Category Archives: Calling

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Engaged Listening

Engaged Listening

Engaged Listening as a first step toward addressing racism As we live through a time of pandemic and protest, I revisited the Rule of Benedict to read  what wisdom Benedict might speak into these tumultuous days. I found guidance right at the outset of the Prologue: Listen. Listen is the first word of the Rule…
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Easter is a Season (Not a Day)

Easter is a Season (Not a Day)

Easter is a Season (Not a Day) A Strange Easter The First Sunday of Easter was strange this year. Like many people, I sat in front of a computer screen to participate in  communal worship. Trying to celebrate the Resurrection without physically gathering in community just didn’t feel like Easter. Many friends and acquaintances said…
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Resurrection in Relationship

Resurrection in Relationship

Resurrection in Relationship: A Reflection on John 20-21   Growing up, I thought of “the Resurrection” as a one-time event, an event where Jesus was “raised” up out of the tomb. As a child, I thought that Jesus’ body simply floated up into the sky. I imagined that Jesus was “absent” from the tomb (and…
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Triduum: Jesus Models Essence and Service

Triduum: Jesus Models Essence and Service

Through the Triduum and Easter, Jesus provides a roadmap for the spiritual path of transformation. His actions model how we might live more deeply from our souls in ways that lead to service. He shows us a path from living out of the karmic self of the ego into the Kriya action of Essence.
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Living Resurrection

Living Resurrection

Living Resurrection A Reflection on Mark 16:1-8 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been…
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Divine Sparks: Kindling the Fires of Ministry

Divine Sparks: Kindling the Fires of Ministry

Divine Sparks Kindling the Fires of Ministry Dr. Barbara Sutton, Director of Ministerial Formation and Field Education and a member of the faculty at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary, was a visiting scholar with the Benedictine Center for 2017-2018. This reflection follows Dr. Sutton’s webinar by the same title, available online. Divine Sparks…
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Dignity: An Uncomfortable Lesson in Hospitality

Dignity: An Uncomfortable Lesson in Hospitality

Dignity: An Uncomfortable Lesson in Hospitality Several years ago, I learned an uncomfortable lesson about hospitality. I was working in a congregation-based shelter for families experiencing homelessness in St. Paul. Because the 55 beds that Ramsey County had in its shelter were always full, congregations acted as “overflow shelters,” housing up to 20 people each…
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Radical Hospitality

Radical Hospitality

Radical Hospitality At our food pantry, we have a children’s corner. It is filled with books and toys for the children to play and even choose something to bring home. One evening, little James waved me over to meet his new purple stegosaurus. He explained, “See the missing eye? He’s been through a lot. I’ve…
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A Day with Ministry on the Margins

A Day with Ministry on the Margins

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to befriend someone who had spent time in prison? S. Paula Hagen OSB has an experience to share about volunteering with S. Kathleen Atkinson OSB, who is coming soon to the Benedictine Center of St. Paul's Monastery.
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The School of Lectio Divina: An Invitation to Abundance

The School of Lectio Divina: An Invitation to Abundance

By the mid-point of the School of Lectio I wrote this in my journal, “I have fallen in love with Scripture as prayer!”  It was as if God and I were rekindling an old friendship on a long weekend retreat together.  I was learning anew what it might look like to trust God enough to live a life completely surrendered to God.
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