The tenth step of humility is that he is not given to ready laughter, for it is written: Only a fool raises his voice in laughter (Sir 21.23). RB80.7.59
From reading this passage one would think that the monastery is to be a very solemn, quiet, mirthless place. (Not an appealing thought to anyone with the least hint of a sense of humor.) An unfortunately before I entered the monastery, that is what I thought my life would be like. I was wrong.
What I found in our community were women much like myself who love life, love God and love one another. I found women so full of joy and hope that they found it hard to contain it within themselves--there was a need to share this spirit...often in laughter.
One of our sisters who has died (Sister Joachim) used to tease some of those blessed with contagious and explosive laughter by saying that someone might confuse us with "Laughing Manor" rather than a monastic community. That is a good thing because it humanizes our community to many and can even encourage some interest and questions about our life.
I invite you to take a look through our new, updated website (stjosephmonastery.org) and become familiar with our community and the services we offer. You might even see quite a few of us having fun while living our life.
Sr. Catherine, OSB
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