Ora et Labora—Pray and Work

Isn’t it strange how the society we live in is rooted in work? We are surrounded by busy people, who never seem to slow down or tire. This year I live among some of the most tireless workers I know in the Brothers of St. John. There is a difference, however, a spark which animates their tasks. I’m not only surrounded by wonderful workers, but the secret lies in that I am surrounded by wonderfully contemplative people who are striving to live an ordered life.

Coming into this life of Ora et Labora, I’ve discovered that I enjoy working. To have a vision for a finished product that fulfills all the necessary requirements and is a direct result of your hard work, it’s nice. That is not a summit, however.

The question is: why do I work with such intensity? I’m not saying that to be productive is no good, and to enjoy molding material into something new is disordered. I’m saying that if I find my value in the work that I produce, then I may fall prey to the whims of the world. It’s been quite a wake-up call. To discover that I measure the success of my day by the tasks that I’ve accomplished is shocking.

Now that I realize that I’ve wrongly placed work above prayer (labora et ora), I am striving to fight my way out of the fog and into life animated by love. How do I stop my mind from its incessant racing back and forth around a problem, or a project when it ought to be focusing on the supreme gift of being in the presence of the master? How do I allow Christ to animate my life, even my work, instead of allowing my work to drive my life always to the next project?

This post contains a lot of questions that will take me years to find the answers to. Hopefully, through giving God this year, and striving from moment to moment to be mindful of His will, I can start to reorder my life so that God is truly at the center.

Master, where do you dwell?

My searching heart longs for truth,

Rising and falling as an ocean swell,

Reaching farther away from this place,

Aid me to come back from where I fell,

This life is nothing without you,

Meet me as the woman at the well,

Give me new life to begin again,

Your secret of love within my hear tell,

Reassemble the broken pieces,

Oh Master, where do you dwell?

Brothers and Sisters

A pivotal part of the Eagle Eye Institute and something I’ve been remiss to comment on, is our life with the Community of St. John. The Community of St. John was founded in France by a Dominican priest, Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe. Under the guidance of a French mystic, he formed the brothers to be contemplatively apostolic. Marthe Robin was paralyzed, and later also became blind, and it was a malady that the Lord asked her to carry. She lived solely on the Eucharist, which she received once a week on Fridays. Immediately after receiving the Eucharist each week she would go into ecstasy and live of our Lord’s Passion until Sunday. Fr. Philippe would give retreats at Chateau Neuf, where she was located, and would be given 10 minute audiences with Marthe Robin. It was under her guidance that the Community was founded.

Father Philippe, himself, was a tirelessly loving priest. When he was younger he had cancer in his throat and his vocal chords were injured through the experience. Once a week, we listen to a Spiritual Conference he gave, which is translated into English for us by one of the Brothers. He had a very soft voice, and yet he knew how to communicate. Father was also very attentive to small details and also to the brothers and sisters he ministered to. Even in his old age, he would meet with Brothers until 3 in the morning. He was still the first one to morning prayer each day at 6am. He died at 93, only a few years ago.

In a story told by Fr. John Luke, he and another brother had been assigned to meet Fr. Philippe after one of his classes and help him up the stairs, as Rimont is not handicapped accessible. Father Philippe approached the two brothers and he knew why they were there. He looked from the brothers to the stairs before him and then said, “I am going to climb those.” (in French) Very slowly, and with some help from Father John Luke, he climbed the stairs.

Father rooted the novitiate of the Community in study of Philosophy and Theology. Once the brothers are professed they continue to learn, grow and question and many go on to teach. As I mentioned before the Brothers were founded to be contemplatively apostolic. Through their studies, they discover the source of all life in Christ and in prayer they are able to live of the source and be refreshed. It is only then that they are able to minister to others. That’s why during the 2 years of novitiate, novices and postulants do not take on apostolates so as to truly give themselves over to prayer.

There’s two stages to entering the brothers: postulants and novices. Postulants are those who would like to move toward becoming a brother, but must first begin their studies and live the life of the community for a time before deemed ready for the next stage. They wear street clothes and take particular pains to live in silence, prayer and study. Novices have been given habits as well as new names and are referred to as “Brother.” They’ve taken simple vows and as soon as they take their final vows, they’re known as Professed Brothers. Not every brother goes on to become a priest, part of their poverty is to give that decision to the priors and their discernment for what the community needs and how God is working in that Brother.

The Contemplative Sisters I live nearest to, live a life steeped in prayer and silence. Sr. Marie Segulund, the prioress in Princeville, once said, “When you love someone, you want to be silent with them sometimes,” in answer to my question on silence. They also study, taking Philosophy and Theology classes. Many of their classes are tapes of Sisters giving classes in French, which are translated by a sister into English, they also join the Brothers for some of their classes.

The Contemplative Sisters are not cloistered, but at the same time, they do not seek to minister. They are very welcoming and hospitable to all who come to the Community, but they do not leave the grounds in order to serve others. Apostolic Sisters, live the contemplative prayer life, and are able to minister to the community and have apostolates. They’re similar to the Brothers.

I hope that this offers a little more insight to the life I live here with this beautiful men and women of God whom I am privileged to live beside.

One Month Reflections

We’ve been here at Eagle Eye just over a month now. It’s been an interesting month, and as with all new things, it feels like it’s been longer than that. There are so many things that I could write about in reflecting on the time I’ve spent in the Eagle Eye Institute that it’s hard to know where to begin.

It has been such a joy to develop the beautiful friendships I now enjoy with the ladies of the Eagle Eye Institute. We are all so different in our personalities and yet, here we are, striving to discover the Lord’s will together. Each of us has particular gifts to offer this year and even in this last month, it’s been wonderful to see them in action.

I’ve finally gotten used to the schedule a little. And by that I mean that my stomach has stopped growling during Adoration, which is right before dinner. Looking at the daily life of the Eagle Eye Institute, I can’t help but marvel at what a gift this year is. I am called to live a day that is rooted in prayer, and am given the opportunity again and again to run into the arms of the Father who is waiting to receive me. In token, He is waiting me to return my love through remaining faithful to the spiritual regime. I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy. I often have to dash out the door with mismatched shoes, and disheveled hair from failing to respond to my alarm clock in the mornings. I also struggle to remain alert and attentive during our evening Holy Hour, which is code for: sometimes the Divine Surgeon has to put me under for an operation… or I just can’t stay awake. Personally I hope that it’s the Lord’s doing, but since I’m not exactly St. Therese yet, it mightn’t be the case.

The classes have also been a supreme delight in my daily life. Each teacher has his own style, which I find fascinating. The truths that they present and guide us to understand are building blocks for life. I am better equipped to understand my experiences through the 15 different classes I am taking. I need to begin typing up my notes soon, and once I begin, I hope to offer snippits of the classes here, but that’s only if I can organize my notes and my thoughts well enough.

All in all it has been a beautiful beginning to what I hope to be a fruitful year for the Holy Spirit to work in my life. Pray for me, know that I’m praying for you. If anyone has specific prayer intentions, let me know via e-mail or comment and I’ll be sure to pray for you and, if you like, offer the petition to the Contemplative Sisters to pray for as well.

Cana Meals

Once a week, the ladies of the Eagle Eye Institute have a special meal together where two of us volunteer to cook and entertain the troops. This gives us a night where we can breathe, be together, and enjoy life. We’ve had three so far and they’ve been lovely.

The first, which, in my opinion, was a defining bonding moment for all of us, was a murder mystery party. Erin and Kristy were the master minds behind this glorious adventure. Each of us received a relatively cryptic invitation to the Cana Meal that would be occurring Sunday. The day of the event, we received a second note, with a requested wardrobe. On my card, it was asked that I wear old jeans, a white t-shirt, a hat, and… a mustache.

Once the meal began we were introduced to our characters and told that there was a murderer among us: I played Enrique Graves, a Mexican who had dropped out of school and was working for the owner of the vineyard, who was the murder victim. Erin played Michael Nightshade a realtor who wanted to buy the vineyard from the victim. Graceanne was Kathryn Lawless, a librarian who considered herself to be the best friend of the victim, who had heard of the victim’s intention to sell the vineyard and move away. Becca played Vicky D’adly, the sister of the victim… they hadn’t spoken in years. Joan was Vicky’s gambling husband Norman D’adly, who used to date Vicky’s sister, the victim, before marrying his wife. Agata was a Doctor, whose name escapes me, but she wrote murder mysteries her last, surprisingly similar to the tragic death of the victim’s husband. And our dear Kristy was Grandma Babushka, the masters of ceremonies and only neutral party.

Each course we played a new round of the game, everyone got into character and we argued out all the different accusations throughout the dinner. None of us knew until the end who had actually committed the crime. It turned out that each of us had plotted to kill the victim, but the real murderer will remain anonymous. You’ll have to play the game yourself if you want to find out.

The next Cana meal was run by Joan and I and we planned An Evening with Mother Goose. We gave all the girls topics for favorite family stories they could tell. It gave us a chance to get to know the younger versions of ourselves as well as some great moments we’ve had with our wonderful families. We also decorated cup-cakes, which was a lot of fun.

This last Cana meal was led by Agata and Graceanne who planned a night in Poland for us, with Pirogues and Borsch. We ate banana splits and watched a movie together.

It’s beautiful to see how, with each Cana meal, we’ve grown a little closer in different ways. I always look forward to Cana meals as they are a light-hearted means to enjoy life.

Cucina Antica

A few weekends ago, Eagle Eye accompanied Father Nathan to a Youth 2000 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. For someone who had never been to Wisconsin in her life, it was another great opportunity to experience the beauty of that state.

The behind-the-scenes master of ceremonies for the weekend was a man by the name of Neil Fusco. I spoke with him briefly during the weekend, as he’d asked an Eagle Eye girl to give a 5 minute testimony, and guess who volunteered. After the Youth 2000 concluded and everyone was cleaning up and preparing to leave, the wonderful volunteer kitchen staff that weekend served lunch for the speakers. We joined them, and were able to get to know Neil a little better. It turns out that Neil is an Italian who created and produces Pasta Sauce.

He owns a company called “Cucina Antiqa” and he shared with us some stories of his work. Neil also gave us a thirty second lesson on how to be Italian. According to Neil, who has a thick Bronx accent, when an Italian speaks to you, there are approximately 4 responses to any question they could ask. Suppose they said, “Com stai bella?” the appropriate response would be “Eh.” If they continued speaking you could say, “Oh.” And then if they keep talking the next response would be “Ah.” The final response is something like, “Eesh,” or “Ieeee,” hands flailing in the air.

Neil was very generous with the Eagle Eye girls, as he sent us an entire case of pasta sauce in 3 different flavors as well as Cucina Antiqa noodles. Cucina Antiqa is sold in Whole Foods stores nation-wide. If you’re looking for a new deliciously zesty pasta sauce, you should try to find Cucina Antiqa and learn thirty-second-Italian yourself.

Check them out on-line: Cucina Antica Foods Corp