Sister Emagene Warren
On obedience: When I made my first Profession in 1988, I committed to the monastic promise of obedience. I did not commit to this lightly.
As a divorced mother, grandmother, real estate broker and appraiser, I was not interested in being told what and when to do something.
The word "obedience" conjured up images of subjugation and a hierarchical power system: parent to child, boss to employee, president or king to citizens. I discovered, however, that obedience as described in the Rule of Benedict means something completely different. St. Benedict's definition of obedience deals more with listening well and attentively to what is being asked and then discerning, with prayer, the appropriate action.
In fact, St. Benedict begins the Rule with the admonition to listen and obey: Listen carefully, my child, to my instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from one who loves you; welcome it and faithfully put it into practice. The labor of obedience will bring you back to God from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience. (RB Prologue 1-2)
This illustrates a more meaningful definition of obedience: Listen, discern then act. The word "listen" is repeated again and again in the Rule, stressing the importance of being awake and aware in order to hear what is being said, and what is not said.
We all know that listening can be selective. As a child, when my mother called me to come in from playtime with friends, I often ignored her; I preferred not to listen. Not surprisingly, my own daughter used the same tactic when I asked her to do something she did not relish.
However, listening can be intense as well. When my daughter was allowed to watch a favorite television program such as "The Wizard of Oz," her eyes and ears were glued to the emerging plot. She sang along with Dorothy and cringed in her chair when the wicked witch appeared. She listened intensely, with her entire being.
After delving into monastic life I understood that the Prioress and all the sisters would listen and discern with me. Because of the Benedictine interpretation of this promise, I was eager to make the commitment to this community.
We do not promise Obedience alone. We also profess a commitment to Stability and Fidelity to the Monastic way of life. All of these promises lead us to love, to seek God, to love one another and to love our world.
When this love is present, obedience is a way to live with a life directed toward wholeness and joy.
Sister Emagene is engaged in ministry outreach in Lewiston. She currently (and proudly) boasts three
grandchildren and one great-grandchild.