Highlights from our monthly e-Newsletter

St. Paul's Monastery's 75th Anniversary

We are pleased to announce that 2023 will mark the 75th anniversary of St. Paul’s Monastery. Our exciting news is the production of a book highlighting the past 25 years along with a look to the future. Do you have the time, talent or resources to assist with this project? If so, send an email to SrLucia@stpaulsmonastery.org.

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Benedictine Center of St. Paul's Monastery

Along with Saint Paul’s Monastery’s 75th anniversary celebration in 2023, the Benedictine Center will celebrate 40 years of service? The Center helps people develop a contemplative heart open to the message of the gospel and of God’s presence at the core of their lives.  Housed within the monastery, it acts as a bridge between the monastic community and the wider world.

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Benedictine Oblates

Oblates are men and women with a desire for greater spiritual growth according to the Christian ideals and values set forth in the Rule of Benedict. They value and support one another in community while bringing Christ and the spirit of monasticism into their families, places of work, and in civic and social activities. The Benedictine oblate program has grown and flourished during the past 25 years, continuing to welcome new members.

Do you have an interest in learning more about Benedictine Oblates? Visit this link to learn more.

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Benedictine Associates

St. Paul’s Monastery offers Catholic single women the opportunity to become a Benedictine Associate, helping them seek God with the support of the monastic community while engaging in the ministries of St. Paul’s Monastery? This baptismal call to holiness offers:

- Engagement in discernment
- An orientation
- Initial and ongoing formation for the whole person

Associates find a balance of prayer, ministry and leisure while faithfully participating in liturgical prayer, meeting, meals, and recreation. Do you have an interest in learning more about Benedictine Associates? Visit this link to learn more.

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What does the word hospitality mean to you?

To the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery, the word is based on the Rule of Benedict, who stated, “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ.” When you visit the Monastery, you are accepted as you are with no expectations for you to be anything but a beloved child of God. As you come to learn more about St. Paul’s Monastery and the Sisters who welcome you, you immediately see and feel the grace and peace of true hospitality. In the upcoming 75th Anniversary book available later this year, you’ll find hospitality is at the center of everything. 

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For the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery, prayer is a deep calling from within the soul.

For the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery, prayer is a deep calling from within the soul. The center of community lies in an ongoing liturgical prayer life. Ministries take the sisters in many directions as they work to serve the needs of the community. But what holds them together is what is found in a shared prayer life. In the upcoming 75th anniversary book due out later this year, you will read many stories of sisters who visibly live their prayer life in a way others can see and feel. Their stories welcome you into this sacred space as they work to respond to the needs and challenges of church and society.

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What is Benedictine charism?

In every language, charism can be understood as the gifts from God that allow a person or group to live out the Gospel in relation to the world around them, making it an important foundation for daily living in an ever-changing world.

For the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery, the simple daily routines of manual labor, prayer, study, and a shared way of life are strengthened by attention to the divine in the liturgy of the hours and “lectio divina” (divine reading) focusing on both Scripture and nature. Understanding charism in this way is more important today than ever before. In times of change, the Sisters rely on charism-their purpose-to discern how to move forward and sustain themselves. In the upcoming 75th anniversary book due out later this year, you will read about how the sisters continue to infuse charism into every aspect of their lives, work and vision for the future.

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Hearing God’s Call

The call to become a Sister comes in many different ways. Some women have said that no matter what was occurring in their lives, the idea of a vowed religious life kept popping up in their minds. Others experienced fear, causing them to think of all the reasons not to become a vowed Sister. But there’s also a thrill at the same time: the thrill that comes from thinking, “It seems to be a happy life,” or “I might be able to do something remarkable with my life.” When you read the stories of the vowed Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery in the upcoming 75th anniversary book, you’ll learn more about how God’s call can define a life by serving Him and His people, filling each one with a deep sense of joy.