Christmas at our house

This Madonna and child, painted on an ironing board by an incarcerated individual, 

was given to our Prisoners' Fund ministry that sends spirituality material 

from Benetvision to prison chaplains throughout the country.

This year's chapel Christmas tree.

 The wreath in the main foyer over the switchboard desk.

The Christmas tree in the dining room/community room.

Sister Jen's trumpet stands in chapel, ready for the liturgies of the Christmas weeks.

Holiday lighting

We are still having a snowless  December but that hasn't lessened the preparations for Christmas, particularly the outdoor light displays. One night last week we were driving home after dark and turned into a nearby residential area that was all lit up. Much to our delight it turned out to be a kind of neighborhood light display as most of the houses had some sort of lighting on their homes. Some were quite subtle with tiny white candles in all the front windows. Others had beautifully decorated Christmas trees in their front windows. But the ones that went "all out" were, of course, the most fun to see. 

Here were our two favorites:

Back on the home front this year our inner courtyard has multi-colored lights on five rhododendron and hyacinth bushes along with a drizzle of lights across the azalea bushes that line the cloister walk from the dining room to the chapel. As we approach the Christmas weekend, this week they are set to come on every day from 4:30 and stay on till about 10:00pm. A nice homey feeling.

Been a while

 Last week the serving group that was suppose to work at our soup kitchen one day couldn't come. So they called in the B Team to fill in. The B Team ended up being four Benedictine Sisters, one of which, myself, hadn't worked at the soup kitchen in ages.

I found it to be new and different from the last time I was there, and yet familiar and very much the same! The biggest difference was, of course, that the guests haven't been coming inside for their meal in months. As you can see above, there is still a food  line, but it's just for serving up everything in some sort of order and in a to-go package rather than on a dinner plate. 

The first hour we were there was taken up by making PB&J sandwiches. We made at least a hundred, I swear. Jif peanut butter and Smuckers squeezable strawberry or grape jelly. Very good indeed. These served as "extras," a snack so to speak, for anyone who wanted one.

Then we started to serve up the main meal that was given out at a window in the front of the kitchen. Goulash, beans/salad, a roll, butter and a small envelope of parmesan cheese was the day's main course. In between making up the meals we filled brown paper lunch bags which I think served as a kind of dessert/snack bag. That day it included a piece of cake, a chewy bar and a small bag of nacho chips. I think I missed that somewhere along the line there was a bottle of water, too.

Without plates and glasses the clean up was able to be done in and around all the things mentioned above and we were walking out of the soup kitchen about two and a half hours after we arrived with 187 meals served that day.

Oh, and I really loved one more thing: wearing an Emmaus apron. The B Team was official.

Jhumpa Lahiri

I've stumbled onto a new author, for me, and I am enamored of her writing--both style and content. I first read one of her more recent books of short 2-3 page stories, but now I found her Pulitzer Prize winning book, interpreter of maladies, and can't put it down. You have to put it down, however, as it is composed of 5-6 page stories and you have to read them separately and let each one stand and "speak" on its own for a time.

What a talent she has for framing the simplicities and regular moments of everyday life into strong and deep reflections for the reader. At least that's how I'd try to explain her style! She either is an outstanding observer of life or such a gifted writer that she can pair the perfect words with the experiences of characters.