Over at the Suburban Hermit part of the blog there is another full chapter of my book St Benedict and St Therese - The Little Rule and the Little Way. This is part three of a weekly Benedictine Retreat online. This section is reserved for Donor Subscribers, but an excerpt from the chapter is published here [...]
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 three are important because they minister to the three aspects of the human person. Reading (or Study) illuminates and stretches the mind. Prayer [...]
Suburban Hermit apologizes for the lack of postings over the last week. To be honest, Christmas has taken a toll and the hermit was weary. Now the batteries are charged I hope to continue building this blog and I rely on you to help attract more readers by sharing and liking posts. In the frenetic and frantic [...]
Christmas at the Convent
This post is an excerpt from my book St Benedict and St Therese--The Little Rule and the Little Way The monk’s vow of stability is intimately linked with his vow of obedience. When the monk submits to his superior he fulfils his vow of obedience. When he submits to his particular environment and set of circumstances he [...]
It is difficult to believe because it is difficult to obey.
One of the gifts of the Benedictine tradition is the form of prayer called Lectio Divina or Holy Reading. In a world where speed reading is expected, skimming is required and glancing through summaries is de rigueur the monastic tradition is a contradiction. Lectio diving requires us to slow down and read the text meditatively. There is a technique. The first [...]
Here is the final segment of my comments on St Benedict's twelve steps of humility. The other segments can be located under the tags "Benedictine Way" and "Rule of St Benedict" The ninth degree of humility is that a monk restrain his tongue and keep silence, not speaking until he is questioned. It's a good thing [...]
i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes (i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth day of life and [...]
St Bruno in the Refectory My first visit to a monastery was during Lent. It was suitably austere, cold, damp and penitential. My second visit was in July, and it was the feast day of St Benedict. We had sherry and canapés. Plenty of wine with the soup, steak, fresh salad, new potatoes, then [...]