What Can I Expect?
The Benedictine way is to seek God in cenobitic life
and to respond in prayer and ministry.
(FEDERATION OF ST. SCHOLASTICA CHARISM STATEMENT)
The Benedictine Sisters of Erie, a community of women monastics, choose to follow the Rule of Saint Benedict as a guide for our communal search for God. We strive to integrate:
- Community life
- Contemplative and liturgical prayer
- Lectio
- Silence
- Ministry
We believe that balance provides vitality for our monastic life.
We have a vision that throughout this century our life together will witness a search for God through prayer and living simply. We listen to others and respond in love. We lift our hands and voices in public witness to the global issues of world peace, nonviolent conflict resolution, sustainability of the earth, and justice especially for women and children…
Faithful to our monastic tradition, we pray and work so that in all things God may be glorified.
(VISION STATEMENT)
Benedictine life is centered on community.
The Benedictine way of Christian life was not founded for any special work. We are to be living signs that strangers can come together in Christ, care for one another, support one another, challenge one another to grow. Our essential ministry is community.
Benedictine life is contemplative.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10)
We believe it is essential to create an atmosphere of prayerfulness, solitude, silence and leisure in our lives so that the word of God can penetrate our hearts and take root. As we enter into solitude we approach the elusive presence of God, open our true selves, and find inner peace.
Benedictine life is nourished by the Scriptures.
Our common prayer, Liturgy of the Hours or Opus Dei, is based on the texts of the Old and New Testaments; our lectio divina is centered on the Scriptures. If we are faithful, the Word of God enters our life, disrupting it yet giving peace.
Lectio divina
“Lectio is a slow, reflective process that takes us down below the preoccupations of the moment, the distractions of the day to that place where the soul holds the residue of life.”
(Joan D. Chittister, OSB in THE ILLUMINATED LIFE)
“It is a means of descending to the level of the heart and of finding God.”
(Michael Casey, OSCO in SACRED READING: THE ANCIENT ART OF LECTIO DIVINA
Benedictine life is committed to the value of work.
We extend the healing presence of Christ to others through hospitality, stewardship and a wide range of good works. The ministries in which we engage are expressive of the gifts and skills of the sisters and responsive to the needs of the local area. The community supports a wide range of its own ministries as well as supporting sisters who work in ministries outside the community structure, such as health care, educational or church-sponsored institutions.