Sister Lisa Maurer – A Day of Prayer and Reflection
Only in God is my soul at rest...I shall not be disturbed at all. (from Psalm 62)Here at St. Scholastica Monastery the last Sunday of each month is a day of Prayer and Reflection; a day that is set aside for quiet reflection and personal prayer.I have to admit that when I first came to the Monastery, I found these days to be quite difficult and uncomfortable. It was challenging for me to slow down. I found it hard to settle into the quiet. I was sure that I was doing it wrong and that there was some magic way to be spending the day. I surmised that all the Sisters knew the secret about being holy and I was left fumbling in the dark. I struggled to trust that “doing nothing in the Lord” was in reality doing something.I was told early on in my Religious Life that you have to live the life in order to live the life (in my words “fake it ‘til you make it”). My Formation Director was constantly reminding me that this life takes a lifetime to learn. She assured me that I would find my way and she encouraged me to be gentler with myself. Her counsel and advice did not fall on deaf ears. I took it to heart, put it to memory, and did my best to trust that I would settle into, at some point, being able to actually pray a Day of Prayer and Reflection.I am happy to say that, four years into my life as a Benedictine Sister, I have come a long way. (And more than ever I know that I have a l-o-n-g way to go.) With more ease I am to enter into the quiet and I am beginning to understand what it means to “just be.” I actually find myself looking forward to the monthly days of quiet prayer and reflection. God is good!
Only in God is my soul at rest;from him comes my salvation.He only is my rock and my salvation,my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all.
Psalm 62:2-3
Sister Lisa Maurer
Sister Lisa Maurer was born and raised in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, before entering the Monastery, Sister Lisa taught and coached in Catholic Schools within the New Ulm Diocese. Sister Lisa made her first Monastic Profession in August 2009. She currently ministers at the parishes of St. Lawrence and St. Joseph in Duluth.See all of Sister Lisa’s posts.
