Conversatio – Fidelity to the Monastic Life

Benedictines also make a vow of conversatio. This word embraces the whole of the monastic life, and the vow is a promise to conform one’s life more and more to the monastic way of life. In Latin, the root of the word means “to turn.” The word “conversion” is related to this; conversion is a turning – a turning toward God.

If stabilitas means standing still, conversatio is about movement and change, about becoming, about giving oneself more and more to the monastic vocation. In the monastic tradition, humility is the foundation of this change, because humility is the ability to acknowledge and face the truth about oneself and the truth about others.

By doing so, one is able to climb the way of humility, which leads to that love which casts out fear. The other side of changing oneself is letting others change. Too often, we need others to remain as they are, and so we become obstacles to their changing.

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