Norbertine Sisters: 'A Night in the Vineyard' wrap up, Part 2

In Part 1 in the last issue of The Loop, I shared how my disappointment at the absence of keynote speaker, Hollywood producer Leo Severino, at the Second Annual "A Night in the Vineyard" on August 27, 2016, turned to delight with the sharing of two young Hollywood stars, "Joe" and "Michael." We had gathered at Triassic Vineyard to help raise funds for the Norbertine Sisters' new chapel project (more details on this in The Loop, August 6, 2016).

We left off in the last article with "Joe" being faced with the daunting chore of moving a building-size stack of hay into a small shed. He had been told by his mentor, "If you don't do it, the nuns are going to have to." He knew the Sisters definitely could do the work. He had already seen what they could do, and that they were doing, much more than him ... and "better, deeper." Joe told the audience, "That's what these Sisters do. They're always lifting for us; they're always doing the heavy lifting." On the drive up, he was told by one of his new mentors: "These Sisters are holding California up." In this simple but profound statement, he was sharing his recognition of the value of their lives dedicated to God in prayer and sacrifice.

Joe then introduced his friend, "Michael," who had also experienced a conversion, which started when they were working together on a movie project. They attended daily Mass together, and Michael also joined Joe on visits to the Sisters' monastery here in the Tehachapi mountains. Like Joe, Michael's talk truly inspired the audience with his journey from atheism to faith and his love of the Norbertines.

One comment truly struck a high note. "It's funny that a bunch of nuns, in the middle of nowhere, made a man out of me. When I came up here and saw how hard they worked, I was embarrassed because I couldn't work that hard. I don't know anyone's life [that] is half the difficulty of these women's." On his visits to the monastery, Michael worked on a retaining wall, helped with the cows, shoveled hay, and whatever else was asked. "And I learned so much from them," he continued.

He then changed the focus. "I want to touch on gratitude. Gratitude kind of makes a man, right? Pain and responsibility, but gratitude is something so crucial and I've learned gratitude in the last couple of years. I had probably close to zero before my conversion. And [now] I make a list ... of all the things I'm grateful for ... at the top of the list is the Norbertines."

After Michael's sharing, Joe returned to the podium. He shared, "I can't tell you the amount of conversion [and] nourishment that has come out of the place. My most touching moment was after we finished the work, we went to mass with them. We went into the little chapel that you can barely fit 20 people in the seats ... that's very tiny."

"So we go in there, and I didn't know what to expect," he continued, "I'm in the chapel and I start hearing this singing, this beautiful chanting, coming from this little window on the other side where I can't even see them. It's like a window into a room with angels. There's something so beautiful about something that you can't see, because we can't see a lot in our faith, but something is there. And the way that these nuns' voices ... it brought a tear to my eye because I felt like I was getting a small glimpse into a window of heaven ... or what it would sound like ... It was incredible ... everyone that I've brought there ... I don't say anything ... tons of people from Hollywood ... I bring them in there and I just go, 'Sit and listen.' And it touches everyone's heart. So we need to empower them to the best of our abilities to do that. Those prayers are the most important thing. We need those to hold us up; we need those to hold California up."

As Joe pointed out, so many lives have been changed in beautiful ways by the Canonesses – by their hard work, their sacrificial living and, most especially, the prayers they lift to heaven – for all of us. This ransom they pay is one that is also shared by their families, one that is visible as both a sacrifice, but also a precious gift, as was witnessed by the mother and father of Sr. Mary Josephine, who shared their parents' perspective that night.

The youngest daughter of Jonathan and Julie Teichert is a novice who has been at the monastery for about one year. "We haven't lost a daughter, we have gained a monastery," Jonathan shared. Julie shared excerpts from letters home, and there was so much beauty and wisdom in the words that were expressed by Sr. Mary Josephine and lovingly read by her mother. It revealed the incredible life that the Sisters are living out in their cloister vocation.

Architect Mark Russell, AIA, followed the Teicherts. He shared about how he had come to know the Sisters and to design their monastery structures. He remembered with fondness when Mother Superior came to him and told him that there was a problem with the proposed chapel – it just wasn't big enough. He knew of many reasons why he should caution her as to the cost and the difficulty of building a larger chapel on the proposed site, but she told him, "You don't dream big enough, Mark." And he knew she was right. The Sisters' prayerful obedience provides them a clearer vision of God's will for this and other projects. So, he complied and the new design is much larger. (The Sisters have grown from 20 in January of 2011 at the time of their becoming an independent canonry, to their current number of 42, with another postulant entering in November and more young women discerning entrance.)

I should point out that there were many more beautiful and short sharings that evening. Fr. Alphonsus Mary Hermes, O. Praem., provided the invocation. Liz Wolfe and Kathleen Bloom, who chaired the event, gave opening and closing speeches, and Fr. Mark Maxon, of St. Malachy's Church, ended the evening with a blessing for all present.

Before that final blessing, however, was the opportunity for a great outpouring of financial support in the form of a very energetic live auction. Eddie Lugo, professional auctioneer with a nationwide reputation and friend of the Norbertine Sisters, returned this year to conduct the action, and it was exhilarating to watch. The bar was set high early with retreats that went for high dollar amounts. Then it was raised even higher with a five-course cuisine meal for six, prepared by Fr. Mark, which sold for a stunning amount ... not once, not twice, but three times! He has a busy time ahead of him.

The highlight, though, was a last-minute addition to the live auction. Joe offered a dinner party in his home for the winner's family with at least five guaranteed Hollywood stars (and a few other interesting tidbits, such as signed scripts). This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity truly took the bidding into the stratosphere (at least by Tehachapi standards) until Joe stopped the auctioneer when the action was between two couples at very high dollar amounts. Following Fr. Mark's example, he was willing to offer two separate parties at a set value – more than I've ever witnessed at a fundraising auction.

Overall, the evening was unforgettable for all who attended and well worth the price paid by the guests and the work provided by the volunteers, many of whom donated hundreds of hours. I continue to run into guests and workers from the event and hear, "Wasn't it amazing?" I can't wait until next year's events, although it will be difficult to surpass what has gone before. Nevertheless, with more and more Canonesses praying for their benefactors, and with the knowledge that God is in the driver's seat, I don't doubt that future events will be amazing.

For more information about the Norbertine Canonesses and their chapel project, please visit http://www.norbertinesisters.org. The Sisters welcome your prayer requests at [email protected]. If you would like to pray with the Canonesses and hear their chanting through "a window of heaven," please call 661-823-1066 and leave a message, letting the Sisters know so they can set out books and make sure there's sufficient space in their small chapel. They also have a chant CD if you are interested available at their gift shop.

To stay apprised of events hosted by the Friends of the Norbertine Canonesses, please join their Facebook group (listed as Friends of the Norbertine Sisters) or email [email protected] to be added to an invitation list for future events.