Do you remember hearing years ago the question: how far is heaven from earth? It must be 5 days’ journey – because when on the ascension Jesus rose to heaven it took it was 10 days later when the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost. Five days up; five down. That’s how far, some say, heaven is from earth. (not seriously, of course.) But that silly story prompts my reflection’s journey motif …
In this our 137th community anniversary of the journey from Pennsylvania to Florida, I invite you to join me in taking a long overview look at the history of our community “journey history”. It is evident that we and our Florida-Benedictine ancestors have made many journeys. We start with Benedict and Scholastica who skipped happily along the hilltop path from their home in Norcia, Italy. Perhaps they stopped in to visit with the hermits who live in caves hillside on their trip to their grandparents’ summer house on the outskirts of town.
When still a young boy, Benedict journeyed to Rome for classical studies. Before long, he journeyed into the hills for a little sanity. A few years later, Benedict’s followers – and Scholastica’s nuns – traveled from Italy to Germany, England, France, Switzerland, and Austria – and in 1852 from Bavaria to the United States. We probably know the story of the monk running to tell Abbot Wimmer that his “wagon load of trouble” had been spotted on the horizon when the first Benedictine nuns came to the U.S. Like spotty fires that can’t be contained, Benedictine women’s houses sprang up across the continent. Our own immediate history brings a “wagon load” of 5 Sisters from PA to San Antonio, FL. Before long they’d started schools in their own home and 3 miles down the road in St. Joe.
Over the years, our Sisters would journey each school year to places as far away as TX and LA and they made a mark for our community in Miami, Miami Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ocala, Sarasota, Venice, Lakeland, Apopka, Dade City, Zephyrhills and San Antonio, New Port Richey and St. Joe and right here in St. Leo. For many years the Sisters packed up each June and brought all their worldly possessions back to Holy Name Convent because we never knew for sure where you’d be “missioned” the next school year. This was a built-in system of “spring cleaning” and downsizing.
During the summers the Sisters continued on their journeys to complete, or extend, their education. To name a few places I know about, they traveled to Cullman, AL, Notre Dame, St. John’s in Minnesota, Belmont College, New York, Louisville, Yankton, SD; Barry in Miami, the Mount in Atchison, KS; Wisconsin and St. Louis. Or they packed up a few necessities along with two habits and headed up the road to Good Counsel Camp where they squeezed in 2-week sessions of religious education for children that did not have the advantage of parochial schools.
In addition to staffing parish school, Sisters packed into cars – sometimes with volunteer drivers – to teach weekend catechism classes in Floral City, Brooksville, New Port Richey, Eustis, Arlington, Ponte Vedra, Masaryktown, Belleview, Reddick, West Ocala, Fruitland Park, Gainesville, Clermont, Dade City, Zephyrhills and the Girls’ Reformatory in Ocala. I’ve never check out the veracity of this story but I’ve heard that there is one Sister who used to travel to “the outback” to teach catechism with her typewriter on her lap finishing up her college class assignments.
All this journeying from home to classrooms to college to camp to parish halls were mini-versions of the grand moves, the memorable journeys, that travel in our Florida Benedictine genes: the move from PA, the move from the park to the top of this hill; from the wood-frame convent to this structure of concrete and steel. And, then there were the years of discernment that concluded in our decision to move body and soul across the highway to this 2014 structure we now call home.
And, you’ll recall we’ve moved not only our persons – we’ve moved buildings to our property – the barracks buildings that were delivered for a boys’ school and a canteen for the academy girls. Camp Jovita cabins and the day care buildings rested south of the Villa. We can point to where buildings used to be: the kindergarten and coif room, the laundry at the lake, Scholastica hall, barns, the home ec houses, the bus shelter, a hitching post on Hwy 52 and basketball courts where we hosted chicken dinners and danced around the May Pole.
Journeys are not a new phenomenon for Florida Benedictines. For some of us a journey is an adventure; for some a dreadful thought. For all of us it can be a great risk, a scary thought, a step into a future that unfolds as we walk the path God holds out to us. When we took our first journey from womb to the light of day, we were completely naked, vulnerable, squalling and fighting the loss of the comfort of 24-hour warmth, unending nourishment, periods of activity and times of quiet floating. Journeys are nothing new for any of us!
In conclusion, for today, I suggest you think about some of the journeys you’ve taken – moves when you were a child, the move to join our community and the journey that our sisters of happy memory have traveled to their eternal home. May they rest in peace! God of the journey, show us the path to life. Angels of God, lead us along our path. Amen. Alleluia!
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
