Friday, September 18, 2020 (today’s lectionary)
Monastery
On and on … we walk. Power walk, prayer walk, pilgrimage and at last our legs are stronger than they’ve ever been. On and on we walk.
Jesus journeyed from one town to another
Preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
We were together a family of God, and so we walked with him, Susanna and Joanna and Mary of Magdalene, his disciples and me. I carried Jesus to Bethlehem, I wept when he was lost in Jerusalem and a day later wept when he was found. I invited him to a wedding in Cana, and now I walk.
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee, and blessed art thou among women.
I will call upon you and you will answer me, O my God.
Show your wondrous mercies
And give us refuge at your right hand,
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
Over centuries I, Mary, have seen so many monasteries, so many monks and sisters, wearing black or white from head to toe, walking. In silence at midnight, in silence at matins, in silence from noon till night, listening to the sounds of the wind playing itself out among cornfields and pines. Night by night crickets and cicadas put us to sleep into the fall.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings,
And on waking I shall be content with your presence.
St. Mary of the Lake, St. Mary of the Woods, Mount St. Mary’s Abbey, Our Lady of the Prairie, Villa Maria, St. Mary and St. Moses Abbey, the Order of St. Francis Heart of Mary Medical Center, oh Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Now Christ has been raised from the dead,
The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Margaret said this morning that Jesus did not imagine heaven, he remembered it. Mary, the one we remember and call immaculate, recalls Jesus …
You reveal even to the little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
After the angel came to me, I had very little to say. “May it be unto me as you have said,” and I kept mostly silent after that. God gave me a song to sing when Elizabeth felt her baby jump inside her womb.
My soul glorifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
I knew righteousness and peace would surround my baby as he grew and ascended to his throne. Our people too were bound for glory. And I am content to walk and walk and walk with him.
Hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
I in justice shall behold your face and on waking be content in your presence.
Day by day, year by year, the monks and sisters walk about in silence. Over centuries their work is fruitful and their prayer is constant. Their contentment outlasts any other, and their alleluias echo from hill to hill. Over the years they each memorize every psalm. The chants may change from time to time, but the words, from first to last, will always stay the same.
Blessed is he who does not walk in step with the wicked … Now let everything that has breath, rise up and praise the Lord.
(1 Corinthians 15, Psalm 17, Matthew 11, Luke 8)
#
