Dignitas Resources: Benedictine Tradition and Values

There are many values embedded in the Rule of Benedict. Of these, The College of St. Scholastica has chosen to focus on five: Community, Hospitality, Respect, Stewardship, and Love of Learning. Watch a video of Sisters sharing what the values mean to them.

Community

• Sharing responsibility to create and support community
• Creating a climate which promotes a sense of community while valuing the uniqueness of the individual
• Manifesting an ability to adapt to circumstances without compromising our values

Hospitality

• Creating a welcoming atmosphere personally and institutionally
• Listening and responding sensitively to all
• Extending warmth and acceptance to all
• Welcoming new ideas and being open to change

Respect

• Cherishing and promoting the worth of all human life
• Treating all persons with dignity and reverence
• Honoring and supporting the spirituality of each person.
• Valuing the dignity of all work
• Promoting participation of all persons in the decisions affecting their lives

Stewardship

• Utilizing human resources responsibly
• Providing wise and respectful use of all material and monetary resources
• Promoting prudent use of natural resources and energy
• Finding time for work, play and prayer in daily life, which will promote physical, mental and spiritual growth

Love of Learning

• Preserving the intellectual and material heritage entrusted to us by past generations
• Transmitting the treasures of human culture to new generations
• Creating scholarly, artistic and scientific works which enrich and enlarge human life
• Integrating thought and action as complementary aspects of a full human life

Did you ever wonder who St. Benedict is, what his Rule is all about, and what this means for us as a Benedictine college?

March 21 is the Feast of the Passing of St. Benedict. A ‘feast' refers to the day of the year that the Catholic Church assigns to a saint, when she or he is remembered and specially honored.

Who is St. Benedict? He is the twin brother of St. Scholastica, after whom our College is named. Sister Margaret Clarke, former faculty member and archivist of St. Scholastica Monastery, wrote the following:

"Our only source of information on the life of Benedict of Nursia (480?-547?) is the second book of the Dialogues of Pope Gregory the Great (540-604). This work dates from less than 50 years after the death of Benedict and is based upon the reminiscences of persons who knew the Abbot, yet it is not history or biography in our modern sense. Instead, it is intended as an edifying and didactic tale illustrating the means by which humans journey towards God.

Benedict, whose name in Latin means "Blessed," was born to a Christian family in the mountains to the northeast of Rome. The Roman Empire was crumbling and the Goths and Vandals controlled Italy. As a youth, he was sent to Rome for schooling and there experienced a religious awakening which caused him to renounce corrupt secular society and to join a band of Christian ascetics. He later became a hermit, living in the hill region of Subiaco. His fame as a holy person grew until he was importuned to become the abbot of a group of monks, who eventually became so peeved by his reforming zeal that they attempted to poison him. Benedict left them to their evil ways and began organizing groups of his own followers into small monasteries. In about A.D. 529, he and a few disciples came to the mountain above the city of Cassino where they established the monastery now known as Montecassino. This is probably where he wrote the monastic Rule, the only document which remains to us from his hand. Benedict's death occurred about 547, and tradition tells us he died standing before the altar, supported by his brothers, a model of fidelity and perseverance for all of his followers."

Here's a full version of the beautiful painting of St. Benedict by Sister Emmanuel Pieper of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburg Monastery in Villa Hills, KY.

What is the Rule of St. Benedict? A document that has guided Benedictines and their followers throughout the world for over 1,500 years! Read some background about the Rule and some actual excerpts.

 The Way to Inner Freedom: A Guided Journal by Joan Chittister
  ISBN: 9781890890872
  Publication Date: 2016
  Twelve steps of humility, based on the Rule of St. Benedict

The Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery, Duluth, Minnesota welcome you! We are monastic women who seek God in community through a life of prayer and work. Living in accordance with the Gospel and the Rule of St. Benedict, we respond to the needs of the Church and the world through our ministries.

What are our ministries?

The Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery are involved in a variety of ministries, including education, spirituality, health care, sponsorship, and the arts. Read descriptions of some of our ministries. 

Where did we come from?

Our immediate beginnings stem from St. Walburg’s Abbey in Eichstätt, Bavaria in 1852. View a brief history of the Duluth Benedictines, including vintage photos. However, the history of the Benedictines stretches further back - over 1500 years -  to the year 480! For a historical overview of the Benedictine Order, click here.

How can I learn more?

If you would like more information about the Sisters, visit their website. You might also be interested in reading their current newsletter.

How can I submit a prayer request?

If you have a particular request that you would like the Sisters to pray for, you can submit it here.

What about Benedictines today? Learn more about the Order of St. Benedict, including other Benedictine colleges and universities in Canada and the United States. Read the seminal article, "Education within the Benedictine Wisdom Tradition."

You can also find an OSB Atlas and Benedictine Retreat Centers.

Inspiration through Prayer from the Benedictine Health System.

Online Ministries from Creighton University.

Reflections from the Sisters.