At the intersection of reading and writing, in the spaces where listening, silence, prayer, and wonder happen–there is poetry. There, too, is where I find support for living as a Benedictine. Some months ago I decided that my blog will focus on “Reading, Writing, and the Benedictine way of life.” Since then, I’ve been pondering …
Judith Valente–poet, journalist, and Benedictine oblate–on "How To Live" Read More »
How will we get through this? Entering April, 2020 with a global pandemic and social distancing, we are likely encountering uncertainty, anxiety, fear, perhaps even dread, all triggered by our past experience of suffering and sorrow. To get through this painful time, to come out on the other side with wisdom and resilience, we would …
Invitation: Let's Walk Care-Fully THROUGH this Together Read More »
The Irony of Facebook “Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission–to make the world more open and connected.” –Mark Zuckerberg The irony of Facebook is that while its founder says he intended it to bring people together, there is ample evidence it is doing the …
If you know how to ask for help, please help me (and others) learn this skill For some years now, I’ve been connecting with people like you, who care about building a life around kindness, compassion, and the concept of enough. The people I like to hang out with, online and in person, believe that …
What is the time pressure-paradox? When I toured the early 20th-century caretaker’s cottage at the Rockefeller family’s historic Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock, Vermont, the guide explained that the caretaker’s wife and three daughters took the entire day, every Monday, to wash the caretaker’s shirts and their own few dresses and undergarments, hang them …
How 3 months at a Benedictine monastery set me free from the time-pressure paradox Read More »
This is the sixth of 6 Visio Divina Meditations, as an alternative to New Years Resolutions. Professed Benedictine monastics formally promise to uphold a 3-fold commitment to listening (obedience), stability, and fidelity (conversatio morum) while living within their communities. Oblates (lay associates) strive to apply these principles while living “in the world” outside the monastery, …
Envision Benedictine Listening (Obedience) through Visio Divina (Divine Seeing) Read More »
This is the fifth of 6 Visio Divina Meditations, as an alternative to New Years Resolutions. Professed Benedictine monastics formally promise to uphold a 3-fold commitment to listening (obedience), stability, and fidelity (conversatio morum) while living within their communities. Oblates (lay associates) strive to apply these principles while living “in the world” outside the monastery, …
Envision Benedictine Stability through Visio Divina (Divine Seeing) Read More »
This is the fourth of 6 Visio Divina Meditations, as an alternative to New Years Resolutions. Professed Benedictine monastics formally promise to uphold a 3-fold commitment to listening (obedience), stability, and fidelity (conversatio morum) while living within their communities. Oblates (lay associates) strive to apply these principles while living “in the world” outside the monastery. …
Envision Benedictine "conversatio morum" though Visio Divina (Divine Seeing) Read More »
This is the third of 6 Visio Divina Meditations, as an alternative to New Years Resolutions. The Benedictine Value of Community This limestone sculpture of “Community” by Joseph O’Connell (1927-1995) stands in the Gathering Place at Saint Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota. This depiction of the first sisters supporting their monastery’s foundress, Mother Benedicta …
Envision the Benedictine Value of Community through Visio Divina (Divine Seeing) Read More »
This is the second of 6 Visio Divina Meditations, as an alternative to New Years Resolutions. The Benedictine Value of Work through Visio Divina (Divine Seeing) The Rule of Benedict says, “When they live by the labor of their hands . . . then they are really monastics.” In Benedictine spirituality the purpose of work …
Envision the Benedictine value of Work through Visio Divina (Divine Seeing) Read More »