Lake vs Ocean

After spending a week's vacation at the Jersey Shore for a number of years, I've finally realized the allure of this shore-culture, especially to its #1 proponents: the people of Philadelphia and New York.

The beaches and the shore towns and all that goes along with them, is indeed a great way to spend a vacation--if you're a water/sun person, of course. The mountain, woods-loving folks had better stay inland!

But my love for the great lakes regions, with their fresh water, small boating and swimming, ice fishing and ice skating in winter, and overall easily accessible water recreational sports without the "dangers" of the ocean, its currents, storms and marine life, still holds the #1 place in my heart!

But that doesn't mean I'll trade in my Jersey week. I'll enjoy them both!





P.S. Finished, The Confessor by Charles Todd, a great mystery and am just starting A Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler, one of my favorite authors.

Welcome summer

What a wonderful way to welcome in summer--four of us sat for an hour outside in our inner courtyard and watched over 75 Night Blooming Evening Primroses open, as the sun set during the first hours of summer last night.

Don't miss our summer issue of THE MOUNT magazine that is now online on our community's website.

Also, Mary Lou's latest blog entry on the monasteriesoftheheart.org page is wonderful. It's a "tribute" to recently deceased Ray Bradbury. Great comments by readers also.

My new series, "Mailboxes of East Lake Road" continues.

Back to normal

It's back to "normal" after a week of retreat. It really is a little jarring when you first come out of retreat, isn't it? The schedule was different, demands on your time, even of yourself, were very different--not to mention the sleep schedule--and most everything else that's part of the "normal" day was suspended for a week.

All that changes today---normalcy returns.

A new idea came to me in one of my relaxing moments last week, so here begins a series: "This is the way it was, pre-email."

In reality it still exists, at least on a 15-mile stretch: roadside mail delivery. Within that 15 miles, from the city of Erie limits to the New York state line, along East Lake Road, I found some creative examples--here are the first two:

What I won't forget #6

RB: Chapter 74 "Keeping Monastic Profession Daily Before Our Eyes." Remembering what we did when we did it.

We mirror to the culture an alternative way of living. Prophecy demands absolute clarity about identity. Who we are, what we stand for, with whom we stand. I don't pray for vocations, I pray for authenticity.

Will the world find its reservoir of hope here?

What I won't forget #5

The question is, What do I own and what owns me?

Simplifying, living with what is sufficient, is a great ideal until the day we cut our number of tea choices from five to three and my favorite was one of the ones dropped!!!

What I won't forget #4

Don't miss the new opening video on our community website, "Reflections on Ordinary Time."

One of today's topics was power, specifically unilateral power vs. relational power. The power spoken of in the Gospel of Jesus is relational--to be able and open to influence and to be influenced throughout our life.

In the common life well-lived we don't just tolerate differences, but we encourage them.

And one funny story: an older sister who was quite simple was out watering the flowers. Another sister who was always telling everyone how to do things (her way) went by and proceeded to tell the sister how to water the flowers, what she was doing wrong, etc. For quite awhile the older sister just ignored the litany of advice. Finally, however, she had had it. In one full sweep she spun around and turned the hose on the other--gave her a real watering herself.

Learn to enjoy the differences, very little is going to go exactly my way.

What I won't forget #3

The choices we make right now truly will determine whether there will be Benedictines in North America in the future.

Words move but example convinces.

Our call is to live authentically and enthusiastically. We must live who we say we are and what we say we believe in.

We Benedictines working together have a strong voice in the world today, but that voice comes from living an authentic life.