CHAPTER 7 – PENNSYLVANIA
Gunshots echoed through the mountains. The members of the community were used to hearing these noises during hunting season. Right after the celebration of Thanksgiving the gunshots would begin. Sometimes they sounded just a little too close for comfort. It saddened some of the members to think about the deer that were killed, but it gladdened them to know that some people were eating better because of this. Some of the monastics were vegetarians, as was Abbot Francis, and some were not. A few monastic communities make it a part of their rule of life that all members of the community be vegetarian. In the Salesian tradition this is left up to the individual.
Liberty of spirit is a foundational teaching of St. Jane de Chantal and St. Francis de Sales. Whenever possible the individual monastic is encouraged, after consultation with his or her spiritual director, to arrive at life decisions that are mature, healthy, and life-giving, as long as they basically are in harmony with one’s state of life.
Sister Jane de Chantal would sometimes think about her foundress and namesake--St. Jane de Chantal--when she heard the hunters firing their guns. The loss of St. Jane’s husband, the Baron, radically transformed her life and, because she made the very best of that situation, hundreds of thousands of people through the centuries since have been positively influenced through her. Sister Jane knew that Salesian spirituality does not hold that God sends bad things to teach people lessons. She also understood well the teaching that God will meet us in whatever circumstance of life we find ourselves in. So Sister Jane admired God's creative use of a tragedy in the life of her foundress as a way of enriching the lives of many others.
Madam Wu stood at the kitchen counter and chopped vegetables. She was making her trademark vegetarian egg rolls. There was plenty of leftover turkey for dinner for the carnivores, and the vegetarian egg rolls plus the mashed potatoes, salad, and multi-grain bread would be fine for those who did not eat meat. Effie Wu had explained to the community members and guests that her Chinese husband told her that egg rolls were not really Chinese food. The truth be told, Madam Wu liked American Chinese food more than she likes the real Asian Chinese food. It probably had something to do with the additives and preservatives that Westerners are so used to. God deliver us from healthy food she thought, and smiled to herself.
Sister Jane peacefully organized the materials for the salad and began to reheat the left overs. The two women worked in companionable silence, a monastic tradition.
"Madam Wu, would I be disturbing your quiet recollection if I talked to you for a few moments?"
"Not at all, Sister, I’m happy to have a little private time with you. Community life is nice but there’s not always much private time with the individual members."
"It's about our abbot, Brother Francis. I understand that your husband generously orchestrated the circumstances whereby Brother Francis could have a place to stay while visiting China this time around. He is staying with Mr. Wu’s cousin in the Fujian Province, correct?"
"That's right Sister Jane. Tian has cousins all over Asia from what I understand. This cousin is a widow lady with a small apartment adjacent to her modest home. Her name is Ming, or Ping, or something like that. She uses ‘Theresa’ for her Western name so that's how I think of her. I understand that her Chinese name means ‘bright’ The Chinese have such beautiful and meaningful names." The middle-aged blonde lady smiled as she thought of her dear husband.
"Brother Francis has been studying the Mandarin language for close to four years now. He has mentioned that what he needs at this point is any person he can speak Mandarin with. I understand that Theresa is a Mandarin speaker and that the area in which she lives is a Mandarin- speaking part of China."
"Theresa is a wonderful person. She’s had a life of struggle and deprivation. She lost her husband when she was very young and had to raise her children single-handedly. Fortunately, she has the help of an extended family. Christians are the minority in China but Theresa is a Christian and attributes any strength she has to her faith. Happily, she respects all spiritual traditions and has dear friends who are Daoists and Buddhists. Through long years of toil and saving, she now has a modest dwelling and adult children who help her. Taking Brother Francis in is her way of thanking God for getting through those hard times."
"I don't have the gift of spiritual intuition that you do, Madam Wu, but I have a feeling that there is more to Brother Francis’ trip to China this time around than his desire to strengthen his Mandarin speaking skills. I don't mean to pry, but I am concerned for our abbot's safety, so if there is anything that you are comfortable sharing with me about Brother Francis’ present circumstances I would be grateful to hear it."
"I know that you are the prioress of the community and therefore in charge when Abbot Francis is away, Sister. I also know that your community members are very close to one another. I, too, have a sense that there is more to this trip than meets the eye. I asked my husband Tian about this intuitive sense of mine and he knew better than to avoid answering it." The blond woman smiled peacefully again as she thought about her husband. Now in her late fifties, Madam Wu was of medium height and had just a few extra pounds to contend with. The tiny silver cross she wore around her neck symbolized her belief that any gift of intuition she had was a gift from God.”
"Please don't keep me in suspense; what did your husband say?"
"I'm sorry, Sister Jane. I was just thinking about Tian and missing him a little bit. Yes, he told me that there were some very old documents involved in this trip and that there was a mystery as to how they made their way from France to China. He made some vague references to a hermit who lived in China and the death of the last person to be in possession of these documents. How that all relates to Brother Francis I am not sure."