Unlike the vows most people think of in regard to religious life (i.e., poverty, chastity and obedience), St. Benedict who wrote his Rule much earlier, identified the vows his monks should make as stability, conversion to a monastic manner of life and obedience.
What is meant by the vow of stability? It means that we make vows to this particular monastery -- our lives are spent here. However, it has even deeper meanings.
Stability also means to stand firm, to hold one's ground even in times of personal temptation and difficulties. It is to persevere in this way of life, as understood and interpreted in this monastic community, under the guidance of the Holy Rule and the spiritual leadership of the Prioress.
Simply put, it could also be translated: Bloom where you're planted.
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