THE GOLDEN YEAR

February 10, the feast of St. Scholastica (twin to our founder St. Benedict) our Mother Prioress Therese celebrated 50 years of monastic vows. It was a quiet but joyous celebration for the Community and a few guests.  Mother left for our Abbey in Connecticut May 1 for a joint celebration on Mother's Day (May 13) with our Mother Abbess who also celebrates her golden jubilee this year. We will have a larger celebration at OLR for friends this summer.

Mother Prioress Therese

Most people do not realize that Benedictines profess three vows at Profession but not the three that modern orders take (obedience, poverty, chastity).  We take Obedience, Stability & Conversatio Morum:

    Obedience is to the Abbot, the Rule and the laws of the Church. It is attuning one’s spiritual ear to the voice of God in all situations and responding to His call.  

Tabernacle in OLR  Chapel

    Stability refers to a physical stability, meaning that we commit to life in a particular community and are not transferred around as in more active orders

    Conversatio Morum is conversion of one's life, not as something in the past but an on-going change, now and in the future. It is to remain open to change and transformation.

When pondering the Rule of St. Benedict, the one word that first comes to mind is BALANCE. His Rule is about moderation. A true psychologist (as was our American foundress) he understood the need for nourishing body, mind and soul.  The three vows we profess allow this balance in our lives as Benedictines in a modern world. They are the “glue” which bind us to Christ and the Community.