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4th Annual Meet Our Sisters Tour!

Updated: Nov 7, 2022


Catholic Sisters continue to serve and have an impact even after almost two centuries of their presence in Illinois. That’s the message of the Illinois-based Meet Our Sisters Tour kicking off during National Vocation Awareness Week, Nov. 6-12, 2022.


This fourth annual Meet Our Sisters Tour is the brainchild of the Chicago regional group of Communicators for Women Religious, communications professionals who support the ministry of Catholic Sisters.


The tour begins at https://c4wr.org/most2022/ where “tourists” will find links to the participating congregations’ websites and include details about in-person and virtual events, discernment resources, and inspirational stories and videos about the impact of Catholic Sisters on education, healthcare, and the social and spiritual lives of Individuals and communities in Illinois and around the world.




For the 4th Annual #MeetOurSistersTour2022 we present to you useful terms used in Benedictine circles:

BENEDICTINE

Technically the word is an "adjective" that is derived from the name of Saint Benedict of Nursia. The word can be used to modify a variety of "nouns," as one can speak of Benedictine spirituality or values, as well as apply the term to a school, a college, or a university. The adjective can modify other words and ideas, such as the word "habit," the garb worn by the monks or nuns.

Credit: Be-ne-dic-tion-ary II by Fr. David Turner, OSB of Benedictine University.


For the 4th Annual #MeetOurSistersTour2022 we present to you useful terms used in Benedictine circles:

COMPLINE

The last prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, Compline, is now called Night Prayer. Prayed before bedtime, Compline consists of three psalms in the Benedictine arrangement, one in the Roman. The office includes the "Nunc Dimittis" or Canticle of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32)



Credit: Be-ne-dic-tion-ary II by Fr. David Turner, OSB of Benedictine University.


For the 4th Annual #MeetOurSistersTour2022 we present to you useful terms used in Benedictine circles:

LECTIO DIVINA

The Rule of Saint Benedict prescribes about three hours of daily sacred reading. In our contemporary age, a Benedictine monastic may spend about an hour with this prayerful reading of Sacred Scripture or the writings of the Fathers. Lectio is sometimes described as the Benedictine version of meditation. The traditional process is: lectio (read), meditatio (meditate), oratio (pray), and contemplatio (contemplate). One reads a portion of Sacred Scripture, reflects on its content and meaning, prays relative to the thoughts that arise, and quietly listens to the inspiration of God.



Credit: Be-ne-dic-tion-ary II by Fr. David Turner, OSB of Benedictine University.


For the 4th Annual #MeetOurSistersTour2022 we present to you useful terms used in Benedictine circles:

MEDAL OF SAINT BENEDICT

In the year 1880, to celebrate the 1400th anniversary of the birth of St. Benedict (usually placed in 480 C.E.) The abbey of Monte Cassino was entrusted with issuing a special medal, known as the Jubilee Medal of Saint Benedict. There existed for some centuries medals of Saint Benedict which contained a cross and letters indicating words and prayers. With the issuing of this medal, the Church also granted special indulgences for those who would use the medal piously. These indulgences were abrogated by Pope Paul VI in 1968. While other medals have been issued (e.g. by Subiaco Abbey in Italy, Tynie Abbey in Poland, and Conception Abbey in Missouri), the Jubilee medal continues to be the best known and most used. In our contemporary time, some religious manufacturers have the medal inserted into a crucifix.

One side of the medal has the figure of Saint Benedict holding a cross and in Latin the words "The Cross of our Holy Father Benedict." Around the edge are the words, "May we be strengthened by his presence in the hour of our death." included also is a raven about to carry away a loaf of poisoned bread as well as the cup of poisoned wine that shattered when Benedict blessed the cup.

On the other side of the medal the cross is quite dominant with the first letters of two Latin prayers: "May the Holy Cross be my light! The dragon never be my guide." In the angles of the cross, the letters stand for "The cross of our holy father Benedict." Around the margin are the first letters of the Latin words: "Begone, Satan! Tempt me not with your vanities. What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!"

The Roman Ritual has a special blessing for this medal that may be used by any priest. SSA students are given a Jubilee Medal of Saint Benedict upon graduation and the medal is also used by the Oblates of St. Benedict.


Credit: Be-ne-dic-tion-ary II by Fr. David Turner, OSB of Benedictine University.



For the 4th Annual #MeetOurSistersTour2022 we present to you useful terms used in Benedictine circles:

ORA ET LABORA

The Latin phrase translates as "Pray and Work" is not found anywhere in St. Benedict's Rule, but it has become something of a motto used to describe the Benedictine monastic life and its stress on a life having an active and contemplative balance. The monastic day is built around prayer, reading, and work. The stress that St. Benedict places on lectio divina makes this third aspect an important part of the contemporary monastic day.



Credit: Be-ne-dic-tion-ary II by Fr. David Turner, OSB of Benedictine University.


For the 4th Annual #MeetOurSistersTour2022 we present to you useful terms used in Benedictine circles:

RULE (OF SAINT BENEDICT)

This document contains a Prologue and 73 chapters traditionally ascribed to St. Benedict of Nursia. Historians place its composition around the year 530 A.D. at Montecassino. Usually described as "wisdom literature" rather than a legislative document, most historians of the Rule suggest Benedict's dependence upon an earlier anonymous document known as "The Rule of the Master." Regarded as a model of legislative discretion, the Rule became an important document in the ninth century when it was imposed upon European monasteries during the reign of Charlemagne. St. Benedict of Aniane was a key figure in this movement and is considered a second founder of what is now referred to as the Order of St. Benedict. It should be kept in mind that the Benedictines do not have a central government (e.g. a Superior General) and each monastery is autonomous, though monasteries will generally belong to a congregation or federation of monasteries joined for mutual support.



Credit: Be-ne-dic-tion-ary II by Fr. David Turner, OSB of Benedictine University.


For the 4th Annual #MeetOurSistersTour2022 we present to you useful terms used in Benedictine circles:

VESPERS

Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours is also referred to as Vespers. THe structure of Evening Prayer is similar to that of Morning Prayer (see Lauds) except that two psalms are followed by a New Testament Canticle, and the Magnificat (Mary's song from Luke 1:46-55) replaces the Canticle of Zachary.



Credit: Be-ne-dic-tion-ary II by Fr. David Turner, OSB of Benedictine University.

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