Mystery Creates History

"IS ANYTHING TOO MARVELOUS FOR THE LORD TO DO?" – Gen 18:14

Another Step (5 of 14)

On one of my trips to the bank, a woman approached me, saying, “I am Dorothy Herold. God has sent me to help you. I think you should have days of Recollection.” I told her we were cloistered. She insisted. “Then” I replied, “I would like to name them ‘Desert Days’ because we are hermits-in-the-making. I will give one talk in the morning, followed by prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.” Our monthly Third Wednesday Desert Days stem from this humble beginning. Speaking practically, we needed a steady source of income; the on-going Desert Days provided a good one.

Father Kieran Cavanaugh, O.C.D., had suggested that I meet Father Eugene Romano, a priest of the Paterson Diocese and founder of the Bethlehem Hermitage. We were looking for land for hermitages, so I asked Father Romano if he would share his own experience with us. In response to my request, sometime in 1977 Father Romano invited us to visit Bethlehem. After warmly and enthusiastically showing us around, he asked “How would you like land next to Bethlehem?” I replied, “Father, we are in the Archdiocese of Newark. We must stay in Newark and pray.” I was grateful for his kind and generous offer, but the idea of leaving Newark had never occurred to me.

We continued looking for land. The following year, we moved to a convent in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Mountainside, New Jersey. Father William Koplik was the administrator; his warm hospitality and care supported and encouraged us. Within a year, we moved to yet another convent in Short Hills were Monsignor Harold Murray was pastor of St. Rose of Lima parish. In our first meeting with him to come to an agreement regarding the rent for one year, he proposed an amount far beyond our finances, and I had to acknowledge this. By stages, he reduced the amount until finally reaching the sum of $2,000 for the year. I immediately replied that this was within our means and wrote a check for the full amount, so we would not have to think about it for the entire year. This was all the money we had. Monsignor Murray deposited our check in a savings account in our name, and when we left two years later, he handed over the bankbook with our rent plus interest. Actually, only a few days after we had moved into the convent in Short Hills, a young couple had given us $2,000, the exact amount we had just paid!

During our time in Westfield, Mountainside, and Short Hills, we gained many friends who both sought our prayer and encouraged us. They also brought food, purchased items in our budding gift shop, and gave generous donations. We sold hand-painted cards and cassette tapes, and we tried to meet every request for things we could do or make to help us earn our own living. Our first newsletter was mailed in 1977.

One day, a mother and her little son rang the doorbell. In his arms, the lad was holding two puppies. “Would you like to have these puppies?” He wanted to find a good home for them. I told him I would ask the Sisters and let him know. With that, he put the two wriggling balls of fur on the floor and left with his mother. When everyone saw them, it was love at first sight. We named the brother, Jesse, and the sister, Lady. Jesse, unless sick or being scolded, always wore his tail in an uplifted curl and one ear up and one ear down. He was a canine character. Lady with her beautiful eyes became like a mother to Jesse, watching over and protecting him. Miss Tutti made it clear, however, that she was queen and they, the serfs; even when they far surpassed her in size, they still respected her authority. The Lord sent them to provide comic relief in the midst of the challenges of growing in His love and wisdom.

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