Benedictine Sisters of Cullman Alabama

We are sad to announce the passing of our dear Sister Emilie Schmitt at the age of 99. She had a wonderful impact on countless students during her 75 years of religious life and 40 plus years as an educator. Her obituary may be accessed at the link below. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.
https://www.shmon.org/community/news/sister-emilie-schmitt-osb/

For more information call Sister Karen Ann: 256-615-6071 office, 205-919-0637 cell, or email: [email protected]

"Have you ever wondered why Benedictines celebrate more than one feast of St. Benedict? St. Benedict is one of the few saints in our liturgical calendar to receive the honor of having more than one feast day designated for them."--Read more: https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/feast-of-st-benedict-july-11th/

It has been a good day here in Yankton, SD with the 55 and Under gathering praying together, catching up with one another and listening to some wonderful projects and ideas. Tonight there will be some recreational activities of varying kinds.

Five Sisters from Cullman are attending the national gathering of Benedictine Sisters who are 55 and under. The gathering is being held at Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton, SD. Sisters in this age bracket come together to share their experiences and envision Benedictine life for the future. Pictured: Sister Lynn Marie Mckenzie (who is attending in her role as President of the Monastic Congregation of St Scholastica), Sister Tonette Sperando, Sister Therese Haydel, Sister Gabriela Ramirez, and Sister Michelle St. Marie.

“When I attended my first conference as an archivist in 2018, the keynote speaker opened my eyes to the primary function of an archivist. While preserving and maintaining the “stuff” of a given organization (founding documents, meeting minutes, audio/visual materials, publications and other creative works, etc.) is an important part of what an archivist does, the primary function is to “keep the charism” of an organization alive for present and future generations.”—Read more: https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/keepers-of-the-charism/

I used to visit patients in a nursing home where the staff had colorful bulletin boards that reflected the seasons. On one especially hot Alabama day, the headline read: “Mid-summer in the south, when laziness takes on a new respectability!” Keep reading, https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/new-respectability/

With gratitude and love, we joined the following Sisters in celebrating their gift of life in June: Sister Lynn McKenzie, current president of the Monastic Congregation of St. Scholastica, moderator of Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum, and civil and canon lawyer, celebrated her June birthday on the 20th. Sister Benita Peters, a retired religious educator, celebrated on June 21. She was followed by Sister Mary Adrian McLean, a retired special education teacher and pottery artist, who celebrated her 90th birthday on June 22. Sister Regina Barrett, a former educator, kitchen manager, and retreat center director, celebrated on June 24.

Sister Margaret Mary Liang has given her gifts and talents to various ministries, such as teaching, pastoral ministry, and infirmary director. Now, she serves on our community's administrative team as secretary and monastery coordinator. Over the years, she has also found time to teach oral English in a Benedictine women's monastery in Tanzania, to teach herself Chinese, and to teach oral English in Wuxi, China.

Sister Sara Aiden shares some thoughts about God's desire to be sought in the latest blog.
https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/god-waits-to-be-sought/

Sister Cecilia Mac Dermott celebrated her 60th Jubilee of monastic profession on Friday, June 7, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. During the celebration, Sister Cecilia renewed her profession and once again sang the Suscipe, surrendering herself to God. Following the Eucharistic Liturgy, the community celebrated with a festive meal. Later in the afternoon, an Irish Tea provided an opportunity for Sister Cecilia to open her Jubilee gifts. The day was a wonderful celebration of Sister Cecilia’s fidelity to God.

Our weekly blog was submitted by Sister Therese reflecting on Sister Emilie's 75 years of monastic profession.
https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/sister-emilie/

Sister Karen offers a brief reflection on "receiving Jesus" in one another in this week's blog. https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/whoever-receives-me/

Today we celebrate the 75th jubilee of monastic profession of Sister Emilie Schmitt. With Abbot Marcus as celebrant, the community had Mass in the Infirmary, during which she renewed her profession and sang the Suscipe with all the Sisters present.

While leaving the chapel after Vespers, I went down the chapel steps and noticed the setting sun shining on the communion rail gate displayed on the landing. The light perfectly accentuated the details of the Benedictine medal. In all things may God be glorified!

Sister Therese Haydel shares her experience of sorting old coins in the Community archives, “In the last few weeks, one of the projects I have undertaken has been to consolidate and organize the remnants of the community’s coin collection… This project, while it initially had a practical purpose, reminded me how imbedded our lives are in the history and social context of the places in which we live. Jesus was a man of his time and place. St. Benedict was a man of his time and place. We are a people of our own time and place. This reality can be very limiting, narrowing our vision and understanding as if all of history must be interpreted through the lens of the here and now. Or, it can be liberating, allowing us to see the blessedness of diversity and of the varieties of culture and heritage across time and place.” read more https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/the-dead-sisters-money/

Discernment is a process of listening deeply for the will of God to be revealed in one’s life. We all need to discern God's will for us. If you've ever thought about a vocation to religious life, read more here https://www.shmon.org/vocations/vocation-stories/

Our Sisters in the infirmary invited the rest of us to a Derby Party. The track is marked off in the upper left, and the horses are at the starting gate. On the upper right, Sister Kathleen Christa moves her palomino according to the dice rolled by her horse's trainer and owner. Sister Cecilia is moving up her black horse in the lower left, trying to take the lead. On the lower right, the proud winners are in the winner's circle with big smiles. Sister Kathleen Christa's palomino was the winner. Sister Virginia's gray came in for the place, and Sister Treva's came in third for a show.

What a joy it was for Sr. Lynn Elisabeth, Prioress, and Sr. Margaret Mary to be present today for Sr. Gabriela's graduation with an MA from St. Mary's University in Winona, MN. The good education and formation of our sisters has always been important in our community. We are glad Sr. Gabriela is part of the tradition.

Sister Gabriela Ramirez has been working on a Master's degree through a Catholic Extension program for Hispanic Sisters. She will graduate from the 5-year program this weekend.

The Master's level course of study from which she will graduate is Integrated Studies with a concentration in Human Services and Pastoral Care. While sponsored by Catholic Extension, the program is based at St. Mary's University in Winona, MN, which is a Lassalian university.

The program originally was only for Sisters currently in Latin America. Sister Gaby is a part of the second 5-year cohort, which was expanded to include Sisters currently serving in the US in Extension dioceses. Below are links to two articles that describe the program. Sister Gaby is quoted in one and featured in the other.

https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/latin-american-sisters-learn-us-help-catholic-extension

https://www.catholicextension.org/stories/sisters-see-us-all-as-equals-these-latin-american-nuns-are-changing-tens-of-thousands-of-lives/

La hermana Gabriela Ramírez ha estado trabajando en una maestría a través del Programa de Intercambio de Hermanas Latinoamericanas-Estados Unidos de la Sociedad de Extensión Católica. Se graduará del programa de 5 años este fin de semana.
El curso de estudio a nivel de maestría del cual se graduará es Estudios Integrados con especialización en Servicios Humanos y Atención Pastoral. Si bien está patrocinado por Catholic Extension, el programa tiene su sede en la Universidad St. Mary en Winona, MN, que es una universidad lasaliana.
El programa originalmente era sólo para Hermanas que actualmente se encuentran en América Latina. La hermana Gaby es parte del segundo grupo de cinco años, que se amplió para incluir a las hermanas que actualmente sirven en diócesis de EE. UU. con servicios de Extensión Católica.
A continuación hay enlaces a dos artículos que describen el programa. En uno se cita a la hermana Gaby y en el otro aparece ella misma.

Our blog takes its name from Chapter 72 in the Rule of Saint Benedict, “This, then, is the good zeal which monastics must foster with fervent love: They should each try to be the first to show respect to the other (Rom 12:10), supporting with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses of body or behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another. In this post, Noel Poston, OblOSB, reflects on how the Rule of St. Benedict applies to her life as an oblate living in the world, “A favorite thing for me to do on a rainy day when I was young was to trace images from books. My family had a small collection of treasured books in our home, and my favorite to trace from was a large edition of photographed birds of the world. Laying the translucent onion skin paper over the page, I especially delighted in pushing my pencil nub against the outline of the golden crown crane and the frigate bird, neither of which I had ever seen in my backyard.” read more https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/tracing-the-image/

We are enjoying beautiful Spring days and a multitude of blooms.
Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me will bear much fruit. Jn. 15:4a, 5b

The Magnolias are blooming! "Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land." Song of Songs 2:12

Our blog takes its name from Chapter 72 in the Rule of Saint Benedict, “This, then, is the good zeal which monastics must foster with fervent love: They should each try to be the first to show respect to the other (Rom 12:10), supporting with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses of body or behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another. In this post, Sister Therese Haydel reflects on what she signed up for when she chose to follow Christ, “How many of you have felt as if God did not get the memo regarding your preferred future? Starting at an early age, many of us dream, rationalize and strategize about the course our life should take to reach the ultimate goal of happiness, peace and fulfillment. Understandably those dreams change as we mature and learn more about other possibilities that life can offer. We make reflective and thoughtful decisions after weighing potential outcomes, advantages and disadvantages. Rarely do many of us rashly throw everything up in the air and chase a passing whim that promises us that all our dreams will come true—as if we were living in a Disney film. Whatever our dreams may be, we bear within ourselves some kind of expectation and preference about our future.” read more https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/facing-a-future-i-did-not-choose/

https://www.shmon.org/community/blog/the-work-of-god/
Sister Eileen Gallagher reflects on praying the Liturgy of the Hours in this recent post on our community blog, Good Zeal.

The Work of God | Benedictine Sisters of Cullman, AL The woman sat straight in her chair in the ICU waiting room, flanked by her two adult daughters. Her hair was in a grey bun. She wore no makeup or jewelry, only a homemade gingham dress. Her appearance sharply contrasted the smartly-suited medical specialist who came in to speak to her. His tone was...

We are caring for our patch of earth by planting these small blueberry bushes. HAPPY EARTH DAY 2024!

Sisters Lynn and Karen Ann are at the closing prayer for the North American Benedictine Vocation Formation Conference Symposium held at St. Benedict Center in Schuyler, NE. As President of our monastic congregation, Sr. Lynn blessed the outgoing core team members and installed the new core team. The theme of the meeting was, Hope for the Future: Trusting God in Uncertain Times. Sr. Lynn was one of the presenters, and Sr. Karen Ann was one of the outgoing core team members. Sr. Hélène Mercier, from St. Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, MN, and Sr. Patricia Seipel, from Mount St. Scholastica Monastery in Atchison, KS are also outgoing core team members in the photo.

Evening after the rain. What a lovely gift of color and light.

Sister Therese offers some random reflections on random moments in our weekly blog.

Random Moments | Benedictine Sisters of Cullman, AL Anyone who has spent much time in a monastery knows that random objects appear in random places at the oddest moments. It makes one ask, “Is this on the way to somewhere else? Was it forgotten? Who left this here? Will they remember where they left it?” A coffee mug on top of a fire