This year the feast of All Saints brought great joy to our community with the Solemn Profession of Sr. Gertrude Feick, OCSO.  Friends and family from her hometown in Indiana came to Redwoods to celebrate with the Redwood's community.  Dom Peter McCarthy, OSCO, Father Immediate of Our Lady of the Redwoods Abbey and Abbot of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Carlton, OR, officiated at the profession.  He was accompanied at the altar by Abbot Paul Mark,OCSO and Dom Thomas, OCSO, Abbot Emeritus.  Both Dom Paul Mark and Dom Thomas are from Our Lady of New Clairvaux Abbey in Vina CA.  

Sr. Kathy DeVico offered a profoundly moving evocation addressed to Sr. Gertrude.

Dear Gertrude,

You have been ‘running’, not running away but running towards.  ‘Running’, a striking symbol for the monastic journey and for the spiritual pilgrimage in general: running to learn…running to love…running to learn how to love.  There are four passages just in the Prologue of the Rule alone where St. Benedict uses the image of ‘running’, for St. Benedict knows that God delights in the one who ‘runs’, in the one who responds not with sluggishness of spirit, not with resistance, but with desire and longing, desire and longing to be God’s incarnate vessel of love and mercy.

We want ‘glory’ but there is a cost.  This is the essential message of today’s gospel.  Jesus is addressed by James and John, two of his disciples, as ‘teacher’…and they add, “We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you” (Mk 10:35-45).  

Within the ‘love command’ of God there is a ‘demand’…the demand is to ‘sell all’. This ‘demand’ to sell all is not easy…still ‘with God all things are possible’. It seems that ‘virtue’ is not enough, that is the virtuous living of the ten commandments. Why would God ask something extra, beyond keeping these commandments?

The Fall Newsletter recaps yet another summer of navigating the pandemic while maintaining our monastic life and ministry of prayer and hospitality.  Even though our guest house has been closed, we were able to host several young women as interns.  These women participated fully in our life of prayer and used the time wisely.  They took the opportunity to look inward in order to discern their life's meaning and direction at a deeper level.  

Also featured in the newsletter is an article about our community retreat with Fr. Simeon Leiva-Merikakis, ocso, a scholar and monk of Saint Joseph’s Abbey, Spencer, MA.   As Sr. Gertrude writes, "The retreat, 'Encounter with the Risen Jesus,' gave us an in-depth and fascinating look into the post-Resurrection accounts found in the Gospel of St. Matthew."