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We Live, Pray, and Grow Together
We are Simply Benedictine
Our Mission
Seeking God in our life together and enlivened by daily prayer, we, the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, Arkansas, respond to the needs of the people of God in a spirit of hospitality, simplicity, and reverence for one another and all creation.
St. Scholastica Prayer Requests
If you have a special intention, please let the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery know by filling out this online prayer request form. Your intention will not be listed online, but will be placed on the monastery prayer board. Each sister checks the bulletin board daily and remembers those prayer requests in her personal prayer time.
Stand by the roads and look, ask for the ancient path, which the way to good. Walk on it and find rest for your soul.
Jeremiah 6:16
Weekly Reflection
Weekly Reflection - March 12, 2024
Broken Glass
Sister Louise Sharum
Jesus, I need You! I'm fragmented. I feel like a glass that is broken and all the contents lost.
And that glass is your own heart, isn't it?
Yes, Jesus. Can broken glass be put back together again?
That depends.
Depends on what?
On what you do with the pieces. If you let the pieces just lie there, they will remain in their shattered condition. But if you pick up each one, carefully, losing none of them, you can again have a unity.
But will it be a glass again?
Is that important? Could I not make something new out of those pieces? Could I not make a mosaic? With My artistry at work, what once would have held a material liquid can become a channel of My own divine Communicating: an icon. Remember, I was once broken and spilled out, too. And through that brokenness and being poured out, I revealed to all the world LOVE.
But I am not YOU, Jesus!
But you ARE My Body. I united you to Me. Speak to the parts of yourself that you feel as broken glass, shattered and empty.
Pieces of myself, I need to speak to you because Jesus suggested I do so. I dread this. Yet, as I notice you, you each reflect the light of Jesus here with us.
Yes. Had we remained whole and unbroken, perhaps you would never have noticed our uniqueness, our individual ability to reflect the Light to you and others.
Yes, I guess so. But it still hurts to be shattered. And you seem so useless.
Yes. By being useless, we're discovering the meaning of usefulness.
And that is?
To see beyond yourself. To see yourself as a part of a much greater reality than what you thought you were.
Me: I do not understand.
Ah! That is great! To be broken and shattered is to be in incompleteness; to, of necessity, be alive in the mystery of being.
Me: Ah -- that is philosophical nonsense! Give me realness.
When you are broken, shattered, fragmented, you hurt so badly you must be real. To live with the truth of fragmentation is a unifying factor that can bring you to your center. With that, all that is not at one with your heart falls aways. It is like the phoenix symbol. From the ashes, from the shattered pieces, emerges a new life.
Jesus, is that what You wish to tell me?
That and more. There is much I need to do in your heart. Cherish all parts of your being. All the pieces are needed for the complete mosaic-icon. Look carefully at each of the pieces so you can feel where they fit into your life picture. Also, pieces are helpless until someone picks them up and does something with them. I will pick them up; I will use every one and throw none away.
St. Scholastica Monastery
A Community of Benedictine Sisters in Fort Smith, AR
Gift Shop
Our gift shop offers a wide variety of books, gifts, cards, and inspirational items for every liturgical season. You can also shop online from home day & night!
Bakery
Under construction - come to the Bake Sale at St. Scholastica Monastery
December 9, 2023 8:00 a.m. 4:00 pm.
Hesychia House of Prayer
Hesychia House of Prayer is nestled among the Ozark Mountains in New Blaine, Arkansas. The sisters who staff it live a life of prayer and work and offer hospitality to adults of any faith who are seeking quiet time alone with God.
To reserve a reservation for a hermitage please email us at [email protected] or call or text us at (479) 938-7375.
Ways To Help
We at St. Scholastica Monastery are grateful for everything you, as our contributors, do for us. You can contribute to St. Scholastica by prayer, participation, volunteering and donations.
Is This Your Calling?
The Journey
Take the first step. If you are interested in our community, we invite you to contact us.
Stories
Everyone has a story to tell. Listen to the vocation stories of some of our Benedictine Sisters.
Come & See
Ever wonder what monastic life is like? Come and discover the possibility of all that monastic life has to offer!