One same call and gift of the Spirit came to Benedict of Nursia in the fifth century, to
Benedicta Riepp in the nineteenth century, and to the Benedictine women in the monasteries
which today form the Federation of Saint Scholastica. It is this spiritual gift which is the bond of
unity among the member monasteries of the Federation.
As cenobitic women religious who have received and participated in the Benedictine charism, we
recognize that THE BENEDICTINE WAY IS TO SEEK GOD IN CENOBITIC
LIFE AND TO RESPOND IN PRAYER AND MINISTRY. Such seeking of God
presupposes obedience, stability, and conversion through the monastic way of life according to
the vision of the sixth century Rule of Benedict.
We acknowledge that the Rule of
Benedict is a privileged text for us because it is the original expression of the charism. As
such the Rule is, after the Gospel, the touchstone for all later lived expressions and spiritual
documents within the Benedictine tradition. These have authenticity insofar as they give
expression to the same charism embodied in other times and cultures. In whatever culture, seeking
God according to the Rule of Benedict requires of the cenobitic community continuing openness
to the Holy Spirit and ever greater detachment and simplicity.
The Holy Spirit of Jesus present to each Benedictine woman living in the monastic community
empowers her to new holiness and faithfulness to the gift given. The Benedictine spirit shows
itself with greatest brilliance and intensity in those we have come to call the saints. Yet hundreds
of Benedictines past and present have participated in and responded to this same gift given to
them all.
In the living body which is the church, each person or group lives out only part of the richness of
the mystery of Christ. We believe readiness for the reign of God is the call Christ Jesus speaks
through the ages. To those chosen to be followers of Benedict, this readiness is given its
foundation in a contemplative way of life characterized by liturgical and personal prayer, lectio
divina, silence, and solitude. It finds expression in monastic stewardship, hospitality, and works on
behalf of the people of God which overflow from life in a community of worship. "Clothed
then with faith and the performance of good works, let us set out on this way, with the Gospel for
our guide, that we may deserve to see him who has called us to his kingdom." (RB
P:21)
Schooled daily for the Lord's service (RB P:45), Benedictines embrace ways of acting different
from the world's ways: the love of Christ must come before all else (RB 4:20-21). To seek God is
primary. As disciples of Jesus, Benedictines live with an ever-increasing passion for the reign of
God and God's justice (RB 72).
Having blessed Benedict, the Spirit has unfailingly touched his followers, and so a living tradition
has been established through the centuries. We share in this living tradition and extend it as we
respond from within the contemporary situation of the Americas. Becoming freer ourselves
through the Spirit's action, we are being empowered as was Jesus to enter compassionately into
the struggle, pain, and suffering of our sisters and brothers. We are aware of God working within
us and among us for the conversion of our hearts and the breaking of our bonds. God's
graciousness continues to liberate us so that we are better able to assist in creating a just and
compassionate society where all persons can experience human dignity and live with firm hope for
the final reconciliation of the world with the One who is both Creator and Redeemer.
Return to Call to Life
Index
© Federation of St. Scholatica, 1997