Where Heaven Meets the Hills: Walburga’s Mother Maria-Michael on the Beauty of Consecrated Life

In the quiet plains near the Wyoming border, the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of St. Walburga live a life of prayer and praise — a hidden wellspring of grace for the Church and the world.

(Photo courtesy of the Abbey of St. Walburga)

If you’ve never been to Virginia Dale, Colorado, it’s quiet. There’s not much “going on” by worldly standards, and most people might just be passing through on their way to Laramie or Fort Collins.

But in that quaint and quiet town, mere miles from the Wyoming border, Heaven touches earth daily — multiple times each day, actually — as a small but mighty group of Benedictine nuns live a liturgy of prayer and work at the Abbey of St. Walburga.

Jesus Christ, First and Always

Their vocation, the life of ora et labora (prayer and work), as their founder St. Benedict would put it, is rooted in one foundational truth, said Mother Maria-Michael Newe: prefer nothing to the love of Christ.

“The core of our life is Jesus Christ. Prefer nothing to the love of Christ and sing his praises throughout the day,” the community’s abbess said, referencing the famous exhortation in St. Benedict’s Rule, which guides Benedictines worldwide.

“In the consecrated life throughout the ages, we get to every day act as the spouse of Christ. So, we sing his praises with great glory,” she added. “God deserves this praise on the earth to reach to the Heavens. And that is our call: to never stop praising him. His call for us is ever expressed in our going to the Divine Office [the Liturgy of the Hours, a traditional prayer of the Church] and singing the Psalms and celebrating the things that are of Heaven, of the saints. Even in that call that runs through the ages, it reminds God of his love for his people.”

That intimate closeness of consecrated life — likened to a marriage throughout Church history — creates what Mother Maria-Michael likes to call a “thin place:” somewhere that the love and presence of God is easily, concretely and powerfully experienced. Simply put, a place that Heaven touches earth.

“In a sense, [our vocation] brings holiness to the earth. It brings holiness to the world. We are conduits of grace for the world as well,” she said. “We remind people of God. They come to see us singing his praises, and they join us, and they have a sense of a touch of Heaven.

“Wherever we are, our spouse is. And he himself sings in us,” she continued. “Words come out, and it’s the Father who hears them, and that’s the Father’s love for his creation. That is the consecrated life, that we seek God with great love, and we seek the Father’s love as a Father for his creation. Bringing that out throughout the ages, it’s because that’s what God deserves. He deserves our love and our praise. So we do that for the Church.”

Hidden Yet Joy-Filled

Their persevering prayer runs throughout the day, from the chapel to the farm, from the halls of the retreat center to the acres of beautiful property. In tasks big and small, the nuns of Walburga belong wholly to God — a free gift in praise and love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

“It is visible that we have separated ourselves from the world and have given ourselves to God,” Mother Maria-Michael explained, pointing to the community’s hiddenness from society. “And to me, that is so important that there’s something visible that says we are put aside to belong to Christ.”

Of course, this sort of life implies sacrifice: no children of their own; limited contact with the outside world; no social media (imagine!). But, Mother was quick to note, every life worth living involves sacrifice, because “we have to, in a sense, lay down our lives in our vocations. We have to put ourselves aside to do something greater, and that’s the will of God.”

And such a life is supremely worth living, Mother Maria-Michael said, reflecting on her own 49 years of consecrated life at the Abbey of St. Walburga.

“I’ve never regretted that, and I love it more now than when I entered. It has just never changed, my love for it,” she said. “People think, ‘Oh, you’re going to be bored in there.’ I’ve never had a boring day in my life! But I do think it’s because, if you’re truly in love with God, you will never stop listening and allowing God to change you.”

As that love for God grows, one discovers real, meaningful joy.

“When one discovers the will of God, when we pursue it with our whole heart and our whole soul, there comes a deeper joy than just this happiness,” Mother Maria-Michael continued. “Happiness is real, but joy is deeper. And I think there’s great joy in the soul when you live a life that mirrors Christ.”

Listening to God, Following Jesus

Practically a pro at perceiving the whispers of God after nearly five decades at his side as his spouse, Mother Maria Michael had simple, direct advice for those seeking to hear his voice: spend time with him.

“Discernment isn’t that difficult. I think we make it difficult,” she said. “Turn off the things that are distracting you. Don’t go to the phone and look everything up. Go to the church and sit and talk to Jesus about it.”

In an age full of noise, demands, tasks and pressures, the “still, small voice” of God can easily be drowned out, to the detriment of our souls.

“I think the difficulty with discernment is truly just stopping long enough to listen,” Mother Maria Michael said.

“It's truly about discovering God in you,” she later added. “So, spend time with God. You will love him more than you can imagine. And if he's leading you to the married life, you will see that in this, you will become holy and close to God. In the vocation that I so joyfully get to follow, he's my everything. As I get older, that everything grows even greater. And one truly just wants to slip into his hands in whatever way he wills. Because he wills the best and the holiest for us.”

But, despite the manifold and marvelous promises of God, many are kept away from him because of fear, she noted — a dynamic she said she can’t seem to wrap her mind around, because it’s rooted in a lie.

“I don’t understand why people are so afraid, as if God is going to lead me to pain and awful things. That’s not true,” she said, matter-of-factly. “God leads us to himself, and our souls desire God more than anything.

“If I could tell you anything, don’t be afraid of God,” Mother Maria Michael concluded. “He's the Father who loves you more than you ever knew anybody could love you. Just think of somebody who loves you and how you look at them, and how they look at you. The Father loves you even more. He radiates love for you. So I would just really say, don't be afraid of God. That is the work of the evil one. God loves you.”