Stability is a vow unique to Benedictines. It is a commitment to stay connected to the community which I joined, to spend my life in relationship to these sisters, being willing to be transformed by daily interaction with them. It is more than a stability of place; it is a stability of heart.

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Pondering stability during Advent leads me to reflect on Mary whose stability of heart anchored her being. Her willingness to be God’s instrument took her, literally and figuratively, on a life-long journey of faith and transformation. Firmly grounded in her relationship with God, she was daily able to say the little “yeses” that would embolden her to say, “Let it be done to me according to Your word.”

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My vow of stability invites me to stay at the table, rather than run away when things get difficult. It allows the jewel which is my life to be polished and refined, the rough edges to be smoothed by deep dialogue, challenging conversations, momentary disagreements and heartfelt reconciliations.

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Stability calls me to grow where I am, with the sisters at Our Lady of Grace, open to change and personal conversion. Rather than being restless, it grounds me, body and spirit. I do not need to wander or look beyond these walls and these women with whom I run on the path of God’s commandments.

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The world we live in today seems to offer little stability or balance. The vow of stability roots me in my relationships with God, myself, and others, allowing me, like Mary, to say yes each day to God’s many invitations to know, love, and serve God and God’s people.