"And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord...The voice said to me: Son of man, this is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet.." (Ezekiel 43:4,7)
Day after day, year after year, for 23 years, I remain continually awed at the majestic beauty of our Monastery Chapel. Its soaring Gothic architecture, feminine color scheme, radiant jeweled stained-glass windows, Benedictine symbols, and inherent silence invite all those who enter to an awareness of the peace and presence of God. In the silent pauses of our monastic prayer together, I often find myself gazing at the stained-glass windows, always becoming aware of something I've never noticed before. I frequently observe my Sisters gazing also at the windows. I'm sure we all have our favorite windows and symbols, God's revelation to us from where we "set the soles of our feet" in our assigned choir stalls.
Our chapel is in the center of our monastery residence and reminds us that Christ is the center of our lives. Whenever I stand outside in front of it and gaze to its highest point of 75 feet, my heart leaps in gratitude for our Sisters who gifted this beauty for us today. Sister Mary Ruth Coffman, our archivist, describes the Sisters who launched the building of the chapel as risk takers: "When they made the decision to go forward with the building, they could not know that the nation's greatest financial crisis was imminent. If they had known the difficulties ahead of them, perhaps even those risk-takers might have hesitated, and the chapel would have been years away. Instead, the building was constructed during the first years of the Great Depression, affording much-needed work for artisans and workers in Cullman."
(Sister Mary Ruth Coffman, OSB, On Good Ground, Benedictine Women of Alabama)
The Sisters raised $51,000 and borrowed $42,000, "a considerable sum to be repaid in depression years." (Coffman) Imagine what this beautiful dwelling place would cost today! It continues to hold a centrality in our hearts and we cannot fathom changing its location. Other buildings may be renovated, relocated, or demolished, but the one thing we agree on is the preservation of the chapel in its present location to remind us of the centrality of God's presence in our lives. It constantly feeds us, inspires us, renews us, and mesmerizes us. "Since 1931, the noble lines of Sacred Heart Chapel have become the most recognizable symbol of the Community-a call to prayer, a promise of peace, an assurance of loving concern, a witness of faith, both to the Sisters and to all the people whose lives they touch. In truth the chapel has become the Community's "stone of witness":(Coffman)
"See, I am laying a stone of witness in Zion,
a stone that has been tested,
a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation;
whoever puts faith in it shall not be shaken." -Isaiah 28: 16
How grateful I am to have responded to God's call to "set the soles of my feet" in this holy dwelling place.
There is so much to share about our beautiful sacred space, so for the next few weeks my blog will continue on the holiness of this awesome foundation.
My home is by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God!
Happy are those who dwell in your house!
They never cease to praise you. Ps. 83
How true. I graduated the Academy in 1964 and didn't return "home" until 1986. During that interval, I often had dreams about life there....and almost every single one had something to do with the peace, the beauty, and the sense of community that my soul had absorbed in the chapel during my four years there. Thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteElisabeth,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your beautiful comment. And for being a follower, AND I'm glad to see Drew is follower also. Yes, I had dreams of the sacred place the 15 years I was away. "Home" stays in our hearts.
Peace,
Sr. Priscilla