By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
“This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord.” The Rule of St. Benedict: Prologue
The word “obedience” is fraught for many people. But it’s not blind obedience that Benedict calls for. Continue Reading
“If we choose to be attentive to God’s love, grace and presence within us, then we choose to live in a manner that reflects Christ’s presence in our lives,” Sr. Mary Core, OSB says.
“The result is, we become sacramental to others. We help others to know God through the visible sign of God in who we are.” Read more.
By Sister Marlene Miller, OSB
Stability is one of 3 promises Catholic Benedictine women and men make at our final monastic profession.
The vow of stability is to the Sisters to whom we have promised to live, pray, support, and work with, in good times and bad, in sickness and health, into eternal life. Continue Reading
By Sr. Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
I have just started to read Following the Path – The search for a Life of Passion, Purpose and Joy by Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB. The first chapter starts with a discussion on happiness.
Here are 4 things we know about happiness: Continue Reading
By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
If you’ve read my other blog (or plenty of posts here, for that matter), you may know that my sister, MacKenzie, is special needs.
She is funny, fun, loving and an all-around great person.
She’s also an athlete. Continue Reading
Laptop? Check. Cell phone? Check. Self? Hmmmm.
For many of us, the notion of taking our whole selves – body, mind and soul – to work is ludicrous. We reserve our souls for home and church, and not for the loud, chaotic and profane workplace. Continue Reading
Several years ago, we asked Sister Mary Jane Wallace to reminisce about her life as a Benedictine. She brought scrapbooks, photos, typed notes and laugh-out-loud stories.
Sr. Mary Jane is still a dynamo at 85. She continues to teach piano to children and adults, write skits for community celebrations and work on a book about her ministries. And all of that is what she does in between our daily Benedictine prayer schedule.
By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
After taking a few years to work and live my Catholic parish life, God sent me another message.
I was at church with my father and youngest sisters, when Sisters from a habited community filed in. The pastor introduced them, and they seemed very nice.
As we approach Pentecost, I’m reminded of my 6th grade religion class. We had to memorize the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Today I’m more interested in what the gifts mean than their exact wording. Continue Reading
By Benedictine Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
As a Benedictine Sister, I usually join my own community for Eucharist. But while visiting my family in Dubuque over the weekend, we went to Mass at my home parish where we enjoyed a different take on the Thomas story.
Instead of the usual talk about his doubting – and don’t get me wrong, it is important to reflect on that – we heard a reflection on Thomas’ need for a personal experience. Continue Reading
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