To participate in the missionary service of the Church
To bring the Good News of Salvation to all sectors of humanity.
Open to every kind of activity consonant
with our Benedictine community life and prayer,
we engage in diverse forms of apostolic commitment
according to the needs of time and place.
We evangelize as a community and generally render our services
through common apostolates.
That in all things God may be Glorified.
DAILY LIFE in the convent
The fundamental characteristic of our way of life is seeking God in community under a rule and a superior.
Benedict envisioned a balanced life of prayer and work as the ideal. Monastics would spend time in prayer so as to discover why they're working, and would spend time in work so that good order and harmony would prevail in the monastery.
ORA et LABORA
Benedictines should not be consumed by work, nor should they spend so much time in prayer that responsibilities are neglected. According to Benedict, all things-eating, drinking, sleeping, reading, working, and praying- should be done in moderation.
The Benedictine Way . The first step in following a 'Benedictine Way' is to concentrate on the first word of the Rule: listen. Here our Holy Father Benedict gets our attention and sets the framework for teaching us how to follow Christ in community.
For Benedict, a spiritual pathway was not one to be littered with weird and unusual practices; rather, all that is needed is to be faithful to finding God in the ordinary circumstances of daily life. How to prepare oneself for this simple-but not necessarily easy-way of life is the substance of the Rule.
Education
The love of Christ impels us
to share the Word
to instruct and to guide in the Way of Truth
each person entrusted to our care in every educational setting
that they reach their fullest potential as responsible citizens
to the greater honor and glory of God.
From the beginning, the missionaries dedicated themselves to education, especially of young girls and women. Wherever they came, schools were founded. Thus many types of schools have been erected in our nearly 125-year history: from kindergartens, elementary schools and high schools, to a university in Olinda and a music conservatory in Manila. Our sisters in the Philippines conduct about 25 schools with almost 30,000 students.
In addition, there is specific training such as: home economics and sewing schools, especially in Africa; schools for the disabled, nursing schools and Bible schools. Furthermore, courses of every sort offer life support to persons with specific needs.
Health Care
The love of Christ impels us
to see Jesus particularly present
in the sick, weak, elderly, and lonely;
and to provide by our training
and our treasure a healing of their sufferings
and restored hope and peace to each person.
That in all things God may be Glorified.
Concern for the total healing of persons was Christ's greatest desire. His commission to the disciples comprised not only the proclamation of the Good News but also "Heal the sick" Thus all over the world the so called 'works of mercy' developed, such as sanatorium, leper stations, homes for the mentally and physically challenged, specialty clinics, hospices, and palliative care stations in order to help sick and dying people.
The sisters have stood in the forefront in this field. Doctors, pharmacists, medical technicians and countless nurses found their way to Tutzing or were trained there. They served in large urban hospitals and small bush clinics. Much could be told of their often heroic efforts.
Pastoral
The love of Christ impels us
to share our faith journey,
to evangelize and instruct others
in their faith journey,
to have an open heart and mind
for dialogue with people in their concerns.
God's love impels us to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people. This is the foremost task and desire of every missionary. "God loves you"is the heart of the message. It is proclaimed to everyone to the ends of the earth through word and deed and, not least of all, through our being.
Wherever our sisters live, they work in parishes, base communities, hospitals, schools, military chaplaincies, in prisons and slums, in cities as well as in the deepest bush, in order to proclaim the Word of God. They address themselves to all people, from the youngest to the eldest, to poor and rich, to the healthy and the sick-- the Gospel is for ALL.
Socio-Pastora
The love of Christ impels us
to solidarity with the poor and the oppressed,
to have an open heart to their needs through useful projects,
to empower and bring hope to them,
and to awaken a sense for justice
and communal responsibility in our shared environments.
Those disadvantaged in life, those exploited by an unjust world order, victims of globalization and those driven to the edge of their existence, in short, the POOR are the target groups for the social centers we run in different countries. "Option for the poor" has been an ever-recurring theme in our general chapters for many years. What else can we do? Where can we engage more? How can we live more simply?
These were the questions we asked ourselves. Concrete responses were given in the priories, addressing the most urgent needs in the respective areas. Thus were developed various social institutions such as: homes for street children, soup kitchens, immigrant centers, education seminars for farmers and agricultural workers, alternative schools for adults and the poor, trade courses for women and youth, help for the elderly and much more.
Spiritual Formation
The love of Christ impels us
To nurture and witness spiritual values in centers of spirituality,
To participate in the missionary service of the Church,
and to provide guidance for living out the message of the Gospels.
Nature of Benedictine Prayer:
Benedict says little about how to pray.
The heart of prayer for Benedict is seeking God and awareness of God in every aspect of living. In the Rule of Benedict, Chapter 20 and 52 speak of "reverence in prayer," "purity of heart" and "tears of compunction."
Other Benedictine themes of prayer are
-listening, desire, praying with Scripture through reading, meditation, and contemplation; - LECTIO DIVINA / (how to practice)
-mindfulness, short and continual prayers;
-praying with the PSALMS;
-discernment in prayer and prayer as: "universal, converting, reflective and communal."
Our common life finds expression in praying and working together, in sharing our goods, both material and spiritual, and in mutual service, support and encouragement.Opening of first "Mission Monastery” in Pugu, German East Africa (today Tanzania)
We are challenged to awaken the sense for God
Ecology
to walk humbly and in harmony with the rhythms of creation,
to reverence life in all its forms,
and to labor for the respectful and prudent use of resources
to protect the health of earth's ecosystem.
As Benedictines we are called to treat all things as if they were sacred vessels of the altar. (Cf. RB 31,10)
In the long history of Benedictine life the monks / nuns and sisters oftentimes changed a deserted place into paradise through solicitous care over centuries.
During this time of climate crisis we are aware how important it is to take care of life wherever we meet it, in nature, in the poor and marginalised and of the resources, which support life. Pope Francis shows us the way with his encyclical Laudato Si.
Art & Music
The love of Christ impels us
to praise God's Beauty and Goodness
by uplifting the multitude of talents
expressed through the fine arts.
Being gifted every day with the beauty which surrounds us in nature, in the face of the other, in the gentle touch of God’s love, we cannot but proclaim, express in pictures, sculptures, music,…what we receive.
God created the world in beauty and invited us to become co-creators. Through art we hope to touch the hearts of others and open them for the Eternal Beauty.
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