Our Only Hope

For most of us, the beginning of Lent was like any other. We chose which Lenten practices we wanted to do, if possible, we made a point to go to Mass on Ash Wednesday, and we settled in for another 40-day season of purple. But we did not count on this: ending Lent and spending the Holy Triduum sheltering at home, social distancing, with sickness, death, economic difficulties and stress looming over us. We did not choose this cross. And yet, because of it, God is using it to give us a tremendous opportunity to more deeply enter into the sacred mysteries of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. What we need, now more than ever, is hope.

Hope is an overused and often little-understood word. Hope, as a theological virtue, is a gift from God infused in our souls at baptism, which enables us to “move and stretch forth toward the arduous good”, that is by hope we reach toward the goodness of God even when it isn’t easy. Hope enables us to desire God above all things and to trust Him for our salvation. Hope anchors us in God, no matter what storms or difficulties may arise. “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf…” (Hebrews 6:19-20).

While it is a gift from God, we must cooperate with God’s grace by exercising the virtue of hope given to us. Right now, we are in a unique place of human history. Nearly the entire world has been knocked off balance – our universal human frailty has been laid bare to us - where will we turn? To whom will we go? What do we really desire? These are questions each of us must answer for ourselves, and, because we change over time (even from moment to moment), we must answer them repeatedly.

Over the next three days as we walk with Jesus through his final days and hours before His death, consider the disciples of Jesus. Two of the most prominent are Peter and Judas. Both were intimate companions of Jesus for three years: they traveled with him, ate with him, shared in his ministry. When given the opportunity to leave, they didn’t, and Peter even professed him the long-awaited Messiah. But what happened that fateful Passover? Why did Judas betray Jesus? Why did Peter deny him?

We are told in the Gospel of John that Judas was a thief – he placed his hope in material goods. He must have had some abilities with money, for he was entrusted with the group’s finances and embezzled from them. We tend to think our weaknesses as our trouble areas, but Judas shows us that it is often our strengths and gifts that can be our downfall. Some commentators have also theorized that Judas was a Zealot and was hoping in a political Messiah that would free the Jews from the power of the Romans; if that is true, then he also desired worldly power. Whatever his motivation, and as with most of us it was likely mixed, Judas sinned against hope in his ultimate despair – he gave up on the goodness of Jesus, on the goodness of God and His mercy.

Peter also sinned against hope in his pride and presumption. He did not trust in God, but rather trusted in himself to stand firm by Jesus, and he failed bitterly. There is another way we can sin through presumption – by taking for granted God’s almighty power or His mercy. Many slip into some kind of presumption all too easily – we give lip service to God, but trust in our own abilities, our wealth, our power or our influence. We think we meant well, we wanted God’s glory, but we wanted it on our terms, in our way, and in our time.

Or perhaps we just didn’t take time for God. We were too busy with our life activities and told ourselves, “I’ll go to Mass / prayer / confession, etc. next week, when things slow down, etc.” Or we put off discerning our vocation or taking a particular action we feel God calling us to do. But the problem with this presumption is that eventually, for all of us, there will be no next week. By not making a decision or taking action, the door will eventually close for good. The result of these presumptions is that, at best, we become lukewarm in our faith, and, at worst, we because haughty and prideful, despising God. Yet, before we console ourselves by thinking lukewarm is better than prideful after all, we should remember Jesus told Saint Faustina that lukewarm souls caused Him His greatest suffering in the garden of his agony.

So what are we to do? Stand firm, take heart, and hope in God.

• If we want hope, we need to humbly ask God for it. Make frequent acts of hope.

O my God, relying on your infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of your grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen.

• Avoid complaining, murmuring and making negative or critical comments. Avoid media, television and movies that have negative messages or dialogue. This does not mean living in a false optimism or denying the truth of something truly sad or evil; but it does mean we put things in proper perspective and keep our eyes on Jesus, His Kingdom and trust He has a much bigger plan for our supreme good.

• Hope is closely linked to the virtues of humility and magnanimity. We need to acknowledge our wretched sinfulness AND acknowledge that we are beloved children of God. The cross tells us both these things - it was the price of our sins, and Jesus embraced it out of infinite love.

• We practice magnanimity by seeking to do great things for God. And we need to see “great things” as God sees them. By the world’s standards, Mary, Jesus, the disciples and most of the saints were failures. But God sees and works differently – we need to be unreserved and generous, surrendering to God and let Him work through us as He wills. Begin with small acts of kindness for others. Write a friend or loved one a note or letter expressing your gratitude for that person. Keep gratitude and hope lists - the gratitude list for all the things and people for which your are grateful; the hope list for those you encounter who need encouragement or a boost of hope - commit to pray for them and check in with them periodically.

• Hope is also closely linked with the beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” By hope, we desire God’s goodness, we desire to see Him face to face, we desire heaven for all eternity. And we desire it above all things. To strengthen this desire, we must detach our hearts from anything that keeps us from moving toward God, the “Earthly P’s”: pleasures, possessions, power and prestige. The fifth “P”, pride, underlies all of them as self-centered love. For some of us, this means God will call us to renounce them completely. For others, he asks us to discipline our use of them, holding them with open hands. Begin by giving away items that are burdening you with clutter or which are little used. Give someone a little extra time and attention. Volunteer to help someone who needs an extra hand. Deny yourself little comforts and pleasures and offer your sacrifice to Jesus. If you are used to being in control and making decisions, let someone else take the wheel - this is a great way to practice surrendering: when we do this, we must realize it won’t go all our own way and probably won’t be done as we would do it, but the more we let go of control, the freer we become and the happier we will be.

Over the course of the Triduum, let’s enter into the Gospel passages we hear and read. As our chaplain is fond of saying, it is not a distant tale about someone else. This is our story. How have we failed in the past? How have we betrayed or denied Jesus? How have we run away in fear? Whatever it is, let us bring it to the cross. Let us stand with Mary and Mary Magdalene and John. Let us join our sorrows with theirs, and let us hope for our resurrection day and the eternal joy of seeing God face to face, to know Him as we are known. Hail holy cross, our only hope!

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!

A Response to the Coronavirus

It’s something that we like to think of as only happening in the history books, that with all our advancements in technology and medicine, it certainly can’t happen to us here and now - that a disease could sweep through a community and cause such serious illness, death, isolation, economic loss and fear. But as we hear the reports about the spread of the coronavirus and feel its devastating effects in big and small ways, we are once again reminded how fragile we are.

Our community was first made aware of the virus through some of our sisters who have family in Vietnam and reported that the streets were deserted during the Asian New Year - people dashed out only when absolutely necessary, donning masks as they went, and then hurried home again. Then we learned through our friars that travels to and from Europe were being postponed or canceled. News and prayer requests came in as family and friends located around the country and the world were being affected in various ways - sickness, isolation, economic hardships due to disruption or loss of business, and fear of the unknown.

It is at times like this that a cloistered nun is impelled to more closely unite herself to her Divine Spouse and, like Queen Esther, intercede more ardently for the life of her people.

Some may mistakenly believe that we are isolated from all the suffering of the world, locked inside the security of cloister walls. But as Queen Esther realized, being inside a palace does not guarantee safety from affliction and distress - rather, it places us in a more unique position to intercede for the needs of others. We are deeply aware of our blessings - to continue to have the gift of daily Mass and reception of the Eucharist, to spend time in prayer and adoration before our Eucharistic Lord - these and many other graces are gifts people around the world deeply long for and cannot receive at this time, or even worse, they do not realize the infinite treasure of these things and so do not desire them.

And so, as cloistered nuns, we feel more keenly the isolation, the fear, the suffering of all, and we carry these sufferings in our heart before our Lord in prayer…

…especially during the liturgy, our reception of the Eucharist, and our time of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. We remember the sick and those most vulnerable - our young and our elderly. We remember those who care for them. We beg protection for chaplains and ministers who reach out with God’s mercy to those most in need. We also intercede for medical personnel, first responders and for their families. We ask for knowledge and wisdom on behalf of medical researchers and developers and our civil leaders. We lift up in compassion those experiencing loneliness, hardships and temptations to frustration, anxiety and fear as schools and businesses close, people are compelled to remain homebound, or are stranded away from home and loved ones as travel and movement are increasingly restricted. And we remember the souls of the departed that they might be granted eternal rest and their loved ones will be consoled.

In faith, we know that our remembrance and our prayers have powerful effects across the body of Christ - when one member suffers, all suffer, and when one member rejoices, all rejoice. Our contemplative life is wholly apostolic in that we implore God’s grace on behalf of all people. For when the hands and feet of Christ - that is, his priests, apostolic religious and laity - are shackled from service, cloistered communities, as the heart of Christ, burn more ardently with His love. And this love and grace knows no boundaries of space or time - it reaches through walls, across continents, and can pierce and warm the hearts of those most in need of consolation and mercy. This is why the contemplative life is considered the heart of the Church and its most noble part.

Saint Rocco, patron against the plague and epidemics, is pictured here with a plague sore on his leg, the angel who brought him healing and a promise from God, and the dog who brought him food every day while he was ill.

As news of the gravity of this disease and its spread reached us, one of our sisters shared with the community a saint and a prayer that her mother taught her to pray against epidemics. St. Rocco has long been venerated in the Church as the protector against the plague and all contagious diseases. Coming from a life of privilege, he forsook all to become a pilgrim. During his travels, he came in contact with a community ravaged by the plague and when no one else would serve the sick for fear of catching the deadly disease, he took up the burden. Eventually he too fell ill with the plague and went into the woods to die a hermit. But the dog of a nobleman brought him food everyday and eventually the nobleman, wondering where his dog was going, followed him and discovered Rocco. He brought him out of the woods, gave him proper lodging and Rocco miraculously recovered. His story continues, but because of his selfless mercy and miracles attributed to him, particularly after his death, he is considered a powerful intercessor against epidemic diseases. We share the prayer with you below that our sister shared with us. May our Blessed Mother and Saint Rocco intercede for us. Lord, have mercy on your people us.

Prayer to Saint Rocco

O Lord, you promised that those who run to Saint Rocco and implore his intercessions will be delivered from all epidemics, and you sent an angel to write this promise on a scroll and give it to him. We beg you to preserve our bodies from contagious diseases and our souls from the contagion of sin, by the merits and intercessions of Saint Rocco. Amen.

UPDATE:

EFFECTIVE MARCH 17, 2020:

Due to the “Shelter-in-Place” Order
issued by the Health Officer of San Mateo County
on March 16, 2020, our chapel is currently closed to the public.

During this time of social distancing, we encourage you to keep up your spiritual life by “attending” Mass online (such as the daily Mass being offered by Bishop Barron), reading and meditating on Scripture (daily readings available in print and audio at the USCCB website), making frequent spiritual communions, praying the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet and prayers, and taking advantage of other online and app faith resources - a wonderful list of linked resources may be found online at the Western Dominican Province’s website.

Please know our community is especially keeping you in our hearts and prayers before the Blessed Sacrament during this time.