Every year I take my sophomore class on a literal field trip to the monastery of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. The Visitation Monastery is located across a field and down a sidewalk from our school in Toledo, Ohio. Walking into the monastery is like walking back in time. The Visitation Order was founded in 1610 by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. The monastery in Toledo is a cloistered monastery, and the Oblates are blessed to be their chaplains and celebrate daily Mass with them. The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales consider the Visitation our founding religious order. I owe my vocation, order, and life to the Sisters of the Visitation.
“What is the hardest thing about living in a monastery?”
I brought my 12 students to visit with Sister Marie de Sales, VHM. As you’re reading this, picture 12 high school boys in coats and ties glued to one Visitandine standing in front of them. When the time came for questions, my students couldn’t wait! Sister Marie de Sales shared a great deal with my students that day, but I want to focus on two of her responses.
The first question was straightforward, “What is the hardest thing about living in a monastery?” Sister responded quite quickly, “It's my own heart! When you enter through the doors of the monastery, you do not leave yourself behind. You pile things onto your heart. That is where the Lord works. The Lord works on your heart."
With so few words, she really explained the core of our shared spirituality. I agree with her; it is my hardened heart that gets in the way! My heart is not magically transformed because my circumstances change. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit does the heavy lifting. The “heart work” is the work of a lifetime.
“Ours is a God who doesn’t just give us what we need but gives to us abundantly.”
The second question, “What is the thing you miss the most?” Sister replied, “I have so much more now than I ever did when I was in the world… and I don’t own anything. We think of ourselves as God’s spoiled children. God gives us everything. We have so much!” I can’t explain why, but I adopted her image of our God who spoils me. I think of my grandma and her kitchen table. My grandma would never just give me one cookie, it was always two or three. Ours is a God who doesn’t just give us what we need but gives to us abundantly. I now pray, “Oh Lord, you spoil me!”
I know our field trip is a powerful experience for my students. Even after spending the last 10 years as a chaplain to the Visitation, they continue to teach me.
Fr. Joe Newman, OSFS
Provincial
Toledo-Detroit Province
