There is a vast difference in life between “meant to be” and “ought to be.”
Those who firmly and actually believe they are meant to be successful, nearly always are. Those who believe they ought to be successful rarely make it to the top.
The same is true with those who believe they are meant to be good friends or good doctors or teachers. Those who believe they ought to be good at what they do are always either failing or failing to enjoy the successes that do come their way.
Nuns who stay in cloister believe they are meant to be there. Nearly always, those who think they “ought to be” nuns do not last very long. The community finds them out and although it may still want them to stay, much more than “ought to” is necessary to survive the grueling parts of cloistered devotion.
“It’s a calling.” This is what a professed nun will tell you. Not that she chose the cloister, but it chose her . . . that the Lord chose her to dwell with Him there.
For us in Cor Unum, we know that every true calling must come through faith, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God. Let’s discover, as the true monastics we are, what power the Word of God has to call us and keep us. Let’s discover our “calling,” listening to Jesus’ Voice. We know above all that we are meant to “abide in Christ,” and He will remain in us. (John 15:4) We are meant to bear His image in this world. (Romans 12:1, 2)
That’s why we are here in Cor Unum. This is not for us an exercise in what we ought to do but what we are meant to do and to be and to become. “Ought to” might get us started, but “meant to” will keep us going. That’s what these nuns believe!
John 15:4 … Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (NIV)
Romans 12:1,2 … Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Teresa of Avila, by Rubens, public domain
foundress of numerous Benedictine Abbeys
Cor Unum Abbey 
Well “my lent” is probably best described as finally deciding to embrace a path with handrails — with a “condition”. It’s nothing more than what I have been trying to do since the first of the year — trying, and failing badly. First thing in the morning is easy — I’ve been doing that
for decades more or less. It’s that coming back time. So — I’m not shooting for “David”, 7 times a day I will praise Thee. I’m aiming at “Daniel”, Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God. I’ve outlined what I want to “accomplish” in my three times a day but truth be told, the two biggest obstacles are “remembering” and then “choosing”. I frequently forget and then when I do remember, “I don’t feel like it”. So I have set “conditions”. If the Holy Spirit will remind me, I will be faithful — whether or not I “feel like it”. And the umbrella that cover it all is some food fasting that I won’t go into.
I don’t know which is more heartwarming – your candor or the fact that you’ve chosen the better part inside your rope bridge! Either way, it’s encouraging and I hope you will have all the joy of the success of it. There’s nothing like it when the Lord completely orchestrates, conducts, and carries our tuba, and we get to say at the end that we marched with the band!
In the history of “comments” there has never been a finer comment, nor one more succinct, nor more deeply true and blessed. There is no “perfect” button, or I’d be clicking it with all my heart.
There’s a line in Little Women when Jo is nursing Beth at the end of Beth’s life. It says she was “prouder of having been chosen than of any honor her life ever brought her”. That’s how I feel about getting to march with the band.