Sister Helena went to bed that night in peace. Yet Sister Marie Evangeline, deeply concerned for her dear friend, felt that something was still unsettling her. She decided to help Sister Helena and keep an eye on her. She went to the Mother Superior to ask for a change of assignment to help Sister Helena in her tea blending. Mother Superior agreed and with Sister Helen's approval, Sister Marie Evangeline would be Sister Helena’s assistant. When Sister Helena heard this news, she was overjoyed. She had been running the tea blending by herself for several years now. With Humble Grounds' tea line expanding with more people ordering their tea, Sister Helena was glad to have some help.
Sister Maria Evangeline arrived at Sister Helena's workshop after Tierce the following morning. Sister Helena greeted her friend with a hug. Then with a hint of playfulness, knowing that Sister Marie Evangeline had been in the Air Force she shouted as if she were a Military Training Instructor:
“New recruits, fall in!” Sister Marie Evangeline ran up to Sister Helena and came to attention, a grin filled her face. Sister Helena saw the grin.
“Is that a grin I see, recruit?” Sister Marie Evangeline stopped grinning and responded,
“Ma'am, no Ma'am! She responded in the same tone and cadence that her friend had.
“I can't hear you!”
“Ma'am no Ma'am!” responded Sister Marie Evangeline.
“Alright, recruit, you will be under my supervision! You will learn the ins and outs of tea blending. You will learn about every plant, every herb from back to front and front to back. You will learn how to blend these herbs into the best and finest teas that we have produced been producing in this monastery. And you will do it with love, for that is how Humble Grounds operates. And you will do these things by the numbers! Do I make myself clear?”
“Ma’am, yes ma'am!”
“I can't hear you!”
“Ma’am yes ma'am!”
“At ease, recruit!” Sister Marie Evangeline stood at ease. Sister Helena smiled, and she and Sister Marie Evangeline laughed. “I'm sorry, my friend. I just had to do that!”
“I know you had to,” Sister Marie Evangeline replied. “It took me back to when I was in boot camp. Thank you, my friend.”
“You're welcome. Now let's get started. Grab an apron and the order clipboard. Let's get to work.”
The two spent the morning filling orders, which were many. Sister Helen and was pleased with the influx of orders. For her this was a good sign. They worked on orders until midday prayers. After prayers and lunch, they continued to work on the orders. While they worked Sister Marie Evangeline sang a hymn while Sister Helena was chanting something totally different. Sister Marie Evangeline was curious about what her friend was chanting.
“What are you chanting, Helena?” Sister Marie Evangeline asked. It sounded like a Jody Call.”
“It was! I've been composing some Carmelite Jody Calls since entering Caramel. I use them when I go running. I think St. Nuno would be proud of me.”
“Really? Let me hear one!”
“Alright. Will you do the responses?”
“I would be honored!”
“Here goes.” With a military shout she intoned:
Up on Mount Carmel in days of old
hermits gathered so brave and bold
to follow Elijah was their plan
with zeal for God they made their stand.
They all went up to Jerusalem
for a rule of life as they had none
Saint Albert he gave the hermits their rule
prayer and work that was their fuel.
The Crusades went down in the Holy Land
some of the soldiers joined our band
but war came to Mount Carmel
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they had to build did the mount farewell.
In merry old England the hermits came
but their mission remained the same
prayer, community, service their call
the love of Christ they shared with all.
Saint Simon Stock one night he prayed
“come loving Mary to our aid”
the scapular she gave to him
her children now to protect from sin.
John and Teresa down in Spain
noticed that from our path we had strayed
through mystic sight they taught and wrote
to reform the Order their lives devote.
Therese of Lisieux, the little flower
with charity and love her superpower
wrote of her life by night and day
and shared with us her Little Way.
The blood of the Church we have become
God's presence in our souls flows from
in recent days the popes who say
“Carmel teaches the church how to pray.”
“That was fun!” Said Sister Marie Evangeline. How about another?”
“Certainly. Here’s one about St. Titus Brandsma.” As Sister Helena said these words, her eyes widened and she straightened up as if she had frozen. She was having another vision.
There was a flash of white and Sister Helena found herself in the middle of the medieval village she had seen in her previous vision. She saw the pillar with its Middle English inscription. She saw villagers happy this time. This was a change. When she last saw these people, they looked sullen and downcast. It was a festive time; there was some sort of festival going on. People were feasting on some hearty foods, there were games for the children and those young at heart. There was even a band playing music. Couples young and old were dancing to the lively tune.
She then saw some sort of procession going on through the town. It almost seemed Catholic to her. There were young girls in beautiful dresses carrying baskets of flower petals and dropping on the ground as they walked. Then came she saw boys and young men dressed in what looked like white albs, then a bunch of what looked like monks in grey tunics, then two teenage boys in albs swinging what looked like thuribles, some type of smoke emanated from holes in the gold type metal. Then more young boys carrying candles, then four men carrying a canopy and four men under the canopy carrying a decorated platform that had some sort of statue (she couldn't see what it was), then a man dressed in fine clothes with his hands folded. He looked like a priest of sorts. Behind the priest was the rest of the town. They all were singing a hymn or song of some sort.
They entered the building with a cross on top. It almost looked like a church. There were some sort of benches or pews that the people sat on. They began to fill the building. At the back of the building was some sort of altar. The procession ended and she could hear an organ playing. The man with fine clothes went up to the altar he chanted:
“In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti.” The people responded:
“Amen.” Sister Helena was surprised. Where these people Catholic? If they were, they had a strange liturgy. It wasn't the Roman Rite, neither the Ordinary form nor the Tridentine Form; it did remind her a bit of the Anglican usage. She saw highlights of the service including what looked like the consecration. It all seemed beautiful.
She then saw a young girl, the same one she had seen in her previous vision. She was dressed in the same grey tunic and looked downcast. She was standing in a field; the village was far in the distance.
“We need your help here. We have lost our way and need you to restore us. Come to us.” She turned around to reveal…the Stargate! Sister Helena was shocked. The Stargate was part of her sordid past. She had used it for evil things. Why was she being shown to it shown it by these people? How could she help them? She did not know what their address was. The girl held out her hand. “Come to us...come to us…help us…!” No sooner than a myriad of questions flooded her brain, Sister Helena felt a tug at her and a woman's voice called out to her.
“Helena.... Helena... Helena!” Sister Helena awoke from her trance-like state to find Sister Marie Evangeline tugging at her arm and calling out to her.
“Helena, are you alright?” Sister Marie Evangeline asked her voice full of concern.
“I'm alright... I think,” Sister Helena responded. “What happened?”
“We were chanting one of your Jody calls and filling orders when you just... froze. Helena, what happened? Did you have another vision?”
“I... I did,” Sister Helena replied. “The same people who were calling out to me for help showed me their customs and traditions. I believe they may be Christian, maybe even Catholic, but it was a strange liturgy they had. I think they were celebrating a saint’s feast day or something; they had a procession with a statue of an angel, I think. But as you tugged at my arm, I saw something from my past. Something... classified. It's now left me confused and asking more questions. I’m not sure what to do. I will pray about it though.”
“Have you thought about writing your visions down?” Sister Marie Evangeline asked.
“Yes, but with this new development, I’m not sure how to proceed. I’m dealing with classified material, here.”
“You could write in a code, Helena. Do you remember what I told you about St. Teresa of Avila? How she wrote her books as ignorant nun to avoid the scrutiny of the inquisition? You could do something similar.” That gave Sister Helena an idea. When she was with the Rogue NID, she remembered that Colonel Galli mentioned that the Stargate was originally called the Door to Heaven until the translation was corrected by Dr. Daniel Jackson. What if she used that in her notes? If she ever got needed to get in contact with Colonel Davis, her probation officer, she could have a written record and be able to translate for him.
“Thanks for the advice, Evangeline. I will take it to heart.” There was a short pause “How long was I out?”
“Four…maybe five seconds.” Sister Marie Evangeline replied. “Do you need a break?”
“I don’t think so,” Sister Helena replied. “Let’s get back to work. Let me show you how to blend a simple tea.” The two worked together for the remainder of the day, enjoying each other’s company. They would sing as they worked, Sister Helena performed her Jody call on St. Titus, which delighted Sister Marie Evangline. At recreation time, Sister Helena asked Mother Superior for a notebook, and one was given to her. After Compline, Sister Helena took a cup of her chamomile tea and the notebook to her cell. She sat down at her desk and wrote on the Front-Page TOP SECRET USAF BUSINESS. On the second page she wrote RECOLLECTIONS OF A DOORWAY TO HEAVEN/BY A SISTER OF CARMEL, 2024. As the evening progressed, she wrote what she saw in her visions. She hoped that one day she would make sense of them and could find a way to help the people of that village, wherever they may be.
