ORDER OF SAINT BENEDICT

Order of Saint Benedict –  “Benedictine Sister” –  Sister Mary Scholastica, O.S.B.                                                                                         Ordo Sancti Benedicti                                                                                                               “That in all things, God may be glorified”                                                                                                      “Ora et Labora”  –  “Pray and Work”

Founders:  Saint Benedict of Nursia  ( † Father of Western Monasticism † )                                                           Saint Scholastica  (*the twin sister of Saint Benedict*)

Place:  Monte Casino, Italy

Year:  529 A.D.

Her Charism:  By preferring Christ over all and professing stability and fidelity to the monastic way of life, this Sister promises to be faithful to this Tradition.  The charism entrusted to her is to seek God in the simplicity of community life, to praise God through prayer and work, to be a prophetic witness of the Gospel of peace, stewardship, and hospitality to all her brothers and sisters, and to listen with eagerness to the Spirit’s call into an unknown future.  Hers is a trustful dependence on God always.  Some Benedictines’ lives are purely cloistered and contemplative and center on prayer and the liturgy, reading, studying, and manual labor like gardening and farming.  Other Benedictine Sisters are teachers, nurses, writers, social workers, and administrators.  Whatever their calling, all Benedictines have one thing in common: hospitality is a key dynamic.  Because hospitality originates in the Heart of God, all guests at her monastery are welcomed and received as Christ Himself.  It is His embrace and His peace they receive when God seems so far away.  This Sister offers others a GPS – a “God-Positioning System”: she becomes the ears and the embrace of God and a sacred vessel to collect tears that express emotions that words only point to and she accompanies many people on their roller coaster of life.  Every Benedictine Sister believes that all life comes from tenderness.