Glory Bee to God!

A cute little Carmelite postulant named Michele Morris sent Kevin and me a care package with instructions on the outside  that we were to open it together. 

When she’d written at Eastertime, our dear friend/sister in Christ, mentioned she had a surprise for us.  We never in a million years could have guessed what it would be.   

    
Ever since the spring a few years ago when I gave Michele a Pieta prayer book, we’ve been talking about “glory bees.”  In the prayer book is a Novena to St. Thérѐse of Lisieux which includes twenty-four “Glory Be to the Father” prayers each day.  Upon seeing this, she turned to me and exclaimed: “That’s a lot of Glory Be’s!”  At which point we both started laughing imagining bees with halos buzzing around glorifying God.  Thus began our affection for “glory bees.”

    
That Easter, I presented Michele with a stuffed animal bumblebee with candy in the zippered pocket and a makeshift halo out of silver pipe cleaner.  It was one of the few personal possessions she brought with her when she entered the Carmelite Monastery of Our Lady and St. Thérѐse.  Subsequent gifts to one another after that Easter often carried a theme of bumblebees.  I have a bumblebee pillow pet, a tall mug featuring a cartoon drawing of our adopted mascot, and a pair of yellow and black striped knee socks with bees on them all from Michele.

    
When learning to make rosaries, Michele thought it would be fun to make “Glory Bee Rosaries” for Kevin and me.  She was given permission to do so.  We are now the humbled owners of the first two “Glory Bee Rosaries.”  The community liked the idea, so she made a whole batch of them to go to the mission in Uganda.  With some bee research under her wings, she came up with a brochure using for graphics the picture of the bee I gave her with the halo and some of the bee graphics I used in making a memory book for her before she left. 

    
Inside the package was one self-portrait drawn with brown marker, one “Glory Bee Rosaries” brochure, two black and yellow beaded rosaries, and a five page handwritten letter from Michele.  I was laughing as I read the letter out loud about how she went from learning to make rosaries, to being inspired to make “Glory Bee Rosaries” for Kevin and me, to the project being blessed by the community. 

     Here’s an excerpt of her letter:

    For Trisha the gift is special in other ways as well.  It is also for you:

1.      A bridesmaids gift.  In thinking about and cherishing our “Girls Day Out” it occurred to me that as the bride-to-be I never did give you a bridesmaids gift-as is custom.  So I made one for you as well as Carrie and Betty J

2.      Something tangible to hold onto as reassurance that I am with you and praying for you.

3.      Tangible evidence that God does indeed work through you—inspiring others—good inspirations. 

Since July 16 is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as well as the two-year anniversary of the first performance of “Teresita” the original play Michele wrote, directed, and performed, and also the day when Michele received the letter accepting her as a postulant to the Carmelite Sisters by the Sea, I thought I’d share this story and the joy it has brought us. 

Self-Portrait of a Cute Carmelite Postulant

 
     Michele Morris actually drew the self-portrait on the right with brown marker and sent it to Kevin and me in a package with some fun surprises I'll share about in another post.
     The note on the top left of the drawing is how she and I would say goodbye to each other in person, letters, phone calls, e-mails or text messages: Love, hugs, and glory bees (a variation of the love, hugs, and prayers I often sign in letters to loved ones).  "Juice" is printed on the top right because one of the many times when Michele appeared at our door it was the first word out of her mouth.  Normally, I'd offer her something to drink upon her arrival, and she often asked for juice and a little snack to go with it.
     One fine day after chatting with Kevin outside for a bit while he was working on his motorcycle, she became particularly parched.  When Michele finally made it upstairs, she knocked, I opened the door, and without so much as a "hi" she said: "Juice!" with the innocence and insistence characteristic of a toddler.  I was completely amused and acquiesced immediately.  
     Michele really cracks me up. Even though she's in a cloistered monastery across the country and I haven't heard her voice or seen her in close to a year now, I can still picture her laughing and smiling, being silly and bringing great joy to The Carmelite Sisters by the Sea in Carmel, California.
     Lord, help us to be open to Your will in all areas of our lives.  Make us mindful of the promptings of the Holy Spirit, so that we are sensitive to how, with whom, when, and where You want us to serve.  Amen.
      

Saint Teresa, Pray for Us!

     I’ve had my four favorite T sisters in Heaven (St. Teresa of Avila, St. Thérѐse of Lisieux, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta) as well as my dear sister in Christ, Michele Morris, who entered a cloistered Carmelite monastery in California this past August have been on my mind today. (If you want to know more about the four Teresas, I highly recommend reading two books I read and enjoyed tremendously: My Sisters the Saints and/or  The Four Teresas.)

     Today, October 15, is the Feast day of St. Teresa of Avila.  Several months ago, my friend Michele was excited about this particular date, because the Reverend Mother of the Carmelite Sisters by the Sea, Mother Teresita, asked her to help plan a celebration for the feast day of this Doctor of the Church who reformed the Carmelite order.  Michele, who has often been the life of any get-together, was quite amused that her first long-term assignment as a postulant would be to help plan a party.       

      Because it’s the Feast Day of one of my favorite saints and a really special day for Carmelites around the world, I had Michele on my mind and prayers even more than usual, and I wanted to make a special effort to go to Mass.  I was thinking I’d go to noon Mass somewhere, but God led Kevin and me to a “Divine Appointment” that took us the entire morning (which I will write about in another post), so we weren’t able to get there. 

     This afternoon, I was smitten to discover I had time to get to Mass at the church where I’d first met Michele and where we’d most often gone to pray together.  I saw many of the regulars Kevin and I have prayed with at daily Mass when we’ve gone St. Benedict’s at 5:30pm Tuesday-Fridays over the past three years.  It felt good to be surrounded by a number of familiar prayer warriors and the faith community who welcomed Michele as one of their own.  St. Benedict’s was also the last place in Richmond where Michele performed Teresita, an original play she wrote based on the life of St. Teresa of Avila, a little over one year after the debut of her show at St. Benedict's School on July 17 (the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel). 

     I’ve been missing Michele, lately.  Things are the same without her smiling face, amusing anecdotes, cheerful presence, spontaneous visits, and frequent texts, so it was nice to have a day that made me feel more connected to her in a number of ways.  I know that she’s out West throwing a great party for the Sisters by the Sea.    

     Lord, thank You for the gift of faith-filled, prayerful women who are focused on doing Your will in all areas of their lives.  Amen.  

Heading Out West: The Next Step in Her Discernment

The Next Leg of the Journey

     As promised, I'm posting more about my dear friend Michele's discernment and the doors the Lord opened and obstacles He removed, so that she would be free to enter the cloistered Carmelite monastery He's led her to in California.  Honestly, right now it's easier for me to focus on what the Lord's done in Michele's life over the past year, and the past several years, than it is for me to spend too much time thinking about how this close friend, dear sister in Christ, trusted confidante, source of joy and consolation won't be in my life in all of the ways she has been over the past couple years.  

     After August 6, we won't be talking over the phone, e-mailing each other, and she can't write or receive letters except at Christmas and Easter.  She isn't allowed visitors (other than her mom and sister) for six years, until she takes her final vows.  I know that the Holy Spirit will keep us connected through prayer, and that this adjustment will be a far greater one for Michele to make, but I'm already missing her dearly.  

     

Similarities Between Two Sisters in Christ

     Those who are familiar with the life of St. Teresa of Avila tend to be quite impressed by how true to form the play, Teresita is in presenting the facts of this woman’s life, particularly her childhood and the time leading up to her discerning God was calling her from a life of privilege and popularity to enter a cloistered convent.  Others who don’t know as much about this Doctor of the Church are often inspired to research her after seeing the entertaining and educational performance. 

     Michele Morris portrays the young, vivacious St. Teresa of Avila beautifully.  Her interest in things of the world and contentment having close relationships with family and friends pose a number of challenges with which the playwright is all too familiar.  In Michele’s own spiritual journey, she has felt God’s Presence from very early on in her life, but it’s taken longer than she hoped or expected for her to discern what God wants of her. 

Now is the Time

     There’s a great deal to be said about the timing of this play.  A year ago on July 16 was the opening night of Teresita.  That the Lord opened doors so that the début could occur on July 16, which is the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, seemed a clear blessing of the Holy Spirit in this endeavor.  Michele had been working on the play for months.  She was inspired to write and perform Teresita as a fundraiser to pay off her student loan from getting her Masters in Divinity.  She needed to be debt-free to enter the religious community and become a postulant of the Carmelite Sisters by the Sea of California.

Carmel Goal Set

     Friends eagerly supported her effort by offering their own talents to assist in the production.  What seemed like a far-off dream became a reality in the days and weeks leading up to the first scheduled performance.  A friend came forward to make her costume, another to help her with direction and rehearsal stepped up.  Soon portraits, fliers, business cards, a website, and a location for Opening night were all provided. 

     I got chills watching Teresita both at the by-invitation-only dress rehearsal and the Opening night performance.  As someone who has read and thoroughly enjoyed learning about St. Teresa of Avila over the years, I really appreciated the attention to detail, inclusion of factual events, and the spirit with which this exuberant woman’s life was portrayed.  Knowing a great deal about many of Michele’s own struggles throughout her discernment only served to make the play that much more amazing and believable.  In the end of the play as in Michele's own life, the time comes when the only thing left to do to figure out if the cloistered Carmelite life is for her is to enter the community to which the Lord has led her and go from there.

Realization of Her Goal & Confirmation of God’s Will

     Over eleven months, Michele performed Teresita at venues up and down the East Coast.  Her first

scheduled performance was held on July 16, 2012, in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Carmel.  Twenty some performances later, she did her last scheduled public performance in the sanctuary of her home parish on Sunday, June 23, 2013.  During this time, Michele raised $16,500 towards paying off her seminary debt. 

      Michele had applied for a grant from the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations.  She found out that she was not a recipient of the grant, but not all hope was gone; for the first time ever, they’d chosen a first runner-up in the event one of the applicants declined the grant.  Michele was very excited to be named first runner-up, but she knew she’d have to buckle down and work even harder to pay off her student debt.  In a matter of days, she was optimistic after having found someone to take care of the promotion, bookings, and such, a replacement at her day job, which would allow her to travel whenever necessary, but within a week, that plan completely fell through.

     As has always been the case when things have fallen apart, Michele turned to the Lord and made it abundantly clear that He would need to figure out the logistics of how she would pay off her debt if it was, indeed, His Will that she enter the Carmelite Sisters by the Sea sometime sooner than later. 

     She was both shocked and ecstatic when she received a phone call the next day from a woman from the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations.  When asked if she would except the grant from them, she gave them a resounding: “YES!” 

A Leap of Faith  

     Tomorrow Michele is flying out West with her mom.  They've professionally recorded her performing Teresita in Deland, Florida, so now she is drawing closer in mind, body, and spirit to her new family.  She has said her goodbyes to her friends and family in Richmond, Maryland, and Florida, and after time with a dear family friend, she will be entering Carmel, where she will continue discerning her vocation to the cloistered religious life within the community.    

     What an amazing addition she will be to their community!  I can only hope and pray that they will receive her with as much love, joy, and laughter as she has brought to so many of us who have gotten to know her.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Pray for Us

     It’s hard to believe that one year ago today, on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, my dear sister in Christ, Michele Morris held the début of Teresita, the one woman, one act play she wrote based on the life and vocational discernment of St. Teresa of Avila.  Michele’s academic and professional background is in theater, acting, and directing, as well as evangelizing through plays and skits.   

In Search of the Right Saint

     For a while, Michele had considered writing a play about another saint, someone far more obscure that she’d have to dig hard to find out about, but when she spoke with Fr. Dan Brady, a local priest who has performed the one-man play Damien written by Aldyth Morris a number of times in our area, he suggested she write her play about St. Teresa of Avila.  With that suggestion and inspiration, she gathered a variety of resources about the saint’s life, including information about her personality, family relationships, vocational discernment, faith, education, and perseverance in entering a religious community as soon as possible.  She researched St. Teresa of Avila’s life through books, letters, poems, biographies, and historical information in preparation for writing her original play named Teresita. 

Asking the Tough Questions

     As Michele Morris has been discerning her own lifelong vocation, she has asked the Lord many times
throughout her life a question that appears over and over in her play: “What do You want of me?”  This question is the refrain directly from a poem written by St. Teresa of Avila called “In the Hands of God.”

     The poignant poem and pertinent refrain are ones I’ve returned to often over the past year as I spend time in prayer discerning what the Lord wants of me in my life, where He is leading me and my husband in our vocation of marriage, and how that changes what we do now and how we prepare for the future.  

     In response to the tough questions Michele has asked the Lord and the answers she's received from Him, she left Richmond, Virginia, for good on Sunday, July 14, 2013 after living here for eighteen years.  After signing over her car and visiting some friends, she'll be heading down to her hometown of Deland, Florida.  From there, she and her mom will fly out to the West Coast.
     On August 6, 2013, Michele will officially enter the Carmelite Sisters by the Sea cloistered monastery and become a postulant.  I plan to publish some more posts regarding her faith journey, the play she wrote, and the many ways she has touched people's lives in profound ways, so please check back for more.