The other day I was reading a reflection on the passage, “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” (Mt 21:22) It was written by Fr. J. Anthony Giambrone, O.P., who said, “To pray faithfully is like knocking untiringly at God’s door….”
Archive for religious vocation
The Knock at the Door
Category: religious vocation /
Tags: call to religious life
God in the Smallest Things … God in All!
Sometimes my students remind me that the little things in life can mean the most! On Friday, for instance, we were eating oranges for snack when one of the children said, “This orange is perfect. There must be a God!” Read more
Category: religious vocation /
Tags: Catholic Benedictine Sister
Fun as a Catholic Sister
Between my ministry as a Catholic school teacher and my life as a Catholic Sister, people often ask whether I have any time for fun.
I usually laugh, because – although teaching preschoolers is a lot of work too – I think I have the most fun ministry you can have.
And I laugh because – although being a Catholic Benedictine Sister requires getting up for prayers way earlier than I would if left on my own – my life here is such a blessing! Read more
Saturdays at Home in the Monastery
Most of us like to work on jigsaw puzzles, so we have several going throughout the house. Here's Sr. Jackie and me working on one in our living group.
Here I am at home today doing some of the usual weekend routines that I have always done – cleaning, doing laundry and preparing a little school work. As a Benedictine Sister, I also am doing some work that was not part of my usual Saturday morning routine – at least not before I turned 36!
That is, I went to Lauds at 9:00 a.m. (blessedly later than the 6:30 a.m. Lauds of the school week!), and after lunch I came to the liturgy office to work on a Liturgy of the Hours Book for the Office of the Dead. It is a big project and I have been working on it for almost a year. Read more
An Invitation to You
Recently we celebrated the Feast of St. Clare. She’s important to me … even though she is a Franciscan – not a Benedictine – saint. My love for her has something to do with my own journey and I will get back to that later.
St. Clare was born in Assisi, and when she was 18 years old she heard St. Francis preach. That night, she ran away to join St. Francis even though her father wanted her to marry. Read more
Rooted Here, Rooted Now: What Our Benedictine Monastic Promises Mean
One of the differences between apostolic communities (like the Franciscans and Dominicans) and Benedictine monastic communities is our vows. In fact, we don’t actually make “vows.” We make promises. It’s more than a word difference!
Our promises underscore our commitment to each other, as Sisters of St. Benedict. They underscore our commitment to seeking God together. They underscore our commitment to be faithful for life. Read more!
Holy Enough?
Even today, a generation after the (Second Vatican) Council’s affirmation of the universal call to holiness, there is still evidence that some young people do not consider joining the priesthood or religious life because they do not feel that they are “holy enough.” – Sr. Patricia Wittberg, S.C., Pathways to Re-creating Religious Communities
I can tell you that this was a fear of mine when I first started to look at religious life. How could I possibly be holy enough? Read more
What a Wonderful Retreat!!
Hi everyone! I’m back from BSWR and on to a family get-away with my parents and sister, MacKenzie. Here’s a pic of us clowning at the Milwaukee County Zoo! MacKenzie will come back to the monastery with me for a few days next week, and we are both looking forward to it. She loves the Sisters and they love her. She’ll be very busy! Read more
Benedictine Values: Community
Think it sounds romantic to gather in the chapel at 6:30 every morning to pray? Let me tell you, some days 6:30 comes way too early. But this, my friends, is one of the realities of life in community: you will be at prayers every morning, or you will be missed.
I wouldn’t have it any other way. Read more
Category: Benedictine life, religious vocation /
Tags: living in monastic community, monastic, monastic life
Benedictine Values: Hospitality
“I discovered, you see, that real Benedictinism requires us to pour ourselves out for the other, to give ourselves away, to provide the staples of life, both material and spiritual, for another. The question is not whether what we have is sufficient for the situation or not. The question is simply whether or not we have anything to give. That’s what hospitality is all about. Not abundance and not totality. Just sharing. Real sharing.” - Joan Chittister, Wisdom Distilled From the Daily Read more
