Sister Stefanie MacDonald made her First Monastic Profession to our Benedictine community in Rock Island, Ill. 2 years ago. Here, she signs her monastic promises during a simple but beautiful ceremony in our chapel. One of the differences between apostolic communities (like the Franciscans and Dominicans) and Benedictine monastic communities is our vows. In fact, [...]
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Posted in Birth family, religious life on Jul 30th, 2012
My sister MacKenzie is here visiting for a week … a vacation she’s been looking forward to. She loves to come to the monastery. As my father says, she has 30 grandmas to be with! Mackenzie, who has a learning disability, is a great help here. She always offers to take the Sisters’ trays after [...]
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From the beginning of recorded time, living as a religious Sister has been countercultural. We give up our possessions … our bank accounts … our cars. We take on a new set of priorities. We take on a new set of responsibilities. In other words, it’s no longer about “me.” It’s about “we.” What might [...]
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For the past 2 weeks, Sister Stefanie has been posting reflections about the Benedictine values, as well as her adventure with other Sisters in Beech Grove, Ind. Don’t miss them … they are a wonderful window into Benedictine monastic life.
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The retaining wall outside the dining room is a highway this morning. Chipmunks of all sizes scamper first one direction and then the other, tails and spirits high. A rabbit lopes along and stops to peer in. Goldfinches dart among the grasses that brush the wall, and purple martins dive at insects above them. High [...]
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That’s a mouthful of a title! Although the path to holiness can be lived out in other ways – marriage, singlehood – we Benedictine Sisters have chosen religious life (St. Scholastica, left, founded the women’s community to follow her twin brother’s Holy Rule, which we follow 1,500 years later). Today, Bishop Joe – a member [...]
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