Gates

Guests who come to 2300 Adeline Drive tell us that the minute they drive through our front gates they feel a sense of peace.  These comments always make us happy and very grateful for the 40 acres of beauty our foremothers so carefully chose back in 1924.

But these gates have their own story.  I remember as a newly professed sister back in the early 50’s, we juniors would have to open those gates in the early morning.  The men, and “the men” at the time meant our faithful Pat O’Brien and Pat Kennefick, did EVERYTHING from maintenance to tending the boilers, to driving the school bus, and probably many more things, but I don’t know what they were.)  “The men” would lock the gate at 5 P.M. and it remained closed for the night. It was up to us Junior Professed Sisters to open it in the morning so that the priest from Our Lady of Angels could come in for Mass. 

We juniors would rush down to the gate as soon as we could so that we would be back in time for 5:25 A.M. Meditation in chapel.  The brisk walk (almost run) would really wake us up and there was a good chance we would stay awake during meditation.

In rainy weather there were the most god-awful rain coats you could imagine.  They covered one head to toe, maybe even the toe.  And they were a disaster to put on and take off.  But they did the job.  We returned to our stall for meditation with dry habits.

Time marched on and in the early 60’s there was a sort of reprieve.  There was one way that we could avoid this early morning excursion.  The high school had a unique janitor, Bill, who lived at the Lodge.  It was his job to unlock the gates.  The trouble was that we couldn’t rely on Bill to do this, and we would get in trouble if the priest didn’t show up for 6 A.M. Mass. 

My room faced the back road.  While I was getting ready to go down to chapel, I would keep my eye on that road.  I would see the headlights of Bill’s car and then I would know that the gate would be open!  My way of communicating with the poor nuns who had gate duty that morning was to place a little white card on the ledge of the first pew in chapel.  Then there would be happiness in the hearts of two young nuns.  However, if I didn’t see Bill’s headlights, I would put a blue card on the first pew. Then there would be, at best –resignation.

We could always rely on “the men” to lock the gates at 5 P.M.  The trouble came if there was a high school function at night.  Naturally, it would only be a high school function because there was never anything at the convent that happened after 5 P.M.

If a high school sister was in charge of a night function, she had to remember to tell “the men” not to lock the gates at 5 P.M.  I found this out the hard way.  It was the first spring Glee Club Concert for which I was in charge.  I was walking up the hill with the principal of the school.  She casually mentioned, “You DID tell the men to keep the gate open, didn’t you?”  Of course I didn’t!  No one had told me!  Well, this was just the first in a series of things I did wrong.  Fortunately, the girls sang very well, and the principal put up with me for these little lapses. 

Now, these many years later, as I look at those lovely gates, I am so happy to see the two shields of Mercy.  One says, “Sisters of Mercy” and the other says, “Mercy Center.”  How wonderful that these gates open both ways.  We share our sacred space and our years of prayer and service.  Mercy Center guests bring the richness of their own lives and their deep search for God.  O admirabile commercium.  O wonderful exchange!