O R A et L A B O R A

Evening prayers, Vespers & Compline - Our Lady of the Rock Monastery, Shaw Island, WA

For my going away party, my boyfriend, who came to whisk me back to Portland with him, made strawberry, hibiscus, and cucumber margaritas for the Mothers (as a bartender it was quite a novel experience for him to serve tequila to nuns, and yes, they love tequila). I whipped up some pickled beet bruschetta from our garden bounty and we said our sad goodbyes. The nuns surprised me with my very own cheese press so I can continue my cheese-making wherever I set up home, which brought me to can't-quite-fight-them-away, heart-wrenching tears.

In the card they wrote me, Mother Prioress said how great of a pleasure it was to collaborate with me in so many ways. This was the most fulfilling compliment to receive - to know that as their intern I wasn't viewed as a farm-hand grunt laborer, but a contributor and partner to the work and legacy they maintain. All of the goals unreached and expectations unmet came crashing down as irrelevant with the realization that I was able to provide something tangible and meaningful to their Monastic community. It is essential to seek out opportunities and ways to nourish one's own personal goals and desires, but I believe the greatest reward is commonly found in recognizing your impact on others or wherever else your energy is directed. 

My prayer for myself as I continue on to the next season of life is that I never lose sight of the importance of this calling - to surrender myself to this world as a vessel for positivity, for productivity. And to continue along, uninhibitedly, as a seeker and lover of truth, in whatever many shapes it takes form. 

Mother Catarina Boyer OSB is the guest of Bill O'Donnell in this segment of Spirituality TV...

by David Wagoner, from Collected Poems 1956-1976

I'm gonna miss feeding the animals every morning, but not the hay stuck in my bra and hair all day.

My internship ends in just one week. It snuck up, I know. This place feels like home in many ways but I'm finally feeling okay about leaving. I've often said to others that I've never felt as spiritually alive as I have here. While that has a lot to do with this environment, I'm also confident that it evolved from what I've experienced and discovered about myself and what is essential to my spirit. I'm ready and willing to take that with me, to seek ways to nurture those needs wherever I find myself geographically.

There are many things I wish I could've done and wished might've happened. I never got to have deep philosophical conversations with the Mothers about their spirituality and I never quite figured out why they have so much trouble recruiting and keeping new nuns, I only was able to share on my blog about 10% of what I actually experienced and felt during my time here, I never saw an animal being born (just the moments that followed after it splayed out on the ground), I still don't understand how chickens are slaughtered as I just so happened to be off island that day, I couldn't memorize as many as the latin names of plants as I wanted to, I never built a prayer labyrinth, I didn't stay long enough to learn about seed saving, I still have a terribly hard time waking up early in the morning and going to bed early at night, I took thousands of photos yet regret certain missed moments and faces, and I still am baffled by much of Catholicism.

But the things that DID happen, that I relish with every fiber of my being, will remain deeply attached to my memories and abilities. I can make cheese now, somewhat confidently at least, I witnessed the sea at night turn into the cosmos at the splash of my hand (bioluminesence), I can eat lots of wild plants with the assurance that I'm not poisoning myself, I lived and loved the concept of Ora et Labora/work and prayer, I developed a somewhat consistent meditation practice and am moving towards a more humble, carefree, and heartfelt way of praying, I can mostly follow Gregorian chant notation, I gained the skill of cooking both dessert and lunch for 8-18 people in less than two hours, I became very good at following deer trails and sneaking up on deer, I'm confident that really nothing can gross me out anymore as farm life is dirty and smelly and up close and personal, I became best friends with my sixty-one year old co-intern, I learned that nuns are very human and very capable of mistakes and seemingly irrational behavior, I also learned that a nun who dedicates their life entirely to intimacy with God and the transformation of their self to being a more Christ-like individual can make you feel weak at the knees in the presence of their emanating holiness, and I continually learned that life is a blessing and we are to bless others with our lives (and that this in itself is rewarding even when it feels difficult).

Calendula (Calendula officinalus)

Just harvested the petals to make an infused oil for cuts and blemishes. I've read a lot about the incredible healing powers of calendula and am excited to try it out for myself. Would've been nice to have around for the bite one of the nun's dog planted on my thigh a couple weeks ago, yowch!

I'm already in love with it for the way it brightens up our herb garden and the beautiful cut flower it makes in bouquets. It's also a helpful companion plant for gardeners. In the marigold family, it keeps aphids and other undesirables away from infesting crops. AND it's easy to grow from seed (we sowed the ones pictured in April). I think it's safe to say that Calendula will always be in my future gardens from now on.