Judith Valente's Blog: Mindfulness in the Age of Twitter - Posts Tagged "flexibility"
The Enduring Spirit of St. Scholastica
(Today is the Feast of St. Scholastica, patroness of many Benedictine monasteries throughout the world. This reflection is adapted from an article I wrote for the magazine Spirit & Life).
Several years ago when I visited Norcia, Italy, the birthplace of Saints Benedict and Scholastica, it was disheartening to see how the monastery where St. Scholastica had lived and prayed had devolved into ruins.
I’ve often thought it would be a worthy project for Benedictine women to raise funds to renovate Scholastica’s crumbling monastery. Perhaps the building could become a center of refuge and empowerment for women, or a safe haven for refugee families. Scholastica would approve.
Fortunately, here in the U.S., we have many beautiful structures commemorating the legacy of this fascinating saint, believed to be Benedict’s sister, and possibly his twin. One is my beloved Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas, the monastery where I am a Benedictine lay associate.
On her Feast Day, I find myself thinking more deeply about this woman whose only recorded words amount to two sentences. The Dialogues of St. Gregory relate the story of Benedict’s final visit to his sister’s monastery. Scholastica wanted him to remain the night so they could continue discussing “spiritual matters.” He refused, saying it would violate his monastery’ rules. Scholastica then prayed to delay his departure. When a fierce storm arose, she reportedly told her brother, “I asked you and you would not listen, so I asked my God and he did listen.” Then, with a bit of whimsical one-upwomanship, she adds, “So now go off if you can, leave me, and return to your monastery.” You can almost picture the satisfied smile on her face.
That last part, of course, isn’t found in St. Gregory’s pious retelling of the story. Still, you’ve got to give credit to this essentially cloistered woman for showing such resolve. Her grit lives on in the Benedictine sisters who have been pioneers throughout history and remain to this day unafraid to shake up the status quo.
Scholastica died not long after that visit. Perhaps she had a premonition of her own impending death.
At Conception Abbey in northwest Missouri, there is a mural in the abbey’s basilica depicting Scholastica’s death. I’ve spent a long time contemplating that mural. A group of monks carry Scholastica on a bier into Benedict’s monastery. Especially moving is the depiction of Benedict at the door, receiving the lifeless body of his sister with the tender gesture of outstretched arms. It is as if he is welcoming her home. He had her buried in the plot reserved for his own body.
Benedict’s welcoming gesture reminded me of one of the first visits I ever made to a Benedictine monastery. I went with my husband to Mother of God Monastery in South Dakota to give a presentation on “Touching the Sacred Through Poetry.” We ttraveled through the night from Illinois to get there, and were relieved to see the well-lit monastery rise up in the distance of that dark plain.
Sister Emily Meisel, who had invited us, emerged from the monastery with arms extended toward us. She quickly took our arms into hers. It was the first time we had met. The encounter took place more than a decade ago, but I have never forgotten Sister Emily’s warm expression of hospitality. I often try to greet guests coming into my own home with the same gesture.
I like to think it was Scholastica who taught her brother the value of flexibility. She saw the wisdom of occasionally bending the rules for a greater good. She just might be the reason there is room for adaptation and modification built into The Rule of St. Benedict. At some point, Benedict stopped seeing people as interchangeable parts. He said give to each according to his or her need. A person overwhelmed by an assigned task could ask to be relieved of it.
He said receive all guests “as Christ, who said I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Welcoming guests was no small matter in Benedict’s and Scholastica’s time. The stranger at the monastery door could well be a marauder. Still, Benedict insisted visitors be welcomed with all courtesy of love. That perspective carries over into the tradition of hospitality at monasteries to this day.
An interesting exercise for this Feast of St. Scholastica might be to re-read The Rule of St. Benedict for signs of her influence from what little we know of her. Though her words have largely been lost to history, her courage, determination and spirit of hospitality remains, and continues to inspire all of us who seek to live Benedictine values day by day.
The Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great
Several years ago when I visited Norcia, Italy, the birthplace of Saints Benedict and Scholastica, it was disheartening to see how the monastery where St. Scholastica had lived and prayed had devolved into ruins.
I’ve often thought it would be a worthy project for Benedictine women to raise funds to renovate Scholastica’s crumbling monastery. Perhaps the building could become a center of refuge and empowerment for women, or a safe haven for refugee families. Scholastica would approve.
Fortunately, here in the U.S., we have many beautiful structures commemorating the legacy of this fascinating saint, believed to be Benedict’s sister, and possibly his twin. One is my beloved Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas, the monastery where I am a Benedictine lay associate.
On her Feast Day, I find myself thinking more deeply about this woman whose only recorded words amount to two sentences. The Dialogues of St. Gregory relate the story of Benedict’s final visit to his sister’s monastery. Scholastica wanted him to remain the night so they could continue discussing “spiritual matters.” He refused, saying it would violate his monastery’ rules. Scholastica then prayed to delay his departure. When a fierce storm arose, she reportedly told her brother, “I asked you and you would not listen, so I asked my God and he did listen.” Then, with a bit of whimsical one-upwomanship, she adds, “So now go off if you can, leave me, and return to your monastery.” You can almost picture the satisfied smile on her face.
That last part, of course, isn’t found in St. Gregory’s pious retelling of the story. Still, you’ve got to give credit to this essentially cloistered woman for showing such resolve. Her grit lives on in the Benedictine sisters who have been pioneers throughout history and remain to this day unafraid to shake up the status quo.
Scholastica died not long after that visit. Perhaps she had a premonition of her own impending death.
At Conception Abbey in northwest Missouri, there is a mural in the abbey’s basilica depicting Scholastica’s death. I’ve spent a long time contemplating that mural. A group of monks carry Scholastica on a bier into Benedict’s monastery. Especially moving is the depiction of Benedict at the door, receiving the lifeless body of his sister with the tender gesture of outstretched arms. It is as if he is welcoming her home. He had her buried in the plot reserved for his own body.
Benedict’s welcoming gesture reminded me of one of the first visits I ever made to a Benedictine monastery. I went with my husband to Mother of God Monastery in South Dakota to give a presentation on “Touching the Sacred Through Poetry.” We ttraveled through the night from Illinois to get there, and were relieved to see the well-lit monastery rise up in the distance of that dark plain.
Sister Emily Meisel, who had invited us, emerged from the monastery with arms extended toward us. She quickly took our arms into hers. It was the first time we had met. The encounter took place more than a decade ago, but I have never forgotten Sister Emily’s warm expression of hospitality. I often try to greet guests coming into my own home with the same gesture.
I like to think it was Scholastica who taught her brother the value of flexibility. She saw the wisdom of occasionally bending the rules for a greater good. She just might be the reason there is room for adaptation and modification built into The Rule of St. Benedict. At some point, Benedict stopped seeing people as interchangeable parts. He said give to each according to his or her need. A person overwhelmed by an assigned task could ask to be relieved of it.
He said receive all guests “as Christ, who said I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Welcoming guests was no small matter in Benedict’s and Scholastica’s time. The stranger at the monastery door could well be a marauder. Still, Benedict insisted visitors be welcomed with all courtesy of love. That perspective carries over into the tradition of hospitality at monasteries to this day.
An interesting exercise for this Feast of St. Scholastica might be to re-read The Rule of St. Benedict for signs of her influence from what little we know of her. Though her words have largely been lost to history, her courage, determination and spirit of hospitality remains, and continues to inspire all of us who seek to live Benedictine values day by day.
The Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great
Mindfulness in the Age of Twitter
In my blog, I focus on thoughts based on my new book (published from Hampton Roads) How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning & Community as well as from my previ
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