Out of the Mouths of Babes

"You are Church and you are with God!"

Yesterday, six of us enjoyed the special privilege of visiting the Getty Museum here in Los Angeles. What a grace filled day admiring all the various forms of art work from paintings to sculptures to photography! Each of us had her favorite, but there is one incident I thought would be great for the blog.

Wednesday is a great day to visit popular tourist places because tourist seem to be out in lesser numbers then. However, every once in a while you run into another group of people: field trips. Lets just say that the median age at the Getty yesterday was probably somewhere around 15, even taking into consideration the many senior citizens that were there.

My Trip to the Holy Land

What if I were to tell you that I found a way to get from Los Angeles to the Holy land in less than two hours? You might think I am a rocket scientist and I should patent my invention, or sell it for millions of dollars. Or you might think that I am pulling your leg.

You’d be wrong either way.

It’s true! I left home with two other sisters on Wednesday morning and arrived exactly at noon! Then this morning we started the trip home at about ten and were in time for lunch. No jet lag, no customs, and best of all…no security check!

Where have you been the last two weeks?!?!

No phones or internet? What a Christmas present that was!

Well, believe it or not, we have been here.

You may have tried to e-mail and received a message that it was undeliverable. And you may have tried to check the blog for up-dates and found none. You may even have tried to call and heard that lovely recorded voice inform you that “the number you dialed is no longer in service.” Unless you actually physically visited us, you may have been tempted to think we had somehow vanished off the face of the earth without a trace.

Ignorance is Bliss

Before I say anything else, let me just preface this entry by saying it does have a happy ending. We all got home safe.

What do you get when you combine three adventuresome Carmelites, a beautiful December day, and a mountain stream? Wet feet and a really good story.

It started out with a simple picnic by a stream. A man-made platform made lunch quite comfortable and safe. After our sandwiches, fruit, and chips had disappeared most of the group was ready to head home. But three of us had not quite had our fill of nature for the day and the stream just seemed to be begging us to go exploring. So we waved good-bye to those returning home and set out on our way into the Los Angeles National Forest.

Cooking with the Carmelites

While I’m not exactly sure we are ready for our own spot on the Food Network, we certainly did have a lot of fun turning the kitchen upside down tonight! Here some snap shots of the whole event. Sorry the aromas don’t come through the internet, and there’s no taste testing either!

Two of our "New Buds" (aka a postulant and a novice) making flower arrangements

How many Thanksgivings have they had? And they're still running circles around the rest of us!

Humility 101

It was about 9:45pm last Sunday and I was looking forward to some quiet reading & prayer in my cell before retiring for the night.  Monday was going to start a very busy week, so this was the calm before the storm.

Then there was a gentle knock at the cell door. I opened it to see Sister Julianna standing there with a note in her hand. We had already prayed Compline (Night Prayer) and so were in what we call “Grand Silence” when whatever needs communicated is done in writing.

Body & Soul

There are moments when the physical and the spiritual harmonize in an astounding, yet simple symphonic moment.

That just happened to me.

You see, our Chapel is connected to our convent. So yesterday evening as I was walking in from the gardens, I was met by the unmistakable fragrance of incense, in the hallway of the convent. I’ve probably had this experience a hundred times, but last night it was very moving.

At Long Last: Sister Judith’s Arrival

You might say that it really would have only taken one sister to make the trip to LAX to pick up Sister Judith when she returned from Rome. But it really did take eight of us.

No, she did not have that many bags. And, no we do not travel in herds.

We just couldn’t wait the extra hour or so between her coming through customs and arriving home at the convent.

It was September 8^th, the Feast of the Birth of Mary, so when our superior reminded us at dinner we needed to be leaving in five minutes, we quickly downed the rest of our ice cream and dashed for the garage. All but one of us, that is. She just picked up her ice cream and took it with her! She wasn’t taking any chances of being left behind.

Home from Rome

Excuse the very brief post, but I just wanted to give you a taste of future attractions: our Sister Judith arrived home safely from Rome!!! Stay tuned for the entertaining details of our caravan to LAX to meet her…

Feastday Celebration

Usually when you tell a story, you start at the beginning. Well, let me turn the tables a bit and begin with the end…

As the last rays of the sunset were fading in the sky, a harmonious group of voices rose gently from the softly lit garden. Over a hundred Carmelites were spread through the curving pathways behind the convent and all had their attention fixed on a small statue of Our Lady, illumined by a garden light. What were they doing, gathered in the growing dusk? What was the cause for the peaceful smiles that played on their faces as they sang? What drew them together on this summer night?

Was it the riotous game of baseball that had shortly preceded the singing? The sport had been full of adventures, including several home runs, a stolen base by a sister well past seventy, and a trip onto the roof to retrieve a stray ball. Yes, this spirit of communion expressed in joyful play was certainly a part of the evening.