Hello! Welcome to the Mewsletter. I’m Br. Ricky, Novice Master and Mewsletter editor. 

I bring you Benedictine wisdom from the Feline Cloister, helped by my Benedictine Confreres and the Novices of the Cloister. 

This issue is about having heart as described by St. Benedict in the Rule. There is a lot in this issue so please take your time as you go through. We had fun putting all this together and learned even more about The Rule of St. Benedict.

Mewsletter Contents

Here’s what you will find in the Mewsletter. Read it all or scroll down to the section you want to read.

Felines Unpack the Rule of St. Benedict - "Prologue 10 - Verse 10 - "Do not harden your hearts."

Mewsings from the Feline Cloister - "The Benedictine Way of the Heart"

A Call for New Worldwide Novices!

Learning Benedictine Lingo - The Benedictine Vow of Stability

Mewsletter Monastery - The Sisters of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Novice Application

Visit the Feline Cloister

Benedictine Lingo Answers



At Br. Ricky’s request Resident Novices will choose and unpack a verse from the Rule in each Mewsletter issue. Novices will not only learn more about the Rule but will also be taught to research noted Benedictine scholars and writers. At the end of the article each Novice contributor will share what the verse means to her or him. And to US as we follow the wisdom of the Rule.

Hello, dear Reader! I'm Resident Novice Little Jenny, Novice Scholar.

I have a story to tell you about some challenging times in the Resident Novice Cloister. It all started when we were mewing sadly that the excitement of being a novice had worn off. Our "progress" in the spiritual life had moved from spirited to a painful crawl. We have seen this happen to humans, too. It's a really dry place to be. Where is God??

But, praise God, The Rule of St. Benedict points us in a direction of hope once again.

If you are in a dry time or wish to prepare for a dry time (they will appear) take a look and see what I discovered!

When Br. Ricky asked for a volunteer to write an article about the importance of the heart in The Rule of St. Benedict, I quickly raised my paw. I wanted to find out why the heart is so important to Benedict. 

Knowing the Benedictine way of the heart would help me in my assigned job as a Resident Novice. I welcome visitors to the Paradise Cloister page of the website. There we remember our beloved animal companions and honor their lives. I think that knowing the Benedictine Way of the Heart would help you, too.

To join me, tap your paw here.

Time to Become a Worldwide Novice

Calling all feline lovers of St. Benedict and their humans!

Join the Feline Cloister as a Worldwide Novice! Br Ricky, Novice Master, will conduct a "Zoom interview" with each feline who joins the Cloister. For a sample, tap here and meet Novice Diamond of Memphis, Tennessee.

Felines and humans will also learn about the Rule through special monthly emails sent only to the Worldwide Novice community. For the latest Monday Mewsing from Br. Ricky, click here.

In this section of each Mewsletter you will be introduced to a term that is found in the Benedictine Glossary of Amma Jane’s website, St. Benedict’s Toolbox Annex. If you are an old hand with the Rule of Benedict, I invite you to scroll to another section of the Mewsletter or have some treats or take a nap.

Br. Ricky, Cloister Novice Master and Mewsletter editor, designed this section and wants you to have some fun with it as you learn.

Worldwide Novice Sasha of San Angelo, Texas,

purrs to learn Benedictine terms

from Novice Master Br. Ricky.

A.      “All good things come to those who wait."

B.       “Take a powder.”

C.       Feline Felix always moves closer to a feline who hisses at him.

D.      “Many hands make light work."

E.       Expecting this - “If anything can go wrong it will.”

F.      “My heart is firmly fixed, O God.” Ps. 57:7

G.     “That’s the last time I’m talking to her!”

H.     Br. Ricky has been in the Feline Cloister for 13 years.

If that puzzle doesn’t make you purr (or hiss??) about Benedictine Stability, here’s another puzzle. 

Which of the following game or games is compatible with Stability?

A.  Hide and Seek 

B. Dodge Ball 

C. Catch

D.  Musical Chairs

E.  Tag

F. Repeated sessions of Candyland with a pre-schooler

Resident Novice Sebastian Thomas' Aunt Flossy hisses,

"Br. Ricky really went nuts on these!"

Answers are at the end of the email!



The Monastery of the Mewsletter

Saint Benedict's Monastery

St. Joseph, Minnesota

The Oratory at St. Benedict's Monastery

The Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict at St. Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota, are a monastic community of just under 160 women. The sisters seek God in their daily lives according to the Gospel and The Rule of Benedict. Through their ministry of prayer, work and community living, each sister listens and responds to the needs of the Church and the world.

For the major portion of the more than 165-year history, the community has served in education and health care. In the recent fifty years their service has expanded into a variety of other works, including pastoral ministry, spiritual ministries, social justice work, research and writing, the arts, and liturgical renewal.

Monastic Roots

Established in 1857, Saint Benedict’s Monastery traces its roots to Saint Walburg Abbey in Eichstätt, Bavaria, founded in 1035.

NOTE: Saint Walburg Abbey - Feline is where feline scholar Sr. Scholastic Muffin, OSB-F, PhD-F, took her final vows. Read about Sr. Muffin here.

Two sisters, led by the European foundress, Mother Benedicta Riepp, emigrated to the United States in 1852 and founded the first monastery of Benedictine women in St. Mary’s, Pa. Their mission was to teach the children of German Catholic immigrants and to spread the Benedictine order in the United States. 

For a video about Mother Benedicta, click here and scroll down.

To read about the many challenges she faced, including that of her authority as a monastic superior, click here.

Oil painting of Mother Benedicta Riepp, c.1980s. Painting by Sister Thomas Carey, O.S.B. No verified photograph of Mother Benedicta Riepp exists.

The Ministries

St. Benedict’s established 10 new women’s monastic communities within and outside the United States. The community also opened six hospitals. 

In 1878 the community founded St. Benedict’s Academy which became The College of Saint Benedict for women. Sisters have been teaching at the college for many years. In addition to education and health care, the sisters have engaged in a rich variety of works in their history from diversified farming to the domestic and fine arts.

Important social justice work today focuses on community, ecology and equity. To read about their activities, tap you paw here.

Dakhóta Native American

Benedictine Lingo Answers

Phrases

C, F & H describe Stability – remaining rooted in place, with people and with God

A, D, & E can support the practice of Stability through community and realistic expectations of what life offers.

B & G are not Stability

Games

C is compatible with Stability. You are connected and are there for the other human.

Br. Ricky mews that “Musical Chairs” describe Stability for you are together in a circle. But...is it Benedictine to bump a feline or human out of a chair???

Candyland (F): Playing a game with a child is an act of Stability.  However, Br. Ricky brands this game as borderline Stability. For any adult playing this repeatedly with a child, special dispensation will be given to leave the table prior to mental collapse.