By Sister Charlotte Sonneville, OSB

I serve as a Liturgy director for my community of Benedictine Sisters, so when I stumbled on this quote by Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB, I was struck by it:

Let your worship and your prayer be a fresh miracle every day to you. Only such worship, performed from the heart, with enthusiasm, is acceptable.

The early monks would stop 7 times a day to offer praise and gratitude to God through the chanting of the psalms and listening to sacred readings.

My community stops to pray Liturgy of the Hours 3 times daily, and enjoys the privilege of daily Mass as well. Miracles, indeed, which go on every day all year.

The Church calendar tells us that we will soon celebrate Lent and Easter. Sr. Sandra DeGidio, O.S.M. shares why:

The Church year or liturgical calendar gives us a glimpse of the way God’s time breaks into our time. It is the way we Christians add a religious or spiritual dimension to the natural seasons, months, weeks and days.

It is our way of pondering the wonder of Jesus, the Son of God, entering our world and showing us through His teaching, example, passion, death and resurrection the true meaning of life as Christians.

St. Benedict grasped the importance of liturgy, public prayer of the Church. He dedicated 12 chapter of his Rule on praying the Liturgy of the Hours each day.

Today, countless communities of Benedictines join their voices in praise and gratitude to God and in petition for the needs of the world.

We take the responsibility of praying as a community every day as a privilege … and invite you to join us.