The Great Jesuit Bake Off

There are lots of things I will miss about noviciate life, but perhaps the biggest will be the Sunday mornings I have spent helping out in the kitchen, lifting pots and pans and chopping vegetables for the two wonderful women who, almost every Sunday for 22 years, have cooked a traditional roast lunch for the novices.

Martina and Colette are well into retirement - I worked out that their combined number of years 'retired' is longer than my total life. 'Retired' is very definitely the wrong word to describe them though, given the vast amount they do to support the noviciate, which includes not only Sunday lunch (and repairing the odd hole in socks, shirts and trousers) but also preparations for the big buffet lunch on vow day.

I had the pleasure of spending this afternoon down at M&Cs, to say a proper farewell away from the hubbub that will be Saturday. My intention was to offer a helping hand, but what I ended up doing was eating cake and then getting them to set out some (yes, just some) of the cakes that are already baked and ready for Saturday (today's picture of the day).

They cater for anywhere up to 100 people and spend almost 2 full weeks in advance planning and then preparing the feast. This morning they were up at 5am to get through their 'to do' list. If the cakes hadn't been so lovely looking, the alternative picture of today was the pile of shopping bags, picked up at 7am this morning!

Colette and Martina are a joyous presence in our community, and I have learnt so much from them, not only in terms of cooking - I never thought one of the skills I'd learn as a novice was how to cater for lunches of 30 people - but also through their overwhelming generosity, of time and spirit. Religious life, at its heart, is meant to be about service, and these two women have been a prime example of what that really means. They give of themselves wholly and completely. They seek no recognition or reward.

They are an inspiration and have been a significant part of my noviciate formation. They have left their mark on me in what I hope is a lasting way. I know I will live this Jesuit life well if I can show even a fraction of their big-hearted commitment.