July, August, September 2013 N0. 3/2013. More than once, we could celebrate profession in Tutzing Priory in this 3rd Quarter of 2013!

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1 July, August, September 2013 N0. 3/2013 WE CELEBRATE More than once, we could celebrate profession in Tutzing Priory in this 3rd Quarter of 2013! JULY 7, 2013 IN BERNRIED: After the transfer of the novitiate to Bernried, Sr. Verena Leinen s first profession on July 7, 2013 was the first temporary profession celebrated in Bernried after more than 20 years. Many family members, relatives and friends, sisters from the whole Priory and guests came to celebrate with her on this sunny Sunday. Father Fichtl was the celebrant of the festive Mass, and musicians from the communities of Tutzing and Bernried accompanied the liturgy with organ, piano, drum, guitar, flute and trombone. In his sermon, Father Fichtl referred to the readings Sr. Verena had chosen (2 Cor 1:18-22 and Jn 13:36-38; 21:15-23). He said, among other things, that even if the Apostle Paul demands an unconditional YES it still needs above all the support of the Holy Spirit, since the risk of our failure is always present. The passages chosen from the Gospel of St. John are an eloquent testimony of this risk, since Peter often makes high promises that he then is not able to keep despite all best intention. In this context, Father Fichtl also referred to the Rule of St. Benedict, in which the abbot is reminded again and again that he does not have to do it with perfect people. Subsequently, Sr. Verena pronounced her first vows and so committed herself to our community for the next three years.

2 2 SEPTEMBER 15, 2103 IN TUTZING: After celebrating the first profession and the golden jubilee, we celebrated perpetual profession in September. Sr. Helga Gabriela Haack and Sr. Marie-Therese Brodmann had come to Tutzing in February for the preparation of this important next step in our congregation, together with Sr. Veronika Sube. After the Mass, everybody had the opportunity to congratulate Sr. Verena until it was time to have lunch together in the garden hall. Sisters from Bernried had prepared a shadow play for the afternoon program: The drummer of the Grimm brothers. The Leinen family surprised Sr. Verena with a film on some significant events in her life and with a puppet theatre with homemade puppets. AUGUST 10, 2013 IN TUTZING: Right for the feast day, M. Angela Strobel arrived in Tutzing, and the three jubilee sisters Sr. Lydia Eitner, Sr. Anysia Frank und Sr. Luise Fischer were very happy to celebrate together with her their Golden Jubilee of profession. Together with sisters and relatives, they shared a joyful feast day full of gratitude for God s fidelity experienced in their lives. The big day was Sunday, September 15, 2013: many sisters, family members, relatives and friends gathered in the monastery church in Tutzing. Fr. Bernd Franke, SJ, who celebrated the Eucharist together with Fr. Guido Wiedemann, OSB mentioned at the beginning of his sermon that Sr. Helga Gabriela and Sr. Marie-Therese had been quick with sending the invitation. Then he continued: But the selection of the readings for your profession, as expression of what is important to both of you together, took some more time. I think that this common spiritual seeking has given you new insights and the encouraging experience of community. Continuing his sermon, Fr. Franke highlighted three aspects that are closely connected with the two sisters and their profession: seeking God s presence, trusting in His promises and being more and more transformed into persons that radiate God s mercy. Earlier in the morning, Sr. Hildegard Jansing had introduced the guests in the elements and symbols of the profession rite so that

3 3 everybody could well understand and follow the subsequent rite. After reading and signing the profession card, the two sisters showed their respective cards to the present guests, a sign that they make their profession not only within the community, but in public, in front of witnesses. Then, as usual, sisters and guest had lunch together in the multipurpose hall of the secondary school. Hereafter, the guests were invited to a guided tour through the monastery, including the exhibition on the history of 100 years of our monastery in Wessobrunn. While handing over the rings, Sr. Hildegard said: "Receive the ring, the symbol of fidelity. Be faithful in your commitment to follow Christ and you will experience the fullness of life." Having been strengthened by coffee and cake in the afternoon, Vespers was sung in church. And after dinner, a group of sisters presented Camille Saint-Saëns' famous piece Carnival of the Animals. It was at the same time very humorous and a musical masterpiece! At the end of the celebration, both received the mission cross, a sign that they are sent by the Church to the people. Sr. Helga Gabriela will be sent to our spirituality center in Bernried and Sr. Marie- Therese will go to Dresden to give witness of God s faithful love. After mass, there was time to congratulate the two new final professed sisters.

4 WE PARTICIPATE IN CELEBRATING JULY 11, 2013 KOMMUNITÄT VENIO IN MUNICH: On the Solemnity of St. Benedict the Kommunität Venio was raised to the status of an abbey in Munich and Sr. Carmen Tatschmurat was consecrated abbess. Sr. Hildegard Jansing (left) Sr. Mechthild Hommel and Sr. Ruth Schönenberger participated in Munich in the Abbey St. Bonifaz in the celebrations. JULY 21, 2013, ABBEY OF KOENIGSMUENSTER: In the abbey of Koenigsmuenster, Fr. Aloysius Althaus OSB was consecrated forth abbot of the abbey. Sr. Mechthild Hommel was present. 22. AUGUST 22, 2013 MONASTERY OF ALEXANDER- DORF: In Alexanderdorf, Sr. Bernadette Pruß was consecrated abbess by cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. Sr. Ruth Schönenberger represented our community in this celebration.

5 5 ONE WEEK IN BULGARIA SOME UNSORTED IMPRESSIONS Late August, Sr. Renate and I spent one week in Bulgaria. Our goal was to visit our community in Sekirovo Rakovski. We have really seen and experienced a lot in these few days. After arriving, Nadya (our Bulgarian postulant in Tutzing) and a parish driver showed us around in Sofia. We were touched by the long Christian tradition. There are graves dating from the 3rd Century, i.e. from the time of the persecution of Christians - and the little church we visited is still a church. We also got the chance to visit the Greek Catholic Bishop. He showed us his church and even invited us to go to the Holy of Holies behind the iconostasis. In Sekirovo, the convent consisted of Sr. Laetitia alone. Sr. Quirina was in Zarevbrod and Sr. Mary Agnes was on home leave in the Philippines. I know Sr. Laetitia from former times, so we felt at home immediately. By Monday at the latest, we were fully integrated as Sr. Renate had cooked and I had transposed the Magnificat antiphon of the Bulgarian Office to the 5-linenotation system. We sang the Divine Office either in English (Manila Office) or in German or mixed; only with Nadya we were able to pray the Bulgarian Office. Thursday evening was a night encounter for foreign guests of the parish, and the folk dance group of the place danced, but how! Indescribable, with original music, really exciting - and the traditional costumes were of particular beauty. Little kids were amidst, trying to imitate the big too nice. On Friday we discovered the different urban parts of Rakovski and of the surroundings by bicycle. All people seemed to know each other, most of all those who are active Christians. On the road, we met at the same time donkey carts and cars that are not too bad, and Roma vehicles. Saturday was dedicated to Plovdiv, this ancient, vivacious city that was already a city at a time when Rome not even existed. Remains from all eras can be admired, and as in Sophia, there are remains that witness from early Christian times and from the persecution of the Christians. In Plovdiv we also visited the cathedral. One of the two Roman Catholic bishops of Bulgaria resides in Plovdiv. In the evening, we went to a youth meeting in Belozem, a town about 30 km from Rakovski. There, the Capuchins had organized a youth camp for young Catholics from all over Bulgaria. It is important that the young catholic people are given the opportunity to meet, since except in Rakovski Catholics are in an extreme diaspora situation in Bulgaria. It was the final evening of the camp and the participants presented the results of the different workshops, singing, dancing or in other forms. The Holy Mass in the parish church on Sunday was very lively, with the participation of many and the choir singing. After mass there was a "bazaar" - similar to our flea markets - just that there the bazaar is the very regular place to go shopping. Everything was available: sheep and chicken, linen and washing powder, jewellery, knives, kitchen utensils and agricultural implements, fruits, vegetables, seeds, fertilizer, CDs, mobile phones. We decided to buy a melon.

6 6 On Sunday evening, Nadya s family invited us to dinner. It was a very nice and relaxed evening. They offered us a typical meal, starting with a cucumber salad mixed with pepper and sheep s cheese. It was served with plum brandy to prepare the stomach for the meal. Then, the main dish was served. And as dessert, we savoured melon pieces. One episode is left to tell. It is a good example for the warmhearted atmosphere we experienced: Once, when we were walking through the city and peered at the seed, rat poison and other agricultural utensils presented in a shop window, the young owner invited us to come in. He led us to his garden behind the house where beans, tomatoes, peppers and other things were growing. He showed us the yellow beans, filled a whole bag with them and put some tomatoes on top of it. When I wanted to pay, he refused, it was a gift! We were touched and overwhelmed by so much natural friendliness. After one week, we returned to Tutzing, full with impressions and experiences and grateful for so many meetings and for having got the opportunity to make this journey. Sr. Rachel Feller Sr. Renate and Sr. Rachel visited Jovko in his glasshaouse. From August 28 to 30, 2013 I had the opportunity to participate in the 17th Renovabis Congress in Freising. Before sharing with you some impressions of it, I would like to give you some general information on Renovabis. Renovabis is, after Missio, Misereor and Adveniat the fourth and youngest cooperation agency of the Catholic Church in Germany. It was founded in March 1993 by the German Bishops Conference and understands itself as the solidarity initiative of the German Catholics with the people in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Renovabis supports projects in about 30 countries, including not only Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but also Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and others. I like to list them, because it shows how colorful our Europe is. To the congress, which takes place once a year, Renovabis invites partners: donors, representatives of the churches, of the civil society and of the world of politics, representatives of the different countries, scholarship holders, trainees, volunteers, employees, bishops, lay people, religious, The theme of this year s Congress was: Free and solidary. Christians in responsibility for Europe. To this, the societal, political und churchly situation was taken into account. To begin with, a review was made: What had been the topics of the long desired freedom before the political changes of 1989 and 1990? Have they been realized? To what extent? How has the political situation in the respective countries changed? And how has the situation changed with regard to the civilian population? The example of Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine and others served to illustrate the situation. After

7 7 the review, the Congress focused the common future of Europe and asked what contributions Christians can make to the society and the politics. Prof. Dr. Jan Sokol from Prague made a remarkable contribution on this subject: Keywords were, we must take our faith serious and live it. Metanoia turn our view, our mind and our thoughts towards God! Hope of forgiveness and resurrection. Charity. All these, Prof. Sokol emphasized, are not only themes of Sunday sermons, but also treasures that we as Christians owe to our societies. Bernd Posselt, member of the European Parliament, recommended to us Christians to engage in politics and to draw on the Catholic Social Teaching since it is a good basis to deal with the question on which basis we build our European societies. Why did I take part in this Congress? I was invited by Mr. Dahm, the organizer, to contribute in one of the workshops with a statement on the situation of young people 25 years after the political changes in Bulgaria. Since I had just arrived from Bulgaria, this was not very difficult for me. With two speakers from Poland and Ukraine, we split the task and reported from our countries. 15 to 20 people participated in our workshop. I was positively surprised to meet two women from Bulgaria who are committed to the political education of young people and a man from Germany who had led a vocational school in my home country. The contributions of the speakers and the discussion with the participants were very interesting. To sum up, I can say that the problems of many young people in Eastern Europe (but also in Germany) are very similar: Above all of course the high rate of unemployment and the difficulty to find an employment. In Bulgaria, one out of four young persons is unemployed. As a consequence, family planning of young people is far postponed. Loss of sense, addiction problems and criminality among young people increase. Nevertheless we realized that there are many young people in these counties with a wide scope of mind who are very active, are able to network quickly and try in one way or another to bring their countries some forward. We also talked about the fact that these young people are compared with the generation of their parents who have grown up under communist governments much freer from nationalist thinking and able to think European, i.e. in a broader context than that of their own nation. Well, I could go on relating, but I should come to a conclusion. What did I personally like about this Congress? It was the possibility to meet people who are in different ways connected and involved with Eastern Europe. We had very good speakers and we could discuss a lot. But most of all I liked the atmosphere: There was no complaining although we often spoke about problems. Instead, there was an atmosphere of optimism and initiative. But the very best thing was Thursday evening. After praying vespers in the Byzantine Rite with the guests from of the Oriental College of Eichstätt, we met in the beer garden. I was mightily amused and delighted to see priests, seminarians and even some bishops sitting at the table and singing cheerfully folk songs with enthusiasm. It was very nice! Nadya Ruzhina PS: ah, yes.. and do not forget to pray for Europe! Missions-Benediktinerinnen von Tutzing Bahnhofstr. 3 D82327 Tutzing GERMANY Editorial Staff: Sr. Ruth Schönenberger Translation by: Sr. Marie-Therese Brodmann