Okay okay I know! Its been Easter for 5 days and I haven’t
posted yet. STOP PRESSURING ME! Just kidding. Benedicite my friends!! I hope
you’ve been having as glorious and Easter as I have. I do not, however, wish
upon you the decrease in muscular endurance that I have experienced.
Taking Holy Week off from running was a good choice for my
feet, which were in dyer need of some recovery time. And for my soul! …which
was bountifully nourished by the quiet of the monastery and opportunity to
chant the ancient Gregorian liturgy with my future sisters. My legs, on the
other hand, have been reaping the consequences of those recovery days since I
hit the road again early Monday morning.
I did a bit of hiking while visiting my future community in
the mountains last weekend, but not enough to maintain the stamina I had been
building up until the Triduum. This week’s runs have been challenging.
Thankfully the progression of the Divine Mercy Novena and some beautiful prayer requests I’ve recently received have combined to inspire and motivate me even
on days like today – when I had an 8-miler to take care of in some
less-than-desirable weather. By the grace of God I got it done, and am now
looking forward to tomorrow’s breather at 5 miles, before taking a rest to gear
up for my 18-mile long run this Sunday!
I must apologize that I did not take the initiative to snap
many pictures of Holy Week at the Bethlehem Priory of St. Joseph. I was too
distracted by Jesus! (The Altar of Repose was actually set up inside
Bethany House – where I sleep when I visit… so I had Him in my living room all
weekend long. It was great.) Except for this one of me with Mother Mary
Augustine, O. Praem., which was taken just before we said goodbye on Easter
Morning:
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| You should pray through the tiny Lady for the other two ladies in this picture. |
I won’t go into too much detail about the events of Holy
Week at the monastery. Suffice it to say that it was the most beautiful Triduum
ever, and if you ever get a chance to visit and experience it… DO. Each morning
we woke for Tenebrae by candlelight at 3:30am, and continued our days with much
meditation, adoration, and the indescribable beauty of the Divine Office.
Abstaining from all food and drink apart from coffee on Friday, (by my own
choice… not a tradition of the sisters’), something I’ve only done once before,
was also a challenging yet fruitful decision. Having not taken any food after
about 3pm on Holy Thursday, by the time we finished the Good Friday service
that afternoon I was already feeling a bit weakened. I remember thinking that
having no food or drink would be impossible for a human to maintain for 40 days
and, when I rhetorically asked a friend, “How the heck did Jesus do it?” I was
snapped back into reality by his resoundingly concise answer, “He was God.”
After a brief day and a half of solidarity with the hungry Jesus, as well as
with all the poor souls living in poverty even now… I was thankful for my toast
and yogurt on Saturday morning.
The seven readings at Easter Vigil were all done in
Gregorian chant, just as everything else had been all week. It was
breathtaking, of course. And also comforting that several of the readings were
done by novices, perhaps symbolizing the catechumens who were coming to the
Church all over the world that night – and the necessity for zeal and
participation by all those young and new in the Church.
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| Clearly a picture of Advent, but a rare view from inside the cloister, just the same! |
The consecration of the Holy Eucharist at Easter Vigil is
the community’s high point of the liturgical year, as it really is for the
entire Church Militant. Turning the lights back on, ringing the bells again,
and receiving the Body of Christ just after the stroke of midnight… were like a
renewal in spirit and an unveiling of the Lord’s ultimate Gift to us, welcoming
Him back as if He had been absent for a very long time. How very present Jesus made
himself that night! And how very very thankful I am to be looking forward to my
future in this ancient order which gives such solemn reverence to Him in the
Eucharist and through their lives. If think you can top the beauty of the
Norbertine liturgy please, invite me to where I can experience that! I would
welcome something more reverence-inspiring, but I’m just not sure it exists =).
The race is one month away!! This week the income of
sponsorships has steadily and significantly decreased and I am now looking for
new ways to get the word out about Litany Run. Over the last few days I’ve
contacted as all of the Catholic radio stations whose email addresses I was
able to obtain. Now just praying for responses! I’m also writing up a blog post
to be published at MyYearOfFaith.com on April
19th, so God willing that might increase traffic on
gofundme.com/litanyrun a bit. Please keep me in your prayers as I enter into
the final 5 weeks of my training, and sponsorship crunch time!
May the Lord bless you abundantly. I am praying that you
will become saints!
Totus Tuus
AMDG
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