“Apple-lanch!!”
Flash back to one of our first days all together in Cortina.
The white van (“Vito” as we call him) arrives in the driveway and all are
gathered to help unload the fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, and other food
items given to us through Providence to use for the summer. A few crates of
fresh apples are placed on the ground to make room to take inside items more in
need of a fridge or lighter to carry. The van is now almost completely empty as
I carry in a couple of unmarked boxes of food goods. Arriving almost at the
staircase that leads to our front door, I hear a rumbling noise that sounds like
a car coming down the street. I turn to look and cry out to get the attention
of Elena – the last sister remaining near the van. My eyes widen as before me I
see what seems like hundreds of tennis balls rolling towards
me…down hill. It takes me a while to have the good sense to put down my box and
start stopping the apples from rolling too far. I hear laughter from all around
me as the sisters watch the scene unfolding before them from the windows of the
house. Briana comes out to help me gather those unfortunate many apples that
made the long trip down the hill and around the curve to the main road. Let’s
just end by saying that we had a lot of baked apples that night!
“Preferisco il Bosco” (I prefer the woods)
In all the hikes that we did over the summer, I found myself
most fascinated when we walked through the woods. There is something about
being in the woods that ignites my imagination more than when we are walking on
rocks in open space. There is a greater life in the woods: running water,
chirping birds, rustling of leaves under feet invisible to our eyes. The paths
are usually softer being made of pine needles, and catching glimpses of the sky
and surrounding mountains through the spaces between the towering green trees
are views that just can’t be captured well on film. In the end my favorite
hikes were those that included a large portion of walking in the woods. Besides
it saved our skin from too much exposure to the sun and kept us cool on the
hotter hiking days!
Community Photos
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| This year's house of formation |
In the few days that the WHOLE community was together in
Cortina, we were able to take our annual community photos: one of us all
together (vowed sisters and girls in formation), one of just the vowed sisters,
one of each of the houses we have in Italy and in the States. This can
sometimes be a “painful” process (or at least from what I hear since this is my
first real experience with it) since it can be hard to convince over 20 women
that one picture captured the “best side” of each of them in it. But we managed
to get it done rather quickly and are all happy with the turn out. As you can
see, we are quite the beautiful bunch! J
Week of Spirituality for Priests
As an opportunity to give back to those who minister to so
many others and in exercising an aspect of our charism, we organized a week of
Spirituality for Priests. These priests came from the States and also parts of
Italy but the main chunk of the week was spent in English (meditations, masses,
general conversations, games…). The various activities included hikes (with
mass in the mountains), a trip to Padua, a day of silent retreat, game nights,
a movie night, and a farewell night complete with skits to recall the
adventures of the week. This was one of my favorite weeks of the summer as I
was able to see more clearly the aspect of our charism that supports priests
both spiritually and humanly. It was beautiful for me to see how our community
has a gift of making a home for those who encounter us and the way the priests were
free to just be who they are. This was a week spiritually rich but also rich in
laughter, jokes, stories, and good solid fun! I already look forward to the
next time we have the opportunity to invite more priests to share in this week
of spirituality!
Tunnel Adventures
This year in particular, we found ourselves at many hikes
with trenches from the First World War. Unfortunately, much of the fighting
took place in the Dolomite Mountains where we were. In me this created first of
all a desire to pray for the many men (perhaps younger than I am now) who lost
their lives in these mountains. I found myself compelled to constantly think of
them and attempt to enter into how they must have experienced these mountains
that we came to with hopes of beautiful landscapes and physical exercise. I
thought of them most when wondering around in the trenches and tunnels that
remain as memorials of the terrible war almost forgotten by the younger
generations of our world. Despite more sensitivity to the seriousness of the
reason for the existence of these trenches and tunnels, I must also admit that
I found myself immersed in the allure of adventure and discovery. I wanted to
walk in every trench and crawl through every tunnel to see where it might lead
or what I might find inside. In fact, we found some very neat tunnels, many
that eventually ended but some that came out in different trenches. There’s a
certain adrenaline that comes with entering with light, making it to total
darkness, and then just barely seeing a light before you that grows as you
approach it until you recognize it as another way out! The best tunnel was one
dug in the mountain of the Rifugio Lagozuoi. This tunnel was originally
constructed in 1917 by
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| Trench tunnel at Monte Piana |
the Italian army as a surprise to the enemy on the other
side. The construction started on February 1 and was finished at midnight on
June 16. In total the tunnel is 1100 meters long. Inside the tunnel is more
than just a “one way street”. There are many side tunnels that lead to other
necessary rooms like a place to transport supplies to the troops through a
pulley system that was operated only at night to avoid enemy fire. There were
also other holes that were just errors made in the construction of the tunnel.
You can image the difficulty in knowing the right direction to go when you are
trying to dig a hole in the mountain from inside of it. As we walked through
this tunnel enjoying its fun twists and turns never knowing what to expect
around the next corner (we couldn’t see beyond the light from our individual
flashlights anyways), we made sure to say a prayer for all of the men who lost
their lives fighting in these tunnels and trenches that we now see as merely
places for exploration and enjoyment. The sad story of this tunnel is that when
they finished their 4 months of nonstop work, they broke through the other side
of the mountain only to find that the enemy had anticipated their arrival and
many Italian lives ended up being lost. I have been holding the souls of these
soldiers dear in my heart in these days feeling called to pray for them. Adventures
aside, it is sobering to think how our coming to these mountains to marvel at
their beauty is a lot different than those who came to them to be surrounded by
the ugliness of broken humanity. Let us pray for all the souls lost to war and
all those in danger by them in our present world!
“Regina della
Lavatrice”
This means: Queen of the Washing Machine. Nice way of
titling a chore huh? In reality, I was “in charge” only for the last week or
so. Before that Michela did it on her own and then I acted as Simona’s
assistant until she left to return to Rome. Like my mom does at home, Italians
hang out there clothes instead of using a dryer. Many households don’t even own
a dryer. This train of thought is fueled by the belief that Italian clothes
aren’t made to withstand a cycle in the dryer and will certainly shrink. I’m
not brave enough to test that theory so I hung everything out that wasn’t a
sheet, pillowcase, or towel (because the house where we were is actually one of
the few with a dryer). I didn’t get a picture of it but the view from the
balcony where I hung out the clothes each day was spectacular. Nothing like a
majestic mountain view to take this Texan’s breath away. However, with 20 women
in the house at one time, the satisfaction of emptying a clothes bin in the
morning or mid-afternoon was almost always immediately followed that evening by
a cry of desperation upon seeing the same bin already overflowing. It was a job
for every day. The rainy days were the hardest because one couldn’t do a second
load until sure that there would be space to hang it out, and when it was
raining and cloudy, the clothes dried much slower if at all. But on sunny,
breezy days, you could wash all day without a problem. Let’s just say I wasn’t
always sure which of the two I preferred – one allowed me to “get away” with
less work but the other allowed me to actually get work done that would
eventually have to be done anyways. It was a great experience. I won’t say that
I loved it at first but it grew on me and I wouldn’t be upset to receive it as
a chore again. (Elena, if you are reading this, take note!) Besides the other
sisters are great help and very appreciative. It felt good being able to
contribute in that way and labor in love for the community, our family.
La Val
Travananzes
Aka THE. BEST.
HIKE. EVER.
1.5 hour relatively steep ascent followed by a less steep
descent into the valley.
7 (at least) more hours on your feet with little less than
an hour break for lunch (by a lovely waterfall I might add).
No refuges or water fountains along the way. You have what
is on your back.
All types of landscapes included: rocks, streams, woods,
meadows, dirt.
Mostly flat so endurance is the most important thing to
pack.
Moments of prayer: rosary, meditation, hour of walking in
silence.
Surrounded by God’s majesty manifested in falling water (aka
waterfalls), various flowers, bright green grass, clear blue sky, towering
mountains on each side multi-colored by diverse dirt and minerals.
Feeling of freedom in the wide open space.
A breath that is deeper, fresher, and more relaxed.
Physical fatigue and spiritual renewal.
Followed by…
An hour of adoration back at the house that becomes an act
of thanksgiving to our God who is so great as to create the nature around us
and yet so merciful as to also give each of us life here and forever in
eternity with Him.
A great appetite and delicious supper.
The best night’s sleep you’ve had all year.
“Rain, rain go away. Come again another day!” Intercession
of Pope John Paul I
During the week of Spirituality for Priests, our patron was
Pope John Paul I (not to be confused with St. John Paul the Great). Our main
concern, being in the Dolomite mountains where the main attraction is the
beauty of the surrounding nature, was the weather. So we entrusted this to our
dear, not-yet-canonized friend who never let us down! As much as we wanted to
complain about the rain we received at the beginning and end of our month in
Cortina as a community, the week when the priests were present was spectacular
even if the forecast initially said it would not be! Thank you John Paul I…pray
for us!
“When you pray, say: ‘Our Father’”
On a spiritual note, at some point during my time in Cortina
– I couldn’t tell you exactly when – I started addressing my prayers to the
Father instead of to Jesus. I realize that in the mystery of the Trinity we are
always praying to all three but it just seems more natural for me in this
stage of life to relate to the Father and experience more deeply what it means
to be daughter.
I suggest this reflection to you all: “Who do I most address
my prayers to and why?”
Malborghetto: A little taste of home
It might seem weird to have tasted home in a tiny town in
for North-East Italy (close to the borders of Slovenia and Austria) but it
happened and I see it as a great gift from God.
First of all the few days I spent there with Janel, Tatum,
Janelle, and Simona Lino were enveloped in family life since we were being
hosted by a young couple and their 3 beautiful sons (ages 9, 6, and 7 months).
Just being around their creative imaginations and watching their interaction
with their parents and grandparents gave me a feeling of home.
Then we found ourselves at a festival of a village nearby.
From the very beginning all my senses felt at home: the sight of cars lined up
parked on the side of the road because there is no parking elsewhere, the sound
of the bass of what I would later recognize as an accordion reminding me of
polka music, the smell of the cooking meat and strudels, and the taste of
samples of homemade goods, and the touch of sweat on my hands that comes
naturally when standing out in the heat in the late afternoon.
Although we had thought we had left our hiking days back in
Cortina, the following day 3 of us made a pilgrimage on foot to the Sanctuary
of Mt. Lussari dedicated to Our Lady of Peace. This pilgrimage was a pretty
intense once since we were constantly on an incline and walking an altitude
change of 900m in just 2 hours. But at the top we found ourselves in a
beautiful village-like setting. The church had masses celebrated in 3 languages
(that of Italy, Austria, and Slovenia who share the shrine). The universality
of the church was very strongly felt as we heard mass responses around us in
all languages.
That night we took some time to stargaze since this little
town gives no light to disturb the beautiful sight of thousands of twinkling
lights burning millions of miles away. I even had the good fortune of seeing a
shooting star – something I always loved doing at home when I was a kid.
Since we were so close, the family invited us to take a
quick trip into Slovenia and have some typical food of the country. Unbeknownst
to me, this typical food was none other than fried chicken!! So good!
Finally we were amazed again at the “weather providence”.
The day we arrived it poured our whole ride in but the 4 days after were immaculately
clear, without a cloud in the sky. However, in our departure, we were again
accompanied on the same roads by another downpour!
Sanctuary of our Lady of Vocations
Once we were finally off on our way to Rome after a summer
spent in the mountains, Janel and I decided to pass by a shrine she had visited
“on accident” 2 years before when her car broke down near it. This sanctuary is
dedicated to the Virgin of Vocations since she appeared to two young children
and revealed to them their vocation to the priesthood and the consecrated life.
Many people now go to this Sanctuary to ask for clarity in their vocational
discernment or to give thanks. We unfortunately were unable to stay long
because we arrived just before they closed for lunch but it was enough to ask
for Mary’s assistance in this new chapter of my discernment of the consecrated
life and the Apostles of the Interior Life. There were no new great revelations
for me personally but I felt much peace and joy in this serene little place
tucked away in the hills of central Italy not to be seen unless searched out.
Making Rome “Home”
Just a few notes on entering the city and transferring into
a new way of life…
One morning I decided to go for a run – something normal
that I did often in Texas. As I was doing so, I crossed a pedestrian bridge and
began to run next to the river. At a certain point, it hit me that I was
running me the Tiber River (click here for a “wiki-explanation” of why that’s
awesome!). And in just about the same instance, I looked up to see a familiar dome that
a few seconds later I recognized as St. Peter’s. In this normal, ordinary life
event of running in the morning, I just happened to be doing so by the Tiber
River and in sight of the Dome of St. Peter. Wow…
Something that is helping me to make this place my own, is
my involvement in the cleaning of it and boy is there a lot to do! Instead of
“spring cleaning”, we do “august/September cleaning”. I will not pretend to
love cleaning. In fact, I will admit to hating it but…the Heavenly Father has
not refused me any joy in the midst of it all. I often have to mentally put
myself into the act of cleaning and get over my tendency to go really slow and
avoid the work that has to be done at some point. Much of my cleaning is being
done with Simona by my side. Simona is…wonderful (to use one word that doesn’t
do her justice!). Why is she wonderful? Simona is wonderful because she keeps
me going, and she teaches me so much in the process. First, her work ethic
reminds me of my Mom, Dad, and Uncles. “The work has to be done so let’s do it!”
At the same time, she is real and she doesn’t pretend to love all we have to
do. She also reminds me that prayer is involved in every activing. “For whom
are we offering this morning/afternoon of cleaning?”; “Thank You Jesus for this
moment of purification.”; “Thank you Lord for this house we have to clean, and
thank you for my hands with which to do so.” She is also fun to be around and speaks
the same language of humor as me. This is a rarity to find (thanks Dad…lol).
She encourages me and offers me choices so I can choose the activity that is
more appealing to me. I may dislike this time of cleaning and enter into in the
mornings with a long face and sluggish attitude but I know that these moments
with Simona are precious and I will undoubtedly look back on them always with a
smile and maybe even miss them a little bit…just a little bit though.
Another new adventure of mine is doing “la scuola guida”
(driving lessons) with Janel. For those of you who don’t know, in Italy, it is
quite rare to find an automatic car which means that Cherise must learn to
drive a stick shift (*gasp*)! Initial emotions: fear, trembling, excitement,
nerves, hesitation. Let’s make this more dramatic and state the reality that
Cherise must learn to drive a stick shift in the bustling city of Rome whose
inhabitants are infamous for crazy and – according to American standards – bad driving.
Further emotions: horror, refusal, stage fright, freeze. But I have a great
teacher who doesn’t let me stop at my fears. Janel might tell you that I’m
really good at it and already driving better than many others at the beginning
but I’ll be the one to tell you that it is Janel that makes all the difference.
You read my emotions above…she calmed them all in very simple ways. Her calm
presence and constant encouragement instilled in me confidence and even managed
to convince me that I could actually do it. Thankfully as an added bonus, we
have a parking lot near our house made especially for those who are learning to
drive. This is where I made my first attempts at starting the car and shifting
gears. From there I began to go out onto the one way streets forming the block
around our apartments. Since it was August (the high vacation time for
Italians) there weren’t too many people or cars around to provide obstacles. I
so it as providence and mercy from the Lord whereas Janel found it to be “too
easy”. The most difficult thing for me that day was starting the car up again
after a complete stop. After dying out 3 or 4 times at a stop sign, a car
finally pulled up behind me, honked the horn (which is normal here), and in my
anxiety of getting going, I was finally able to do so! Another difficulty I
have only lived one experience of so far is getting the car started when going
uphill at a stoplight. Che paura!
(What fear!) The only time we did it, I was freaking out so much that Janel held
the parking break to help me out and as we got going, we managed to peel out
and Janel, with a laugh and large smile, excitedly cries out: “I haven’t peeled
out in so long!” Well…I’d hope not! The final difficulty I also only tried once
was parallel parking. I can’t do this with an automatic car much less a stick
shift! More to come on that adventure…Since Janel is currently on a pilgrimage
in Poland (please pray for them!) I have a little break from “la scuola guida”
but when she returns, we will try to get out there about an hour each day
because I need the frequency to get over my fears and continue to learn so that
one day I will be comfortable enough to even drive on my own!!
We will let that be all that I share for now. I could go on and on…why? Because
there is just so much! But less time…Praise God for this new adventure, this wonderful
community, and the joy He continues to pour out into my heart. Please pray for
me that I may learn to truly abandon myself into the arms of the Father who
holds me in existence with His love.
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| My house mates for this year! |
