No longer able to work, The old sister Sits praying for us all And dozing. In her sleep, She drops her beads; But her gnarled old hands Still move in two familiar patterns: They pull the missing beads And then they move Back and forth, Still peeling potatoes, Her work Read more
He planted trees. Told he had had but six months or so to live, he planted trees. I wondered why he didn’t plant flowers he’d get to see them bloom. Or why not spend time in prayer and study, steeling his spirit for death? Now, over twenty years later, Read more
Brother Cancer came to live with me in the monastery about five years ago. He arrived with an unexpected impact to tell me how important life is, my life, where I am and as I am. Eventually I got the message. He stays around to serve me in my making Read more
Those of us who rejoice in the Benedictine tradition see a great parallel between the age of Benedict and our own. His and ours are turning points in civilization. We, as he, are witnessing a change from one system and cultural context of life to another. Whether we name our Read more
The theme of the 1983 Orientation Program “A New Beginning to an Old Tradition” began a new era in the history of the college. That fall marked the beginning of coeducation at Saint Vincent. A freshman class of 240 students, whom 33 percent were women, enrolled. Within ten years the Read more
Historians studying Catholicism in the United States will note how often our generation used words like “evangelization” and “inculturation.” We were fascinated, they will say, by what happened when the values found in the Catholic tradition came into contact with other ways of understanding this world and with other traditions. Read more
Anniversaries have a way of nurturing nostalgia, but they are far more important as reminders of an original vision that can be a guide for the future. And when the monks of Saint Vincent reflect on the history and future of their institution, they must come to terms with the Read more
From the road, Saint Vincent looks enormous and remote. But once we set foot within its community, we quickly discover how close it really is, and the only thing that’s enormous about it is its heart. Saint Vincent was part of my very first neighborhood. Growing up in Latrobe, I Read more
We arrive with the long snow on foot, our eyes the only light, tracks of the last sled, our path back to the road. Ahead the lake where we strike the match. The wind stales the cold rush of smoke. The water comes easy off the flame, and for a Read more
For a quarter century, Saint Vincent has been an experience of defining importance to me as a person, a lecturer in religious studies, and a rabbi. There are the unforgettable events: when one of the nuns (pre-food service days) prepared a separate plate of food for me because she noticed Read more