Mepkin Community Retreat March 5 to 10, 2017
Our Lent began in a grace filled way this year when Sister Mary Ellen of Saint Mary’s Abbey in Wrentham, MA arrived to give our annual retreat. Sister Mary Ellen provided us with a series of reflection on the treasure of monastic life, skillfully weaving together pertinent scripture passages, references to the Rule of Saint Benedict and Cistercian documents and authors, quotes from theologians and other authors as well as personal experiences and adventures.
With a wonderful wisdom born of living Cistercian life for thirty years and the abilities garnered from her years as a sister in a teaching Order in Australia before she responded to God’s call to contemplative life, she inspired us and encouraged us to consider God’s unfailing love revealed in the familiar and seemingly everyday stuff of life. Reminding us that one treasure of monastic life is falling and getting up again always looking to God, Sister Mary Ellen left us a wealth of insights to renew our resolve to live the monastic journey with deeper resolve and greater attentiveness to God. Among her pearls were references to writings by Mother Agnes of Wrentham. And she shared some of Mother Agnes’ poetry with us – an opportunity to see Mother Agnes’ creativity as an expression of her participation in God’s creativity and foster that aspect of discovering our own unique ways of participating in God’s creativity from the gifts God has given us. Truly there are many graces still to be gathered from this retreat.