service. Let us then pray as community for this place, this way of life and for each other.

Gracious and giving Lord, We come together to celebrate the gift of this commu-nity. We are grateful for the welcoming and support that we have received from the sisters and from our fellow oblates. We ask for your continued help as we journey to you through the Benedictine way of life. Aid us that we may be pre-sent to you and to one another in love and service. For those who are making their act of oblation and for those who are becoming novices, we ask your spe-cial blessing on their commitment to this way of life. Grant, we pray, that we never prefer anything to You. Amen.

30 YEARSand

STILL GROWING

Oblate Ceremony – May 2010

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“There’s been a terrible accident . . .” said Sr. Charlotte Lee’s voice on my answering machine. Sr. Denise, who laughed and danced and could never remember where she’d left things, had been killed in a two-car acci-dent. Sisters Connie Ruth and Charlotte Lange were in critical condition.

First came the shock, “no, not Denise, not Connie Ruth, not Charlotte Lange.” Then the anger when I learned the circumstances of the accident – a twice-convicted DUI driver with a revoked license, driving intoxicated once more, crashing into the sisters’ car. “They were coming home for retreat,” I found myself with clenched fists yelling out loud, “Not fair! Not fair, God!!”

No, it isn’t fair. Any more than it was fair in May when my son-in-law died suddenly from a massive heart attack. But fair is not what matters in these instances. What matters is how to go on when those we care about are gone.

In pain and anger I sought my Bible and then my copy of the Rule. Ecclesiastes assures me that there is a sea-son for tears and a season for rejoicing, a season for holding on and a season for letting go. The word season is a balm to my wounded heart. Seasons form a never-ending cycle. I will never see last Spring again, but I live in hope of seeing next Spring. It will be a different Spring, but it will have its own unique beauty. I deeply believe that the Spring will come when I will see my beloved dead again in new life.

But to see them, I must go forward to where they now are. I cannot stand like Lot’s wife, unable to go forward because I am always looking to the past. When my daughter sobbed that she couldn’t imagine going on with-out her husband, I remembered what a wise woman had said to me in similar circumstances when my husband died 20 years ago. “You don’t go on without them; you go on toward them.” They cannot come to me, I must go to them. All in due season.

“Run while you have the light of life, that the darkness of death may not overtake you.” (John 12:35, RB Prologue). Neither John nor Benedict was speaking of running away from death – that’s impossible – but rather they were urging that we run toward the light of eternal life. When Sr. Denise was awake, she was moving. If I envision her soul, I see it dancing towards Heaven.

St. Benedict counsels, “Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die. Hour by hour keep careful watch over all you do, aware that God’s gaze is upon you, wherever you may be.” (RB 4) I can read those words with dread and feelings of sadness or I can hear the promise within them that God is always present. Death cannot be avoided, but God is there when this earthly season is done.

I hold on to the memories I have of Sr. Denise and my son-in-law. I treasure the sto-ries others tell me about them. But my hands are relaxed and in my heart I say, “Go on ahead. I’ll be along in due Season. And we will have so much to talk about.”

Holding On by Letting Go by Kathy Frick

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As an Oblate, I have been able to more easily make my work a ministry of the Sisters, reaching out to peo-ple who support the Sisters in love and faith, as though each were Christ Himself. We have raised more money this year for the Sisters and their ministries than ever. I give regularly to the Sisters, too, and ask all my brother and sister Oblates to make the Benedictine Sisters a monthly giving priority. Make a monthly gift to the Sisters, and help sustain their work with our neighbors in need. This fall we will have online giving capability, and monthly giving will be even easier. It is easy, tax-deductible, and you will reap the fruits of the Holy Spirit: joy, peace and love. Joanne Hansinger Director of Development Benedictine Sisters of Virginia 9535 Linton Hall Road Bristow, Virginia 20136 (703) 361-0106, ext. 3110 (703) 361-0254 fax www.osbva.org devdirosb@comcast.net

Looking forward to the Oblates’ 30th Jubilee Celebration

Do you know which Sister was our first Oblate Director? Have you met any of the people who were in the very first group of Oblates? Do you know how the first Oblate meetings were different from today’s meet-ings? Which Sister has two Oblates in her family? You can learn the answers to these questions (and see if you can spot yourself in the photo collages) as well as many other facts about the history of the Oblate Program at the 30th Jubilee Celebration to be held at the September 11 Oblate Meeting at Bristow.

The Oblate Office has been busy this summer researching information to organize a timeline of events from the first group of Oblate Novices in 1979 through today’s 150+ Oblates. We’ve been combing through the Oblate office files, past issues of the Bristow Bulletin, photo albums, and the monastery ar-chives as well as interviewing Sisters and Oblates. It has been an interesting project that has the great side benefit of helping us organize the file cabinet and select material to send to the archives for preservation.

A special Prayer Service will be the highlight of the meeting, and Sister Charlotte is working on the details of the program to include prayer, music, a reflection by one of the original Oblates, readings from Scrip-ture and the Rule, and a PowerPoint presentation of the History of the Oblates. After the service there will be lunch with the Sisters which is sure to include reminiscing along with the food, fun, and fellowship we enjoy each month. We hope to see you there!

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