Submitted by Lynne Smith, OSB (she/her), Prioress
At the Benedictine Spirituality Workshop and Retreat prior to my final profession, Sister Meg Funk from Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana, described Benedictine life as having two aspects: above the river and below the river. This image has stayed with me over the years. Above the river we go to prayers and meals, share in community work and conversation, greet guests and participate in leisure activities. Under the river is where the soul work happens as we seek God in all things.
Under the river, praying the Psalms has offered an image of God who wants both mercy and justice, a God beyond dualism who includes all things. Under the river, living in community challenges my ego set in its ways and calls for humility. Under the river, hospitality necessitates looking at the parts of myself that I reject and my unexamined assumptions that judge others. Sometimes I resist the flow of the river and am tumbled around to smooth my edges. Sometimes I go with the flow and enjoy the ride with others. Sometimes I call out for a hand to buoy me up. Sometimes I offer a hand reaching out to another.
When I made my first profession 25 years ago, I couldn’t have known how the river of life at Holy Wisdom Monastery would flow and form me. These days, as I look back, I am grateful for all it has brought and pray that I may continue to be faithful to the journey to which God has called me into the future.