In a recent blog I told you about differences in religious communities and I said that one of the distinguishing characteristics about Benedictine Monastic Life is our Profession—the lifelong commitment that we make. And I promised you that I would share my thoughts about our threefold commitment of stability, fidelity to the monastic Life, and obedience. Here I go…By the profession of Stability, I commit myself to St. Scholastica Monastery – the Sisters who make up this Community. Stability guarantees a commitment to the family of Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery, the Community in which I make profession. Not only does stability assume that I will remain faithful to this Community but it gives me the assurance that this Community will remain faithful to me. This knowledge will give me the confidence and the safety I need to respond with a whole-hearted “yes” to unknown surprises and challenges. Living in stability will give God’s Grace time and space to act in, on, and through my life. 
The profession of Fidelity to the Monastic Life challenges me to give myself completely and unreservedly to the way of life prescribed in the Rule of St. Benedict. Striving to live a life of Fidelity means to constantly look to imitate Christ in all things and in all matters of being. Fidelity to the Monastic Life is a daily commitment to the whole of the monastic experience, its challenges, and its blessings. It is in this promised commitment that I see the commitment to both poverty and celibacy, as these are essential elements of a vowed life lived in Community. Fidelity to the Monastic Way of Life is commitment to a lifetime of continual conversion of heart.Obedience is a promise to listen and respond to the Will of God. God’s Will may be revealed in many ways: personal prayer, Sacred Scripture, the Holy Rule, the Prioress, the Community, the events of day-to-day life, and the needs of the local Community. It is a deliberate commitment to forget myself in order to harvest the fruits of the Kingdom by fulfilling the Will of God and working for the common good. I rejoice because I know this profession will be the beginning of a life lived in God and with God, intentionally in service to my Community and to the world. July 11, 2012, can’t come soon enough! God is good!
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Sister Lisa MaurerSister Lisa Maurer was born and raised in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Before entering the Monastery, she taught and coached in Catholic Schools within the New Ulm Diocese. Sister Lisa made her first Monastic Profession in August 2009. Her first ministry was working at the parishes of St. Lawrence and St. Joseph in Duluth. Currently she is the Mission Integration Manager of the Benedictine Health System.See all of Sister Lisa’s posts. |