St. Scholastica – In Conversation with Teresa Monaghen – Discerning Hearts Podcast cover art

St. Scholastica – In Conversation with Teresa Monaghen – Discerning Hearts Podcast

St. Scholastica – In Conversation with Teresa Monaghen – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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 St. Scholastica – In Conversation with Teresa Monaghen Kris and Bruce McGregor, along with Teresa Monaghen of the ProSanctity movement, reflect on St. Scholastica and her relationship with her brother, St. Benedict, presenting their sibling bond as a window into holy friendship. Drawing from the account preserved by St. Gregory the Great, Teresa Monaghen describes how the twins influenced one another’s vocation, with St. Scholastica following St. Benedict into monastic life and founding the Benedictine women’s communities. Their shared love of God shaped not only their personal holiness but also the spiritual legacy that flowed through their communities and, eventually, the wider Church. The heart of the reflection centers on the well-known account of their final meeting, when St. Scholastica prayed for St. Benedict to remain longer in spiritual fellowship, and a sudden storm prevented his departure. This moment is presented as a sign of the depth of their interior union and the power of prayer rooted in charity. Their bond did not end with death: St. Benedict later perceived her passing through a vision of her soul rising to heaven, and he arranged for her to be buried in his own tomb. Teresa invites us to see in St. Scholastica and St. Benedict a model for relationships marked by prayer, attentiveness to the Spirit, and a shared pursuit of holiness that continues to bear fruit beyond a single lifetime. Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions How do my closest relationships shape my prayer life and draw me more deeply into friendship with God?In what ways do I invite holy conversation into my family or friendships rather than settling for surface-level talk?Where might the Holy Spirit be asking me to slow down, listen, and remain present to a grace-filled moment as St. Benedict was invited to do?How open am I to receiving loving challenge or correction from those who truly seek my good?What role does intercessory prayer play in strengthening the people God has entrusted to my care?How attentive am I to the quiet movements of the Spirit that prompt me to pray for or reach out to someone?In what ways do my daily choices help build up the Church through small, faithful acts of love? From Gregory the Great (c. 540-604), Dialogues, Book II (Life and Miracles of St. Benedict). Courtesy of the Saint Pachomius Library. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: Of a Miracle Wrought by his Sister, Scholastica. GREGORY: Who is there, Peter, in this world, that is in greater favor with God than St. Paul? Three times he petitioned our Lord to be delivered from the thorn of the flesh, and yet he did not obtain his petition. Speaking of that, I must tell you how there was one thing which the venerable father Benedict would have liked to do, but he could not. His sister, named Scholastica, was dedicated from her infancy to our Lord. Once a year she came to visit her brother. The man of God went to her not far from the gate of his monastery, at a place that belonged to the Abbey. It was there he would entertain her. Once upon a time she came to visit according to her custom, and her venerable brother with his monks went there to meet her. They spent the whole day in the praises of God and spiritual talk, and when it was almost night, they dined together. As they were yet sitting at the table, talking of devout matters, it began to get dark. The holy Nun, his sister, entreated him to stay there all night that they might spend it in discoursing of the joys of heaven. By no persuasion, however, would he agree to that, saying that he might not by any means stay all night outside of his Abbey. At that time, the sky was so clear that no cloud was to be seen. The Nun, hearing this denial of her brother, joined her hands together, laid them on the table, bowed her head on her hands, and prayed to almighty God. Lifting her head from the table, there fell suddenly such a tempest of lightning and thundering, and such abundance of rain, that neither venerable Benedict, nor his monks that were with him, could put their heads out of doors. The holy Nun, having rested her head on her hands, poured forth such a flood of tears on the table, that she transformed the clear air to a watery sky. After the end of her devotions, that storm of rain followed; her prayer and the rain so met together, that as she lifted up her head from the table, the thunder began. So it was that in one and the very same instant that she lifted up her head, she brought down the rain. The man of God, seeing that he could not, in the midst of such thunder and lightning and great abundance of rain return to his Abbey, began to be heavy and to complain to his sister, saying: “God forgive you, what have you done?” She answered him, “I desired you to stay, and you would not hear me; I have desired it of our good Lord, and he has granted my petition. Therefore if you can now depart, in God’s name return to your monastery, and leave me here alone.” Departure ...
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