Prayer...
   Lord, you chose St. Benedict to follow you and made him the founder of a great religious family in your church.
   Help us, through the intercession of Benedict and Scholastica, to inspire women and men to choose the vocation you destined for them and to follow it with steadfastness, courage, and generosity.
   We beg you to touch the hearts of many women with the spirit of Benedict and Scholastica, and lead them to seek membership in our American Benedictine Women's monasteries.
   May your Holy Spirit guide and form us for readiness to receive those who seek entrance here.  Lord, Hear Our Prayer.  St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, pray for us.  AMEN.

Vocation …
“Although the Rule of St. Benedict which we follow has always been interpreted to meet the needs of the times, its essential monastic values remain intact and very much alive today. It can grow and change while remaining the same.” (1 )

(from left:  Sister Danile Knight, Treva Fendrick, 
Sister Stephanie Mongeon, Sister Marilyn Mark)

Who Are We?
We are a community of Benedictine women seeking God, committed to each other and to our monastic life, living out the values of the gospel through our prayers and service to God’s people. Our story is one of stable Benedictine community in an unstable world, following the Rule of our founder, St. Benedict. For over 1500 years, the Rule of St. Benedict has served as a guide for ordinary people who wanted to live a full and intense Gospel life.

Through the centuries, Benedictines have shown that a stable community of persons leading a balanced life of work and prayer is an environment in which Christians can grow in holiness.

How Does One Become a Member?
There are five major steps in becoming a Benedictine sister, one building on the other. Each step enables the woman to become more familiar with the community and to discern her call to be a member.

The usual steps are:

Affiliate
This initial step provides the opportunity to become more familiar with the religious community by praying and spending time with the sisters. While continuing to live and work according to her usual way of life, the woman discerns with the vocation director her readiness to enter the next step, postulancy. The time for this first discernment may extend from six months to two years.

Postulant
The postulant lives with the community, and experiences the life of prayer and work with the sisters. In formal classes, she learns about Benedictine spirituality and the requisites for the common life. During this time she may continue a part time job or she may continue a formal educational program. The time dedicated to the postulancy is about ten months to one year.

Novice
With a specific director, this period of at least one year is dedicated entirely to study, prayer, and living according to the Rule of St. Benedict as practiced in this monastery. Specific time is devoted to understanding the nature of the vows which the novice may profess, temporarily, at the end of the year.

Temporary commitment
During this period of three to six years, the new sister is invited to live fully the life of stability, fidelity to monastic life, and obedience. At designated times, and especially on an annual basis, she discerns with her director, her progress and her readiness to freely choose to make a commitment for life.

Life-long commitment
Having freely chosen and being received into this Benedictine community, the sister continues the daily seeking of God and of life eternal by living the monastic life according to the Rule of St. Benedict and the practices of her chosen community.

1.”You Alone Must Dare” ABFC.p.5

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