Entering St. Scholastica Monastery
The word “postulant” may be new to you as it was for most of us before we came to the Monastery. From the Latin postulare, meaning “to ask,” a postulant was originally one who made a request, hence, a candidate. Today the word “postulant” refers primarily to a person asking for admission into a monastery, and “postulancy” refers to the period of time preceding her admission into the Novitiate.
Our Benedictine Community would receive and welcome you during a simple Rite of Entry in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel before Evening Prayer.
St. Benedict says that the first thing necessary for anyone wishing to enter a monastic community is that she truly seeks God. |
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You would be given the Liturgy of the Hours prayer books, a medal of St. Benedict, and an apron, all of which symbolize commitment to the Benedictine life of prayer, community, and work.
The Postulancy is a time for you to transition into the life of Benedictine monastic women. You would live at the Monastery, although you retain your personal money and possessions. You would participate in the prayer life of our Community, work at assigned tasks, and enjoy leisure time with us. Part of your time would be spent in classes pertaining to Benedictine monastic life.The Postulant Director would be your spiritual guide and mentor during this time. |
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All of us were once postulants, and we remember being caught up in the beauty of the Liturgy of the Hours (the Divine Office), the official prayer of the Church, when we joined the Community for Morning Prayer, Midday Prayer, and Evening Prayer, as well as for the celebration of the Eucharist at noon. We are still caught up in that beauty of liturgy, and we know you would be, too.
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| You would be a postulant for not less than six months or more than two years. The length of time would depend on your discernment and that of the Postulant Director as to your readiness for entrance into the novitiate. During your time as a postulant you would take classes in Scripture, Benedictine spirituality, and the history of monasticism. |
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Great East Window Chapel/Library Complex
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| You could spend time in the Eucharistic Chapel doing your lectio divina (sacred reading) as you grow in your personal relationship with God. You might want to join a small group of Sisters to pray the rosary; you might want to make the Stations of the Cross in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel. |
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| You might want to walk the Stations of the Cross along the road to Gethsemane, the Monastery cemetery on our back campus, alone or with some of us. |
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You would enjoy the times and places of silence throughout the day when God can speak to your heart. And you would look forward, as we do, to our days of prayer and reflection, usually the last Sunday of the month, when there is such silence, such stillness in the Monastery that time and place become more sacred with the presence of God.
And when you and your Director discern that you are ready to take the next step, you would begin the application process to enter the Monastery Novitiate.
Each step of the discernment process should draw you more deeply into our monastic Community; each step should challenge you to a deeper relationship with God. And each step is made only when you are ready to do so.
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