Right Here is Beautiful
While some religious are called to a great deal of movement in the world, Trappist Cistercians usually begin and end their monastic lives in one single monastery.
An exception, though, is when a community sends a group of its own sisters to found a new monastery elsewhere. Another exception is when one of our Order’s monasteries just needs a little short term help.
The latter was the case a couple of months ago, when our daughterhouse – Tautra Mariakloster – welcomed our own Sr. Chris to their Norwegian monastery for 6+ weeks of service. They were totally grateful for her eager generosity and cheerful presence – And we are totally grateful to have her home!
Here are a few snapshots from Sr. Chris’ (stunning!) sojourn.
And here she is, serving as Reader in Refectory, practicing organ in Church, and rolling out Dinner from the kitchen – Same jobs, different country!
Meanwhile, life here at Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey continues to be steady and simple.
While we can’t boast of Tautra’s fjord, we are truly thankful for what this place offers –
a long, slow autumn of golds and umbers and big blue skies,
a touching procession to our cemetery on the Feast All Souls,
the 61st joyous anniversary of our community’s foundation,
an early, calming snowfall,
and the bright presences of a lovely monastic Observer, a friendly Franciscan volunteer, and our jolly on-site chaplain
– to name a recent few!
In her community’s collection of monastic reflections, Northern Light, one of our Norwegian sisters concludes her chapter on “Ordinary Joy” with the insightful phrase, “Tautra is beautiful every day.”
Perhaps each of us everywhere is learning to say the same…Right here is beautiful, every day.
