This Christmas, Let the Heart Listen…

The first word of the Prologue to the Rule of Saint Benedict is “Listen.”

“Listen carefully, my child, to the instructions of your master, and incline the ear of your heart.” (— The Rule of Saint Benedict, Prologue, 1)

For more than 1,500 years, these words have invited Benedictines to live with attentiveness: to listen for God’s presence, to listen to one another, and to listen for the needs of the world around us. At St. Paul’s Monastery, this invitation continues to shape the Sisters’ daily lives and our shared mission.

This Christmas, we invite you to slow down, listen with the ear of your heart, and consider what God may be calling you to notice.

In a world that can feel increasingly noisy, hurried, and divided, St. Paul’s Monastery offers a different rhythm. Here, prayer creates space for listening. Hospitality creates space for connection. Silence creates space for reflection. Through the Sisters’ monastic life, worship, spiritual programs, retreats, and hospitality, the Monastery remains a sacred place where people can pause, seek God, and discover a deeper sense of peace.

Your generosity helps make that possible.

Your Gift Helps Create Space to Listen

When you give to St. Paul’s Monastery this Christmas, you are helping sustain a Benedictine community rooted in prayer, hospitality, stewardship, and service.

Your gift helps support:

• Prayer and Worship: The Sisters gather each day for the Liturgy of the Hours, offering praise and intercession for the Church, our community, and the needs of the world. Your support helps sustain the Sisters’ life of prayer and contemplative presence.

• Retreats and Spiritual Programs: Your generosity helps provide welcoming spaces where people can step away from the noise of everyday life, listen more deeply, and seek spiritual renewal through retreats, reflection, and spiritual companioning.

• Hospitality and Sacred Space: From the chapel and labyrinth to the gardens and gathering spaces, the Monastery offers a place of peace, beauty, and welcome. Your gift helps care for these spaces so they can continue to be places of prayer and encounter.

• The Care of the Sisters: Supporting the Monastery also means caring for the women who have devoted their lives to prayer, ministry, education, and service. Your generosity helps provide for the Sisters and sustain the community they have faithfully built.

• The Benedictine Way of Life: Your support helps keep the wisdom of the Rule of Saint Benedict alive and accessible, inviting people of all backgrounds to discover practices of listening, humility, stability, hospitality, stewardship, and awareness of God.

Give the Gift of Listening

This Christmas, your gift can help someone find a quiet place to breathe, a community where they are welcomed, a moment of prayer when they need it most, or the space to listen for where God is leading them.

Whether you give $25, $100, $500, or whatever is meaningful to you, your generosity becomes part of the Monastery’s ongoing ministry of prayer, hospitality, and service.

Your gift is more than a donation. It is an investment in a place where hearts can become still, people can feel welcomed, and God’s presence can be heard.

Ways to Give

• Give Online: Make a secure gift through our online giving page.

• Become a Monthly Donor: Join the Sisters Circle and provide a steady source of support that helps the Monastery plan for the future with confidence.

• Give in Honor or Memory: Make a Christmas gift in honor or memory of someone you love. We will send a special card acknowledging your gift.

• Check for a Matching Gift: Your employer may match your charitable contribution, potentially doubling the impact of your gift.

• Give through Stock, an IRA Charitable Distribution, or Donor Advised Fund: These giving options can provide meaningful support for the Monastery while offering potential tax benefits. Please consult your financial advisor for guidance specific to your situation.

A Christmas Prayer for You

This Christmas, the Sisters will hold you, your loved ones, and your intentions in prayer.

May you find moments of stillness amid the busyness of the season. May you hear the quiet invitation of God in the midst of your ordinary days. May you be surrounded by the people who bring you peace, and may you have the courage to listen with the ear of your heart.

And may the Christ Child remind you that God is always speaking through love, mercy, beauty, and hope.

Help Us Keep Listening

The Benedictine way begins with a simple invitation: Listen.

Your generosity helps ensure that St. Paul’s Monastery can continue to be a place where people come to listen: to God, to one another, to their own hearts, and to the needs of our world.

This Christmas, let your generosity become part of that sacred listening.

Thank you for helping sustain the prayer, hospitality, and Benedictine presence of St. Paul’s Monastery. We are deeply grateful for your partnership and for all the ways you help this community continue its mission.

With gratitude and Christmas blessings,

The Benedictine Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery

You are welcome to mail in cash or a check as well. Please send all checks payable to St. Paul's Monastery to:

St. Paul’s Monastery
Attention: Mission Advancement
2675 Benet Road
Maplewood, MN 55109