July 28
We're getting ready for Community
Days–preparing for Committee meetings
etc. The opening event is a Dinner Out
Thursday night. Benefactors have invited
the Community to be their guests at
their restaurant. Then comes Community
Retreat, Aug. 1-6. Topic is
Thomas Merton: On Prayer and
Community. That will be good. We will
pray for you. Pray for us, too.
July 27
Sr. Miriam had a 10 year old visitor.
Lizandra helped in the garden, had lunch
with us and then played Guess-tures
(charades) with Sr. Miriam, Sr. Mary
David, and another young guest, LT. It
was a fun day for all.
Sr. Mary David finally made another
batch of FROG jelly. (3 cups of crushed
Figs, Raspberry Jell-O, splash of Orange
and pinch of Ginger) The jelly was a
hit; it is already 2/3 gone and not even
24 hours old.
July 22
The
priest shortage has affected us.
Since the Abbey's promise in 1911 to
"provide a priest for us as long as they
had a priest," we've been blessed with
daily
Eucharist. July 11 was the last
day we had a monk presider. God has been
good-- priests in the area have
come to say Mass for us most days.
Several guests have enjoyed Noon Prayer
and lunch with the Sisters this week,
among them were those visiting for
spiritual direction and 2 of our
volunteers.
July 14
Karen Bray, affiliate, was here to
give two hours of volunteer service on
her day off. She also got some
rest/relaxation after cleaning and
shared in Vespers/Eucharist and supper
with us.
July 14
Sr. Mary David gave a vocation talk to 65 teen Peer Ministers on retreat for the week at the Abbey. Br. Jacob had invited her to co-host the session with him. She told them of the Benedictine values and how we live them today. They also learned that "the nuns came first to St. Leo" and how "nunks do it different from monks ie. "Sisters express the charism differently than male monastics" Ryann went along, so the teens were also told about being a volunteer and affiliate.
July 11
Since Sunday celebration preempted the
Feast of St. Benedict we celebrated with
a sung 2nd Vespers.
July 10
Oblate, Beatriz and her sister, Claudia,
came to pick figs. They picked a dishpan
full in less than an hour. They were
excited for they had figs when growing
up in Columbia.
July 9
After a week the crows discovered the
figs! A cloud of them settled on the
trees, eating the fruit on the top
branches. There is plenty for all.
July 7
Spray Day-- Annual spraying for bugs in
every room. Much tidying up preceded
this.
We had a Special Dinner to honor Theresa
Smith's retirement as Director of
Development.
Fr. Damian was also thanked for his
years of service.
July 6
A
Moving Day-- Work is begun to get
Front Office painted and carpeted.
July 4
Supper Party with decorations,
good food and a Light Show
(sparklers & poppers) Definitely a Nun
Party–it was all over by 8 pm.
July 3
Sr. Atanasia, OSB, visiting and hopeful
for a scholarship to Saint Leo
University, arranged a surprise visit
with Sr. Winny who lived with us 4 yrs
while studying. Sr. Mary David saw her
and talked with her in Tanzania on Skype
!
First figs were picked. Usually the
crows alert us they're ripe. The figs
are late this year.
June 30
Installation of Sr. Roberta Bailey,
OSB as 13th prioress of the Benedictine
Sisters of FL took place at Morning
Praise. Bishop Robert Lynch and
specially invited guests later
celebrated a Mass of
Thanksgiving with the Sisters at
10:30 am. The Bishop was very supportive
and had a special blessing for S.
Roberta. A luncheon followed.
(See the Bishop's reflections on his
visit and some nice pictures on his Blog
on the Diocesan website) www.dioceseofstpete.org
Sr. Roberta requested the prayers of
all; she explained, paraphrasing the
Rule of St. Benedict, "It is only
with God's grace that I will be able to
take the place of Christ in this
community, to be a focus of unity, to
teach by example and love, and to guide
my sisters in seeking God in a faithful
expression of the Rule of Benedict
today."
Click Here for a News article about Sr. Roberta
June 27
At supper we had a surprise Thank You
presentation to
Sr. Mary Clare for her 12 years as
prioress. She received a bag with
flowers (with prayer promises for her)
and other goodies.
June 23-25
The Teen Youth Choir from St.
Ignatius in Tarpon Springs came for a 3
day retreat (12 girls and 1 guy). On
their last night they did a sung Taize
prayer service for us. It was so
beautiful, prayerful and meditative! It
was based on the
Song of Songs.
The Chapel was dimly lit and
candles were in abundance. We were
invited to come into the sanctuary and
light a candle and pray.
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When they got ready to leave the next
day some were in tears not wanting to
leave. I know they will come again.
Their leader wants to come back and
offer another Taize evening prayer in
December.
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June 21
3 pm CRACK! Computer screens went
black; phones and elevator - dead. A
transformer had blown. After supper, sky
south of here was BLACK as never before.
A good downpour followed. Thunder in the
distance but no
severe weather for us, just much
needed Rain. The phones came back by 8
pm, the elevator revived by the next
morning.
June 19
Sr. Mary Dorothy's birthday song was
strong/Full with voices of the St.
Ignatius Men's Retreat group added to
our own.
June 18
Chapter Delegates, Sisters Roberta
and Eileen, left for the Chapter.
By accident/providence, Sr. Mary
David checked the cards she keeps on
retreat groups and discovered that the
St. Ignatius Men's Retreat who haven't
been here in 4 yrs don't usually have
Friday supper or Sunday dinner with us.
She called to confirm and sure enough
the 13 men were not to arrive until 7 pm
that night. They are very happy to be
here again and their singing voices
surely are a lovely harmony.
June 16-19
These have been unusually warm days
with temps in the 90's. One day it was
96' with heat index over 100 degrees.
We have gotten a little rain on several
days which cools it a bit.
June 16
Sr. Mary Clare left for Atchison,
KS where the Federation of St.
Scholastica Chapter is being held. She
went early as she is on the liturgy
committee for those days.
June 15
Oblate, Iris
Salcedo, came for lunch. She got
a graduation card for finally graduating
from High School after 10+ years. She
is newly retired from teaching.
Two consultants from the Zeilinski
Co. were also here for 2 days of
assessing our Development Office.
June 13
Affiliate/Volunteer, Ryann Underwood
worked all afternoon with the 52 teens
who came to the Lake House for the
Diabetes Camp. It was a special time
for them; they participated in various
activities involving Karate and they
also enjoyed a Karate demonstration by
some of the Black Belts. Ryann is
currently a Brown belt at Lake House
Tang Soo Do.
June 9
A special day for the 6th grade girls
from Saint Anthony School. We had not been
at the FOCUS 11 day sponsored by the
Diocese when they went so a
special event was planned for them at
the Monastery. They got to see a poster
of Sisters involved in different
activities; they got a Tour and heard
some history of our
early days in 1889 and how we'd
come to teach at St. Anthony School. The
10 girls were given "gifts" and told
they each are a Gift. They prayed Noon
Prayer with the Sisters, and then ate
their bag lunches in the dining room
with the Sisters and enjoyed a surprise
of homemade cookies!
June 4-6
Come and See + Vocation Discernment
Retreat. Two women in their 20's and
Affiliate, Ryann, also participated.
Each woman had a Sister prayer partner
who sat with her at supper and shared
her vocation story. The retreat was a
mix of guided/together and silent/alone
times. The participants got to share in
our life of prayer and community, and
had individual conferences with the
Vocation director to discuss a vocation
self-test. (The self-test is on our
website on the vocation page–if you are
interested) The favorite part of the
retreat for all was the Open Forum with
the Community where they could ask any
question re: Benedictine Community and
prayer. We had an excellent conversation
re: celibacy. Since the retreat ended on
Corpus Christi, a bonus was the
fact that the
Blessed Sacrament was exposed
after Mass until after Vespers. Our
retreatants and the Sisters prayed in
adoration --a special intention was
vocations.
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June 3
Lesvie Clare, (her name means
"wisdom") a Saint Leo University volunteer
who gave us nine hours of service, came
for Vespers/supper. She will return home
to the Bahamas next week. She was a big
help to us last month. We still tease
her that her grandmas taught her how to
clean "like a nun".
May 23
Oblate Sunday (18 in attendance) topic:
Stewardship/caring as a way of
"Preferring Nothing to the Love of
Christ" James Won and Veronica Jhang made
oblation; Diane Cheshier was accepted as
a candidate.
May 22
Elizabeth Mathai became a postulant
at a rite before Vespers. The
Oblates were happy to be part of
this celebration. We are all happy to
have Elizabeth take this step in
becoming a Sister.
May 21-23
Oblate Retreat (8 in attendance)
"Good Zeal: Openness to the Spirit"
Since it was
Pentecost weekend some
prayer/reflection centered on the Gifts
of the Spirit as we recognized that
openness to the Spirit is shown in our
openness to others in hospitality and
respect. "All gifts are given for the
common good."
May 20
Sr. Mary David gave 12 students from
Saint Anthony School their 8th grade
retreat at the Monastery. Included in
the retreat activities was a Tour of the
Monastery, Noon Prayer and lunch with
the Sisters.
May 18
Sr. Mary David preached at the
Novena to the Holy Spirit service
held at
Our Lady of Grace Church in
Beverly Hills, FL. She was invited and
hosted by Oblate, Le Anne Milian.
May 17
A grand Employee Banquet was enjoyed
by employees, volunteers and Sisters. It
is an annual celebration to show our
loving gratitude to those who are more
than "employees" to us and who consider
their time with us more than a job.
May 15-16
Nancy Counihan,
Holy Name Academy ‘45, cashed in
on a gift certificate given her by her
daughter to "enjoy a peaceful, relaxing
weekend at the Monastery" She had a
great time, as she relaxed and visited
with the Sisters.
May 13
Elizabeth returns "home ready to
start her new life" after 6 week visit
with family in India. On May 22 she will
become a postulant.
We had meetings with strategic planning
consultants from 2-5 pm. They had
interviewed 2 of the monks, some
Oblates, and our affiliates
earlier.
May 6-8, 2010
Months of prayerful preparation ended
in sacred days of discernment/election.
Sr. Roberta Bailey, O.S.B. was chosen to
serve as prioress for the next 6 years.
With God's grace she will animate,
enable and give life, spirit and unity
to the community by her loving example
and teaching of Gospel values.
Sr. Roberta has been a
Benedictine Sister of
Florida for over 50 years; she
has shared in leadership as a member of
the monastic council and chair of
committees.
She is presently the principal at St.
Anthony School. She is a respected
educator and known throughout the state.
Her installation will be on June 30,
2010.
May 3
Sr. Mary David and Volunteers, Barb
and Ryann, spent almost 5 hours cleaning
one of our HUD houses to ready it for
new occupancy. Those Volunteers clean
like nuns! We built 2 HUD houses years
ago so there would be some nice and
affordable housing in the area.
April 30
Sisters Mary David, Roberta, Donna,
Oblate volunteer
Barbara and affiliate, Laura
attend the Diocesan sponsored
Conference, "Living Eucharist" at the
Tampa Convention Center with 500
others. They got to hear Brian Heir,
Timothy Radcliff, OP, J. Glenn Murry, SJ
and attended several breakout sessions
ranging in topic from Liturgy,
Ministries of
Mercy to Vocations as all ways we
are "Sent"– the theme of this last of 3
year sessions.
April 25
Affiliate, Karen Bray came for Sunday
Eucharist & dinner. She was
surprised by the
Birthday card, candle and song.
The 26th is her special day.
April 24
Women's Day of Reflection,
"Listening with the Book" Sr. Mary David
led the day for 15 from
Sacred Heart parish in St. Joe.
All were pleased, built community,
strengthened faith, loved the
meal/prayer with Sisters and the Tai Chi
movements done after sessions that
recalled the parables they had
contemplated.
April 17
A Singles Group (8) from Land O' Lakes,
Our Lady of the Rosary parish
came for a Tour, lemonade and
Questions/Answers with Sr. Mary David.
This is part of a "driving pilgrimage"
suggested by the diocese.
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April 17
Relay For Life - Cancer
fund-raiser in
San Antonio. A few of us walked
several miles for exercise and witness,
too. A luminary was lit in Sr.
Germaine's memory. Sisters
Mildred, Jean and Roberta enjoyed a meal
before doing the survivor's lap at the
start of the |
Relay for Life.
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April 16
University Leadership group (14) came to
the Monastery for a class day (9 am - 4
pm) They are all specially chosen
employees of the University.
Sr. Mary Clare gave them class on
OSB Values, then Sr. Mary David gave
them a Tour; they had prayer/lunch with
the Sisters, and another class.
April 15
Awards Night at the University. Sr.
Germaine got a plaque for her "passion,
dedication and support of Saint Leo
University. She had served 12 years on
the
Board of Trustees. There were
also many others who got awards:
outstanding organization, staff member,
m/f in each class; the new Student
Government Union officers were sworn in,
and 100 students named in Who's Who!
The most touching part was how
supportive and proud all were of the
others.
April 14
Sr. Mary David and volunteer,
Barbara went to the University
program: "Ecce
Homo" a one man drama as
Pontius Pilate reflected on his
encounter with Jesus.
April 10
Community Day - among the activities
was watching the DVD from Bread for the
World. We wrote letters at leisure and
had them blessed at Sunday Vespers. It
was a new way of doing our Offering of
Letters. A total of 38 letters were
sent to our legislators asking them to
strengthen and protect policies that
will benefit low-income families.
April 4
Easter Day liturgy was even more
beautiful! The chapel was packed! The
joy and singing just kept building–He is
Risen! He is Here! Alleluia!!
The Peterson Family joined us for
dinner. The family has ties to the
Community from way back; all 8 members
and the Sisters, too, had stories to
share. A good time and a good meal was
had by all.
April 3
Waiting Day–much preparation was done
for celebration of
Easter–the Chapel was decked out
with flowers, the dining room table set
with the best china, eggs were
colored...
We got word that Louise Bedgood died.
She had been our housekeeper for ages;
she retired about 5 years ago. RIP
The
Easter Vigil was beautiful. The
weather perfect for our blessing of the
fire and procession. There was a
reception afterwards prepared by Sisters
Dianne and Eileen which everyone
enjoyed.
April 2
Good Friday was a solemn day of
prayer/fasting and solitude.
Early that morning
Sr. Mary Clare announced the
death of Janie Barthle. Janie was like
part of our family. She was an employee,
the wife of our maintenance man, the
mother of Jenna, a receptionist. For
Janie it was indeed a Good Friday; for
the rest of us her death was a sharing
in the sufferings of Christ.
The Service of the Lord's Passion at 3
pm was led by Sr. Mary Clare.
April 1
Sr. Mary David baked bread for the
Eucharist and prepared the
altar of repose in our parlor.
The feast of friendship and service was
celebrated with a special meal which
preceded the evening Eucharist; we had
adoration until 11 pm.
March 29
Sr. Nilla helped Sr. Mary David prepare
food for the Ministerial Association's
luncheon to be served after
Holy Week Services at the
Presbyterian Church in Dade City.
After delivering the food, Sr. Mary
David shared in the service for Holy
Monday
March 25
We had meetings with strategic planning
consultants from 2-5 pm. They had
interviewed some of the monks, some
retreat group leaders and our affiliates
earlier.
March 24
Elizabeth finally got her passport so
was able to leave for India as planned.
March 23
We got word that Bishop Leroy Mattheison
died today. He was the brother of our
now-deceased Sr. Rosaria. He had been
instrumental in the getting the "Peace
Pastoral" written in 1983.
March 22
We celebrated the feast of
St. Benedict with good liturgy
and meals.
March 19-21
Community Days with Sr. Cecilia Dwyer,
OSB, prioress at Bristow, VA. As part of
our preparation for discernment/election
of a new prioress in May, she helped us
set Directional Goals for the next 6
years.
Note: Sr. Germaine Bevans, O.S.B entered
eternal rest
on February 12,2010. Click here
to see
Obituary for Sr. Germaine
March 12
A Deacon group will meet at the
Monastery for prayer and group support.
March 10
Sisters, volunteers attended the
Model Sedar Meal sponsored by University
Ministry.
March 9
The work of power cleaning the
building started. The smell of bleach
was strong. This is preparation for
repainting the Monastery exterior. Last
painting was 14 yrs. ago. It has
weathered well. Now it is time to
renew/repaint. All were asked to vote
for a favorite
paint color.
March 8
Sisters Mary David and Mary Romana
visited the mobile "Museum of Modern
Slavery" at
Saint Leo University. It is a
statement on the oppression suffered by
farmworkers in our state--truly eye
opening heart-rending.
We hosted a number of Sisters who
joined us for Vespers, supper and a
Lenten Penance Service.
March 1
Our traditional Lenten Soup Supper
drew 65+ guests who prayed Vespers with
us, shared a meal of home-made breads
and soups, and learned about the work of
feeding the hungry in Pasco County from
our Sr. Jean, the director of Daystar
Hope. Alms of cash or canned goods were
given to Daystar where 5+ tons a month
are given to the local poor. A wonderful
evening fed "spiritual, emotional,
social and physical hungers" of all as
our Corporate Commitment directs.
March 1
After more than a year of
waiting/petitioning, Elizabeth,
volunteer/affiliate, went to the last
and crucial interview in Tampa with her
lawyer and supporting documents re. her
immigration status. Much prayer,
patience and fees have finally brought
her a green card , ie. status of
permanent residency. We celebrate
with her. Now she can visit her family
in India and be sure she can reenter
this country. Now she can become a
postulant.
February 12
Just before 9 am, Sr. Germaine, with
Sisters and family members nearby,
arrived at the end of her journey of 75
yrs. and entered into the eternal life
and love of God for whom she so
longed. Sr. Germaine was a cherished
Benedictine Sister of FL and the
Vicar of Religious for the
Diocese of St. Petersburg.
February 11
University students (12) from the
"Women in the Church" class visited.
They heard about St. Scholastica,
Benedicta Reipp (the first
Benedictine nun to come to the US
in 1852) and the Benedictine Sisters of
Florida from Sr. Mary David. They
shared Noon Prayer and lunch with the
Sisters.
In the afternoon the Honors class (8),
"Christian Vision" came for a Tour; then
Sr. Mary David answered questions they
had emailed her earlier re:
Benedictinism. Dr. Anderson's added
dialogue enriched the conversation.
February 10
St. Scholastica Day.
The monks (22) and volunteers (3) were
invited for Vespers and supper.
Volunteers,
Jo Shine, Beatriz Galvis and
Barbara Alexander got to help with
dishes!
February 9
Sr. Germaine has battled cancer since
May 2009. She came back to the Monastery
and Hospice care on
February 1st. Community
friend, Fr. Ed Lamp came tonight; we
all gathered and anointed S. Germaine.
We thanked her and she thanked us and
said she loved us. The whole ritual was
healing for us all; it was good to
share/cry/then hug one another.
February 4
We are treated to a dulcimer concert
at supper by our retreatant, Maddie
MacNeil.
February 3
On the feast of St. Blaise, we had
the traditional blessing of throats. We
were anxious for the day to come as many
of us have had "ailments of the throat"
these past months.
February 2
We had a lovely liturgy for Candlemas.
We said Morning Praise in the Community
Room, had the blessing of candles, and
then processed with lighted candles into
the Chapel for the Liturgy.
January 19
We acted as Food Angels serving lunch
to 33 Habitat workers
building houses in Dade City. On
Mon. a group got together to make the
sandwiches; the next day several
delivered the meal and ate with the
workers. Many were involved in the
Corporate Commitment action to "feed the
hungry".
January 15
After the terrible earthquake,
suffering people in
Haiti are remembered in prayer by
the Sisters. Special
intercessions/prayer were included in
Compline. Personal alms, and a
Community donation, as well as
collections at the Sunday Eucharist will
be sent to
Catholic Relief Services.
January 6-13
We've had the heat on for over a
week. This is not typical FL– usually
there are four days when the heat goes
on all Winter. We've had record low
temps in 20's several days now.
The oranges are still on the trees. If
they freeze, the crop is lost; if it
stays too cold for too long, the trees
die. There was ice to be scraped
off windshields yesterday; frost on the
ground made it look like snow. The sky
is clear and the sun shines brightly
today; it is warmer.
January 3
Happy Epiphany! We had a wonderful
Liturgy and Dinner. In the evening we
had a procession/prayers throughout the
house as we did our traditional House
Blessing; which concluded with Vespers and
Supper.
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