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Saint Benedict says that the most important qualification
for accepting new community members is that they “seek
God.” He
discerned, after trying various forms of monastic life
himself, that for many people the most successful way of
facilitating the search for God is in the context of
community (for mutual support and witness), under a
Rule (for simplicity, stability and accumulated wisdom)
and a community leader (for wise and honest guidance
and freedom from unnecessary concerns). He believed that a
moderate lifestyle was healthiest to support a life
with many hours of prayer, study, holy reading and manual
labor; too much or too little food, sleep, access to
material goods, or curiosity about worldly happenings would
take energy away from God seeking.
Each
day of a monastic’s life includes regular times for
communal prayer – the “Liturgy of the Hours,” times
for personal prayer and holy reading of the Scriptures,
periods of manual labor and craftsmanship, and
common meals with mutual service of waiting table and
cleaning up. Following this daily pathway keeps monastics
on the track of searching for God without side roads into
distracting activities.
Benedict disposed of a social problem of his day (social
class distinctions from nobility down to slaves) by
assigning community rank by the day and hour the candidate
appeared on the doorstep. Modern society may have different
distinctions of wealth or education, but this automatic
equalizing practice still continues. Mutual respect, love,
service, patience, obedience and sharing of wisdom in
communal discernment bind the community in searching
for God and assisting one another in doing so. Even today,
not all religious Orders call upon every member to
participate in community decision making.
While Benedict set apart certain places and
times when the monastics were to be apart from guests and
pilgrims for the silence and solitude necessary for
reflection, he was sensitive to the neighbors’ needs. The
members used their gifts of healing – spiritual and
medical – to assist the sick who came to the door; they fed
the hungry and gave shelter to travelers and pilgrims going
to holy places; they evangelized the still mostly “pagan”
people in villages surrounding the monastery. Benedictines
throughout history, and still today, offer their services to
the local church according to the needs of the people and
the ability of the monastic members to meet those needs;
thus Benedictines serve in
varieties of ministries.
~ Sister
Edith Selzler, OSB
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The Jewel of the Prairie
Monastic Leadership Team
Vocation Ministry Team
Sisters in the Chapel
Sisters sharing during a
common meal
Sister Nancy Gunderson and
her craftwork |
