Richard Shields, Dundas, ON

Amid the distractions and noise of modern life it is not easy to hear the voice of God. How can you listen? How can you know when God is speaking? Many Catholics, who go faithfully through life, take part in their parish, raise their families, and reach out to others, still say that they have never felt the grace of God’s Holy Spirit. Like St. Mother Teresa they stay the course, without experiencing God’s presence in their lives.

Recently I spent some time with the Precious Blood Sisters at their monastery, located in a wooded section of Dundas, Ontario. Founded in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec in 1861, the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood were the first Canadian contemplative community. Their foundress, Catherine Aurelie Caouette, believed strongly that the apostolate of intercessory prayer, entrusted to the reality of Christ’s blood shed on the Cross, belonged in the heart of the Church. Christ’s Precious Blood, symbolized for Mother Aurelie His “triumph through suffering and became the source of her spirituality” and that of her sisters.

While there I began reading a short book of poem-prayers composed by Sister Theresia Elder. Sister Theresia embraced the cloistered life in 1952 at the age of eighteen. Life in a monastery is not always as sublime and free of care as some imagine. Silence, long hours of prayer, daily chores and living in close (enclosed) proximity with others can be difficult. No stranger to suffering (poliomyelitis has been a challenge most of her life), Sister Theresia never shirked from monastic responsibilities. Deeply spiritual, the community recognized her gift of vocational discernment, entrusting to her the formation of young women joining the community.

For Sister Theresia poetry has been a way of finding words to capture the inexpressible presence of God’s grace in our world. Dandelion Experiences: Poetic Prayers for a Windy Day is a collection of over fifty poem-prayers chronicling the ins and outs, ups and downs of a life lived in faithful response to a vocation not easily understood by the world today. It is a chronicle of a nun’s spiritual journey of over seven decades. During this time the author has learned to see beyond appearances and penetrate into the mystery of God’s presence in the most ordinary, sometimes disappointing, experiences.

Dandelions, a nuisance for gardeners and magic for young children, are a strong image of the ambiguity of life. Sister’s poems help unwrap the unexpected gift of the Lord’s presence in the most unlikely places. “The dandelion is a weed? Ah! Take another look And journey now with me Into my precious book.” These words from the book’s Forward are an invitation not so much to read her poems, as to pray them with her.

Filled with gentle humility, quiet humour, and prophetic hope, Dandelion Experiences is a treasure of contemplative wisdom worth having nearby. Pick it up and spend quiet time with the Lord.

Dandelion Experiences: Poetic Prayers for a Windy Day, Sister Theresia Elder, RPB (Winnipeg: Word Alive Press, 2023) ISBN: 978-1-4866-2485-0 or at the Precious Blood Monastery,154 Northcliffe Avenue, Dundas, ON L9H 7L9 (905-527-3745).