Our Community

What does it mean to be a Sister of Saint Benedict?
What is your life like?
These are questions that many people ask.

Monastic life was the setting Benedict provided for those following his Rule. As Benedictine Sisters we strive to see Christ in each other and in all with whom we come in contact. We use our gifts and talents for the good of the entire monastic community and in the service of others.

Monastic life does not imply separation from the secular world, but it encourages the monk or sister to be a transforming presence to all whom they meet. Benedictine monastic life is grounded in the three-fold promise of obedience, fidelity to the monastic way of life and stability in the community.

Obedience is promised to God, the prioress and the religious community. Obedience requires that the Benedictine listen carefully to the Scriptures, the teachings of the Church and the lived tradition of the religious community. Benedict wrote that his followers are to show their abbots or prioresses ”humble and unfeigned love.“ (RB 72:10) He went one step further when he wrote ”Obedience is a blessing to be shown by all, not only to the abbot or prioress, but also to one another as brothers and sisters, for we know that it is by this way of obedience that we go to God, (RB 71:1) But, most of all, obedience is to be given to God. Benedict admonished his followers that “the love of Christ must come before all else.“ (RB 4:21) The prioress or abbot is to love the members, members are to love the leader and each other, and all are to love God.

Fidelity to the monastic way of life encourages monastics to live in such a way that their lives will be a continual journey to fullness of life in God. This means that Benedictines are shaped by the community. Community needs come before personal wishes, the community schedule of prayer, meals, work and recreation comes before personal convenience, goods are held in common. Benedict described the attitude Benedictines are to have when he wrote, ”But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.“ RB Prologue:49)

Stability roots the monastic within a particular community. For Benedictines, primary relationships are to be found within the monastic community. Stability also implies a stick-to-it attitude. It means that even when circumstances are difficult Benedictines persevere with this particular community, this group of people. It is in this monastery, among these people that the monastic person finds salvation. Benedict knew this when he wrote at the end of the Prologue to his Rule, ”Never swerving from God's instructions, then, but faithfully observing God’s teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in God’s kingdom. Amen.“ The monastery is not a place to run away from the difficulties of life.