Last week I went home for Thanksgiving. I left after Lauds on Thanksgiving morning. It was a lot of fun to see my three nephews! Zachary shared about his first year in college, Alex shared about his first job and Noah shared about his first year in high school. We had a lot of firsts! Continue Reading
Benedictine life
A Family Visit
Lots of people think we Sisters never get to see our families. Well, life is different after you enter the convent – the Sisters are my family now! But, like any family in the secular world, we take time to visit our birth families.
Recently my parents and youngest sister, MacKenzie, came down from Dubuque for a weekend at the monastery. We had a wonderful time. Continue Reading
Ora et Labora with Benedictine Oblates
Last Saturday we welcomed our Oblates (lay women and men who live St. Benedict’s Rule in their own married or single lives) to the monastery for their annual Retreat Day. This year’s theme was Ora et Labora, or Pray and Work. We spent the morning praying and reflecting, and the afternoon doing … you guessed it! Work! Continue Reading
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! Continue Reading
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. Continue Reading
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. Continue Reading
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!
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! Continue Reading
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. Continue Reading
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 Continue Reading
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