Saturday, September 7, 2013

Taste and see...


What’s up with tasting things? Why do so many people like it? I guess they like to take risks or they like going for adventures. There is one event that most cities have in common: “Taste of …” festivals. In the last two weeks, we actually went to an International festival, then to a Greek festival, and (jealous or not) went to Maker’s Mark Bourbon place in Kentucky.

Everyone has different preferences of food, clothing, art they like in their homes etc. However, preferences are the result of tasting… first many people take a chance to taste and see if something fits their preference or not.

In the novitiate, we "taste and see" God's desire with our life while deepening our relationship with God. It has been only three weeks, but tasting the novitiate life has been great. Once we were missioned, we all came together to “taste and see” Dominican religious life. Most things landed on my “sweet taste buds” and some on the other buds, but those are good to develop to live with and get used to, too. For example, medicine doesn’t always taste sweet, but it serves a good purpose, right?

Have a taste of our life in the novitiate. Anne shared last week, that we started school. Well, since then, we started to have some routines, so life has started to settle a bit. Since then, some recent tastes included

Prayer: it’s like an energy drink… it's cool, it's refreshing, it's energizing, and there is never enough. We tasted "day for reflection"; we are learning chanting the morning and evening praises, we started to lead prayers for the community, explored several places for Mass, and contemplation became part of our daily life.

Study:  we keep tasting until we find the best recipe for each food. Same with study: study is an on-going formation so that we can use the intelligence to serve others. We go to Aquinas Institute and take classes on preaching and also on vows. We also participate in intercommunity novitiate, learning from others to deepen our relationship with God and others. We lucked out, taking preaching class (I’m lovin’ it; it’s a very practical class with great teachers/preachers) and Vowed Life (it’s another great class; we are now learning the roots of it.)

Ministry: we didn’t just hear about things, we tasted them. We checked out different ministries... They were all wonderful, and the lucky ones are stuck with us, we are ready to serve. Week of September 16 we will start our ministries. What are they? Volunteering in hospice ministry; ministering in jails to women who are working on their GED as well as being with them with their emotional journey, helping women transitioning from jail to the common life, and helping immigrant population to learn.

Community: that has been the most fun; we have a great community here. As community, we pray, eat, study, play games, do chores together, but most of all, we are there for each other. We go to lots of places together as well. Last weekend, we had a nice trip to Kentucky that made our Vowed Life class come alive, as we just learned about the history of Nuns in the U.S., and Kentucky was the first one. First of all, we ate at Overlook restaurant on the way. The food and view of the river were both great. Then, we got to visit Dominican Sisters of Peace, who were really welcoming. We had a hay ride on the sisters' farm and property which was beautiful in the sunset, we learned about the history of Dominican nuns in the U.S., we had a guided tour at St. Rose Church, then on to Maker’s Mark, where we learned how they make bourbon and we also taste it. Then we drove to the Abbey of Gethsemani, where we prayed vespers with the monks. In the evening, we had a delicious meal and paa (pie in Kentucky) at Pat’s Place. Next day, we participated in Mass at the Cathedral in Bardstown, where we experienced a wonderful sense of community. The electricity went out and all pitched in smoothly, without interruption, and in a subtle manner to continue celebrate Mass. After that, we drove to Louisville, and went to Slugger’s Museum. You don’t need to love baseball to love this place! No funnel cakes, but a bunch of fun from Lego baseball player statues to learning how the best baseball bats are made. We had a short sightseeing, then we went to spend the night with two Dominican sisters, where we shared vocation and ministry stories and a yummy dinner with BBQ chicken. It was one busy weekend, but it was nice to do all these with community. 

Oh, one more thing: our novice directors are not like the directors used to be long ago... We've been mischievous at times; good thing that venia (sliding on the floor across the room for mercy) is not practiced anymore. We do have to take responsibilities for every good and not-so-good, but Sisters Megan and Joye are not grumpy or mean at all. They really are there for us in this journey. 

OK, now that you had a taste of novitiate life... I would say that great minds taste alike. I assume that so far, all of us like life as a novice and willing to spice it up or just simply take another dip.

If you are a sister or brother, what’s your best recipe for the novitiate? 

If you are not a sister or brother, I hope that this helped you have a taste, but honestly, as I wrote it above, to know if it is meant for you or not, you can taste and see if it fits your (and God’s) preference. 

If you liked this article, please come back for "another scoop" next week for Christina's blog.

19 comments:

  1. Wonderful article, Bea. Thanks for sharing with all of us. Know we are holding you and all the Novices in our prayers. Please give our love to Joye!
    Michelle Sherliza, OP
    Chris McManus, OP
    Watertown, MA

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    1. Thank you for your prayers and kind words, Sr. Michelle. So... hm... what's your best recipe for the novitiate?

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    2. Hello,

      My name is Laura Mattingly and I live and work in Louisiana. Thank you for sharing your blog. This was an eye opener.

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    3. Dear Laura,
      Wow, looks like we have readers from all over the USA: Louisiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Ohio, Kentucky etc. Thanks for reading our blog. How did you find it? We post a blog each week; I invite you to come back to hear about what else is happening during novitiate. Blessings to you!

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  3. Really Great - so descriptive I almost felt like I was there!! It has helped me realize of the importance of stopping and taking time to see and taste all the Blessings God gives to us each day!! Thanks for the Reminder! Know of my thoughts and prayers everyday!! I guess my Recipe for the Novitiate is to take one day at a time and savor each moment! Love, Margie

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    1. Thank you, Margie. Yup, savoring every moment. Actually, among novices, we have another time-zone. B.T. and A.T. (before ten or before technology and of course after.) It's fun 'though how we make fun of it (oops.) We are getting used to the 10 pm tech-time zone. Thank you for the idea of taking one day at a time, will do so. I love the reflection days, which are on Friday. Monday mornings, hm, they are sneaking on me with homework due at 3 pm. So, those are not my favorites, but everything else is great. Great time in prayer, community. Ministry kicks in soon, too, and am eager to start it.

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  4. Wonderful article, Bea. I can actually hear the Southern accent in the "paa"!

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    1. It tasted even better than it sounds! Did I make you hungry? :-)

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  5. Great article, Bea! I am so happy that the novitiate is such a rich experience for you. Reading your article brought back my own novitiate days--not that long ago. :) Like Margie said, "take things one day at a time" and savor the experience...it will be over before you know it!
    Pat Dual

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    1. We have been here for about three weeks, but it feels like we've been here for a while, all those activities make time fly by... but it's fun, and you know me......... taking too many pictures, but during prayer, i put it away. I will take one day at a time and savor it. Actually, I think I've started it. Thank you for your insight. If two (you and Margie) suggested the same thing, it must work.

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  6. I think I goofed posting my last entry...let me try again: Thank you for this rich fare! May you always be a "connoisseur" of Dominican Apostolic Life and Feast on the richness of God's Word. Love, Pat Twohill, OP

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  7. "connoisseur" , which is an expert in judge in matters of taste... good thing you wrote that "of Dominican Apostolic Life and Feast on the richness of God's Word" because without it it sounds funny, because i'm a picky eater.... I hope everything I taste and experience here can "land on the sweet buds..." of Dominican Life. :-)

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  8. Bea, thank you, dearest, for this glimpse of the novitiate life! I just found out about this blog from Sr. Pat T. -- and I can't wait to read more as you travel on your journey. It sounds so wonderful! I'm a little envious, but don't worry -- it's white envy. Please know that I hold you both and all in my heart and thoughts every day. It's also really cool that I can picture the house -- and you in it. :-) God speed, dear hearts. Until the next update? Love you, Maria.

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    1. Thank you, Maria, for your kind comment. It is great here, and we will keep you posted :-) Each week one of us is posting a blog, so please, do come back. Sometimes update, sometimes reflection, at times whatever is on our mind. This blog is really where our spirit moves on that week. I can say that it is a wonderful community with the novices and directors, and a great experience in deepening relationship with God.

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  9. Thanks Bea for sharing. Looking forward to reading more about your experiences!

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    1. Dear Birder's Life,
      Thanks for your comment. Stay tuned, we post one each week. Blessings to you.

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  10. Bea, I so enjoyed your creative way of describing your experience at the CDN. I pray it is a great year for all of you as you continue to TASTE AND SEE...the goodness of the Lord in all shapes and sizes!
    You remain in my heart and prayer...Amy OP

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    1. Thank you, Amy. Yup, we continue to taste and see the goodness of the Lord: yesterday we had a great reflection day about being contemplative with Fr. Don Goergen, OP. Thank you for your prayers (and the CD, too!!!!!) Bea

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