Providing Individuals with a Place to Cultivate Interior Silence, Reconnect, and Study in Monastic-Rooted Community
Continuing the Health and Wellness Legacy of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Paul's Monastery
The monastic tradition has been instrumental in the development of healthcare systems throughout the world. From globally known Mayo Clinic to locally essential Avera Healthcare Systems that services the rural communities of South Dakota and Minnesota, these clinics, practitioners, and administrators rely on the monastic values of their traditions to guide their patient care.
Even closer to home, our Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery also have a deep legacy in healthcare. Sister Virginia Matter, OSB and Sister Karen Sames, OSB, both practiced as registered nurses throughout their vocational years. Sister Virginia also pioneered the integration of contemplative practices, such as Centering Prayer and Biospiritual Focusing, into the wellness community offerings provided by the Benedictine Center of St. Paul’s Monastery.
As the vowed religious sisters continue their transitions out of the workforce, the Benedictine Oblates, the lay individuals formally associated with a monastic community, are exploring ways to carry the sisters’ legacies forward. Benedictine Wellness Services LLC, founded by oblate, Teri Rose, is one such endeavor. Her company is committed to developing programs that guide individuals on how to experience the relevance of the Benedictine Tradition in today’s rushed lifestyle.
A new approach to preventative health and wellness rooted in a 1500-year-old tradition
The Collaboration
Pictured: (left) Teri Rose, OblSB and (right) Sister Catherine Nehotte, OSB at the Benedictine CARE contract signing
A note from Sister Catherine Nehotte, OSB, Prioress St. Paul’s Monastery:
In January of 2022, the Sisters of St Paul’s Monastery were approached with a unique proposal to expand the programming offered by the Benedictine Center. The proposal involves a collaboration between the Monastery and an existing health and lifestyle program developed and directed by one of our Oblates, Teri Rose. We, as a Community, believed that the collaboration and creation of the Benedictine CARE Wellness program aligned with our mission.
Benedictine CARE will:
– Introduce the Benedictine Tradition to more individuals
– Teach individuals how to ground their self-care and wellness goals in the transformative strength of Benedictine Values
– Provide a starting place for empowering and guiding oblates in the process of transforming their vocations to Benedictine Spirituality into formalized community ministries
The Benedictine Values
Pictured: St. Benedict Statue at St. Paul’s Monastery, photo by Carol Jorgensen
The Integration of Stability, Stewardship, and Community
Benedictine Wellness Services LLC poses the question: what if we taught the Benedictine values directly to patients, the actual individuals accountable for making lifestyle changes once they leave the clinics, to guide their own self-care? In our Benedictine CARE Wellness Program, members study how the Benedictine monastic values of Stability, Stewardship, and Community all enhance our ability to sustain desired long-term changes.
Members will be within a group of individuals making similar changes and will share conversations around:
- How does Stability increase our ability to stand in the seemingly uncomfortable void that change creates?
- How does the responsibility of Stewardship also apply to our physical bodies and minds?
- How does coming together in Community to practice help facilitate long-term change?
The Legacy
Pictured: (left) Sister Virginia Matter, OSB (Teri’s Sister Sponsor during formation), (center) Teri Rose, OblSB, (right) Sister Mary Lou Dummer, OSB (Oblate Director during Teri’s formation)
Being a Benedictine Oblate
There is no question that all religious institutions are going through a transition. Vowed religious, those individuals that profess a vow to stability, obedience, and poverty, are no exception. Their communities continue to age at a pace faster than new initiates are joining.
Within the Benedictine Tradition, the question “what does being Benedictine now mean?” is earnestly being considered. Oblates, lay men and women who complete guided Benedictine spiritual formation, are an important voice in this conversation. Oblates are beginning to be entrusted to directly represent initiatives and ministries endorsed through collaboration with monastic communities.
Oblates, who have directly experienced the relevance of this 1500-year-old tradition in their own lives, are guided and encouraged by the sisters to carry their legacies- their love and faith of their Benedictine Tradition- forward.
Read More of Teri’s History in Developing Benedictine Wellness Services