Suburban Hermit
“In Every Man There is a Monk and an Explorer” Ben Stauffer
On the Usefulness of Prayer
A typical response when a man says he is entering a monastery is, "Why would a smart guy like yourself waste your life doing something like that?" This understandable remark indicates that a man's [...]
The Katskhi Stylite
Maxime the Stylite of Katskhi in Georgia lives here. Learn more.
Awake. I Will Awake the Dawn
My heart is steadfast, God; my heart is steadfast. Let me sing and chant praise. Awake, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn. I will praise you among the peoples, LORD; I will [...]
Morning at Fountains
Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire, England After a dispute and riot in 1132 at the Benedictine house of St Mary's Abbey, in York, 13 monks were expelled (among them Saint Robert of Newminster) and, after unsuccessfully attempting to [...]
Closed to the World. Open to Heaven
Cloister, Mont St Michel, France When I lived in England I made my annual retreat with the small community of Benedictines at Mont St Michel. The architecture is a Gothic marvel of [...]
On the Vow of Obedience
In the present world the suggestion of obedience is met with incomprehension. That one should submit one’s entire will to another individual is not only a social error, but an anti-social horror. Obedience is [...]