Skip to content
Daily Theology
  • Podcast
  • Shark WeekS
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Search
Discipleship, Jesuit, Saints
by Marc V. RuganiFebruary 10, 20158:03 amFebruary 16, 2015

St. Scholastica – Teaching Contemplation in Action

At the outset of this post, I’ll admit that I don’t have a particular devotion to this venerable saint and until recently I didn’t know much about her at all, save a passing reference to her as St. Benedict’s “twin” sister and the foundress of Western monasticism. That alone makes her worthy of great honor for the inspiration she serves to a great legacy of holy women who have chosen “the better part” which edifies the Church with a rich resource of prayer and spirituality. At the same time, on this occasion of her feast, I was moved to consider the challenge that her witness makes to us when considering the dilemma of fulfilling obligations or being present to others in need.

Courtesy of http://galleryhip.com/scholastica.html
Courtesy of http://galleryhip.com/scholastica.html

In a passage from the Dialogues, attributed to Pope Gregory the Great, a story is recounted of one of the annual day-trip visits that Benedict made to Scholastica away from Monte Cassino. Seeing that the day was drawing to a close, Benedict entreated his sister permission to take his leave to return to his cell to abide by his vow of stability. Scholastica, needing holy companionship and the consolation of time with her brother begged him to stay and prayed to God that her petition be granted. By means of a miraculous freak storm, Benedict remained with his sister, seemingly breaking his vows and becoming quite perturbed by this. Nevertheless they stayed awake together recounting the blessings received by God and each other. Three days later, Scholastica died, but Benedict received a sign confirming the rectitude of staying with his sister despite his vow.

We recall on one hand the words of Jesus in Luke 14:26-33, focusing on the injunction, “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” On the other hand, the readings of Catholic Church on the memorial of St. Scholastica highlight a different relation by Jesus. In Mark 7, Jesus castigates those who focus on the letter of the law to the detriment of its spirit:

‘If someone says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’ (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” (Mk 7:11-13)

Indeed, looking at the passage from Luke, if we place any one particular relationship above our relationship to God, our love inevitably becomes disordered. We hold too tightly onto contingencies that cannot sustain us or try to sustain others in a way unworthy of the human dignity they possess as God’s image and likeness. Only by putting God first in our lives can we reflect God’s great love for each other in the many relationships which we cherish and with which God has graced us. Yet, the passage from Mark serves to check the potential myopic vision of carrying out the first commandment of the First and Second Testament. Jesus is clear he comes not to abolish the law, but fulfill it. In “dedicating” oneself to God and God’s vocation to us we can make another, potentially more grievous error of failing to recognize and serve God in others.

Working with many Jesuits as a collaborator in their ministry, I’ve often heard the phrase “contemplative in action,” and I think this best captures the lesson that St. Scholastica offered her brother Benedict and us today. In the midst of responsibly fulfilling our many good obligations, we must remain attentive to and aware of the ways in which Christ will approach us in the “least of his brothers and sisters.” The vocation we receive is good, and our committed response to it is necessary to grow in communion with God. However, those vocations become siren songs when we fixate on them alone and fail to discern God’s voice and presence in other encounters, when we fail to “find God in all things.”

When we esteem and integrate the insight of the Benedictine charism (ora et labora) and the Jesuit charism that grew out of that tradition, we become sensitized to the needs of those around us: our families, the poor in our communities, the lonely, and all marginalized. We recognize the great invitation and opportunity to love God in and through those persons, honoring the divine image in them. This spirituality grounds so much of the social teaching of the Catholic Church,—the preferential option for the poor, solidarity, participation in the common good—and it realizes the complementary vision we find in the symbolic relationship of Benedict and Scholastica. We must attend to both the direct contemplation of God above all while realizing through action that love of God in presence and service to those we meet in need of a “good word” each day.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Tagged with: Catholic Social Teaching Jesuits Saints

Marc V. Rugani

All posts

is a PhD candidate in moral theology and ethics at the Catholic University of America. He is currently an adjunct faculty at CUA and Georgetown University and also has worked in the religion department at Xavier High School in New York City, teaching courses in theological ethics, Catholic Social Teaching, and inter-religious dialogue. He holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from the University of Notre Dame and volunteered at the Farm of the Child in Trujillo, Honduras. In his spare time he climbs mountains, skis down them, and rambles passionately on virtue, human rights, and economic development.

1Comment

Add yours
  1. 1
    emmasrandomthoughts on February 10, 2015 at 8:14 am
    Reply

    “In “dedicating” oneself to God and God’s vocation to us we can make another, potentially more grievous error of failing to recognize and serve God in others.”

    That is very true.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Like us on Facebook!

Like us on Facebook!

Recent Posts

  • On The Privileges of Personhood
  • Invitation to an Antifascist Reading Space
  • Beyond Kendi: Antiracism and Non-White Sovereignty in the US Political Economy
  • Sinful and Holy: The Human Nature of the Church
Advertisements

Archive

Advertisements

Follow DT on Twitter

My Tweets
Advertisements

Like us on Facebook!

Like us on Facebook!
Advertisements

Tags

Advent Anti-Racism Catholic Catholic Church Catholicism Catholic Social Teaching Christianity Christmas Church College Theology Society discipleship faith Holy Spirit Hope Jesuits Jesus Jesus Christ Lent liberation theology love Mercy Oscar Romero podcast podcast season 1 Pope Francis Prayer racism Saint Leo University Saints spirituality Stephen Okey Stephen Okey Podcast Episode Theological Shark Week theology theology and culture
Advertisements

Authors

  • Amanda Osheim
  • Alexandria Griffin
  • Benjamin Durheim
  • Brian Flanagan
  • B. Kevin Brown
  • Brianne Jacobs
  • erik martin
  • Catherine R. Osborne
  • Christine E. McCarthy
  • Leo Guardado
  • Kelly L. Schmidt & Billy Critchley-Menor, S.J.
  • The Editors
  • Guest Post
  • DT Podcast
  • Dave de la Fuente
  • Dannis Matteson
  • Heather M. DuBois
  • Gunnar B. Gundersen
  • John DeCostanza
  • Jessica Wrobleski
  • Kevin M Johnson
  • John P. Slattery
  • Katharine Mahon
  • Katherine Wrisley Shelby
  • Kathleen Bellow
  • Br. Ken Homan, SJ
  • Kevin Ahern
  • Katherine A. Greiner
  • Krista Stevens
  • Andrew Staron
  • Lorraine Cuddeback-Gedeon
  • Marjorie Corbman
  • Michael L. Avery
  • Marcus Mescher
  • Michael Rubbelke
  • Meg Stapleton Smith
  • Katie O'Neill
  • Paul Louis Metzger
  • Stephen Okey
Advertisements
Advertisements

Categories

Advent Catholicism Catholic Social Teaching Christian Life Church Community Conversation Conversion Current Events Discipleship Doing Theology Ethics Faith Guest Post Jesus Christ Justice Lent Mercy Podcast Politics Pop Culture Pope Francis Racism Saints Shark Week Social Justice Solidarity Spirituality Theology and Culture Vatican
Advertisements
Advertisements
Advertisements
Advertisements

Tags

#Laudato Si Advent Anti-Racism Catholic Catholic Church Catholic Higher Education Catholicism Catholic Social Teaching Christianity Christmas Church College Theology Society Community conversation dialogue discipleship education Ethics Eucharist faith Forgiveness grace Higher Education Holy Spirit Hope Incarnation Jesuits Jesus Jesus Christ John DeCostanza John Paul II Kevin Ahern Lent liberation theology Liturgy love Martin Luther King Mary Media Mercy Ministry Oscar Romero peace Pentecost podcast podcast season 1 podcast season 2 Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Prayer Public Theology Race racism resurrection Saint Leo University Saints scripture Shark Week social justice spirituality Stephen Okey Stephen Okey Podcast Episode Teaching Teaching Theology technology Theological Shark Week theology theology and culture Thomas Merton Vacation Bible School Vatican Vatican II vocation war white supremacy
Advertisements
Advertisements
Advertisements
Advertisements
Advertisements
Advertisements
Website Built with WordPress.com.
Footer navigation
  • About Us
  • Theological Shark Weeks
  • DT Podcast
  • Who We Are

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.

  • Follow Following
    • Daily Theology
    • Join 8,351 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Daily Theology
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: