The Benedictine Values

The following are the Benedictine values as articulated by the sister’s of St. Paul’s Monastery. For the most part, I find them aligned with the Wesleyan membership commitments and in many ways with Living Stones Discipleship.

  • Awareness of God (R.B. 19)
  • Community Living (R.B. 23)
  • Dignity of Work (R.B. 48)
  • Hospitality (R.B. 53)
  • Justice (R.B. 57)
  • Listening (R.B. 48)
  • Moderation (R.B. Prologue)
  • Peace (R.B. 4, 73)
  • Respect for Persons (R.B. 72)
  • Stability (R.B. 58)
  • Stewardship (R.B. 31)

These values are also articulated in The Oblate’s Prayer.

obisbO God, help us to become people of prayer and peace. Though scattered far and wide, help us to be together in the spirit of your love. Give us hearts wide enough to embrace each other as well as those whose lives we touch. Enable us to listen and to learn from each other and those around us each day. May we be models in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities of wise stewardship, dignified human labor, sacred leisure, and reverence for all living things. Above all, O God, may our presence among others be a constant witness of justice, compassion, and hope to all. Amen.

R.B. – The Rule of S. Benedict
The Oblate’s Prayer – Adapted from the Alliance for International Monasticism Prayer by Sue Walkoviak, OblSB, St. Scholastica Monastery, Duluth, MN

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