The paradox of long days and short weeks

"Time moves slowly but passes quickly." 

Alice Walker,  The Color Purple

Here we are at the end of week 3. How did that happen? It really does seem that the days go by fairly slowly... We have 2 sessions each day - 3.5 hours in the morning and 2.5 hours in the afternoon. During the sessions, there are lectures, small group conversations, sharing in pairs, coffee breaks... mostly sitting. By 4 or 4:30 PM I feel ready to take a nap or take a walk or read something mindless. 

But, it's amazing to me how quickly the weeks are going by. Yesterday, which was Friday, Sept. 1, I kept thinking, "How did it get to be Friday already? Wasn't it just Tuesday?" And yet, here we are. Crazy.

The focus of week 3 has been the "Life of Faith." We've looked at the Marianist founders - their teachings on faith and prayer, the history of spiritual movements in the Church and where the Marianists fit, various forms of prayer and methods of discernment, sharing our faith journeys, and teaching people to pray. A full week. We heard from the current SM superior general, Fr. Andre... two former superior generals via Zoom (Sr. Marie Joelle Bec and Fr. Quentin Hakenewerth), and also Fr. Sebastian Abolado (via Zoom) and Fr. Marty Solma. 

You might recall that on weekends we have excursions (well, on Saturday morning we start with a session). Sunday of last week was a very full day. What a day!

We traveled to the Brothers' scholasticate community. This is the community for Brothers who have professed 1st vows and are students at the university. We joined the community for a joy-filled Mass and a very large lunch. What a joy!!!

Chatting before lunch

With 2 scholastics and the SM Superior General, Andre Fetis

FMI smiles

The artwork around the Brothers' community - in and around their chapel and just around the house - BEAUTIFUL!

A carved image of Pentecost on the back wall of the chapel.
Each of the pictures shows the ministries the
SMs have in the region.

The ambo in the chapel.

Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well - 
This is outside the chapel

Jesus heals the blind man, Bartimaeus. 

Lovely fireplace with Adele and Marie Therese

The Last Supper

Madonna and Child

The Chapel doors - the story of Jesus' birth

Then, we traveled to Bomas of Kenya. According to the website, Bomas is run by the Tourism Finance Corporation which, "was established to Preserve, Maintain and Promote the Rich Diverse cultural values of various ethnic groups of Kenya and to act as a tourist attraction centre thus Bomas of Kenya is expected to preserve the authenticity of Kenya’s Cultural values and to portray them in the pure form."

Here, we saw various dances, acrobats, and we toured traditional dwellings of various ethnic tribes. We had a great time! And we saw warthogs and baboons!! 

Not the best picture I've ever taken...

Carmen, FMI invited to dance

More dancing FMIs (Prudence and Annick)

"When I was a young warthog..." 
IYKYK

Brothers outside an example 1st wife's hut

Me and the baboons

So, last Sunday was a long day, but so full of laughter and joy!

Don't misunderstand, though. Not every day is easy or full of joy. Some moments are difficult - not sharing a common language with folks with whom I want to communicate, unfamiliar foods/missing my typical foods, being the only participant from the US (so, my cultural background is very different from everyone's), and being shy/insecure/introverted doesn't help. But... this is not the predominant experience. Joy, openness, and growth are the predominant experiences.

There are more outings planned for this afternoon (Saturday) and tomorrow... And then week 4!

Many blessings,

Sr. N

.. Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, 

"Peace be with you.... As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 

"Receive the Holy Spirit."

John 20:19b, 21b-22

Happy Pentecost!
Grace and peace, love and joy to you on this great feast of the Holy Spirit!

As far back as I can remember, I've had a special affinity for the Holy Spirit. My prayer has often been directed to the Spirit. I pray for the Spirit's guidance and wisdom, for strength and right-judgement. I pray that others may be open to the Spirit. And I have a strong sense of when the Spirit is active in my life.

This weekend has been one of those weekends during which I have been keenly aware of the work of the Spirit. Yesterday one of our Brothers professed his first vows in the Society of Mary (the Marianists Brothers and Priests). Celebrating someone's vowed commitment is always a joy-filled occasion. Yet, this entire weekend has been permeated with a certain spirit both tangible and difficult to describe.

As I consider why this might be true, several things come to mind...

First, because our newest temporary professed brother is originally from a city not far from here and he graduated from the University of Dayton not that long ago, the celebrations this weekend have been filled with the laughter and conversations of many of his friends and family. I had the greatest conversation last night with some of his younger cousins at the Novitiate... dozens of fairly recent UD grads were present, adding to the vibrancy of the celebration.

Second, the homily given by the Director of Novices was very well balanced between humor and sincerity. He told wonderful stories about our brother and also made a beautiful connection between the profession of vows and the Feast of Pentecost. It was simply beautiful.

Personally speaking, it was very good to be surrounded by so many people who are important in my life. Anytime the Marianist Family gathers it is a moment of great grace for me. I was constantly reminded this weekend of how truly blessed my life is that I share it with the Marianist Family.

The Mass was held at Queen of Apostles Chapel on the property of Mount Saint John - down the hill from the Novitiate. The Chapel is build in a completely circular fashion with fantastic acoustics. There were more than 200 people gathered in that Chapel - all of them fully participating in the Mass with their enthusiastic responses and full-voiced singing. That combined with the fact of the brass quartet, cello, violin, and flute... AWESOME. How could a person not be aware of the Spirit's presence there?

I cannot let this blog go by without mentioning the wonderful spirit of the Brother who professed. He is truly a Marianist Brother in every sense of the word. I consider it a great blessing to know him, to have worked with him when he was a student at UD and to have been a small part of his discernment journey. The Marianist Family is richer for his presence.

Finally, it cannot be ignored that this celebration of vows was on Pentecost weekend. I realize that the Holy Spirit is always present and active in our lives and in our world. However, I also believe that there is a special grace associate with the Spirit on this particular feast. It was evident in every way this weekend.

Yesterday, during the sign of peace, one of our Sisters says to me, "You're next," referring to my final vows on August 3. This is a perfect weekend to begin praying that the Spirit might bless and guide the final stages of this part of my journey.

Blessings of great peace and joy to all who read this!
Sr. N