Community Weekend

To say I'm getting the well rounded Erie Benedictine experience is an understatement. There are so many events I have participated in already, and it's only been about 10 weeks!

This weekend has been community weekend which included the oblate commitment ceremony Saturday night. It has been a jam packed and fun weekend, I'm so tired today! Friday night we played with old toys and played games, and everyone got to act like a kid again, it was crazy fun. All day Saturday we had a speaker who talked to us about healthy living, movement and how every little change we make for the better means something in the long run "the path to good health begins by taking one step at a time."

To the surprise of many who asked, the talks weren't over my head, as they were geared toward an older crowd. It's never too early to make a few healthy changes, it definitely got me thinking. Granted, it's hard to do when there is dessert multiple times a week. It seems we're always celebrating a Birthday or Feast Day, and when it's your special day you get to pick the dessert at dinner. I'd never want to offend anyone by turning down their chocolate frosted brownies or ice cream sundaes. I hear from everyone about how they gained a little weight when they joined the community. The freshman 15 from college was one thing, especially when it's still hanging on for dear life, I don't need the monastery 10 or 15 on top of that :)

I also want to say that it was great getting to meet a few of the Oblates who frequent my blog. It's interesting to me, to have all these people who I've never met before saying "Oh I love your blog/I read it every week/It's nice to finally meet you!" I even had one woman ask me if I was finally feeling better after my 3 week battle with a cold that I mentioned on here. It's pretty cool, I must say. Glad you all like it, can't wait to meet even more of you in the future. Thanks for being my biggest fan base, you rock :)

We read this Prayer of Teresa of Avila on Friday night at the prayer service that kicked off our community weekend. It really grabbed me and held on, this is exactly how I view the work I do everyday, put very beautifully:

"Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. 

Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world. 

Yours are the feet with which he walks about doing good. 

Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world. 

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes- 

Christ has no body now on earth but yours."

Amen.