Benedictine Sisters

walking always in the presence of God. Imagine the quiet hours before dawn. For many sisters this is a time for personal prayer, adoration, lectio, or study. Sisters may choose to eat breakfast in silence in the

softly lit refectory (dining room).The day officially begins at 6:30AM with Lauds (morning prayer), a half hour of chanting Psalms and hearing Scriptures.

Prefer nothing to the love of Christ. You are searching. You want your life to make a difference. You want to totally dedicate your life to Christ. You want to live in community.

The God you seek is also seeking you. He has put a desire in your heart for holiness. It's nothing you could have planned. It's all His gift.

How will you make a difference with your life? You have many talents and many possibilities. And yet, maybe God is not asking that you do anything for Him, but that you give yourself to Him in a life of prayer, for the sake of the world.

The vocation to be a Benedictine Sister of Perpetual Adoration is a call to prefer nothing to the love of Christ. It is to seek God in the rhythm of the Liturgy of the Hours, Eucharist, lectio divina, adoration, work within the enclosure of the monastery, meals and recreation. It is to share the journey to God with sisters who will challenge and encourage you along the way. It is to be united with the world through prayer more deeply than you could have ever imagined.

The call to contemplative life is often unexpected. God has surprised women from a wide variety of backgrounds with calls to our Congregation. We have sisters who, before entering, worked in the fields of biology, chemistry, social work, midwifery, education, business, youth ministry, medicine, music, dance, agriculture and law. In devoting ourselves to a life of prayer, we find our talents used in new and surprising ways. And we discover gifts we didn’t know we had.

In the words of St. Benedict, we encourage you to "listen with the ear of your heart." If you find yourself drawn to a life of prayer and community, please contact us.

the basics needed for our life. We accept new members between the ages of 18 and 49 who are mentally and physically healthy.

We require that you be a practicing Catholic for at least two years before entering.
If you’ve ever been married, you must have an annulment. We do not accept women with children. You need to make arrangements for all financial indebtedness. If you are in the process of paying off your debts, we can offer some suggestions for help.

You need to be:

flexible

courteous

at ease with solitude and silence

able to keep commitments

eager to take initiative and also to follow directions

willing to read and study

prepared to sacrifice and be challenged

Above all you must SEEK GOD.

We gather for Mass at 7:30AM. Afterwards, sisters who haven’t eaten, take breakfast before the work period begins at 8:30AM. There are a great variety of jobs -altar bread work, maintenance, correspondence, liturgy, office work, cleaning, preparing for guests, caring for our elder sisters, and many more.

At noon we come together again for prayer. This brief period of prayer refocuses our energies and calls us back from our work to rest again in God. Dinner follows in the refectory. We see our common table as an extension of the Eucharist and enjoy conversation with our sisters and guests that may be present. As in most homes, after the meal there are always dishes! Some sisters wash the plates and utensils and others wash the pots and pans. It is also a time to enjoy each other as we work.

After dinner, sisters return to their work for another hour or so. From 3:00PM-4:00PM is unstructured time. Sisters may choose to exercise, work on a hobby or craft, pray, read, study or nap. The hour from 4:00PM-5:00PM is set aside as “lectio hour.” We keep the house as quiet as possible during this time so that sisters can read and pray more easily.

Vespers (evening prayer) is at 5:30PM followed by supper. Again, we talk at table and share in the dishwashing afterwards. At 7:00PM we have a short community gathering to make any announcements and then we return to chapel for Compline (night prayer).

After Compline the house is quieter. Some sisters choose to use this time for personal prayer and study; others may enjoy a walk or game of cards before going to bed. Soon it is morning and another day begins...

Our routine is simple. The sameness frees us from worry about what we are doing next or where we have to be. We can focus our attention and energy on God and developing unceasing prayer.