Fall/Winter 2008

From the Prioress
Sister Anne Shepard, OSB

Interesting Times

As we go to print, the economy has not yet reached an equilibrium. We are in interesting political and economic times. English teachers caution us not to overuse the word “interesting” as an adjective. Their reason is that its meaning is too ambivalent. Well, then we are in ambivalent times. It is in the times of uncertainty that we want to hold on to certainties. That is human nature. This edition of Threshold is about the lives of women whom we know for certain are making a difference in the lives of others.

We all have our lists of people who have made a positive impact on our lives. One that comes to mind is Beatrice Roller. I have told this story before, but I want to tell it again. Beatrice and I were both standing in line at the Atchison post office two weeks before Christmas. She was immediately in front of me. Short of stature, her eyes barely reached above the counter. When her turn came, she told the postal worker that she wanted to mail a package and insure it for $5.00. He tossed it to her and said that she wrote too large and he could not insure it the way it was prepared. She received some stamps and then asked for change for a dollar: four quarters. She was told no, he did not have enough quarters. She grabbed her package and her cane and left the window. My turn. When I was finished I was asked by the postal worker if I wanted quarters. Rather than make a scene, I hurried to find this woman. I asked her if I could give her a ride home and she said loudly, “The Lord has sure been good to me.” Let me see ... in my opinion she was not treated kindly five minutes before I met her. But the mere extension of my arm to help her walk to my car changed both of our lives. I used to go see her in Mall Towers regularly. She gave me a boost of the Lord’s goodness every time we visited.

Often during the day, the words of Beatrice come to me: the Lord has sure been good to me. Our novice director, Sister Imogene Baker, told us that we must have an attitude of gratitude. But how can we be grateful in these current difficult economic times? You will read in this issue stories of the mutual reaching out of former students of ours to us and we to them. Thank you Delores, Janelle, Mary Ann, Pat and Anita, for sharing your stories. You will join us as we say farewell to our two African guests who have been granted bachelor’s degrees and who are prepared now to teach and serve their community in Chipole, Tanzania. Thank you, Sisters Presentasia and Susana. (You will meet in the next issue, if all goes as planned, two more Benedictine sisters from Tanzania who will come here to study.) Thank you to our oblate Marge Krivjansky for the spiritual direction she gives and thank you to Sister Barbara McCracken for her untiring commitment to those who are literally outcasts.

On an entirely different note, I want to say that I am glad the national election is over after twenty months. While I was watching the returns on the fourth of November, and the cameras showed so many faces of African Americans, I thought of Beatrice. She is dancing in heaven knowing that a significant racial barrier has been broken here in our country. We join Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal George as Catholics who promise prayer for President-elect Barack Obama. We want his family and him to be safe. As the new leader of the United States of America, we want him to work for the common good and for the promotion of life, all of life.

Finally, thanks to each of you for your love and support. We will continue our ministry to women. After all, it is interesting!

(Pictured son the right: Sister Anne and her brother Paul, ready to attend the Night of Dreams.)