Leadership on the road of life....

Authority is never given simply to elevate the person who holds it. Authority exists for the sake of peace and charity. The higher one stands in a community, the more carefully one must guard against pride. Leadership is not possession but service—a responsibility entrusted to us for the good of others.

The porter stands at the threshold, ready to receive whoever comes with gentleness and warmth. Sr. Joan sees something larger than hospitality. The spiritual life requires both openness and rootedness. We open the door to life without surrendering the quiet center from which we meet it.

And inevitably, we must go beyond the door. We journey into the world, carrying the prayers of the community with us. We do not travel alone. We belong to one another even in absence, and what happens to one of us matters to all.

Perhaps that is where Sr. Joan has been leading us. The centered life does not protect us from difficult things. It prepares us to meet them. Benedict allows us to speak honestly about our limits, but he also cautions us against assuming too quickly that our limits are final.

Sometimes God waits just beyond the boundary of what we believe we can do.

The Benedictine life is neither withdrawal nor restless striving. It is the quiet practice of remaining rooted in God—serving humbly, welcoming generously, journeying prayerfully, and trusting that when we reach the limits of our own strength—grace will abide.

Heavenly Father

As we open doors and walk down the corridors of life,
keep us focused on you.

When we are given authority,
make us servants.

When someone comes to our door,
teach us to receive them with love.

When we journey beyond familiar places,
remind us that we never travel alone.

And when we are challenged 
sometimes beyond our strength,
give us humility to speak truthfully,
courage to continue faithfully,
and trust enough to discover
what, through your grace, 
you can accomplish through us.

May we seek neither position nor comfort,
but only the grace to become
what you are calling us to be.

Amen.