SAINTS WE HAVE KNOWN

I cannot remember exactly the year I first met FATHER WALTER CISZEK, SJ.  I do know I was a novice so it must have been in the early 70s.  Who knew when he first came to visit us that he would one day be on the path to sainthood.  At present he is Venerable.  We have been praying to him for a miracle in healing of Mother Felicitas’s son Carl, who has pancreatic cancer.  We tell this saint to be, if you are going to get that final stamp of approval, you do need the miracle! So why not for us???

Father was born in the mining town of Shenandoah in Pennsylvania of Polish parents.  According to the story he was a member of a gang, so all were surprised when he announced in the 8^th grade that he wanted to be a priest.  I do remember his once telling us that his “rough” childhood most likely prepared him for the trials ahead.

After joining the Jesuits, he informed his superiors that God wanted him to go to Russia, so he was sent to study in Rome at the “Russicum,” the Jesuits’ Russian center, and in 1937 he celebrated his first Mass in the Byzantine rite. Aiming to infiltrate Russia through Poland, he taught ethics in a seminary in Albertyn, Poland. But in 1939 Hitler invaded from the west and then the Russians came from the east, invading the seminary. In 1940 the Ukrainian Archbishop of Lvov permitted him to enter Russia, and he headed for the Ural Mountains, a two-week trip in a box car with 25 men. While hauling logs in a lumber camp, he said Mass furtively in the forest. Secret police arrested him as a Vatican spy when they found his Mass wine, which they called nitroglycerine, and kept him in a cell 900 feet square for two weeks with 100 other men.

After six more months, beaten with rubber clubs, starved, and drugged, he signed a confession. This he later called one of the darkest moments of his life. On July 26, 1942, he was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor, starting with five years of solitary confinement in Moscow’s notorious Lubyanka prison. He was then sent to Siberia. After a slow 2,500-mile trip in a sweltering boxcar, he was sent on a barge to Norilsk, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, working 12-hour days shoveling coal into freighters, with rags for shoes. In hushed tones he said Mass for Polish prisoners using a vodka glass for a chalice and wine made from stolen raisins. Having been transferred to work in the coal mines for a year, he became a construction worker in 1947, returning to the mines in 1953.

Throughout his lengthy imprisonment, Fr. Ciszek continued to pray, to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, conduct retreats, and perform parish ministry. He was presumed dead by both his family and the Jesuit Order until he was allowed to write to America in 1955. What got him through those years?  “No danger could threaten me, no fear could shake me, except the fear of losing sight of Him. The future, hidden as it was, was hidden in His will and therefore acceptable to me no matter what it might bring. The past, with all its failures, was not forgotten; it remained to remind me of the weakness of human nature and the folly of putting any faith in self. But it no longer depressed me. I looked no longer to self to guide me, relied on it no longer in any way, so it could not again fail me. By renouncing, finally and completely, all control of my life and future destiny, I was relieved as a consequence of all responsibility. I was freed thereby from anxiety and worry, from every tension, and could float serenely upon the tide of God's sustaining providence in perfect peace of soul”.

In Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Father quickly established several parishes. Then came four years just south in Abakan, working as an auto mechanic. In 1963 the KGB hauled him back to Moscow and handed him over to the American consulate in exchange for two Soviet agents. As the plane flew past the Kremlin, he related, “Slowly, carefully, I made the sign of the cross over the land that I was leaving.”  In New York he gave spiritual direction at Fordham University in a residence now named for him, writing his monumental books With God in Russia and He Leadeth Me. Believe me, these books read better than the best mystery novels!

In spite of all those years of deprivation Father lived till the age of 80. He was remembered by us all as a man of prayer, totally submissive to the will of God, but with an ever present smile, and a wonderful sense of humor.  “The power of prayer reaches beyond all efforts of man seeking to find meaning in life. This power is available to all; it can transform mans weaknesses, limitations and his sufferings”.

SAINTS TOGETHER

Its is amazing how many saints knew each other in their lifetime. They say opposites attract but I am sure that those who follow the path of the Lord also attract one another. They seem to support one another in their search for Truth. Examples are Sts. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, who co-founded the Daughters of Charity. In more modern times we have St. Damien of Molokai and the soon to be canonized BLESSED MARIANNE COPE, O.S.F., also known as the Blessed Marianne of Molokai, (1838-1918). She was a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, N.Y. In 1883, Mother Marianne, a Superior General of the congregation, received a plea for help in caring for leprosy sufferers from King Kalākaua of Hawaii. More than 50 religious institutes had already declined his request for Sisters to do this. She responded to the letter enthusiastically:

"I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen ones, whose privilege it will be, to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders... I am not afraid of any disease, hence it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned lepers".

In 1888 she moved to Kalaupapa, both to care for the dying Father Damien- who was already known internationally for his heroic care of the lepers -and to assume his burdens. She spent many years caring for the lepers on the island of Molokai. Despite direct contact with the patients over many years, Bl. Marianne was not afflicted by the disease, considered by some to be miraculous. The community which she founded on Molokai continues to minister to the few (about 12) patients afflicted with Hansen’s Disease while the Franciscan Sisters also work at several schools and have ministries throughout the Hawaiian islands. While I lived on Oahu I often went to daily Mass at the girls school run by the sisters of her order, in Manoa Valley, just blocks from where I lived.

I was fortunate to visit Kalaupapa, Molokai, when it was still a "leprosarium". Permission had to be obtained from the health department, which was gotten through doctor friends. I then flew in with the mailman, an adventure in itself as the tiny runway was either a hit or miss affair- missing meant going into the waters.  I was told to bring my own lunch in a sack, as there were no facilities for guests. I was met at the two-seater plane by my "guide" for the day, an elder who had contracted Hansen's Disease in the days before the sulfa drugs. She drove the small car with great efficiency, considering she had no fingers on her hands. I met many of the people that day, there being about 100 left in the colony. In the hospital itself there were still the sisters and about  20 patients. All of the people living there were doing so by choice. While their disease had been arrested, they were scarred and felt more comfortable in their "paradise". A fond memory is of the man who filled my lunch bag with gardenias from his garden. Many hedges of this fragrant flower surrounded his small home. When he noticed me smelling the flowers he came outside and told me to take all I wanted and helped me pick them. I found a cheerfulness among these people and a great love for the sisters who cared for them as well as pride in their Father Damien.

Bl. Marianne will be canonized on October 21, 2012, along with BL. KATERI TEKAWITHA. another great North American saint.

ANOTHER DEATH IN LENT- 2012

At this time last year I wrote of the death of my brother Jeff. Just as we celebrate his one year passing to the Father, we bury our elder Mother Martina. She would have been 90 in September.

Mother  entered religious life later in life, having raised three children. For years she was house mother to a men's ag fraternity at U of Arizona.  Her “boys” were often in touch with her even after  they started families of their own. Mother will always be remembered by her cheerful demeanor and graciousness. She had a deep love of  Our Lady who we are sure got us through the day. Rain was expected but at Communion we had full sun which remained throughout the burial.

Neighbors came to help lower the coffin, and all the community and guests added their symbolic shovels full of dirt to the grave.

In his homily at the funeral Mass Father spoke of Lazarus and the suffering of his sisters Martha and Mary, not to mention Christ's own grief.  The raising of Lazarus from the dead is Christ's way of saying, “I am the resurrection, do you believe this?”
This time of Lent is a "rehearsal" for our own death. The focus of this time is on renewing our lives in  the service of the Lord- of becoming more like Jesus. All the small  sacrifices we make during this time are but symbols of what is meant to be happening inside each of us during Lent, that is dying to our old way of life and rising to new life with Jesus.

Lent, from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “springtime”  is the  springtime of  our soul, a time for preparation, planting, and growth. Lent is not so much a journey of so many weeks as it is a  pilgrimage, for all of us who are baptized into Christ.  A time to journey together with Christ to the cross where our sins are put to death, and then to the empty tomb, where we are given new life in the risen Christ who is our Hope.

As we buried Mother Martina next to my brother we rejoiced with her in her new life in Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life for all who believe and hope in Him.

On February 10, the feast of St. Scholastica, twin to St. Benedict and foundress of our Order, our Mother Prioress Therese celebrated 50 years of vows.  It was a quiet but very happy celebration for us. (this in another blog)

SAINTS FOR THE NEW YEAR

It has been a custom in our monasteries to each draw a saint as patron for the coming year. The usual famous saints, as apostles, great martyrs, virgins, bishops, and others always appear.  In the past few years we had added to the list, some of the more modern saints, as Maxmillian Kolbe, Kateri Tekwitha, Damien of Molokai. This year I asked if we could have a second drawing for an obscure saint whom most of us had never heard of. In my study of saints and birds I came across so many wonderful saints (many totally unrelated to birds or animals), all of whom had great stories to tell and lessons to be learned from their lives.

This year I decided to concentrate on women from many centuries ago. Among them the Celtic Sts. Bega, Pega, & Milburga,  plus Godelina & Pharaildis, who were Flemish.

One of the new ones:

ST. GODELINA of GISTEL ( Godelieve) born around 1049 and died 1070. Tradition states that she was pious and beautiful young woman, much sought after by suitors. Godelina wanted to became a nun but a nobleman named Bertolf was determined to marry her and successfully invoked the help of her father. Her mother-in-law soon forced the young bride to live in a narrow cell, with little food to support her. What she had, Godelina shared with the poor. Bertolf also spread false rumors about Godelina, and seemingly the marriage was not consummated. Godelina managed to escape to the home of her father but he appealed to the local Bishop and the Count of Flanders and managed to have Bertolf restore Godelina to her rightful position as his wife. Godelina returned to Gistel but soon after, at the order of Bertolf, was strangled by two servants and thrown into a pool making it appear as if she had died a natural death.

Bertolf married again and had a daughter who was born blind. Tradition states that Bertolf's daughter was cured through the intercession of St Godelina. Bertolf, who was repentant of his crimes, went to Rome to obtain absolution. He went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and became a monk at St-Winoc at Bergues. Bertolf's daughter established a Benedictine monastery at Gistel, which was dedicated to St. Godelina. Bertolf’s daughter joined this new community as a nun.

Drogo, a monk at the former St. Winnok abbey in Bergues, wrote Godelina's biography, the Vita Godeliph, about ten years after her death.

Godelina's feast day is July 6. The story of her life tells how after fleeing from the home of her husband she worked in the fields.  When she needed to go to church for prayer, she told the cows to go to the barn and wait for her. This painting in the Church at Gistel shows her with the crows.

THE SAINTS LOOKED LIKE US

Recently I found this quote (source unknown) which certainly rings true of the many saints I have found in the past months in my study of "Saints and Birds"!

"the saints have not fallen from Heaven.
they are people like us, who also have complicated problems.
holiness does not consist in never having erred or sinned.
holiness increases the capacity for conversion,
for repentance, for willingness to start again
and, especially,  for reconciliation and forgiveness".

What has been particularly note worthy is the number of holy people Blessed Pope John Paul II called to the front during his pontificate. Almost every country is now represented and there are more non-religious (and non Italians) then ever. Africa, Asia and N & S America are represented as never before. Over the weeks I hope to introduce some of the lesser known but interesting personages. Their life story gives us hope that our own road to the Father may also be paved with special graces.

Before I went to Costa Rica in November I encountered their only saint- at least one recognized as such- and asked her to guide me in my trip. People there were amazed that I knew of her (and a few did not know of her). She is BLESSED MARIA ROMERO MENESES. She died in 1977and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2002. She was born in Granada, Nicaragua, in 1902 to a wealthy family; her father was a government minister. At the age of 12, she was extremely sick and paralyzed for six months with rheumatic fever. She was cured by the intercession and apparition of Our Lady Help of Christians, during which she understood her vocation to be a Salesian sister. She  made her final profession in 1929.

Two years later, she was transferred to San Jose, Costa Rica where she taught music, drawing and typing to rich girls. She also trained catechists and trades to the poor. She inspired many of her students to join her in her work with the poor and was known for helping people come to know God in a personal way. More and more, her ministry became focused on social development, helping the rich to see how they could help the poor. She set up recreational centers, food distribution centers, a school for poor girls, and a clinic staffed by volunteer doctors.


In 1973, she organized the construction of seven homes, which became the foundation of the village Centro San Jose, a community where poor families could have decent homes. When her health began to fail she returned to Nicaragua for rest but died there in 1977.


Because she had spent her life working in Costa Rica she was returned there for burial. Blessed María always joined love and devotion to the Eucharist and Mary with her social apostolate. Her body rests in the Salesian chapel at San José, Costa Rica.

CHRISTMAS AND BIRDS

December 17 is the day for the Christmas Bird Count in our area of the country. This count, which takes place all over North America and into Central & South America, is over 100 years old yet many have not heard about it. Around the turn of the 20th C. scientists and bird watchers were becoming concerned about declining bird populations due to the winter tradition known as the Christmas "Side Hunt". People would choose sides and go afield with their guns. Whichever side brought in the biggest pile of birds won.

Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman, of the Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition: A "Christmas Bird Census" that would count birds in the holidays rather than hunt them. Most of the counts were in the eastern part of the US & Canada, though there was one each in California, Colorado & Missouri. Twenty seven people participated finding a total of 89 species.

We have come along way in 111 years!  Today, there are tens of thousands volunteering for the count and over 57 million birds sited in the US alone ( 646 species). For the past 9 years, I have taken my 4-H birding club to scour the island for water birds, small brown birds hiding in the thickets, raptors high above us, and everything in between. Our goal is to find at least 60 species, which usually puts us in the top 10 count for the State of Washington. In February, we will follow up this count with the "Backyard Bird Count" and in May with the "Migration Count". Bird watching, at least in the NW, is now the # one family "sport".

Snowcap -- one of the world's
rarest hummingbirds

Having just returned from Costa Rica, a country with some of the most beautiful birds in the Western Hemisphere, I am grateful that our children learn at an early age an appreciation for God's feathered creatures. In CR  while the people appreciate all who flock to see their birds, they themselves are not that involved in bird watching and in Peru (which I visited 2 years ago- and has the highest # of bird species in the world) even less so.

My friend, the Toucan

Anyone can participate in this annual activity. If you are new to birding, join others more able to identify the local species. All of us can make a difference, and at this time of year when we have so much to be thankful for, we can thank Mr. Chapman for alerting us to more positive ways of protecting our "feathered friends".

MANY HANDS

Summer, what  there was  of it, has passed us swiftly by. Now is the time of last harvests, putting gardens "to bed", and relaxing, as much as one does in a Monastery.

Nuns with Ferndale youth group

This year, more than ever, was one of "United Nations", or maybe I should say religions. Our large group of Mormons came in March (their 7th year?) to do their work of clearing the land for us. They bring food, wonderful helpers and always good cheer. In July we had many Catholic youth come, with adults, to build and rebuild: decks, fences, a new pig house, concrete paths to the chicken house, etc., plus bringing in over 1000 bales of hay. Following them was a group of Mennonites from the Seattle area, who "picked up" where the youth left off. Then in August came another younger group of Mormons who left the grounds looking like a park. All who come are amazed at the change.

Chicken heaven -- built by Ferndale youth

We thank one and all, who came for a day or week to help out and enjoy the life of our monastic community.  It is these volunteers who make our life easier to serve the Lord. It is our privilege to share our life of prayer, hospitality and care of  the land with people of diverse views and cultures. Many who come appreciate the solitude and community. Both are essential in a Monastery and create balance, something they find missing in today's culture.

We had two women, both retired school teachers from San Diego, make their first Oblation as Benedictine Oblates - a lay person who seeks to try to live by the Rule of Benedict- this August. They have been coming for many years and we felt now is the time.  Another from Alaska will make her first Oblation at the end of this month. She is a professor at  a small college in Palmer.

We now look forward to some quiet time, which only winter seems to bring in the Monastery, as we prepare for the Holy Days of Advent and Christmas.

Blessings to all and thanks to all who are faithful to this blog.  We appreciate the comments