A Time to be Born and a Time to Die
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May 21, 2018This weekend, our long-term friends and former neighbors, Lou and Aileen Lozzi, came to work on a much needed project at the Abbey: casket making.
After the loss of five of our sisters last year, we are running low on caskets, and we wouldn't want to be found unprepared, for St Benedict tells us: "Keep death daily before your eyes" (RB 4:47).
The tradition of our Order calls for the nuns to be buried on a simple bier, rather than in a coffin . These plain pine boxes are unadorned, but for handles on the sides, skids on the bottom, and a simple cross on each end. Each one takes about two hours to make, including measuring, cutting, sanding, drilling and fitting together. "The handles are the hardest part," says Aileen.
Lou and Aileen have been connected with the Abbey most of their lives, having both been born and raised in the area. They have chosen to maintain that connection in spite of a move to Pennsylvania two years ago. Aileen doesn't remember a time when she couldn't hear the bells ringing the hours of the Divine Office from her house down the street, and has been visiting her whole life. Since she retired from teaching, she has been volunteering regularly as driver and teacher of English as a second language, as well as baking her famous cream puffs for the sisters at Christmas and Easter.
Lou's background is in the arts of animal husbandry, carpentry and most especially, operating his trusty back-hoe. He has been generous in offering his skills to help wherever needed, including with the sheep and llama. We have witnessed the great gift he has for digging graves with the back-hoe, operating the huge machine with breathtaking delicacy and care. When the first caskets were made several decades ago by John Supers, another long-term friend, Lou made his apprenticeship. Now he is taking the helm, with Aileen at his side to buy timber, sand the wood, hand him nails and screws, and remind him of anything he may have forgotten!
We thank God for these generous friends whose labor of love has set us in good stead for years to come. Our sisters will continue to be laid to rest in a simple wooden box, crafted with care and marked with a cross.
