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!

The Gift of the Fourth Wise Man

How many Magi visited the Holy Family? We don’t actually know, because Scripture doesn’t specify exactly. Tradition tells us there were three because Scripture mentions three gifts they brought: gold, frankincense and myrrh. But legend speaks of a fourth. Here is his story.

Far to the east of the sea, lived a small group of men known to be wise. They had studied the teachings of their forebears and watched the signs of nature, intuiting hidden secrets discovered only by those patient and watchful enough to see them. But no matter how much they learned, they still thirsted for more. It was as if true wisdom was still veiled, hidden, from their sight. They felt they were closest to this eternal wisdom at night when they could watch the stars. When the world was covered in silent darkness, the stars seemed to be pinpricks in the fabric of creation, letting through the true light of wisdom.

Four of these men were assembled together one night, as was their custom, on the roof of a house. Suddenly, something caught their attention - a star, brighter than the rest. But not just any star, they knew in their hearts. THE STAR. Someone very great, a king, had risen in the world, and they felt compelled to follow it and do him homage. So they prepared for the long, arduous journey, not knowing exactly where they would end up or how long it would take. Along with all their provisions, they packed gifts fit for a king, priceless treasures. And off they went.

But as they traveled, they met poor and desperate people along the way. And the fourth wise man’s heart was moved with deep compassion for them, and he began to give away his treasures and possessions. His friends smiled and shook their heads, and his heart was lightened at the joy in the faces of those whose suffering he was able to relieve.

Then, the star stopped! They had arrived! As his friends unpacked their gifts, the fourth wise man was grief-stricken and sorrowful - he had given everything away! His treasures, all his provisions, he had nothing to present to this great king! This was an immense sign of disrespect in his culture, but he simply could not turn back now. His heart held a great yearning to see this new king. And so, with head lowered and heart heavy, he followed his friends into the little house. Each of the first three presented their gifts and did him homage: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Kingly and priestly gifts indeed. The room was still as everyone turned to the fourth Magi. He could not bear to raise his head but simply stepped forward and held out his arms to show their emptiness. Tears welled up and began to stream down his cheeks as he stumbled over the words to explain.

But before he could say anything, his empty arms were suddenly weighed down with a soft, sturdy bundle. He blinked away the tears and the face of a tiny baby, nestled in blankets, came into focus. And as he looked deep into the infant eyes looking up at him intently, he saw the light of the stars.