Walking on (Frozen) Water
We live far enough to the south that it’s rare for snow to stick around for more than a few days. So the recent winter storm was an unusual opportunity for us to have a more “northern-type” winter experience! Besides 6-7 inches of snowfall, we had cold enough temperatures to freeze a good portion of the lake on our grounds. So, on Sunday afternoon, a group of Sisters decided to take our typical monastery “winter sports” (sledding, snowman making, snowy hiking) to the next level: ice hockey!
DISCLAIMER: Lest anyone become too concerned, let it be known that we stuck to the edges of the lake, where the water was frozen solid ;)
The intrepid crew spent some time with snow shovels and brooms, dusting off the snowy covering on a shallow “bay” in the lake. Once clear, this served as an excellent ice rink. Then came the question of equipment. No skates? Boots will do! No puck? How about a rubber ball! No hockey sticks? Brooms are just as good! We pooled our somewhat-scanty knowledge of the sport to set up the arena, and a brief but rousing hockey match ensued, packed with action and complete with a few epic wipe-outs (no broken bones!). Soon the less-talented players opted to be “moving obstacles” instead, so that they could enjoy sliding around without losing their balance.
We completed our thoroughly enjoyable winter afternoon by leaving some artwork/messages in the snow around the lake edges:
Curious about the reference to St. Ansgar? Well, one of our Nuns is of Danish heritage, and St. Ansgar (whose feast is today, Feb 3rd!) is the patron Saint of Denmark. Since that nation is largely Protestant at present, Sister surmised that poor St. A’s intercession isn’t being asked much these days. Thus, she decided to keep him busy by declaring him unofficial “Patron of Frozen Precipitation,” which basically means that he’s the one we at the monastery invoke when we’re hoping for a good snow - or, on a more serious note, protection from potentially dangerous winter weather.
We attribute to St. Ansgar’s intercession the fact that our little corner of Kentucky managed to hit the “sweet spot” in the winter storm that recently engulfed much of the U.S. The storm left us with lots of snow, but very little ice or other damage; the worst of it actually hit us on January 25th, the Saint’s 1,200th anniversary of arrival in Denmark!
If we were spared, however, we believe that it was for the sake of allowing us to intercede more fervently for those who have suffered much more in this storm. We are particularly holding in prayer all those who have lost lives, power, and other essentials over the past couple of weeks. May Our Lady of the Snows (and St. Ansgar!) be close to them in this time of suffering and intercede with the Lord for a swift recovery.