December 26, 7:44 AM. While we were finishing the intercessions and were just about to pray the Lord’s Prayer during Morning Prayer, suddenly we heard a sound like a freight train coming from the back of the chapel.
Seconds later, the fire alarm went off. Some sisters could see that water was pouring down the glass doors that separated our entranceway from the back of the chapel. In a matter of a few more seconds, sisters started running toward the back of the chapel. We soon realized that part of our soneprinkler system had frozen and burst, causing a waterfall that started spilling into the chapel itself.
What happened next was a microcosm of our strength as a community. We are still talking about that morning, and it will probably go down in community history. Though none of us stood back and watched, and we’ll probably never fully know every detail, what I did see was proof to me of the miracle of human ingenuity, grace under pressure, and unity of mind and body.
Sisters ran up to assess the situation. Sisters ran to get towels, mops, buckets, trash cans, and even push brooms. Sisters tore off their sandals and socks and jumped into the freezing, cold water barefoot to assist. A few sisters made phone calls to the fire department, our operations sister who lives at another house on the property, and another sister who knows the sprinkler system well. They were eventually able to shut off the sprinkler system and drain the remainder of the water outside. One sister took care of reposing the Blessed Sacrament. More sisters discovered leaking in the basement bathrooms and storage room, and a team went there to mop it up and save whatever could be saved (we lost a lot of toilet paper in the flood!).new-blog-3
I was amazed that, through it all, our sisters remained energized, cheerful, and willing to help in whatever way they could. It’s not unusual, under such circumstances, to lose patience, but I did not see anything like that. Even our neighbors and friends, arriving for Mass at the planned time of 8 AM, jumped in to serve. Needless to say, Mass started late that day!
I also marvel at how each sister responded with her own personal gifts. Some burst into action. Some were especially sacrificial. Some were strategic. Each sister knew instinctively how she could serve best and found a place. I think that is what St. Paul must have meant when he wrote to the Corinthians,
“If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. If they were all one part, where would the body be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body” (1 Corinthians 12:17-20).
My prayer is that each of us sisters can find our place in the community, and each of us in the universal Church can find our place there, too. I pray also that we can value each “part” and encourage one another to fulfill our roles in joy and love, no matter the circumstance!
- Sr. Mary Gemma Harris, T.O.R.
