Summer 2009

From the Prioress
Sister Anne Shepard, OSB

Lumen Christi.
Deo gratias.
Light of Christ. Thanks be to God.
(Latin - The Easter Vigil)

As I write this for Threshold, we have recently celebrated the feast of Pentecost. One of the amazing events of this feast day, when the Holy Spirit filled the upper room with a divine presence, was the opening of the ears of the apostles to the languages of the people of the world. Recently, at a spring meeting of women religious, one of the leaders of a neighboring community commented that, although the numbers of men and women joining communities may not be growing extensively, our global influence is spreading widely. This is so true for us.

Muito obrigada para ajudar-nos cuidar da nossas irmãs. (Brazilian Portuguese)
Thank you very much for helping our sisters.

(Photo at left: Sister Anne at the profession of Sister Joselaine Ferreira.) ln May, I travelled to our dependent monastery in Mineros, Brazil, to visit our sisters who serve the people of God there. It takes a minimum of two and a half days to get from Atchison to the place where our sisters live. The easiest way to describe the location is to make the analogy, Mineros is to Brazil as Atchison is to the United States: right in the middle. The purpose of the trip was fourfold: to affirm the young indigenous women who have committed themselves to the Benedictine way of life as members of Mount St. Scholastica; to talk to architects about the possibility of renovations and expansion of their monastery; to thank the parishioners and the friends of the community there for their care of the sisters; and although her departure will be delayed, we had planned to bring back Sister Joselaine, a recent college graduate in literature, who wants to be fluent in English by living among us for a year. She is still working on getting her visa, but we are hoping she will be able to come soon. For the donations for the renovations and the scholarship for the sisters, our community says to you “Muito obrigada para ajudar-nos cuidar da nossas irmãs.”

Asante sana. (Swahili)
Thank you very much.

Thirty-six hours after we bade farewell to Sisters Presentasia and Susana, graduates with bachelors degrees in liberal arts studies and science education, we greeted Sisters Judith and Gemina from the same country of Tanzania. Students of English at Donnelly College in Kansas City and soon to be studying at Benedictine College, these two sisters came with a speaking vocabulary that is excellent and an eagerness to learn. One aspires to be a canon lawyer, the other a computer specialist. For the personal scholarships and the ongoing support of these sisters, Mother Shukrani, the mother general of their community, joins me in saying to you “Asante sana.”

Grazia molto. (Italian)
Thank you so much.

Our thanks extends to Benedictine Sister Aquinata Böckmann in Rome for teaching an intensive course on the Rule of Saint Benedict in his homeland. Our Sister Cecilia Olson had the opportunity to spend the winter months of January and February immersed in the study of the Rule and its primary sources. Equipped to teach new members and the rest of our community, Sister Cecilia returned with a depth of understanding of the Rule in ways she did not imagine. Studying with an international group of students further broadened her experience.

Thank you very much.

Your gifts assist us with our international outreach as well as with the local influence we have in our ministries. You are so generous and gracious to us. You are with us in our outreach and in our prayer. Hundreds are being served through the Keeler Women’s Center in Kansas City, Kansas. Others are taking advantage of our retreat offerings at Sophia Center here in Atchison. Still others are being taught in classrooms ranging from early childhood through university levels. Others are nursed to wellness and some comforted as they approach death. All are cared for as a result of our intense prayer lives and our community living, the hallmarks of what it means to be Benedictine.

Muito obrigada para ajudar-nos cuidar da nossas irmãs!
Asante sana!
Grazia molto!
Deo gratias!

God bless each of you,
Sister Anne Shepard, OSB
Prioress

P.S. Thank you for helping Dooley be one of the best nursing homes in the nation! See page 16.