From a Rural Cloister to Urban Outreach

Benedictine Spirituality Unites Community, by Melissa Pfeifer

When first thinking about Catholic religious life as my next step, I wondered how one even goes about that these days and how one chooses among the different orders. Then the podcast I was listening to said Benedictine right as I drove past a Church of St. Benedict, so the matter was settled.

This post is about two Benedictine monasteries I visited on my way home to Kansas after finishing a year of residency at Zen Mountain Monastery (ZMM) in New York.

Abbey of Regina Laudis

First I visited the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Connecticut with interest in their year-long Monastic Internship. Regina Laudis means Queen of Praise. I counted around two dozen nuns. They are cloistered and wear full habits. When I told a friend at ZMM I was coming here, she excitedly told me about Dolores Hart. There is a documentary about her called God is the Bigger Elvis. She was at the peak of her acting career when she decided to become a nun at this Abbey. I find that inspiring because she answered her call from abundance, not rock bottom.

Five prayer times for the Divine Office hold each day. The nuns sit on either side. They sing back, forth, and together with sitting, standing, and bowing. It’s all in Latin, and there’s no way to follow along. Thanks to a year of Zen, I did not feel terribly frustrated by the foreignness. I would prefer to participate but can appreciate the challenge of presence when something does not effortlessly engage me.

Manual labor, spiritual study, and monastic arts like carpentry and cheesemaking are also part of life at the Abbey. Across over 400 acres, the nuns steward cows, sheep, gardens, and more.

My work assignment was wonderfully stereotypical for a farm - shoveling cow poop out of the barn, carrying hay bales to the feeders, and escorting cows to the next plot. Escort is not the right word. I don't know what the word is for opening a gate and hoping they go. The nuns work in full habits too (not the same ones they wear to prayer).

Abbey of Regina Laudis

I was thankful to have a conversation with one nun while we worked about how the cows are slaughtered and to hear her take on the ethics of eating animals. This is a living question for me as I am going from Zen (vegetarian) back to meat and potatoes country. The nuns do often know the names of what they eat, which feels respectful at least. She shared this article with me On the Sacredness of Food.

The Abbey also houses a remarkable Crèche (nativity scene) that dates back to the 1700s. When I walked in, I felt so scared, which was quite interesting. I mustered up the courage to read the text panels on one side, which pointed out the varied reactions to Christ’s birth displayed among the 68 figurines on the scene - joy, fear, disinterest, anger, excitement. Then in big red words at the bottom "What Think Yee of Christ?" I inched closer to the masterpiece before darting out in response to a harmless startling sound without ever making it to the other side of the room.

Benedictine Sisters of Erie

Given the common thread of Benedictine identity, I was fascinated by the differences between these two communities I visited. The Benedictine Sisters of Erie are not cloistered, they do not wear habits (or any uniform), and they pray in English three times a day.

One of the first things that caught my attention when I joined the sisters in Erie for morning prayer at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery (the Mount) was that all references to God as male in their liturgy had been changed to be inclusive. This made sense to me because I understand God beyond gender, but I did not understand changing the word “Lord” as well. That seems to be a fair title for the supreme being. I asked and heard this is because of the word’s authoritarian connotation. This led to a longer conversation in which I was surprised to learn that they transitioned to inclusive language back in the ‘80s and didn’t even need permission to do this.

In touring the Mount, I was delighted upon one door opening to meditation cushions and instruments just like those at ZMM! They host monthly Stillpoint Retreats. I used to rib that Zens welcomed me as a Catholic more than Catholics would welcome a Zen, but the Erie sisters wonderfully proved this untrue. In the bookstore I flipped over a hardcover by Pope Francis. I read this quote: “The only future worth building includes everyone,” and my heart leaped. Yes, that’s it!

With fellow Kansan, Linda Romey, OSB

Building the future is indeed what the sisters in Erie are busy doing. I visited with interest in their new year-long Benedictine Peacemakers program and got to engage with its three ministry options. The inner-city art house offers no cost classes, primarily to youth, in seemingly every art form - printmaking, foam carving, hoop dance, digital illustration, airbrush, plaster casting, sewing, and stop motion animation to name a few. The existence of this ministry inspires me because it offers more than what is “needed” to those in need. It rallies against bare minimum thinking to serve the spirit.

Emmaus Ministries is a soup kitchen, food pantry, and urban farm. Learning about the logistics and how they’re imperfect caught my interest. I am all for systemic fixes so long as they don’t create distance. Jesus said we will always have the poor. The name Emmaus comes from the Gospel story of disciples not recognizing Jesus after the Resurrection. While working on the food pantry line, I was wary of a "we the good people are helping you the needy" dynamic. It matters how I do the work.

The third ministry I engaged with is Monasteries of the Heart, which is an online movement inspired by Sister Joan Chittister that shares Benedictine spirituality. It has over 20,000 members. I joined a Zoom call about a recently compiled book of writings by Sister Mary Lou Kownacki, who died last year. The building I stayed in was once the Pax Center she founded. Pax means peace. Sisters, activists, and those needing shelter lived together. That kind of closeness speaks to me, sparks my curiosity. In beautifully nuanced reflection on the experiment, I found this quote of hers most profound: “You don’t care for someone - give him or her a home, some food, your time - in order that she or he gets better or things turn out right. You care for someone because you care for someone.”

The sisters in Erie currently number about 70, and the median age is 80. I was energized by several conversations throughout my stay about the future of monasticism. Interestingly, more traditional communities in general sustained member inflow through recent decades (according to ChatGPT). I saw this trend reflected in my own draw to ZMM and in the age distribution at the Abbey of Regina Laudis.

In a conversation with a woman around my age about how to onramp seekers, we agreed that carrots and sticks are not the way. Humans - you, me - fundamentally, deep down - want to fulfill life. Saint Catherine of Siena said: "Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire." It’s a high call! Does it not stir your soul? So we can try our best in love to help others be their best, and we can also relax. We can trust God to do what God does best.

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AUTHOR

Melissa Pfeifer currently writes, reads, prays, plays piano, and helps her family in Kansas. She is interested in existence. Here is her blog.