Archives for February 2018

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!” (Phil 4:4). Here at St. Scholastica Priory, we have a new reason to rejoice: our postulant Kate—now Sr. Martha—has just been clothed as a novice!

It’s not every day that you see someone embarking on a monastic life. It is a hidden life, to be sure, without out much recognition or fanfare (for which we are very grateful), and perhaps much of the modern world doesn’t even know that monastic communities exist! So for a new member to be added to our number is a work of God indeed.

May every blessing and grace be upon our Sr. Martha as she begins her journey in the Benedictine way. And may God lead us, “all together, to everlasting life” (Rule of St. Benedict, Ch. 72)!

This Thursday on February 22nd we celebrate a feast which the Church calls “The Chair of Peter”. While there is indeed a physical ancient chair in the Vatican that represents the authority of the pope, the chair itself is not exactly what we celebrate every year!

This day is one which calls to mind the beauty and authority of the Catholic magisterium. This celebration reminds us that God has given the successors of St. Peter the wisdom to guide the faithful safely into the kingdom of heaven. We can rejoice in being cared for by God by means of the Church, and can trust in her care.

What’s more, here at St. Scholastica Priory we will be celebrating an additional event—the clothing of a novice! It is a glorious day for her to put her trust in the Chair of Peter as manifested here in the monastery. We too will redouble our faith in the Rock upon which Christ has built his Church!

Quick quiz: Who was the first Benedictine nun, seen by her twin brother in a vision to have ascended into heaven in the form of a dove? Yep, you guessed it: St. Scholastica! It’s no surprise, then, that we Benedictine women have taken her to be our community patron.

So what does it mean to have a patron saint? Well, it’s true we have several statues and images of her in our monastery and her name is on our sign posted by the roadside, but these are just the externals. A patron saint is one who lived a life worthy of emulation, someone whom we wish to take as an example of virtue and profound dedication to God.

Since we know fairly few details of her life, what we do know takes on even greater import for us. St. Gregory the Great describes her as one who “loved much, and therefore was able to do much” (Dialogues, Book 2). She was a great lover, through whom God was able to do great things. Need we say more?