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You are invited to explore the latest
Mewsletter
from the
Feline Benedictine Cloister
Fall, 2025
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IMPORTANT – READ THIS FIRST!!
“It is written: Distribution was made as each had need.”
(Acts 4:35). RB 34.1
You are receiving this email because at one time you may havsigned up for mailings from St. Benedict’s Toolbox Ministries after attending a retreat or program. These mailings now come through the Feline Cloister.
The Benedictine Mewsletter – Instruction from the Feline Cloister
Members of the Feline Cloister want to meet your needs for all things Benedictine. To do this we are offering a final opportunity for everyone on Jane’s large contact list to sign up for the quarterly Mewsletter.
The Mewsletter, published four times a year, is for everyone who wishes to receive it.
How To Sign Up for the Mewsletter
If you would like to sign up for the quarterly Benedictine Mewsletter,
tap on the button below.
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If you are already signed up for the Mewsletter, no action is needed. But if you are not SURE, clicking the link above will ENSURE your subscription. It will not add you twice.
If you are not already a Mewsletter subscriber, we hope that you will sign up to receive this quarterly publication. If you choose not to we wish you all the best. We will be deleting addresses of those who do not sign up. (Jane needs to trim some of her expenses. Cat treats have gone up in price.)
The Mewsletter continues below.
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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.
September was a busy month. Amma Jane, Abbess of the Feline Cloister, and I were in Minnesota for more than two weeks.
Amma took vows of Perpetual Oblation at St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph. More on this later. I had a peaceful and fruitful stay at the St. Ben’s Spirituality Center - Feline.
In this issue you’ll find two articles that flowed from my stay in Minnesota. And all in the Feline Cloister are excited about a new addition to the Mewsletter that teaches about Benedictine living through art.
So let’s get started. There's a lot here so take your time!
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 - "Finding Inspiration at a Fish Pond - RB 4.20-21"
Mewsings from the Feline Cloister - "All Is Vanity? Ecclesiastes and the Rule of St. Benedict"
A Call for New Worldwide Novices and Friends of the Feline Cloister!
NEW: Art and Benedictine Living - "The Art of Listening"
Learning on the Lighter Side
Mewsletter Monastery - The Sisters of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota
Visit the Feline Cloister
Learning on the Lighter Side Answers
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Felines Unpack The Rule of St. Benedict
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Inspiration at a
fish pond? Really???
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Benedictine Inspiration
at a Fish Pond
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“Your way of acting should be different from the world's way;
the love of Christ must come before all else.”
RB 40-41
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I am convinced we can learn from everyone and everything if we take the time to be really present to the moment. This may be especially true when we open our hearts to those who are very different from us.
While I was at the monastery I carried in heart and mind two verses from Chapter 4 - The Tools for Good Works. I write about the insights I gained about these verses from a visit to a fish pond.
How did these water-bound friends point me in the direction of love?
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Mewsings from
the Feline Cloister
"All Is Vanity?
Ecclesiastes and the Rule of St. Benedict"
by Br. Ricky, OSB-F
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The modern way to find
the meaning of life
From https://lifemeetstheology.com/
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Ever read the book of Ecclesiastes? In truth I admit being puzzled, if not distressed, by the gloomy view of life; life and everything in it is meaningless, i.e., all is vanity. Neither have I been consoled by the prescription to enjoy everything.
While Amma and I were in Minneapolis we saw an art exhibit that gave me a new mew on the book and its beauty and wisdom. I was really excited!
Check it out!
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Time to Become a Member of the Feline Cloister!
As a Worldwide Novice (felines)
or
As a Friend of the Feline Cloister
(dogs, hamsters, all animals, birds, etc.)
Enjoy and learn from special instruction from Novice Master Br. Ricky.
The Mewsletter that you are reading now is not the only publication of the Feline Cloister.
Novices, Friends, and their humans will learn about the Rule through special monthly emails sent only to the Worldwide Novices and Friends of the Feline Cloister.
For the latest Monday Mewsing from Br. Ricky, click here.
Br Ricky also conducts "Zoom interviews" with each new member who joins the Cloister.
For a sample, tap here and meet
Novice Diamond of Memphis, Tennessee.
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The Two Newest Members of the Feline Cloister
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"Hi. I'm Teddy Bear, a Worldwide Novice who lives in Somerset, England. I love learning about the Rule of St. Benedict. I've made friends being a part of the novice community, too."
Read Teddy Bear's story here.
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"Woof! My name is Mojito. I'm from Springfield, Pennsylvania and am proud to be a Friend of the Feline Cloister.
To read about Mojito, tap here.
| | Art as a Window to Benedictine Living | | Resident Novice Caspar David Furlich, Cloister Artist-in-Residence | |
Welcome to this new offering in the Mewsletter!
It comes from the newest Resident Novice. That's me - Caspar David Furlich.
What can works of art teach us about Benedictine living?
I mew, “Plenty!”
Like all artists, I have learned to really look at and be present to all that is around me. Isn't this what the vows or promises of Stability and Obedience are all about?
For this issue I have selected two works of art to present as guides or pointers to Benedictine living. I hope you will be inspired by their example and beauty.
| | Learning on the Lighter Side | | |
“Learn about Stability? I’ll play with a
catnip toy instead,” hisses Jack.
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Things have been rather serious in this issue. So here's a break for learning on the lighter side.
Stability is one of the three Benedictine vows or promises, the latter as they are often called today.
For us, Stability can have negative connotations from “Boring!!” to “I need my freedom.”
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Below are several phrases.
Which one/ones describe or offer support for the practice of Benedictine Stability?
If you need to, you may certainly check the definition of “Stability” in the Glossary. Click here.
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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, but persevering - “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 15 years.
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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?
| | | | 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!
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The Monastery of the Mewsletter
Saint Benedict's Monastery
St. Joseph, Minnesota
| The Oratory at St. Benedict's Monastery | | |
A Quick Note: St. Benedict's was highlighted in a 2023 Mewsletter. As Jane took a vow of Perpetual Oblation at this monastery in September, she wanted to again share this faith-filled, blessed place with you. As an Oblate Jane offers herself to God and promises to dedicate her life and service to God and all people according to the Rule of St. Benedict and in community with 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.
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Saint Benedict’s Monastery stands on land which was the ancestral homeland of the Dakhóta and Anishinaabe peoples. The sisters “acknowledge with reverence and respect the Indigenous Peoples who dwelt here.”
In 2021, then-prioress Sister Susan Rudolph issued a formal apology to White Earth Nation on behalf of the community for our participation in the federal government’s Assimilation Policy. From the apology:
"…the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict have been working in collaboration with the White Earth community and its Tribal Historical Preservation Office and the College of Saint Benedict to strengthen the bonds that continue to move toward healing, reconciliation, and peace with our Native American sisters and brothers."
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Visit the Feline Cloister
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Meet the members of the Order of St. Benedict-Feline (OSB-F).
They will mew the fine points of The Rule of St. Benedict.
Explore articles written by Cloister Feline Benedictines and meet all the novices!
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Their mission is to teach felines and humans about The Rule of St. Benedict and how the Rule can help us find peace and joy
in daily life.
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I hope you enjoyed and learned from this issue of the Mewsletter.
All in the Feline Cloister send their blessings to you to enjoy the beauty of the Fall.
Your Feline Friend and Companion,
Br. Ricky, OSB-F
Novice Master and Mewsletter Editor
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Learning on the Lighter Side 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..
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