Visitors for the week

Even those who devote their entire lives to living in holiness soon discover that complete integration of energies is impossible while we are still “in the body.” This inner conflict means that we remain permanently imperfect and we will pass into eternity imperfect. Our only hope is to rely on the mercy of God. In a sense, this necessary transition from self-reliance to ultimate dependence on God is the meaning and purpose of the struggle. Victory over our vices is an illusory ideal. If our sins are the only things that make us rely on God, then it seems unwise to get rid of them too quickly.

Fully Human, Fully Divine: An Interactive Christology

M. Casey

Week 2 began with the arrival of visitors for the week. Seventeen members of the Society of Mary representing five different regions/areas joined us for the topic of human formation, psychosexual development, trauma, and safeguarding vulnerable persons. Not a light week! More on that later... 

The 17 visitors are here because they serve on their provincial council in the office of religious life, work at the Marianist seminary in Rome, serve as novice directors, or work in vocations. Five of the 17 are from the United States - Bro. Dennis (Dayton), Bro. Mark (San Antonio), Fr. Tim (St. Louis), Fr. Danny (Long Island, NY), and Fr. Peter (Long Island, NY). It's been good to spend time with them!  

The larger group...

In the randomly assigned seats,
we just happened to be seated together...

 

I mentioned in my last blog that we were planning to visit the Giraffe Centre here on the outskirts of Nairobi. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the place was much smaller than I imagined. But it was cool. I fed an adult giraffe and a baby giraffe. One of the Brothers was teasing me because he said I was frightened. Not true. If you know me at all you know that I HATE being licked by animals. And giraffes have really long, sloppy, thick tongues. I was NOT having that animal lick me! LOL. And you could tell by the way I held out my little bowl of giraffe food. 😉

Of the dozens of pictures we took, there is not one
in which everyone is looking at the camera.

One thing I didn't know before coming (one thing among many) is that the Dimesse Sisters' property is in a place outside of Nairobi called Karen. It is named for Karen Blixen... the woman about whom the movie Out of Africa is based. Karen Blixen was a Danish author who started a coffee plantation here in the early 1900s. It was huge.  So, the land she owned bears her name. 

We watched Out of Africa last weekend - well, it was optional. It's a long movie, so not everyone stayed up. We watched in English with French subtitles. 

Crazy hair, don't care... Movie time!

Okay, now on to the topics for the week. We started the week reflecting on different models of formation... and moving towards a model of integration. It was a long day with a lot of information, but it will definitely stick with me. It's from this day that I drew the quote at the beginning of this blog. 

Models of Formation

Then we were joined by Tina Campbell - a laywoman from Scottland who has worked with many religious congregations on safeguarding vulnerable persons. She is a therapist (although, not practicing these days) and consultant. 

 

       

And although this has been a heavy week, we also had light-hearted moments. We celebrated another birthday, which was fun!

And we had significant moments of prayer. In fact... at Mass a couple of nights ago, our Brothers from Eastern Africa sang a communion meditation song in Swahili... with 4 part harmony... amazingly beautiful. I wish I would have recorded it. 

This weekend, we will have an excursion to a place called Tribal Village (I think). At this place, we will be able to learn how each tribal group lived prior to colonization... and about traditional practices, dress, and dances. Not sure what I think, honestly. I am guessing that it is a little similar to the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii. We'll see... 

Okay. That's enough for now. Eventually, I will share with you about the food. But, that'll come later.

Mutual prayers!

Nicole, FMI

Stop. Sabbatical time!

For six years you may sow your field, and for six years prune your vineyard, gathering in their produce.
But during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath for the LORD, when you may neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.

Leviticus 25:3-4

I knew it had been a while since the last time I posted something on my blog, but I had not realized that it's been nearly 10 years since my last post! I'm a little out of practice, but here goes...

No worries. I'm not going to give a recap of the past 10 years. I don't think you're here for that. Mostly, I thought this would be the best way to share about my sabbatical year for folks who would like updates. I thought about sending out occasional emails, but I would need to find out who wants email updates and (perhaps more importantly) who doesn't. So, it's better to put out these blog posts and let you decide whether to read them. 😁😁

Before I launch into this first part of my sabbatical year, let me briefly explain the concept of sabbatical. It is the same idea as resting on the sabbath day of the week. It is recognizing that in our lives, we need times of rest, fun, rejuvenation, prayer, relationships (with God, self, and others), and renewal. A sabbatical is a more extended Sabbath day. 

The first part of my sabbatical is more about renewal and growth than about rest or rejuvenation. I am participating in a 10-week workshop for Marianist religious (FMI & SM) who are new to formation work or who are about to enter formation work. So, those of us who accompany or will accompany our newer religious.

I left Cincinnati, Ohio, on an 11:08 AM flight on Sunday, August 13, and arrived in Nairobi, Kenya 29 hours later - around 9 PM local time on Monday, August 14. I had a scheme worked out so that the time change wouldn't be terrible for me. Basically, I left Cincinnati really tired so that I could sleep across the ocean. Even though it would be the middle of the afternoon in Ohio, it was nighttime in Nairobi, so I wanted to sleep at the time I would sleep when I arrived. I think folks thought the idea was ridiculous. But, I tell you what... it worked! I slept on the flight to Frankfurt, Germany, and was awake all day Monday so that I could sleep once I arrived at the retreat center. 

We're staying at the retreat center of the Dimesse Sisters - a congregation founded in Italy. Their official name... the Daughters of Mary Immaculate (FMI)! Crazy. I knew there was another FMI congregation out there, but I didn't realize that they had the exact same name. I suppose that's why we put (Marianist) after our name. 

It's my first time on the African continent. So, I was pretty excited about that. On Saturday, August 19, we will take our first excursion away from the retreat center grounds. We're heading to a nature reserve called Giraffe Centre (British spelling, of course). I'm looking forward to seeing more of the area. 

Anyway, let me give you a brief synopsis of a few things we've done, things that I've noticed, or that have struck me for some reason. In no particular order...

• Of the 29 participants, 8 are from India - 2 FMIs and 6 SMs. Our first full day here was Indian Independence Day. It was also Korean Independence Day, and we have one SM here from Korea. We celebrated at a social that evening with the Indian National Anthem (I believe) & Bosco from Korea joined in: 
  
  
• The margarine set out each day at breakfast has as its description, "Fat Spread." How's that for truth in advertising!
• We have the option of paying the staff a minimal fee to do our laundry, or we can do it ourselves. Well, I'm not a fan of paying people to wash my dirty clothes, so I decided I'd do it myself. Well... I went into the laundry room and quickly realized that doing it yourself means doing it by hand. I thought, "I can do this." And yes, I can. But it took me forever, and I'm not really sure my socks and t-shirts are actually clean or that all the soap is out ... I think I'll swallow my pride and pay the fee for them to wash my socks, pants, and shirts. But I'll continue to do my intimates myself. 😏
• Because many of the Brothers here have studied at the Univ. of Dayton over the years, I keep seeing Dayton-related t-shirts. This CJ one caught me off guard, but I was happy to see it. 

• We've spent the first few days getting an orientation to our time. Our second full day was a retreat focused on Mary as a model for formation and Joseph as a model of formation. The days have been good and full. We begin with morning prayer and meditation at 7, followed by 8 AM breakfast. At 9, we begin our morning session that goes until 12:30 (with a break for tea and snacks around 10:30). Then we're free until 3 PM when we begin with the 3 o'clock prayer outside around statues of Mary and John at the foot of the cross. Our afternoon session goes until 5:30 (with another tea/snack break). Mass is at 5:45, followed by supper. In the evenings, we may have something after supper, but so far, we haven't had an evening thing. Night prayer is at 8:30 PM, and when that's over, I typically head to bed. 

• All of our prayer, sessions, and sharing have been either in English or French (we have a translator who speaks both - we wear headphones for sessions through which we hear his translations into English or into French). Most people here have basic knowledge of at least one of those. There are some people who are fluent in both - plus Italian, Spanish, etc. And there are some for whom English is their second, third, or fourth language, but English is the language of the community house in which they live (this is true in India, for instance). 
• We've been using the iBreviary app for morning prayer, Mass, and night prayer. It's a sign of the times that we all staring at our phones for prayer. 📱

Okay, that's more than enough for now.  😀

Know of my prayers for you.

Blessings,

Nicole, FMI