Independent Lens . SISTERS: Portrait of a Benedictine Community . Benedictine Life

Sister Lois Eckes, a woman with glasses, blue earmuffs and a hooded jacket stands outside in a snowy field; she smiles with delight as a small bird eats from her hand.

Prioress Sister Lois Eckes on the grounds of the McCabe Renewal Center

A religious drawing within a blue border: Figures are drawn at the top, the largest being a person on a throne holding a book or tablet. Five smaller figures stand to the right and left. Underneath, “Rule of Saint Benedict” is written in lettering from the Middle Ages. Red crosses and other decorative objects are repeated on the border.

The front page of the ceremonial copy of the Rule of St. Benedict


		Visitors are welcome to join the sisters for prayer. Morning prayer: 6:45 am, Monday-Friday; 10 am Saturday; 7:30 am Sunday Mass: 11:45 am, Monday-Friday; 8:30 am Sunday Midday prayer: 2:45 pm, Monday-Friday; 11:45 am Saturday Evening prayer: 5:20 pm, Monday-Friday; 5:10 pm Saturday; 5:00 pm Sunday

In an elementary classroom, Sister Jane Casey, an elderly nun, wears a black and white habit and sits in a chair facing a group of children seated on the floor. She holds a picture book on her lap and is about to turn the page.

Sister Jane Casey teaches a Sunday school class

Two Caucasian women sit outdoors posing for a picture in a grass field on in lawn chairs. The woman on the left wears pink pants and a pink shirt and the woman on the right wears blue top and skirt. They hold large green leaves, more greenery is on the ground in front of them. In the background, a car is parked with the hatchback open

Sisters Freida and Benet work in the garden on the grounds of the monastery

Sister Jane Casey and Sister Maria Volk sit posing for a picture on brown rocks abutting Lake Superior on a clear day. The sky is clear blue, with nothing in the background. The woman on the left wears a black and white habit and holds a straw sun hat and the woman on the right wears a blue shirt and jeans, a white sunhat on her head.

Sister Jane Casey and Sister Maria Volk enjoy a summer day on Lake Superior

For the sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery in Duluth, Minnesota, daily life revolves around prayer, work and leisure activities. These are the foundations of a monastic life according to the Rule of St. Benedict, the practical and spiritual guide for the order, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century.

As seen in the film SISTERS: Portrait of a Benedictine Community, achieving a balance of all three, each day, makes for a busy existence. Learn about life in the Benedictine community, according to the sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery.

The sisters of St. Scholastica meet three times each day for a total of two hours of communal prayer. At communal prayer the sisters recite the Liturgy of the Hours, a mix of hymns, psalms, other passages from scripture and Christian writings and prayers, interspersed with periods of silent reflection.

As a part of the sisters’ vow of stability, they also must eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together. Stability, one of the three vows including obedience and conversion of life, calls the community to live together for a lifetime.

According to the Rule, Benedictines must spend part of each day at work in a chosen ministry. Traditionally, Benedictine ministries have included teaching—the monastery’s property includes the campus of The College of St. Scholastica—caring for the sick and producing works of art.

In the past decade, the sisters have added other ministries to address the community’s needs. Sisters serve the poor at local missions, work on environmental issues, offer massage therapy and spiritual retreats at the monastery’s McCabe Renewal Center or serve in the monastery’s public relations office.

The Benedictine way of life is…to be there where the needs of the church are and to respond to those needs and to use your giftedness and talents to serve. To be part of that, I consider a real privilege.
—Sister Maria Volk

Some sisters work eight-hour days, while others work less, especially as they reach retirement. There is no set retirement age, but even those who do retire from their jobs continue to do important work. They assist other sisters, create craft projects, volunteer in the community or simply pray. Sisters whose ministry is prayer may be asked to pray for any number of causes, including other parishes within the diocese, the hospital, the college, a peaceful end to world conflicts or for each other.

“We struggle with a balanced life. I do. It’s really difficult for me to balance my life, especially with leisure—leisure, work and prayer. The work comes very easily for me, but to find time for leisure… I really have to struggle with that.”
— Sister Theresa Spinler

For many sisters, time that is not spent in prayer or at work is devoted to meetings and events for other projects or organizations, both inside and outside the monastery. Sisters serve on boards for the schools and hospitals sponsored by the Benedictines. They also belong to groups such as Pax Chisti, a Catholic, nonprofit peace organization. Sisters are also encouraged to write letters to the local and federal legislature so that the monastery is heard on important issues.

According to the Rule, the sisters do take time in between work and prayer to relax and pursue hobbies and interests, such as gardening, cooking or herbal medicine. In spare moments, sisters may also watch TV, walk the grounds or visit elderly sisters on Bennett Hall, a floor of the monastery reserved for sisters in their advanced years.

“It’s not just a state of circumstance or a state of being in this particular building but it’s a state of mind. It’s a state of always working to have a balance between work and prayer, between self and other, between self and God.”
—Sister Linda Wiggins

Learn about how Benedictine life has changed over the years >>

Photos courtesy of St. Scholastica Monastery

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