It was the week before Holy Man, and all through the monastery…
 |
| Novice Sister Veronica sews curtains for Holy Man |
So, who or what is “Holy Man”? Yes, “Holy Man” is both a who and a what. When a Poor Clare
speaks of “Holy Man”, she is referring to the person and/or the feast day of
St. Nicholas, the holy giver of gifts to all good children. At Bethlehem Monastery in Barhamsville, St. Nicholas
usually arrives on his donkey (not a sleigh pulled by reindeer, mind you) on
his liturgical feast, December 6th, but since this year his day
falls on Sunday, he is scheduled to come one day earlier.
We have all written our letters to Holy
Man, each of us asking for three gifts for ourselves, making suggestions as to
what he could give to our Sisters and offering to help out as needed. These
letters were then reviewed by the chief “Holy Man helpers”, otherwise known as
Mother Abbess and Mother Vicaress, who organized and arranged for other “helpers”
to make all reasonable requests, plus various surprises, into real time
realities.
And so, “It was the week before Holy Man,
and all through the monastery Sisters are working on their Holy Man
projects: curtains for the library, new
tunics and veils for Sisters, books bound, benches varnished, cleaning supplies
purchased, to name just a few.
At the beginning of the Advent season,
when we prepare to celebrate the greatest gift of God to us, the Incarnation of
His Beloved Son, we ourselves exercise our creative abilities to give of
ourselves to one another. Blessed Season
of Grace to all!
Comments