For better or worse, as Americans we live in a highly mobile society. Whether moving for work or family or school, fewer and fewer of us can afford to remain in the same place for long, and even the simple question “Where are you from?” becomes difficult to answer. Less and less likely to stay in the communities where we grew up, it starts to feel like the ground is always moving under our feet. I think that’s one of the reasons I find the Benedictine hallmark of stability so beautiful and so necessary. As Benedictines, the monks of Belmont Abbey make a vow of stability, committing themselves to love God in this place and this community, here and now. In a sense, the Abbey itself, the college, and even the local region, all play an essential part in the story of these faithful vocations. By their prayers and work, the monks continually choose and love this place. They always have. During the Great Depression, the monks of Belmont Abbey fed the local people from the produce of their farm. Two decades earlier, Abbot Leo Haid even took on the pastoral care of all North Carolina as bishop, maintaining this for the western half of the state between the creation of the Raleigh and Charlotte Dioceses. His service continually strengthened the region that the Abbey calls home. And throughout the 150 years of its history, Belmont Abbey has welcomed and stewarded this corner of the world in countless ways. The monastic community of Belmont Abbey embraces a level of stability beyond what most of our concrete circumstances may allow. But even at times of great change or movement in our lives, the monks’ prayerful and faithful way of life can remind us that the source of our true stability is ultimately Christ. Pilgrims in a changing world, we...