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The Friday evening began at 5:30 PM with vespers in the chapel of Lumen Christi Monastery at the Community of the Lamb on south Boeke street in Kansas City, KS. Responsible little sister Judith had invited us to dinner when I called to inquire about doing a vocation story for the Serra Club newsletter. My wife and I arrived about fifteen minutes early bearing a few grocery bags of food for the little sisters and a bouquet of flowers. My wife is one of the most thoughtful people I know.
Little sister Amaya, who grew up in Parkville, MO, gave us a tour of the public space in the monastery as some of the other sisters put away the groceries, added the final touches to the evening meal we had been invited to share, and prepared for evening vespers. The little sisters of the Lamb, we learned, is a contemplative community devoted to a life of prayer and witness to the Gospel of Jesus, the Lamb of God. In 2013, shortly after his election as Pope, the Holy Father described the community (by now with a presence in eight countries) thus: “The testimony of your life, through prayer, the liturgy, begging for your daily bread, hitch-hiking; it’s a testimony of poverty and joy. That’s why people love you, and I want to thank you very much for this.” (Pope Francis – March 15th, 2013) Our tour ended at the chapel where, at 5:30 sharp, where the little sisters gathered for evening vespers. Amaya explained that the little sisters sing a daily liturgy of the hours based on the Divine Office, but specific to the Community of the Lamb. One simply must experience the simplicity, the reverence, and the beauty. It is difficult to find words to adequately describe the experience.
Dinner was delicious. Broccoli soup, baked squash, rolls, homemade applesauce, fresh fruit, and a French cookie called a “tartelette citron” (courtesy of little sister Bénédicte’s brother). While seated at the table after dinner, we shared our respective vocation stories; each of the sisters telling their story in turn, and Ginny and I relating our marriage vocation story. The little sisters’ stories were mesmerizing, filled with wonder, joy, and unexpected graces God gives to those seeking to do His will.
Little sister Stella, a Topeka native, recently returned from a 3-month sojourn in France (where the Community was founded in 1981) having gone to “receive the habit,” an occasion that signals the transition from postulancy (a period of 1-2 years) to novitiate (a period of 2-3 years) all in the time of formation and anticipation of profession of final vows. Stella is a KU graduate where she studied education and English. Homeschooled with her four siblings, she developed her agenda for life after high school that didn’t exactly include living a consecrated life. Through involvement at the St. Lawrence Center at KU and relationships with people that God placed around her, Stella realized her vocation call, describing profound peace in knowing God’s will though it meant abandoning her own plan. Her smile radiated as she spoke about her experience.
Little sister Joyce, an Olathe, KS, native, is the oldest of eleven children. She readily admits that her high school years were marked by wrestling with the call to the religious life that she had heard when she was a child. She laughed as she observed, “I made it one semester at KU.” It was, however, during that semester that her world was turned upside down by a retreat encounter – a retreat she attended at the invitation of a friend.
“I didn’t even know what it was about. I just went,” she admitted. Again, she laughed as she explained that, upon arrival, she was greeted by a sign announcing that the retreat was “for women in discernment.” She decided to stay primarily because she had arrived with her friend and had no way home. In the wake of that experience, she met the Little Sisters and admits difficulty in putting words to the encounter. What she did recognize was profound peace and joy – both she knew had been lacking in her life. She spoke of an abrupt change – inside and out. Laughter again, as she described experiences with friends who no longer recognized her. “I used to wear black all the time. Now, I was in color, I wore a skirt, and I even smiled!”
Women considering a vocation as a little sister (and there were seven little sisters in the room – each with their own beautifully moving story) can “come and see” what monastery life is like as they explore newfound realization of God’s call. A “come and see” experience can last from days to weeks to months. Postulancy follows for those willing to move more deeply into the response to God’s call.
As the little sisters spoke, we learned their understanding that the Church “sends us ‘as lambs’ amid the world.” Going in the footsteps of the Lamb, the sisters live out the Community motto: “wounded, we will never cease to love.”
Little sister Bénédicte, who has been with the Community for 25 years, recently returned to the Kansas City monastery after some years away. Having grown up in France, Bénédicte experienced the love and mercy of God at a young age. Although expecting to marry and have a family, when she heard deeply the call to consecrate her life to God, she knew that He provides more happiness than she could possibly know otherwise. She spoke tenderly of the sacrifices made to abandon everything for this call, and the truth that God sees these and fulfills all desires of the heart in his “plan of love” for her, for each one.
Oliviana, we learned, was a FOCUS teammate of our son on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln nearly ten years ago. She moved to Kansas City after that experience where she planned to get a job. She, too, was brought to her vocation with the Little Sisters through relationships that God promptly brought about in her life. Little sister Candice, upon realizing her call, said she told Jesus, “Maybe someday I will think about it.” Once again, laughter pervaded the group. Candice, too, described an awareness and deep desire for something more as she discerned her vocation, knowing that God provides abiding happiness in answering His call.
Little sister Judith is the Responsible Sister of the local monastery. Other religious communities may have a Mother Abbess, or a Mother Superior. With the Little Sisters, each monastery has a Responsible Sister, the servant guiding the fraternity of sisters. At the Kansas City monastery, it is little sister Judith. Her vocation story, too, was poignant, marked by a plan she anticipated but was disrupted by God’s call to the consecrated life. She echoed the abiding peace and joy of God’s love.
God, it seems, has a way of disrupting life for the better.
Witnesses of the mystery of the Lamb, the little sisters of the Lamb go as pilgrims, praying, poor, and begging in the footsteps of Saint Dominic and Saint Francis to encounter the poorest of this world, so that all, rich and poor alike, might receive the Light of the Gospel: Jesus, the Lamb of God – the tenderness of the Father for all men. Mendicants (I learned a new word) in the heart of the Church, the little sisters live by the generosity of the faithful, while bringing the Good News of the Gospel to those they meet.
Little sister Amaya pointed out in the monastery chapel a cupola, adorned with the Community crest, in turn bearing the little sisters’ motto in French: “Blessé, je ne cesserai jamais d’aimer.” In English: “Wounded, I will never cease to love.” 
The cupola is lighted at night, creating a beacon of hope in the neighborhood for all who see it. A little monastery of the Lamb is to be a place where the Love of God can shine through, where we are called to go from darkness to light, to live in peace and brotherly love. Built in the heart of cities or in the solitude of the countryside, the little monasteries are a place of monastic life, prayer and silence for the Community, a place of formation for the little brothers and little sisters, where each is nourished by the Word of God.
Two hours at table passed in an instant. The little sisters invited us on a short walk to the grotto just down the hill from the monastery, where they often sing night prayer. The night air had a hint of fall. The grotto is a beautiful place, decorated with a mural of the Nativity. if you haven’t been there, we highly encourage a visit. Night prayer was peaceful. After the short walk back up the hill, the little sisters asked if they could send us off with another blessing. Of course, we accepted.
And they sang, “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His peace.”
God is here.
