WEDNESDAY REFLECTION
Mid-week Reflection
10th February 2021
I have a fond liking for St Scholastica whose feast day is today. We have something in common. Like me, she was a dizygotic twin! A posh word to describe fraternal or non-identical twins. Her twin brother was St Benedict. She set up a community of religious women near his monastery at Monte Cassino and is honoured as the foundress of the female members of the Order of St Benedict.
There is a lovely story about the twins. Every year Benedict would visit his sister and they would spend the day talking about their spiritual lives and of their love for God. Benedict’s rule stipulated stability and attachment so, after a time of prayer together, he would insist on returning to his monastery for the night. This particular year, Scholastica may have sensed that it would be their final meeting on this earth. So, at the end of their conversation, when Benedict said it was time for him to leave, she asked him to stay. He refused. She put her head down in prayer. Moments later, a ferocious storm broke out. Shocked, Benedict looked at his sister, “Sister! What have you done?” No doubt with a little knowing smile, she looked up and told him, “You would not hear my request. So, I took it to One who would.”
Benedict was forced to spend the night away from his monastery, praying with his sister. Days later, she died. Scholastica must have wanted him to stay with her so that he could join her in loving and praising God together, one last time. It was her parting gift to him — the reminder that his love for God needed to be the basis of all things. Perhaps we can reflect on this story and consider the importance of our relationship, with God and with one another.
Monsignor Monaghan
