Fed100 Anniversary |

SAVE the DATE: Benedictine Colloquium June 21-24, 2022

The Federation of St. Scholastica will celebrate its Centennial with a Colloquium, "Benedictine Life: A Vision Unfolding," open to all followers of Benedict: women and men who are professed, oblates, or spiritual seekers. The Colloquium will take place at Mount Saint Scholastica in Atchison, KS, June 21-24, 2022, and virtually. These eight women are our presenters grouped by the goal they will lead participants to consider, and our two responders. Learn more about each presenter here. Registrations will open soon for both onsite and virtual participation.

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WISDOM
GOAL: Make our Benedictine way of life visible and accessible in new ways to today’s seekers by celebrating our history and envisioning our future.

WITNESS
GOAL: Share our lives as Benedictine women, past and present, what we stand for, and why we do what we do as we invite others to experience our charism and good zeal and to join us in “running while we have the light of life.” (Prologue, Rule of Benedict)

WAY FORWARD
GOAL: Support Benedictine life today so that it can continue to be the same kind of stabilizing presence in our cities and towns and light for spiritual seekers that it has been for more than 1500 years.


Judith Sutera, OSB, Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, KS	Christine Valters Paintner, Abbey of the Arts


Deborah Asberry, CommunityWorks, Inc.	Patricia Fawkner, SGS, Good Samaritan Sisters, Australia


Edith Bogue, OSB, Sacred Heart Monastery, Cullman, AL	Katie Gordon, Nuns & Nones and Monasteries of the Heart

RESPONDERS

Judith Valente, Oblate,
Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, KS

Joanna Burley, OSB,
St. Benedict Monastery, Bristow, VA

Federation of St. Scholastica 1922 - 2022: The same call and gift of the Spirit that came to Benedict of Nursia early in the 6th century came to the women who formed the Federation of Saint Scholastica early in the 20th century. This same call and gift of the Spirit comes to us today, inspiring and animating us to respond to the gospel with the good zeal of Benedict, with listening hearts, with clarity of spiritual vision, and with hearts impelled by love. In the years leading up to our centennial celebration in 2022, we intend to publicly celebrate the vision and dedication of Benedictine women over the past 100 years while at the same time supporting current works as well as new and wider efforts to bring the peace of Christ and the justice of the gospel to today’s turbulent world.

Weekly Reflections

First Sunday of Advent

November 28, 2021,
Susan Quaintance OSB, St. Scholastica Monastery in Chicago, IL
Jer 33:14-16; 1 Thes 3:12-4:2; Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

If you’re anything like me, you probably think of Isaiah as the prophet of Advent: valleys being filled in and mountains being made low, streams bursting forth in the desert, a virgin bearing a son and naming him Immanuel. All Isaiah.

Not this year.

Year C gives us four different prophets. Our first readings on the four Sundays of Advent come from Jeremiah, Baruch, Zephaniah, and Micah. Though Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah’s, the others came about 100 years later, much closer to the impending disaster of the defeat of Judah and the Babylonian Exile.

Today we hear from Jeremiah, or at least someone inspired by him. Scholars believe that this author wrote after the Exile; this is a person growing up knowing that the Davidic dynasty had collapsed, and that rebuilding was long, hard, tricky work. Nothing was a given. Past glory was a distant memory, and future security must have seemed a long way away.

>>>Read the full post

Podcast Series

Lynn McKenzie, OSB

Sister Lynn Marie McKenzie, OSB, is a member of Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, AL. She is president of the Federation of St. Scholastica and Moderator of Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum. She is a civil and canon lawyer and a canon law consultant for religious communities. Read a Global Sisters Report story on the book Summary Judgment that Sister Lynn speaks of in this podcast. It details a capital murder case on which she collaborated with the author, Donald Cameron Clark.

Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh Leadership Coaches

Three members of the Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh, co-founders of the Life and Leadership Coaching Program for Religious Women, talk about their program.

Sister Susan English has served in multiple leadership positions in her community. She is a Master Certified Coach, holds a doctorate in education and considers herself a "womb to tomb" educator.

Sister Evelyn Dettling has served in various leadership positions within her community and in ministry.

Sister Roberta Campbell is currently the community's Liturgy Director, involved in the Spiritual Spa Retreat program for women and the Chair of the 150th Anniversary Celebration of the Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh.

Centennial Prayer

The same call and gift of the Spirit that came to Benedict of Nursia and his sister Scholastica early in the 6th century came to the women who formed the Federation of Saint Scholastica early in the 20th century. This same call and gift of the Spirit comes to us today, inspiring and animating us to respond to the gospel with their good zeal, with listening hearts, with clarity of spiritual vision, and with hearts impelled by love. And so we pray:

Audio recording of prayer by Sister Lynn McKenzie, OSB, President of the Federation of St. Scholastica

Loving God, we give you thanks
for our Benedictine heritage,
and for the expression of this call and gift in the
communities of the Federation of St. Scholastica.

May our celebration
of the Federation's first 100 years
strengthen us in our spiritual tradition,
deepen our capacity to listen,
widen our hearts with your love,
and sharpen our spiritual vision
that seeks to see Christ in the heart of all Creation
and at the center of our common life.

One in Christ,
may the communities of the Federation,
oblates, benefactors, and friends,
share the peace of Christ,
show the love of Christ,
and make Christ known in our world.

Amen FOR SPANISH TRANSLATION, CLICK HERE