Suburban Hermit
“In Every Man There is a Monk and an Explorer” Ben Stauffer
Little Gidding
Little Gidding is the tiny collection of farm buildings and a church not too far from Cambridge. It was the location of a small religious community headed by Nicholas Ferrar, who was a friend [...]
New Every Morning – Resolutions for 2017
This morning I tried to think of the New Years resolutions I might make if I were truly a Benedictine hermit. They would be based in the three duties of Prayer, Study and Work. These [...]
A Transparent Personality
Benedictine Nuns Make Final Vows A Benedictine nun writes, The end of Benedictine spirituality is to develop a transparent personality. Dissimulation, half answers, vindictive attitudes, a false presentation of self are all [...]
New Every Year
New every year New born and newly dear He comes with tidings and a song The ages long, the ages long. --Alice Meynell
From Julian of Norwich
There is a Great Deed which the blessed Trinity shall do at the last day, as I see it. And what that deed shall be, and how it shall be done is unknown to [...]
The Reasons for Silence
Silence is a cornerstone of Benedictine life and spiritual development, but the goal of monastic silence is not non-talking. Instead it is "selective talking." Someone following Jesus Christ in the way of St Benedict [...]