This is a very hard and serious question. It’s similar to another question: what do college students or professors or mechanics or farmers or anyone else do in their free time? There are as many answers to the question as there are Sisters.
You can probably guess one thing that Sisters do in their free time is to pray. But what is prayer? I’m not only talking about Morning and Evening Prayer in the chapel but private prayer. Most Sisters pray prayers like the rosary or the chaplet of Divine Mercy. Lectio divina (holy reading) with the scriptures is a particularly Benedictine form of prayer and some Sisters practice Centering prayer.
St. John Damascene gave a definition of prayer as “…the raising of one’s mind and heart to God…” Some Sisters will take a mindful walk in the woods for prayer. At a children’s workshop every year, the children make little prayer parachutes. The 12-step programs say that “prayer is conscious contact with God as we understand God.” Another definition of prayer I have heard is “wasting time with God.”
In chapter 48 of the Rule of St. Benedict (RB), St. Benedict writes about specific times in the day for work and reading and rest. Each monastery has different times for each, but we all strive to have a balance in our lives of work, prayer, and leisure. This is where the common phrase “Ora et labora” (prayer and work) comes from, although the leisure part has only recently been reclaimed.
Exercise is another thing we do in our free time. Some people even say it is a form of prayer. We have a little exercise room at the Monastery with some machines like an elliptical trainer and some Pilates mats and weights. Many Sisters use walking as exercise (we have many long hallways!).
Some Sisters also take photographs, garden, play music, make candles, sew, crochet, go birdwatching, and other activities. One of our Sisters crochets small nativity scenes for Christmas and puts them in our gift shop. Every year we put out a calendar of photos taken by our Sisters. Another Sister has a bonsai tree that she cares for devotedly. She also grows magnificent orchids—one of hers that she put in our dining room has 19 blooms on it!
One of our favorite things to do in our free time is to visit friends. Sometimes the friends come here and they visit in one of the sitting room areas, but sometimes Sisters go out to their houses or to a park or something like that.
These are just a few of the leisure activities that I know of that we do. There are many that I don’t know. Sometimes I don’t find out until after a Sister has died what she did in her free time.
What do you like to do in your free time? Chances are that there is probably a Sister who likes it also. Free time does not have to be justified, as so often happens in our wider culture. You can have fun for no other reason than you like it! St. Benedict reminds us that for a healthy life we need a balance of prayer, work, and leisure.
