We've moved!

Greetings,

We've moved our blog to the monastery's website!

www.yanktonbenedictines.org/blog/

We invite you to keep reading the stories of our monastic life as Benedictine sisters in Yankton, SD at the new website!

Blessings,

Commissioning ~ Sent Out to Serve

Greetings,

Our summer Monastic Chapter concluded with a prayer of commissioning.  Within the prayer, called each sister forward and was blessed by Sister Penny, our prioress.  Each year the prioress chooses a theme to send us out in service to the community and Church.  This year she reflected Pope Francis call to religious:

"I am counting on you “to wake up the world”, since the distinctive sign of consecrated life is prophecy. As I told the Superiors General: “Radical evangelical living is not only for religious: it is demanded of everyone. But religious follow the Lord in a special way, in a prophetic way”
(Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter to All Consecrated People).

After reading and reflecting on our Holy Father's call to "to wake up the world", Sr. Penny called forward the two newly elected members of our Monastic Council.  These sisters were reminded of their role as members of the council in advising the prioress and listening to the monastic community, and then she offered a prayer of blessing over them while the whole community offered their silent prayers.

The commissioning began as each sister was called forward by name to be blessed by Sister Penny, prioress.  Her blessings were all based in Pope Francis' call to "Go Out and Wake Up the World!" but were individualized to each sisters' current ministry or service for the Church.  It was a reminder to us that while some of our sisters serve the needs of the monastery in care for our home and gardens, others reach out to the local needs of others, and still other sisters serve the needs of God's people while living away from home in other towns and cities...we can all wake up the world to the presence of Christ and love of God in their lives.

After receiving the blessing of the prioress, Sr. Jeanne, sub-prioress, gave each sister a commissioning card with the logo for the Year for Consecrated Life as designed by the National Religious Vocations Conference.  This little card calls out to us "Go Out and Wake Up the World!" a reminder for our personal prayer.  We encourage you to remember your call to live in God's service as well, your call to share the message of Christ...your call to wake up the world.

Blessings to you,

Anniversary of the Dedication of Bishop Marty Chapel

Greetings,

Every year we celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel.  This year marks the 65th year of our prayer and worship in this chapel dedicated to the praise of God. The dedication candles are lit, the sisters have gathered for statio, and our prayer of thanksgiving begins.  But first, it behooves me to share the story of how the chapel was built from our sisters hopes and prayers, lead by Mother Jerome Schmitt, and told by our historians from a time much closer to celebration… 

“…By far the crowning point of Mother Jerome’s external accomplishments was the erection of the magnificent Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel which rose steadily, stone by stone, throughout the difficult war and post-war years of 1946 to 1950 and was solemnly consecrated in the spring of 1950. The Chapel stands not only as a monument to the saintly Bishop through whom God called the Benedictines to Dakota but also as a living symbol of the faith of a community” (Travelers on the Way of Peace, 1955).

"There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord." ~ Benedictus Antiphon

The chapel's very completion was an act of faith. It was built in the years after World War II; when building materials were both scarce and precious, M. Jerome and the contractors found a way through their trust in God. Bishop Martin Marty Memorial Chapel was completed and consecrated in the year 1950. The chapel has been filled with the voices of our sisters giving God praise since that day.

“…The construction, begun after frustrating delays, was nearing completion. With justifiable pride, she had watched the raising of the Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel which now crowned the cluster of building on the western elevation of the city of Yankton. It was something that…she had dreamed about at a time when realization seemed impossible. But, there was the stone steeple, rising to a height of 187 feet, directing heavenward the thoughts of motorists on Highway 50. This house of God was both artistic and functional: it was an imposing work of stone in modified Gothic design, which could take its place among thee architectural masterpieces of Europe.

“…The Most Reverend William O. Brady, assisted by five bishops, four abbots, and about 180 monsignori and priests from the Midwest carried out the colorful and symbolic ceremonies, which set apart forever this building for the sole purpose of giving glory to God…Bishop Brady in his closing remarks paid tribute to the pioneer members of the community and all members who had given reality to a dream of raising a fitting monument to the Provident of God, “under the shadow of Whose wings” the community had prospered” (Sr. Claudia Daratschek, Under the Shadow of His Wings, 1971).

“This is God’s holy temple, and we are the living stones. Let us bow down in prayer, singing God’s praises.”
~ Benedictus Antiphon, Anniversary of the Dedication of Bishop Marty Chapel

Father Thomas explained some of the Church teaching on how churches are dedicated through a special ceremony.  Then he shared some reflections on the meaning of this dedication for those who worship in those churches.

"The feast of the Dedication of a church is celebrated annually only in those church buildings which have been consecrated by a bishop. The dedication sets the building aside as a sacred, holy place which cannot be used for other purposes. Among other things, the building must be debt-free when dedicated, so most church buildings are not consecrated. The ceremony is one of the most beautiful of all the ceremonies of the Church...

...Also part of the ceremony is the blessing of the walls. They too are anointed with the Chrism Oil at twelve locations throughout the church building. The twelve locations represent the twelve apostles on whose foundations the Christian faith rests and are marked with a cross and candle (called the consecration candles). Traditionally, those candles are only lit on the anniversary of the dedication of the church building.

The ceremony of dedication has similarities to the Sacrament of Baptism, especially regarding the anointing and candles. Those entering the church through Baptism are also anointed as a symbol of their being set aside (dedicated) to and for God. Those baptized receive a candle representing the Light of Christ. They are to receive and be the Light of Christ to the world" (Father Thomas on the anniversary of the Dedication of Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel, 2014).

This dedication of a place apart for prayer alone also appears in the Rule of Benedict.  In Chapter 52, Benedict orders that the Monastery have an Oratory for the monks' and nuns' Work of God, their life of prayer...

Let the oratory be what it is called, a place of prayer; and let nothing else be done there or kept there. When the Work of God is ended, let all go out in perfect silence, and let reverence for God be observed, so that any sister who may wish to pray privately will not be hindered by another's misconduct. And at other times also, if anyone should want to pray by herself, let her go in simply and pray, not in a loud voice but with tears and fervor of heart...

Our Lady of Einsiedeln

Our Lady, the original 'Black Madonna',
 enshrined at the Abbey of Einsiedeln.

 Greetings,

Each year I pause to tell the same two stories.  It is an opportunity to share the Catholic heritage from our Swiss-Benedictine roots that traveled with us from the Alps to the Plains.

The earliest American Benedictine communities were mostly founded during the mid to late 1800's from a handful of monasteries in Germany and Switzerland.  Those monastic houses of Swiss descent honor their unique roots.  While the universal Church celebrates Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we honor Our Lady of Einsiedeln.

Within Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel, we have a side or transept chapel dedicated to our Swiss Lady.  For years, our Swiss and German sisters who worked in the embroidery dressed the Madonna and Child in elaborate gowns of the liturgical seasons.  Only later did we discover, like the original, her beautifully carved gown of red and gentle arm embracing the Child Jesus.

The story of Our Lady of Einsiedeln begins with Saint Meinrad, as story goes...

Our Lady of Einsiedeln shrine
in the transept of Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel
at Sacred Heart Monastery

In the 9th century, the monk St. Meinrad, of the family of the Counts of Hohenzollern, left one of the local monasteries to build a hermitage in the wilderness that would later become Einsiedeln. 

He took with him a miracle-working statue of the Virgin Mary given to him by  the Abbess Hildegarde of Zurich.  He soon became well-known in the local village for his kindness and holiness, and received many visitors and gifts.

On January 21, 861, two thieves murdered Meinrad for the treasure in his hermitage. According to legend, the murderers were apprehended after two ravens followed them into town and drew attention to them with loud squawking.

In 940, a small group of Benedictine monks transformed Meinrad's little hermitage into the Lady Chapel. The chapel is said to have been consecrated by Christ himself on September 14, 948. The bishop who was to consecrate the new site had a vision in which the church was filled with a brilliant light as Christ approached the altar; the next day, when he went to perform the ceremony, he heard a voice saying the chapel had already been divinely consecrated. The miracle was confirmed by Pope Leo VIII 16 years later in a papal bull.

St. Meinrad had the Black Madonna statue (its dark color traditionally explained by years of candle smoke) as part of his altarpiece; after his death it was placed in the Lady Chapel for veneration. Many miracles were attributed to the intercession of "Our Lady of Einsiedeln," and pilgrimages to Einsiedeln began shortly after 1000 AD (Sacred Destinations.com).

Our Lady of Rickenbach
in the pilgrimage chapel
at Maria Rickenbach.

Our monastery's foundresses came from Maria Rickenbach on a musenalp above the city of Niederbach.  As a part of the Swiss-American foundations, we continue to honor Our Lady of Einsiedeln.  However, our Swiss foundation house continues to welcome pilgrims seeking the intercession of Our Lady of Rickenbach who shares a similar story:

In 1528 as the Protestant Reformation swept across Switzerland, a great iconoclasm took place in which people seized and destroyed statues taken from Catholic churches. The reformers claimed that the statues were false idols, and that Catholics were worshiping the statues instead of God.

A shepherd boy saw a statue of Mary holding the child Jesus on her lap "lightly as if giving him to the world" rise undamaged from a bonfire. He rescued the statue and hid it high in the mountains in the hollow of a tree. The shepherd boy would pray the rosary before that statue inside the hollow of a tree as he tended his sheep.

Soon the townspeople learned of the boy's devotion and came to retrieve the statue and save it. But it wouldn't budge. Even the strongest men could not move it. So the people decided to build a shrine around it on that very spot.

People came from miles to walk up the mountain and to pray before the statue. The Benedictine monks from nearby Engelberg would care for the pilgrims, and soon an order of Benedictine sisters was established to care for both the site and the pilgrims who came to pray (Sr. Dawn Mills, BSPA).

On this day, we will remember you in our prayer.
May the faith-filled life and love of Our Lady guide and bless you.

Blessings,

The Feast of Saint Benedict

"Come let us join with the angels and saints
in offering thanks and praise to the Lord
on the solemnity of our Father Benedict."

Greetings and Happy Feast!

Today, we conclude a week of honoring Benedict in our monastic home and join the Church in celebrating Saint Benedict.

Our Sisters joined with employees and friends in celebrating the Feast of Saint Benedict.  Our week-long celebration included a morning coffee break for the sisters and employees with wide variety of wonderful treats and even a game.  One of our office employees recorded sounds from around the monastery and we were all tested on our listening skills.  This was a wonderful play off the Prologue of Benedict's Rule:  Listen carefully, my child, to your master's precepts, and incline the ear of your heart" (Prologue: 1).  Even the responsory from our prayer reflects Benedict's call to listen:  "We listen to the words we hear God speak, a promise of life and light we seek: In love run ways we cannot clearly see until our hearts expand and set us free" (Lauds Responsory).  

Later in the week, our sisters from the Riverview living-group welcomed us to an afternoon break with root-beer floats!  This was in light of Benedict's call to "Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for He is going to say, 'I came as a guest, and you received Me'. And to all let due honor be shown, especially to the domestics of the faith and to pilgrims" (Rule of Benedict 53: 1-2).  All our employees, from mechanic to nurse, and sisters gathered to laugh, tell tales of the day, and even win a few door prizes.  Playfully fulfilling our Lauds Antiphon to celebrate, "Let us rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord for a feast in honor of Benedict, at whose triumph the angels rejoice and give praise to the Son of God." 

As the Feast of Benedict falls upon a Saturday this year, we invited our employees to a Thursday 'Italian' lunch of lasagna or supper of pizza with us in the dinning room.  It was wonderful to see the refectory filled with our sisters, secretaries, maintenance folk, and all who help us in our daily living. But you might be wondering, why the Italian influence on the meals in this Benedictine community with Swiss-German roots in the midst of rural South Dakota?  To remember, to celebrate, and to honor Benedict's own heritage and that of our early monks and nuns within the Benedictine tradition, and to bring this feast to our employees and friends.

"...He was born in the province of Nursia [Italy], of honorable parentage, and brought up at Rome in the study of humanity.  As much as he saw many by reason of such learning fall to dissolute and a lewd life, he drew back his foot, which he had as it were now set forth into the world, lest, entering too far in acquaintance with it, he likewise might have fallen into that dangerous and godless gulf.

Therefore, giving over his book, and forsaking his father's house and wealth, with a resolute mind only to serve God, he sought for some place, where he might attain to the desire of his holy purpose.  In this way he departed [Rome] , instructed with learned ignorance, and furnished with unlearned wisdom" (Dialogues of Gregory the Great: Book Two: prologue).

The celebration of the Saint Benedict's feast itself began Friday evening with first vespers, chanted liturgy of the hours on the eve of the feast.  Marking the solemnity of our celebration, we started with statio, a formal procession into chapel.  It continues the Saturday morning with Lauds and then a new addition...  


This year, our sisters will be celebrating significant anniversaries on the Feast of Benedict.  We will honor Sister Maribeth, our Silver Jubilarian, and Sisters Janice and Marielle, Golden Jubilarians, during the Celebration of the Eucharist.  Among sisters, family, and friends, these three sisters will be lifted up in prayer as they renew their monastic profession of stability, fidelity to the monastic way of life, and obedience.  

"When she is to be received she promises before all in the oratory stability, fidelity to monastic life and obedience.  This promise she shall make before God and His Saints, so that if she should ever act otherwise, she may know that she will be condemned by Him whom she mocks.

Of this promise of hers let her draw up a document in the name of the Saints whose relics are there and of the Abbess who is present. Let her write this document with her own hand; or if she is illiterate, let another write it at her request, and let the novice put her mark to it. 

Then let her place it with her own hand upon the altar; and when she has placed it there, let the novice at once intone this verse: "Receive me, O Lord, according to Your word, and I shall live: and let me not be confounded in my hope" (Rule of Benedict 58: 17-21). 

Please pray for our sisters as they celebrate these important anniversaries in our monastic community.

"Let us love one another with fervent love, endure one another's infirmities; patiently serve and obey one another, and prefer nothing whatever to Christ." ~Vespers Antiphon

Blessings and Joy,

A Home for All God's Creatures: Pollinator Habitat

Greetings,

“In the United States, the pollinators which we depend on for the majority of our pollination services are bees, including the non-native European honeybee and over 4,000 species of native bees.  Evidence of population declines of bees, not only in the United States, but around the world, has prompted scientists to encourage changes in ecosystem management” (USDA).

As Benedictines we profess a vow of stability; we commit ourselves to living among members of one community in one place.  This promise ties us closely to the tradition of our monastic ancestors to care for and stewardship of the place where we live in community. Pope Francis shared this reflection in his encyclical Laudato si’:  “We can also look to the great tradition of monasticism. Originally, it was a kind of flight from the world, an escape from the decadence of the cities. The monks sought the desert, convinced that it was the best place for encountering the presence of God. Later, Saint Benedict of Norcia proposed that his monks live in community, combining prayer and spiritual reading with manual labour (ora et labora). Seeing manual labour as spiritually meaningful proved revolutionary. Personal growth and sanctification came to be sought in the interplay of recollection and work. This way of experiencing work makes us more protective and respectful of the environment; it imbues our relationship to the world with a healthy sobriety” (126).

Last year, Sister Gardener began shifting parts of our monastic vegetable garden to pollinator habitat.  Seeking to support a pollinator population in distress, she planted this habitat.  It is filled with native prairie blooms and grasses which haven’t been sprayed with any insecticide or pesticide; in other words, our pollinator habitat is a safe home for the many little bees, wasps, butterflies, and insects here in the southeast corner of South Dakota.  The habitat includes: prairie grasses, prairie comb flower, gray comb flower, poppy, flaxes, sedum, prairie sunflower, red yarrow, black-eye susan, and mexican red-hat .

You might be wondering why we planted a pollinator habit. Our monastery is already surrounded by blooms: flower beds; an orchard filled with apple, apricot, plum, cherry, and pear trees; and a vegetable garden. Each of these is a wonderful source of pollen for the pollinators during their moment of blooming; however, this new habitat offers a stable diet of blooms and grasses that continue throughout the summer and fall.  This buffet of blooms and grasses also attracts a wider population and a greater number of pollinators for our gardens’ needs.

As the years progress, Sister Gardener plans to continue this slow shift from garden to habitat.  Encouraging these species that are native to our monastery grounds will take time.  It all begins with the ground being tilled and raked to break up the earth, and next a mixture of seeds is broadcast (sown) by hand over the dirt; then, we pray for rain. During the first year, the habitat looks a bit awful. The weeds grow faster than the newly sown flowers and grasses.  These quick growing weeds aren’t pulled out or doused with herbicide…the whole plot gets mowed!  The mower is placed on its highest setting and the weeds' leaves are shredded away leaving room for the newly sprouted grasses and flowers to peek through. Even by the end of the first season, the weeds seem to have won their rights to the plot of land, but the prairie habitat is a mix of perennial and self-seeding annual species.

The second year, the flowers sprout up quickly throughout the habitat.  They break into bloom and celebrate God’s cathedral of creation! The prairie grasses hidden below the abundant flowers slowly take deep root, over the next few years the grasses to spread and thin the flowers. Early each spring, Sister Gardener will mow the pollinator habitat.  Creating an area of land call a 'carbon sink' that will hold the carbon the plants take-in and store in the soil.  Soon after, the native plants spring to life in an abundance reflecting God's great blessings in Psalm 65:  You crown the year with Your bounty. Abundance flows in your pathways; in pastures of the desert it flows (12-13). The challenge of this beautiful habitat is reminding our sisters that it was planted for the pollinators alone! It is so tempting to pluck a bloom or two for the chapel or refectory, but each flower and grass needs to be left in place for bees and bugs.  Left in its beauty, the pollinator habitat is becoming a wonderful place of peace to wonder at all God's creation.

We invite you to consider supporting a pollinator habitat at your home too.
Here are seven ways to make your garden a haven for native pollinators:

1.     Use pollinator-friendly plants in your landscape. Shrubs and trees such as dogwood, blueberry, cherry, willow, and poplar provide pollen or nectar, or both, early in spring when food is scarce.

2.     Choose a mixture of plants for spring, summer, and fall. Different flower colors, shapes, and scents will attract a wide variety of pollinators. If you have limited space, you can plant flowers in containers on a patio, balcony, and even window boxes.

3.     Reduce or eliminate pesticide use in your landscape, or incorporate plants that attract beneficial insects for pest control. If you use pesticides, use them sparingly and responsibly.

4.     Accept some plant damage on plants meant to provide habitat for butterfly and moth larvae.

5.     Provide clean water for pollinators with a shallow dish, bowl, or birdbath with half-submerged stones for perches.

6.     Leave dead tree trunks, also called “snags,” in your landscape for wood-nesting bees and beetles.

7.     Support land conservation in your community by helping to create and maintain community gardens and green spaces to ensure that pollinators have appropriate habitat.

Blessings,

Pentecost

Sr. Leonarda designed and painted the calligraphy
with this image of the Spirit being poured down
on Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel and monastery
for our monastic refectory (dining room).
It is a reminder of God's continual presence
to us in our service to God's people.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus ~ Sequence

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.

On the Feast of Saint Isidore the Farmer

Greetings,

As we look out over our flower beds, orchard, and vegetable garden, it is natural for us to join in the Church celebration of the memorial for Saint Isidore the Farmer.  Many of our own sisters have come from rural farming families and small towns throughout the plains states.  Even our community's mission statement reflects these roots:  Rooted in our rural heritage and growing in relationship with God and one another in monastic community; we life a life of prayer, work, and lectio by which we serve God and God's people in our time and place. 

We invite you to take time today with Saint Isidore; go out into the beauty of nature and consider the gift of creation renewed by God each day.

Bless, O God, those who live close to the land.
Bless them as You blessed Jesus, Mary and Joseph. They, our model of family life knew the struggles, the fears, the joys, and the rewards of life in a rural area. 
Help us all to be aware of the quiet beauty of night, the fresh green growth on trees and all plants, and the songs of birds, and to give thanks for all of these. 
May we always show respect for all of creation. Bless each of us and help us grow in love and unity with You and with each other. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Diocesan Nun-Run!

Greetings,

Tomorrow, Father Shaun Haggerty, Diocesan Vocation Director, will begin a unique road trip; a nun-run highlighting all the different religious orders across East River South Dakota! Our own Sister Barbara will be joining Fr. Shaun and these young women as they travel across the state while growing in relationship with God and fellowship with other women who are desiring to know more about religious life.

Please pray that God's wisdom guide and enrich these young women as they discern their vocation while visiting the following Sisters:

Sisters of Perpetual Adoration @ the Cathedral in Sioux Falls

Discalced Carmelite Nuns @ Alexandria

Benedictine Sisters @ Yankton

Sleep over at Benedictine Monastery

Oblate Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament @ Marty

Franciscan Sisters @ Mitchell

Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary @ Aberdeen

Sleep over at the Presentation Convent

Daughters of St. Mary of Providence @ Milbank

Benedictine Sisters @ Watertown

World Vocation Day of Prayer ~ An Unexpected Vocation

Greetings,

Every sister's call to follow Christ to our community is unique. Some sisters felt their religious call from a young age while others were surprised by God after college or career. In honor of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, we are sharing Sister Ann's vocation story.

My story is probably unique in that I joined the Benedictines to prove that I didn't have a vocation,  that God wasn't calling me, and that I would leave the community as soon as God and they were satisfied that I wasn't cut out to be a nun.

At the time I was sure that convent life was not for me.  It seems, however, that God had other plans.   Some of my former teachers, especially Sister Celestine Comeau, who taught me in fourth, fifth, and seventh grades,  kept counseling me even after I had graduated from eight years of elementary school where all my eight teachers were Yankton Benedictine nuns—insisting that she saw the nun in me.

She shared that feeling with  Mother Jerome Schmitt who, when she visited the Sisters teaching in Aberdeen,  would then call me to visit briefly with her while I was in high school—always encouraging me to consider life as a Benedictine.  She had been told, it seems, that I was also very interested in going to college to qualify for teacher certificate.

We talked, and I kept postponing a decision.  When I graduated in 1945 and had been offered a scholarship to a Minnesota Catholic college, I knew I had to try out life there, even if briefly—just to prove to others and myself that I didn't belong.   That was seventy years ago, and I’m still here.  God and they knew better I guess.  I know today that the choice was the right one for me.  I have no regrets that I made the choice to remain.

The community and the daily prayer and Mass schedule plus I did get that college and even higher education and spent forty-eight years teaching—the last forty at our college here.  I can’t picture my life being so fulfilling elsewhere. 

Sister Ann's unique story continued to draw her closer to Christ and our Benedictine traditions throughout her ministry as a teacher and professor of Church history and author of Benedictine history. Her perseverance in seeking God's call has been a blessing to us all.

Blessings to all as you discern God's call in your life...

Residential Volunteer Program

SACRED HEART MONASTERY’S

RESIDENTIAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAM FOR SINGLE WOMEN

The Purpose of our Volunteer Program is to
Provide single women with the opportunity to enhance their lives by sharing in the life, prayer and ministries of our Monastery.

Ministry Opportunities
Work/ministry assignments are based on the volunteer’s experience, interests, talents, and the needs of the Monastery.  A variety of opportunities are available in areas such as: office work, computer work, reception desk, liturgical ministries, various household tasks, gardening, nursing care, cooking, baking, and more.

Sacred Heart Monastery is situated on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River.  The monastery grounds feature a wealth of flower gardens, a small vineyard, an apple orchard, the monastery vegetable garden, contemplative walking paths, the monastery cemetery, virgin woods, along with spectacular views of the river. A biking/walking path connects the Monastery campus to the Lewis and Clark Resort and Recreation Area that features hiking/biking paths, camping grounds, fishing, swimming, sandy beaches and more. 

Come and explore our incredible setting as a Resident Volunteer!

Are You a Woman Who

·       Is looking for a meaningful work experience that enriches others?

·       Is between jobs and not certain what the future holds?

·       Is pursuing your education but in need of a break from the books in order to re-focus and re-direct your education?

·       Is finished with school (for now) but not professionally committed?

·       Would like some time and a place to do some serious reflection on your life?  

·       Is a professional who would like to share your talents and experiences in a monastic setting?

·       Would welcome some in a monastic setting in order to deepen your spirituality?

·       Is at a crossroad in life and would like some time for discernment?

·       Desires to experience the rhythm of life in a monastic community?

·       Has thought about religious life and would like to live with our Community for a period of time?

If so, maybe we can help you
Our Community welcomes women who would like to enrich their lives by living and working with us as volunteers.

A Volunteer

·        Is someone who wants to serve others and enjoys the mutual enrichment of a religious monastic community,

•  Is 21 years of age or older (or at least a junior in college) without dependents,
• Has a desire to experience Benedictine monastic life,
• Is in good physical health,
• Will be responsible for personal expenses (room and board are provided),
• Will provide for own financial, medical and personal needs,
• Has a willingness to commit to a specific period of time (one month to several months to a year or longer).  Commitments are renewed annually.
• Will work around 30 hours a week (4-6 hours/day), and
• Will provide the information requested on the application.

Volunteer Benefits

• Participation in daily Eucharist and Liturgy of the Hours.
• Opportunities for spiritual growth (e.g., days of prayer and recollection, spiritual direction if desired, and time for personal prayer).
• Opportunities to attend music, theatre, sporting events, and lectures at the Monastery and at Mount Marty College.
• Private rooms in an area reserved for Resident Volunteers.
• Share meals with the Sisters in the Monastery refectory (dining room).
• Enjoy interaction and leisure activities with the other Volunteers and the Sisters.
• Experience nature. We have great outdoors to explore.

We invite you to become part of our Resident Volunteer Program, a committed group of women working to preserve the natural and spiritual environment that makes Sacred Heart Monastery special.

For more information,

contact us through Sr. Bonita:
bgacnik@mtmc.edu