Stability of Place and Heart

The workshop where we are to toil faithfully at all these tasks is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community. RB80.4.78

At the end of this chapter, Benedict states that the place where all of these tools are to be employed is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community. Focusing on the concept of stability will bring us to a deeper understanding how the tools can be applied to all. There are two kinds of stability that can be examined--stability of place and stability of heart.

• Stability of place can be seen as staying in one location--similar to the concept of the enclosure. It involves physical presence. I show up for all required events.



• Stability of heart implies commitment and perseverence. I am ready to participate. I am fully engaged in all that happens around me. I am ready to stick around to see the fruits of my labor in this workshop.

One of the benefits of living with 20 other monastic women is that there are always plenty of live examples of all of the qualities mentioned in the Rule.

Sister Cabrini Boland is a wonderful model for us of stability of heart. At 91 years of age and after more than 70 years in our community, she is always an example of enthusiasm and wisdom. Recently, while wheeling Sr. Cabrini outside she asked to visit our St. Benedict statue and recited various passages from the Rule of St. Benedict. The ease with which she spoke these few short passages spoke of her long years of living the monastic way of life.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

The Way of No Fun

Step 1 in the Steps of Humility (RB80.7.1-30) could lead me to believe that the life I have signed on for is going to be one of boredom and drudgery. That is definitely not what I have in mind for my life.

Even after 25 years in our community, I know that a ultra regimented and disciplined life with no adventure and challenge is not for me.

On reflecting on this first step of humility, I find a life that calls me to remember who I am and who God is. I am called to acknowledge the truth that I do not have the full picture of myself (much less of the universe) but God does. I am invited to recall God's care and all-knowing presence. This presence which can be both comforting (at least someone understands all of me) and challenging (there is no hiding from God). I am called to place God and God's will into my daily life.

Although this is the not life I envisioned in my early 20s, monastic life and community have brought me to a very fulfilling way of life.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Preparing for the Race

...we must run and do now what will profit us forever. (RB80.Prol. 44)

I am very competitive and I am generally successful in competitions. For me, my success is mostly luck rather than skill and training.

When I was younger, the thing that distinguished me from being a good student and a superior one was the amount of time and effort placed on studying. If I could get an A by listening, guessing well, and knowing how to talk or write myself out of any difficult question--why bother studying? Consequently, I would get the A's but not the A+s, which unfortunately held the scholarships and great prizes.

Now, I am being faced with running and putting into practice those principles which will eventually profit me in the end. Running sounds a little too sweaty and strenuous for me. I would much rather consider the requirement and slowly put them into practice after much sincere consideration. Obviously, that is not Benedict's plan. What are the practices to which he is alluding here? They are God's commands from before: seek peace, love good not evil, be sincere, always have the truth in my heart, and seek God. Can I live by these? The way to show that I am willing to live by these is to make an immediate change with God's grace. It will not be easy but it can be done.

I pray always to be willing to follow God's plan for me.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Yearning for Life

Seeking his workman in a multitude of people, the Lord calls out to him and lifts his voice again: Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days? (Ps 33[34]:13) If you hear this and your answer is "I do," God then directs these words to you: If you desire true and eternal life, keep your tongue free from vicious talk and your lips from all deceit; turn away from evil and do good; let peace be your quest and aim (Ps 33[34]:14–15) RB80.Prol. 14--17

Today's reading gives us the image of God standing on a mountain top calling out, seeking to attract followers. God's invitation to us is: do you long for life and desire to see good days? God, then, waits for a response.

My initial response is something like: Duh?? Of course, I do. After all, who wouldn't want the fullness of life? I know for sure that I want to experience everything to the fullest fo I am ready to sign up.

Before I get to far along, God puts forth the requirements for this life. I am to turn away from evil and deceit, practice peace and make that a way of life. I am to live a moral life that follows God's law. These requirements are steep but I desire to follow. I pray that God will continue to bless me along this path.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Let What Happens Outside...Stay Outside

I do a fair amount of traveling outside the Monastery for various projects with which I am involved. Traveling sounds glamourous and exotic and exciting. I, personally, love to travel. There are times though when the journey can get long and wearisome (especially since long flight delays, lost luggage or car problems may be involved). And although I do love to see new places and have new experiences, there comes a time when the only place I want to be is HOME.

Benedict advises that it is best or wiser to leave some of the experiences of travel on the road rather than bring them into the community. No one really wants to hear of the trauma of going through Security at the airport or how long the shuttle ride was on my last journey. If I want to share anything about my trip maybe just a summary of what I learned and my gratitude for being home is sufficient.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Traveling Monastics

I love to travel and have done much of it recently. My most recent trip was to Benet Hill Monastery in Colorado Springs for a regional treasurers meeting.

Although I gain much from my experiences away, I am always grateful to return home to my community and to my normal routine. I have found that monastic communities come in a variety of flavors. The essentials are the same--prayer, the Rule, community living--but each community puts it's own mark through their interpretation of the Rule.

In my travels, I am continually reminded of what first drew me to our community--what that specialness was for me. And after 25 years, I am still called to our community in new and varied ways.

May my fidelity to our monastic way of life continue to grow daily.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Praise God Wherever You Are

Chapter 50 of the Rule invites us to remember to praise God wherever we may be, in whatever circumstance we might find ourselves. Benedict uses the example of a person going on a long journey--one that might keep me away from remembering who I am and what I am about in life. His injunction to praise God wherever I may find myself reminds me that I desire to be the same person in the monastery as I am on a journey, at work, on the ball field or in the classroom. The same elements that go into shaping my character for community need to be present in my daily life no matter what I am doing.

I have always longed to be a person of true integrity. May God mold me daily into the person that I am created to be.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Just Passing Through

A traveler was passing through a Russian village whose rabbi was renowned throughout the land for his holiness. So he stopped by to see the holy man. He was shocked to see how bare and stark the rabbi’s room was. It had only a wooden table and stool, at which the rabbi sat prayerfully reading the scriptures. “Rabbi,” the traveler asked, “where are your possessions?” The old man looked upon the stranger and replied, “Stranger, where are yours?” To which the stranger answered, “Rabbi, I don’t have any with me, I’m only passing through.” The rabbi smiled and said, “So am I.”

We, like the traveler and the rabbi, are just passing through, so we don’t need anything of our own, as Benedict tells us. All things should be in the common possession of all, so that no one presumes ownership of anything. This simplicity of lifestyle frees us for all God’s surprises.

Sr. Veronica, OSB

Authenticity and Humility

Sincerity, Authenticity, Integrity, Truth...if I were asked to give four adjectives for the best qualities of humility these would be them. I have always wanted to possess these qualities within myself and hope to be acquiring them as I mature.

SINCERITY--Being who I say I am. Being the same person in every circumstance.

AUTHENTICITY--Being myself (my best self) with confidence.

INTEGRITY--Having my insides match my outside person--similar to sincerity. Natural

TRUTH--Being aware of my belief system, who I am, what I value and being strong in that.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Back to the Beginning

Just when I think that I have gotten to the end--as in the end of the year, the end of the Rule, the end of this continuous reading, it is time to start all over again. The monastic life is not about reaching end goals, "making it," or achieving perfection--at least not in this life.

Benedict reminds us that after we have read the Rule through from beginning to end, we are all still basically beginners in the monastic way of life. It gives us the impression that monastic life is a life long process. While we are in the school of the Lord's service, this is a school that no one graduates from until death. That is a challenge and a comfort also because I do not have to have everything together yet.

As we prepare to begin the new year, let us resolve to continue the journey on this monastic way of life together.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

A View into History

This past weekend some of our Sisters were able to take a journey to Dallas to visit the exhibit on the History of Religious Life in the United States at the Women's Museum in Dallas. We were joined by the Little Flower Teen Group and some of their moms. We later got to have dinner with the group, spend the night with them and attend Eucharist with them before returning to Tulsa.

On the way home we reflected on what we had seen and what had impacted us the most during this journey. For me, one of the things that was highlighted was the impact that these faithful women had on our society--often serving in silence and doing many of the tasks that no one felt comfortable doing or would want to do. I am grateful for the many women who have gone before us as our models and examples of prayer and fidelity.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Ceaseless Prayer

How can I pray without ceasing?

This question has been with me since my youth. The concept intrigued me but I could never figure out how that could be translated into a real, lived experience. How does this work?

About a year ago some of us who had this question made a commitment to study our monastic tradition together and to begin the practice of living in the presence of God. We were not quite sure how it would work or how long it would take but we felt that we had to do something to begin living intentionally in God's Presence.

Through our mutual support and commitment, we are beginning to experience some of the fruit of our study and can see God's hand touching our daily lives. Now at the end of the day I can ask myself--How have I experienced God's presence today?

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Life Guides

The third step of humility is that a man submits to his superior in all obedience for the love of God…(RB 7.34)

“May I become your disciple?” the seeker asked.

“You are only a disciple because your eyes are closed. The day you open them, you will see that there is nothing you can learn from me,” the holy man answered.

“Then what is a master for”? the seeker asked.

“The purpose of a master,” the holy one said, “is to bring you to the point where you know the uselessness of having one.”

I know I have been taking directions all my life. God has placed guides in my life to give me intellectual, social, emotional, physical and spiritual direction. Admitting that I need direction and accepting it has all been part of growing up. I don’t believe I will ever grow up enough to see the uselessness of these guides. Through them, God has given me a confidence in myself, the power to control myself and the insight to guide others.

Sr. Veronica, OSB

With the Gospel for Our Guide

“…let us set out on this way, with the Gospel for our guide,…” (RB Pro. 21)

Now, the journey begins. I love traveling…not so much the packing and unpacking part of it but the excitement of new experiences, the dreaming of what sites might be visited, the planning of the trip…maybe even more than the trip itself.

Benedict invites us to look at our life as a journey also. For this journey, we are not asked to pack many things to take along, become familiar with new languages, currencies or cuisine, we are asked only to be willing to take the Gospels along with us for our ultimate guidebook for life.

Sr. Catherine, OSB