Light Shines in the Darkness

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;

The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

-Gospel of John, chapter 1, vs. 1-5

Since March 17th, when San Mateo County’s “Shelter-in-Place” order went into effect, our monastery has become quieter than usual. We used to be surrounded by sounds of suburbia - kids playing, the Nativity school bell ringing across the street, the white noise of traffic passing by, the buzzing of power tools from the neighbors’ gardening and home improvement projects and most recently, road construction. But now, few sounds of suburbia are drifting over the walls. To comply with the directives we’ve been given and to protect our visitors, our chapel is closed, so there are also no sounds of people coming, going, praying with us and we acutely feel the emptiness. Yet there is also a much greater intensity about our life. The fear, anger, and suffering of those affected by the coronavirus pandemic pierces our hearts with compassion. If we seem more silent and have fewer our posts, it is not because we have nothing to share, but rather because our first priority is to respond to this time in fidelity to our vocation - gathering hurting souls all the more closely to our hearts and bringing them before God with our increased prayers and sacrifices.

But all is not darkness - evil does not have the last word. Today, we celebrate the Annunciation of our Lord Jesus Christ - the Word becomes flesh! Today the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary, a humble, poor Jewish girl, and told her she was to be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah - God-with-Us! We have tremendous reason to hope and there is evidence of this reason for hope springing forth all around us - people volunteering to serve those most in need during this time, priests and religious using innovative ways to reach out and minister to the faithful, families and communities coming together and taking advantage of opportunities for renewal. God is certainly still with us and we rejoice at all these beautiful signs of life amidst the darkness.

Yet as we enter into the second week of “shelter-in-place”, there are also very practical human issues that people sheltering at home are facing or will face: boredom, increased emotional responses, and more. This is not new - every woman who enters the cloister has to navigate through the waters of transitioning from a life of free movement, activity, noise and distraction in the world to one lived in a smaller physical environment with the same group of women. So how do we help one another stay healthy and thrive, whether in a cloister or sheltering at home? Here are some common challenges we face and ways to look at them as opportunities for growth.

First Challenge: Admitting we are not in control. Many young women entering our cloister are capable, independent women used to charting their own course in big and small ways. But eventually in life, something happens - we get married or enter religious life, we encounter a life-changing event or a crisis - and we are faced with the reality that, ultimately, we are not, and never really were, in control.

Opportunity: Make an act of surrender to God and grow in trust of Him. To do this, we need to personally encounter God again and again and let Him love us. Then ask Him to direct our steps. It takes great humility to admit we are not in control, yet there is also tremendous freedom when we do acknowledge that truth and surrender to God with trust. Trusting prayer is foundational to everything else in our day. Each morning and each night, make a simple act of surrender: “Jesus, I trust in You.” Then listen for Him, for He invites each of us: “Rest in Me and in My love for you. Be still and know that I am God.”

Second Challenge: Losing the security of the “usual.” Even the most spontaneous people have some routine for parts of their day - it’s human. And for most people, life revolves around school, work, social activities and so on. In fact, we are often exhausted with all that we have crammed into our schedules as “must do’s”. With most, if not all, of that gone or drastically altered during this time, it can be hard to gain a foothold and we can start spinning our wheels, wasting time and energy.

Opportunity: Rediscover what’s really important in life and create a daily plan (and the physical space) that reflects those priorities. Our time and our energy are our two most precious commodities in life - gifts from God - and it is important that we invest them well. In the monastery, the day is generally broken into one and two-hour blocks of time, which are dedicated to specific activities, all of which are directed to supporting our vocation as cloistered nuns: prayer, work, meals, recreation, study, and so on. When a period ends, then the activity of that period stops. For example, when a sister is to be in the chapel for her holy hour, she sets aside her work until the next work period. When the sisters are called to prayer at the end of recreation, socializing ceases and we move into our time before God. Of course, the daily plan of a cloistered nun will be different from that of a mother of three or a young professional because our vocations are different. And even within vocations, specific circumstances will affect the daily plans of individuals. Nonetheless, when we put a time limit on an activity, it’s amazing what we can get done in that time; we also realize many of the things that were on our “must do” list can actually get done in a simpler way or can be deferred, delegated, or scratched off the list completely.

In the monastery, physical spaces are also dedicated to different tasks. For example, the choir is dedicated to liturgy and personal prayer and a common room is dedicated to work and recreation. Computers are not taken to the cells because the cell is a place of prayer, study and rest. The same concept can help in a home or apartment, though on a much smaller scale: a chair, a lamp a Bible, crucifix and a saint’s image makes a dedicated prayer corner. A table under a window with office supplies in drawers on on a bookcase serves as an office or study desk, and so on. By keeping clear boundaries around time and space and guarding them as much as possible, we are helped in maintaining life balance and in transitioning from one activity of the day to another.

Third Challenge: “Why am I so…?!” Our daily lives in the world are full of external stimuli and noise, things that can distract us from ourselves. When young women first enter the monastery, they are often surprised what they learn or rediscover about themselves (and we don’t always like what we learn!). This can be an additional stress unless we take the time to A.I.R.: 1) Acknowledge what we are experiencing, 2) Investigate the who, what, where, when, why and how, and 3) Respond accordingly.

Opportunity: We are fearfully and wonderfully made - we must know God, know ourselves, and balance the “four corners” of human life. There are four facets of human life that need some attention every day to keep us not just surviving but thriving: physical life, emotional life, intellectual life, and spiritual life. For ease, we separate them as categories, but in reality they are all interconnected - a problem in one area often manifests itself in another. So, it is also important to be aware of how they connect and to keep them in balance.

• Our physical life includes our biological and environmental needs: sleep/rest, nutrition/hydration, physical activity, relaxation, and our stewardship of material goods and natural resources. In a more secluded environment without as much external stimuli, we will start to notice whether we’ve chronically neglected our bodies or our environment. It may take us a while to feel caught up on sleep or the cleaning and organization projects we’ve been ignoring will start to eat at us. While we don’t want to pamper our bodies or obsess over everything around us being perfect, now more than ever, each of us should make an effort to ensure we are addressing our physical needs to the best of our ability. Go to be early. Prepare simple, nutritious meals with family or roommates. Dedicate 30 minutes or an hour each day to tackle those scrapbooks or clean out the closet. Go for walks if you can get out, or put on some music and just dance!

• Our emotional life is where our biology meets our soul. Our emotions are physical responses to things we perceive. We might assume our emotional responses would be more calm now because we don’t have to interact with those people and situations that we perceive as pushing our buttons. But actually, the exact opposite often happens - we become more emotional. Why? Because the “problem” is not outside of us. Our emotions go with us, our triggers are our own and we cannot run away from them. In a closed environment, things that were “little annoyances” become big problems because we have fewer outlets and distractions. To take care of ourselves emotionally, we need to spend some time each day nurturing our hearts. Read an inspirational story or watch a saint movie via FORMed. Connect with family and friends. Take a walk or simply sit outside and watch nature. Relax with music. Take up art or a hobby. When you feel your emotions rising, step back and A.I.R. - Acknowledge the emotion, Investigate why, and Respond accordingly.

• Our intellectual life is not about “being smart” - it’s much more than that We are rational beings and forming our intellect helps us grow in faith, make right decisions, and broaden our worldview (this is especially important right now). Without continuous effort to learn and “think outside our box”, our world becomes very narrow and we can become very small-minded, focusing only on ourselves. Make it a goal to learn something new every day, and in particular, to learn something about the faith. There are so many resources available now for people who want to feed their minds and souls. We have some of our favorites on our website here.

• The last corner is our spiritual life. This is both the beginning and the end. The beginning, because we can do nothing apart from God and need to spend time with Him and grow in our spiritual life. It is the end because we can’t grow well until we have begun to exercise discipline in the other three areas of our life. God is inviting all of us into a deeper relationship with Him, but it is up to us to respond. Now is the time to cultivate prayer and Scripture reading with your family and friends, as well as alone. Start small, take one step at a time.

Final tips:

• When you’re feeling like things are closing in, or you’re tempted to complain, do a kindness for someone else. It doesn’t have to be a big act, but by doing something kind for someone else (without any strings or expectations), it helps us get outside ourselves and the rut of negativity we can fall into.

• Be firm but gentle with yourself. Some of us are very weak in taking care of ourselves in one or more of these areas, so pick one and start small, but stick with it. It takes time and repetition to build up our soul’s “virtue muscle.”

• Every day, work AND play, spend time together AND make room for silence. Work promotes the dignity of our person, so every person in the household should be given an opportunity to take their share of responsibility. Yet, we were made for leisure, for resting in God, so make sure work comes to an end. We also were made for communion, so make time for common activities - meals, games, or chores such as baking or cooking can be great for sharing. At the same time, each of us has some need for silence, and some of us have a greater need for solitude and silence than others. If we are not used to silence, in the beginning it can be very uncomfortable to shut off all devices and media and spend time alone; in silence we have to face ourselves, our loneliness, our woundedness and we most intimately encounter God. It’s much easier to check social media, text messages, or flip on the television. Nonetheless, if we invest in spending time each day in prayerful silence, we will reap great graces and we do an act of charity to those in our households who truly need that solitude and silence for their emotional, intellectual and spiritual health.

Blessed Mother, pray for us!

Epiphany and the Melting Pot Dinner

By now in the world, Christmas is a distant memory.  But in the monastery, we are still celebrating in full swing.  Where Christmas tends to be big and flashy, with lots of greetings and gifts between our community and our family, friends, and benefactors, Epiphany is a big feast for us as a community and it is marked in a special way by our novitiate sisters.

When a young woman enters the monastery, she primarily lives and works in the novitiate wing of the monastery under the guidance and instruction of the novice mistress.  It is a beautiful and grace-filled time, almost akin to “monastic childhood”.  And when she leaves the novitiate and integrates into the professed community, the doors of the novitiate are then closed to her.  Literally.  As a professed sister, if she needs something or someone in the novitiate, she must ring a bell outside the novitiate workroom and wait for someone to answer.

But on Epiphany, the novitiate community hosts the professed community for a feast!  The novitiate common room is decorated and set for dining and the novitiate sisters spend the day cooking and preparing.  Actually, the preparing starts the day before or even earlier!  And depending on the sisters, you never quite know what you’ll get.  With our novitiate community, we often joke with delight that novitiate-prepared meals are “East Meets West.”  This Epiphany was no exception – the table was set with spring rolls and peanut sauce, Calabrese-style “no meat” balls with zesty marinara, deep fried Brussel sprouts with honey-sriracha sauce, a snowman pumpkin pie, æbleskiver (a Danish sweet), xôi vị (Vietnamese sweet rice desert), Vietnamese snowballs, and more!

In the course of dinner, our three wise “men” visited the festivities with little gifts for each of the sisters, some handmade by the sisters and others donated by a sister’s family and held just for this occasion.  Music, games and fun conversations over a Christmas picture slide show rounded out a beautiful evening, which was all too short.  But when the bell rang, we were ready to close the day singing praises to God in Compline.

Deo gratias!

A House of Prayer: The Consecration of Our Chapel

Early this morning before Lauds, the twelve chapel consecration candles were lit. They will burn all day in celebration of the anniversary of the consecration of our chapel.

Today our community gratefully and joyfully celebrates the 65th year of the Consecration of our Chapel! We give praise to God for his goodness and remembered at our morning Mass all our dear Sisters who have gone before us and our family, friends and benefactors who have supported our life of prayer throughout the years.

Below is the story taken from our history archives (with comments given in italics) of the glorious celebration of the Consecration of our Chapel on September 12, 1953.  We have posted the story before but in case you haven’t seen it, here it is again…

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About 9 a.m. the ceremony of the Consecration of the Chapel began. Bishop Guilfoyle, attended by Father Bowe and Father Cahil started the august ceremony. Bishop Guilfoyle had prepared for it by a day of fasting, as he was to represent the Eternal Pontiff who opened heaven to us by fasting and suffering.

The sacred relics that were to be placed in the sepulcher had been retained in the sacristy overnight, and were so placed in the little grille opening into our Chapel hall, that we were privileged to venerate them there during the night hours. Two candles burned before them constantly and flowers adorned the aperture.

The ceremony began promptly in the morning. The Bishop, wearing a white cope, and accompanied by the clergy, remaining outside the Chapel, approaches the relics, to implore near them the mercy of God. For this purpose he recites the seven Penitential Psalms. Meanwhile the door of the Chapel is closed. There was no one inside except the Deacon, who was our Chaplain, Father Clark, wearing an alb, girdle and white stole.

(The Chapel had been prepared before the day by removing every movable thing – chairs, tables, flowers, vases, etc. No persons may be inside the Chapel during the first part of the ceremony. All, even the clergy, are outside the door.)

The Bishop, struck by the greatness of the undertaking, cries out, “O Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, be in the midst of us.” To implore this help, the Litany of the Saints is recited.

After this, the Bishop blesses salt and water, with the usual exorcisms and prayers. Having made an aspersion on himself and clergy, he goes around the Monastery walls, sprinkling the exterior with holy water, and saying continually, “In the name of the Father, Son and Holy ghost.” During this time, the antiphon is intoned, “The House of the Lord is built upon a mountain, etc.”

Having returned to the front of the monastery, the Bishop recites a prayer, asking God to bless this dwelling and make it a house of holiness and prayer.

Then with his pastoral staff, he strikes the door once, saying, “O princes open your gates; and the King of Glory shall enter in.”

The Deacon, who is inside, asks, “Who is the King of Glory?” The Bishop answers, “He is the strong and mighty God.” During all this time, the outer door of the Chapel has remained closed. There is no one inside, except the Deacon. (He was Father Clark, our Chaplain.)

The Deacon does not open the door. The Bishop now goes around the Monastery a second time, saying the same words.

Having returned to the front of the Chapel and asking God’s blessing on all who were assembled, he strikes the door a second time, saying the same prayers as was said the first time. The door of the Chapel is not opened yet. The Bishop goes around the building the third time, sprinkling the walls and blessing them. Meanwhile, the anthem, “O Master of the universe” is intoned.

Returning to the front of the Chapel, the Bishop offers a prayer and strikes the door the third time, making the same invocation. The deacon responds and then opens the door.

“Peace to this house” the Bishop says, as he enters the Chapel. All kneel down in the middle of the Chapel, and the Bishop intones the “Veni Creator.” The Litany of the Saints is again said. Whereupon the Bishop traces, on the floor, with his crosier, on two lines of ashes, the Greek and Latin alphabet.

(The evening before the ceremony, Msgr. Kennedy had come to see that all was in order. But he found that the wax on the Chapel floor did not permit the laying down of the ashes. So he rolled up his sleeves and scrubbed all the wax off the floor and laid down the ashes in the form of an X from one corner of the Chapel to the other.)

After blessing the walls on the inside, he mixes new water putting into it salt, ashes and wine. This is called Gregorian Water.

(And is used for the consecration of the Altar.)

And now, after more prayers, the Bishop goes around the Altar seven times, wearing cope and mitre, sprinkling the Altar and reciting the Miserere.  The moment has now come to place the sacred relics in the sepulcher.

(This is a rectangular hole which has been hollowed out of the center of the Altar which is made of one large slab of stone.)

The Bishop recites a prayer, after which he consecrates the sepulcher with holy chrism and immediately lays the holy relics in it, together with three grains of incense. The relics were as follows: one of St. Fortunatus, one of St. Felicitus, and that of our holy father St. Dominic in which the last one was allowed at the community’s request.

(The relics placed in an Altar must be those of a martyr of the early Church. We also requested from the Vatican a relic of Our Holy Father Dominic and our request was granted.)

Our Altar with the sepulcher containing the relics inside

The Bishop now consecrates the stone that is to close the sepulcher which now contains the relics. He fixes it on the sepulcher with the cement he has made and blessed. Then anointing it again with the holy chrism, he says, “Let this Altar be sealed and sanctified in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and let peace always surround it.”

After this, the Bishop incenses the Altar and its pillars; while all this time, a Dominican student continued, without ceasing, to swing the thurible, perfuming the Altar with its fragrant incense.

Twelve crosses had been impressed on twelve pillars of the Chapel, one at each Station. From the beginning of this great ceremony, lighted candles burned before these crosses.

(It is good that the Bishop was young and athletic because he had to go up a stepladder at each station to anoint the cross.)

While the candles and incense are burning on the Altar, the Bishop and clergy prostrate and sing the anthem, “God be praised,” etc.

During the progress of this long ceremony, besides the Seven Penitential Psalms, seven various Psalms were recited outside the Chapel and sixteen on the inside.

Archbishop Guilfoyle was assisted, throughout, by Father Raymond Cahil and Father Thomas Bowe. Father Meyer and Father Quinn were Masters of Ceremonies.

After further prayers and ceremonies, the Altar was furnished with flowers and candles were lighted, and the august ceremony concluded with Solemn High Mass at the newly consecrated Altar, at which our Provincial, Very Reverend Father Fulton, O.P. was Celebrant, Reverend Father Kelly, O.P. was Deacon, and Reverend Father Ward, O.P. was Subdeacon.

This great ceremony was a foretaste of the joys that await us in the blessed city of Heaven!

A Birthday Gift From Mary!

On this beautiful and joyous feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we’re pleased to announce the result our prioral election held this morning!  Sister Maria Christine of the Cross, O.P. was postulated to a third term as Prioress of our monastery.  The postulation was confirmed by our regular superior, the Very Reverend Mark Padrez, O.P., Vicar for the Master of the Order.

According to our Dominican Constitutions, the community chapter elects our prioress for a three-year term.  A current prioress may be elected to a second consecutive term; but for a third consecutive term, the election must be confirmed by the Master of the Order, which may be done in the person of the Vicar. 

Following a prioral election, the newly elected prioress and the community prayerfully discern the coming three-year term; this is also the time when all work assignments (charges) in the monastery will be formally assigned for the next three years.  As the prioress and community discern, the professed sister currently assigned to a given charge may be directed to continue in that charge, or it may be assigned to another professed sister.  This is one way the nuns practice itinerancy, as we hold our work with open hands and willing hearts.  This change of charges allows the nuns to learn new things, and to discover hidden talents and graces given by God in ourselves and our sisters.

Please keep Sister Maria Christine and our community in your prayers as we discern God's will and implement changes in the upcoming months.  May our Lady bless us and keep us faithful in our life of contemplative prayer and sacrifice.

Deo Gratias!

Happy [Asian] New Year!

Last Saturday we celebrated the lunar New Year with our Asian sisters (and brothers!).  In Asian culture, the New Year is similar to Thanksgiving Day for Americans.  It is a ten-day celebration filled with food, games and gifts, honoring the past year and all our loved ones who have gone before us, as well as a time to look forward to fresh beginnings and what the coming year might bring.  Our community has sisters from Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines, but we were all excited to celebrate with them!

We had a special dish laid out for breakfast this morning after Office – Bánh Chưng, a cake of sticky rice filled with mung bean paste and pork.  To go with it, we had coffee brought back from Vietnam for us from one of our Vietnamese brothers. 

For dinner, we had Bánh Xèo, or as some of us call it, “sizzle dish”.  It’s a kind of Vietnamese crepe that includes pork and shrimp.  The crepe is then cut into strips and rolled in a lettuce leaf with shredded carrots, fresh cilantro and slightly sweet, salty, spicy thin sauce.  For dessert, we enjoyed Chè Khoai Môn, a warm pudding made with tapioca pearls, taro root and coconut milk.

But our big celebration was after Vespers, when we enjoyed a supper party in our community room.  We were treated to a dish our community has not had before – Bún Bò Huế, a spicy noodle soup from the central region of Vietnam.  Of course, a traditional Vietnamese toast, conversation, games and sharing were the highlight of the festivities.

And this is one of the wonderful, beautiful things about community life.  To share and learn from one another and the diversity that we each bring into the monastery is a joy and our unity is enriched by it, like the multi-facets of a gemstone that makes the whole sparkle so that it radiates the light that much more brilliantly.  One of the traditions for the New Year is to honor the past and those to whom we are indebted for our lives, to ask forgiveness for our failings, and to humbly request health and blessing for the coming year.  We now share with you our community’s prayer for this Asian New Year.

Almighty God, holy Trinity and undivided Unity, we give thanks to you for your power and tender providence, your justice and compassion, your discipline and love.  We are grateful for the gift of life you have bestowed upon us and sustained in us this past year to this day.  Trusting only in your infinite mercy, we humbly pray for forgiveness of our sins, the grace to follow you with greater humility, obedience and unity, and the gift of final perseverance in this life that we may enjoy eternal happiness with you and all the saints and angels in the life to come.

We give thanks for our parents, grandparents all our ancestors, and our Dominican Sisters and Brothers who have gone before us, natural and spiritual, and for their lives, sacrifices, teachings and example.  We ask for forgiveness of any ingratitude and lack of honor we may have shown them.  For those who are deceased, we ask Lord that you look with favor upon them and grant them eternal rest.  For those who are yet living, we pray, Lord, that you bless and protect them with your loving providence, that they may continue to grow in light and wisdom until such day when you call them to their eternal home.

We give thanks for our brothers and sisters, natural and spiritual, and for their encouragement and companionship on life’s journey.  We ask forgiveness for any lack of kindness or respect toward them on our part.  Through your grace, Lord, as we grow closer to you, may we also grow in unity of mind and heart with each other.

We give thanks, Lord, for our benefactors and friends, for their generosity and trust.  We ask forgiveness for any lack of gratitude on our part for the blessing of their presence in our lives.  Look with favor upon them, Lord, and keep them close to You in the coming year.

We give thanks, Lord, in faith and hope for those to enter our Order and in particular our community, as younger sisters and brothers.  We pray that you would set our hearts on fire with love for You and for them, that as we receive from you mercy, joy and consolation, we would share generously with them; fill this house to overflowing with holy and fervent vocations, we pray, for the glory of your all holy Name and for the salvation of souls.

We make our request to You through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.  Amen.