Hello! I am Resident Novice Terri and am so glad you are here! In the Summer, 2025 Mewsletter, Br. Ricky shared two wonderful articles about travel.
Unpacking Benedictine Travel: RB 50 and 67
But here’s a truth.
Not everyone likes to travel away from home, especially us felines. Our travel is most often to the vet where we are treated to prodding, poking, and all sorts of other indignities.
We highly recommend staying home and not changing anything or going anywhere. Personally, I love to be at home with the Benedictine felines and the other Resident Novices.
Plus, staying at home is very Benedictine. Listen…
Bosco delights in a super-fun vacation at home
“The monastery should, if possible, be so constructed that within it all necessities, such as water, mill and garden are contained, and the various crafts are practiced. Then there will be no need for the members to roam outside, because this is not at all good for their souls.” RB 66.6-7
Felines heartily concur with this caution. We absolutely love practicing this directive in the Rule. And I personally treasure being at home with the Benedictine felines and the Resident Novices. As a result of our non-extensive travel, we felines have learned the art of vacationing at home.
Perhaps you love to be at home, too, or are not able or don’t wish to venture far from your home base.
Would you like to learn how you can vacation at home so that there will be no need for you to “roam outside?” Wonderful! Please read on for three suggestions from the Feline Cloister.
Suggestion #1 – Take Intentional Time for Observation
Sr. Nikki, OSB-F mews, “What a beautiful butterfly! I wonder what her name is?”
We can have a wonderful vacation at home by practicing the art of observation right where we are. Trust me. It is interesting and relaxing. The world provides endless opportunities for observation. And this is very Benedictine for observation means that we are living in the present moment. Here’s an example from the Feline Cloister
Sr. Nikki likes to sit on the sill of the bow window in the living room. It’s a warm, sunny spot. She will sit there for hours.
There’s a lovely patch of Amma’s daisies outside the window. Nikki lets her gaze rest on the daisies. Her eyes follow the little flying insects that alight on the daisies for a meal. She can also see the native plant called Bergamot. The flowers are a lovely purple and attract many busy bees who buzz from one flower to another.
What Greets Sr. Nikki’s Eyes
Where Sr. Nikki lies and looks out the window
when Amma is not stalking her with a camera
Amma’s Bergamot, a New Jersey native plant, also known as (Monarda fistulosa)
Observation Opens Us to the Beauty and Diversity of Creation
Nikki mewed that she wonders how the bees decide which flower to visit for a tasty bite.
Do they remember which flower they have visited?
Are they bothered by the other bees and the butterflies that visit the flowers, too?
Do they compete or are they content to share the bounty?
These are the kind of questions we can ask when we sit quietly and observe the world around us. We’re not the only creatures of worth on the planet, although we felines sometimes stray into this view.
When we really look at something for a time, we can see beauty, marvel at intricacies or behavior, and honor the life that they live, be it an insect, an animal or a plant. We can consider how we might best relate to them and respect them.
Benedict says, that we are to honor everyone. (RB 4.8) By taking a vacation at home to observe what is around us, to really stop and look, we honor that living plant or creature. And we are refreshed in the looking at God’s amazing Creation.
“We believe that the divine presence is everywhere.” RB 19.a
The Divine Presence in bloom
Suggestion #2 – Take a Quiet Rest from the Usual Stuff
My second suggestion for an at-home-vacation is to rest. And here is why we need to rest.
“In returning and rest we shall be saved.
In quietness and trust shall be our strength.” Isaiah 30:15
Yes, rest does save. We felines really believe this, which is why we rest a lot. Resting helps us appreciate things, like the good food, the fun toys that we can play with, and even the study that we do on the Rule of St. Benedict.
Rest is refreshing. Rest can help us to restore a positive attitude, just like a vacation away from home seeing new things can restore us.
But nothing can beat real rest. Ever come home from a vacation of travel thoroughly exhausted??
Even St. Benedict encourages rest in his Chapter on “The Daily Manual Labor” (RB 48). And he knows that we do not have an endless supply of get-up-and-go.
Rest is Best!
“Yet, all things are to be done with moderation on account of the fainthearted.” RB 48.9
The Many Ways to Rest
Rest can be a nap. Rest can also be setting aside things that normally occupy our busy days to instead have some “open time.” We rest our body. We rest our minds. We turn away from pressures of things to do.
This can be a day, a half day, several days or just an hour. Sit on the porch, read a book, bake cookies, work on a hobby you have let slip, or even plan nothing and see how the Spirit inspires you.
An At-Home Vacation can include reading a great book
“What is more delightful than this voice of the Holy One calling to us?
See how God’s love shows us the way of life.” Prologue 19-20
Suggestion #3 – Do Something Fun Alone or with Others – Whatever Floats Your Boat
I asked Sr. Espy what she likes to do for her at-home vacations. She mewed that watching the birds from the porch is a way to reframe her view of her daily life. “It gets me out of a rut.” She has a special app on her feline cellphone to identify bird calls. (It’s called Merlin. A really fun app.)
Br. Ricky likes to vacation on the porch, too. He watches the squirrels and chipmunks. He’s made friends with Winston the Chip who is considering becoming a Friend of the Feline Cloister. “You don’t need to go away from home to make new friends,” Br. Ricky mews. “New friends are right in your neighborhood and are found on your own block.”
Sr. Espy loves to watch the birds. She uses her Merlin app to learn
their chirps and songs.
Br. Ricky absorbed in watching
his favorite outdoor friend,
Winston the Chip,
scurry up a tree
On her At-Home Vacation, Worldwide Novice Shadow lets the Holy Spirit guide her activities,
like quietly watching her human. Christine.
An At-Home Vacation with others can be delightful gift of fun.
or
Or, follow the example of Br. Augustine Furrstrum, OSB-F, and enjoy a half day romp with favorite toys.
Vacations with Art
Amma loves visiting art museums as a part of At-Home Vacations. This does involve a bit of travel, but only for part of a day. The train ride to New York City takes under an hour. She visits the Metropolitan Museum or the Guggenheim Museum.
Seeing the beauty of the art is both inspiring and cleansing. Annoyances vanish and perspectives improve. There is a new energy to return to tasks and responsibilities. A vacation day with art helps us learn to be in the present moment and to heighten our ability to observe. An example follows from a recent exhibit at the Guggenheim in New York City.
Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930
Dancer=Propeller=Sea
1915. Gino Severini
When we take time to really look, we see the intricacies of art and of life.
This art is all about expressing energy and motion, here in seemingly unrelated objects. Severini uses the same shapes and colors to convey the movements of a dancer, a spinning airplane propeller, and the roiling sea. A vacation to view this painting can reveal subtlties and relationships.
To see a large image, tap here.
Are You Eagar to take an At-Home Vacation? But…
What About My To Do/Must Be Done List??
Novice Terri Has An Answer – Trust!
We can trust that God will help us complete what we are setting aside for a time. I think it is a matter of determining what is really important – that we get things done or that we enjoy or life as we do what we must do.
When I step away from all the to-dos and take a refreshing break, I return with more energy. And I find joy in what God has asked me to do.
If it is difficult to let go of the shoulds and to-be-done’s, write these on a piece of paper. Then put the paper in a drawer. You can retrieve them up after your home vacation. I will bet that you will have an easier time doing what needs to be done after a refreshing break.
Time to Schedule Your At-Home Vacation/s
The last step I’ll mew is a purr-fect suggestion.
*** Schedule Your At-Home Vacation! ***
Give yourself this gift. Look at your calendar. Schedule one, two, three at home vacations. Then look forward to their arrival as if you were going to a far-off land. Well, maybe you ARE going to a far-off land that is close to home.
A TIP: Be sure to share your plans with family and friends. Ask them to honor your At-Home Vacation.
Thank you for reading my suggestions. I hope they help you. Happy travels at home!
In Benedictine friendship,
Resident Novice Terri
Clarisse basking in a warm, sun-filled vacation at home
midst the cheerful dandelions.
What could be better?
“What is more delightful than this voice of the Holy One calling to us?
See how God’s love shows us the way of life.” Prologue 19-20