Catholic Benedictine Sisters of St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island, Ill., blog with inquirers discerning their religious calling to monastic life.
Posted in discernment on Aug 23rd, 2010
As the week cam to an end for the two women visiting the Monastery, it seemed to have been very good. We had a session on Friday about the vows and how they form our life of stability, obedience and conversion of life. On Thursday, we had a session on the life of St. Benedict using [...]
Posted in Benedictine practices, discernment on Aug 19th, 2010
This week there are two inquirers at the Monastery experiencing life in community. Both women have been here for shorter periods of time before, but a week gives them an opportunity to really experience the daily rhythm of our lives. One woman is from Wisconsin and finishing her senior year of college. The second woman [...]
Posted in discernment on Mar 16th, 2009
As we continue our Lenten experience, the Scripture readings at Eucharist prepare us for the coming Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Jesus talks to the disciples about what will happen to Him. He wants them to ponder all He has taught them over the years together so they have a basis for teaching others [...]
Posted in discernment on Feb 26th, 2009
“Blessed are they who love the Lord.” Dt. At Eucharist this morning the reading was from Old Testament Deuteronomy. In the story, Moses spoke to his people right before they were to enter the Promised Land. As they had struggled with being faithful to God during their many challenges, Moses encouraged them to stay faithful [...]
Posted in discernment on Nov 11th, 2008
Jesus often used images in His teaching to create profound messages. A recent Gospel, for example, used the image of a small mustard seed growing into a sturdy tree. How amazing that from a small kernel grows a large tree! Metaphorically, most of us would have our doubts that something meaningful could come from something [...]
Posted in discernment on Nov 6th, 2008
Last Sunday I had the opportunity to attend the Quad City Symphony concert. It was a bold concert, featuring the work of Peter Tchaikovsky. Listening to the many instruments blending together to create the whole work, I thought of God’s work creating each of us. Like a creative composer, God entwines many movements to bring [...]