The church is a sacrament revealing the mystery of God's saving love to the world. The mystery of salvation is paschal, so the church and its members are always passing from the old life to the new life of union with God in Christ. The mystery is celebrated in its fullness in the Eucharist; it is lived out in a way of life that attends to the urgent needs of the human community.

Because the Benedictine monastery is an ecclesial community, it exists to be a sacrament of Christ's presence among all peoples. The monastery becomes a symbol of the paschal mystery when it provides the environment in which its members may live their vowed lives fully. Benedictine communities enable their members to internalize the values and goals of the Gospel, the Rule of Benedict and the living tradition which it generated in such a way that together they will be a sacrament revealing Christ in the contemporary situation. Mutual service to one another in daily living, whether in the kitchen, at table, or in the infirmary (RB 35, 36), provides a direct way for the monastic community to witness to the human communion and solidarity to which God is drawing the world through Christ. To the measure that Benedictine communities are faithful interpreters of the Rule of Benedict, and so of the Gospel vision it incarnates, they can communicate the meaning of salvation in Christ and can share fifteen centuries of Christian wisdom and experience with those who hunger today for rootedness and solidarity in Christ.

The Rule of Benedict is deeply rooted in the Scripture; hence, life in a Benedictine monastery is patterned on the life which Jesus lived. Resting in the womb of God, listening in reverent silence to his Father, Jesus gave himself lovingly to others. Accordingly, Benedictine communities give priority to monastic prayer as the very center of community life. By living in a communion of faith and worship, Benedictine women can experience and respond to the transforming presence of the living God. Together they hear the Word of God addressed to them in the opus Dei, lectio divina, the Eucharist and all the events of their lives. Loving one another with the love of sisters(RB 72:8), they can open themselves together to discipleship by the transforming touch of the Holy Spirit.

The cenobitic woman who lives in such a communion of love and worship gradually acquires a sacramental vision of reality. She sees Christ reconciling the world with the Author of Life. She is impelled by the compassionate love of Christ to participate in a healing ministry which will lead others out of bondage into a future of freedom. The integrating principle of her life of prayer and service in community is its eucharistic orientation. As she joins in offering the world back to the Creator, she moves with the church and her Benedictine community toward Christian transformation.

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© Federation of St. Scholatica, 1997