Reflection for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
Perpetual Monastic Profession of Barbara Smith, OSB
April 27, 2008

by Anne Shepard, OSB

"Let all the earth shout out to the Lord with joy. Psalm 66
Speak out with a voice of joy; let it be heard to the ends of the earth."
Entrance Antiphon

The entrance antiphon and the psalm response for the liturgy today both speak of having the earth shout to our loving God with joy. On the occasion of the final profession of Sister Barbara Smith it is not hard for us to see the works of God and how tremendous are his deeds. Our community, in a spirit of most reverent decorum, is shouting with joy because we are so very blessed.

The readings for the weeks after Easter are taken from the beginning of the life of the early Church as written in the Acts of the Apostles and from the final discourse of Christ as taken from the gospel of John. We have meditated on the call to community and the behaviors consistent with followers of Jesus in first and second centuries. We know initial members of the Christian community prayed together, held goods in common, provided for the needs of all, called on the Spirit to heal and suffered for their faith. In short, their lives of loving one another caused the Church to grow. St. Benedict quotes the Acts of the Apostles numerous times as he calls monks to a common life of unselfish service, steady communal and private prayer, care for the poor and healing one another.

The rhythm of the paschal mystery is familiar to Barbara. She can identify with a suffering Christ and with the Risen One. She was a victim of a horrible car accident that left her with head trauma. She was part of a Benedictine community that eventually closed, a community of sisters who served Native American people near the Canadian border in Belcourt, North Dakota. She has been at the bedside of many of our sisters in Dooley in their sickness and in death, comforting not only the sisters, but their families and friends. She suffered the loss of one of her closest friends and mentors last December when Sister Angelica was called home. She knows that Christ is in pain and suffering. She also knows that Christ is in her sisters as we reach out to one another.

In the gospel of John, we heard Jesus trying to give the apostles some advice, but they did not quite comprehend what he was trying to say. Jesus said over and over, “I am in you and you are in me.” “ I will give you my spirit.” “ Make your home in me as I make mine in you.” We do not think for one moment that Barbara has a life dominated by suffering. One of many gifts that Barbara has is the joy she brings to us and her ability to make people feel at home. A great compliment that we can give people is to say that we feel at home with them. Barbara prays for and seeks ways to engage people of all ages. She is the impetus behind the tubing parties with the younger members of the community as they go to the slopes at Snow Creek in the winter. She gets out early to clear the snow, on the one hand to make sure that the paths people walk on are safe, and on the other to make slippery paths for the able bodied ones (or foolish) to use for sleigh riding. She brings joy to the residents of Dooley as she plans parties and game nights. She can outlast most when it comes to watching sports and cheering for the St. Louis teams first, Kansas City, second. She has an uncanny way of making her sisters, as well as guests, feel at home.

At the end of an eleven year search, Barbara is willing to put her whole life in the hands of God. By her making monastic profession today she is saying yes to God’s unique call to her. As stated in our Federation document, Call to Life, her vocation to the Benedictine way of life is a call from God to shape one's life according to our Benedictine charism, our reason for being. Barbara has studied the Rule of Saint Benedict. She is at home with the sacred scriptures, the prophets, the psalms, the songs of the women and men in the Hebrew scriptures. She is beginning to understand our Benedictine documents that guide the expression of monasticism today. She is entering into a permanent covenant relationship with God and the sisters of her community.

She will promise to be faithful to the monastic way of life. By doing so, she is purposefully being single hearted in seeking God above all else. She will promise obedience to God, the local community of Mount St. Scholastica, and to her prioress. The mutual love in the monastic community will give her life and sustain her, and thus make it possible for her to remain celibate. Her promise of stability will ground her in the community of Mount St. Scholastica for the rest of her life. Barbara Smith is solid, grounded in community and prayer, able to laugh and cry, able to be alone or with others, comfortable in groups of all sizes, one with nature and all things that move.

Thomas Merton once said that there is only one thing necessary in life and that is to be what God wants us to be. Truly all of us here believe that Barbara is doing what God wants her to do, and we are so full of joy!