Catechesis at All Souls

Lent 2025

Seeking God: The Wisdom of the Rule of St. Benedict

For those of us outside the monastery or convent, The Rule of St. Benedict can provide a guide for imposing a form and structure that allows us to find God in the ordinariness of our everyday lives. Embedded in the Rule are also the three vows that Benedictine monks and nuns take on when they make the life-long commitment to monastic life. These vows are pertinent to life outside the convent and monastery because they provide the foundation to support our personal Rule of Life. We will explore aspects of each of these vows in our Lenten Catechesis. 

The three vows are obedience, stability, and conversion.  Living a life of obedience refers to the commitment to seek and listen to God in both his Word and prayer, and to act upon that which we have heard. The vow of stability refers to the commitment we have made to follow Christ and to persevere in that commitment. The commitment to conversion means we yield our lives to the lifelong process of being continually transformed into the image of Christ.

The Lenten Catechesis teaching about the Rule will focus on understanding the three vows and why they are still applicable to 21st century Christian discipleship. We will use Esther de Waal’s book, Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict, which we recommend as a Lenten devotional to go beyond the Sunday morning teaching.

Our Lenten Retreat, “Benedictine Balance” will be an extended time away for self-examination and teaching relating to how we can shape our lives consistent with seeking a life of obedience, stability, and conversion.

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