Br. Mark 
Writings of Br. Mark Dohle, OCSO, a monk of Holy Spirit Monastery in Conyers Georgia. Br. Mark is formerly Prior and is currently guestmaster for the Monastery, His writings relate to those he works with in his ministry, particularly the elderly and dying.
Stances
I was reading from the 1st letter of John yesterday and came upon this verse: “love cast out fear”. I have often wondered at this and have longed for the freedom that it offers, for those who come to some experience, or understanding, of what it means. I would suppose most children have a time… Read More ›
The Loose Ends of Those We Love
I remember the final year of my mother’s life. She was a smoker and could not quit, so she developed emphysema. I was thankful for that last year. We were close but would also argue a great deal. I made a deal with myself that I would call her once a week, just to listen… Read More ›
We all need it from time to time
When very young, before I was 10 years of age, I guess you could say I was afraid of the dark. The surrounding blackness always scared me, for I always saw (imagined) that there was a dark figure standing there, just watching, but scary all the same. Of course it was just the corner, even… Read More ›
When is the true nature of joy understood?
“Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.” ― Simone Weil Healthy detachment is not indifference. Nor is it something cold and aloof. The detachment that is based on fear is a way of self protection from the chaos that seems to be a part of… Read More ›
The Wizard of Oz, dog droppings and lots of grass to rub it off
Books are really mankind’s best friend, along with dogs I have always loved books. I remember when I was in the first grade at Good Shepherd in Desoto Mo. I was a small school with just three class rooms. The first room was for the first and second grades, the second room, third and fourth… Read More ›
Prayer, self-knowledge, and union with others
Self-knowledge and humility go hand in hand and necessary if one’s prayer is to take fruit. Putting on the ‘Mind of Christ’ can be at times arduous, yet it also leads to great joy. People who take their relationship with God seriously know that when speaking of prayer it has different shades of meaning. Prayer if… Read More ›
Sunday Chapter talk on humility
You can’t escape the journey that is our lives. If it is attempted things usually get worse. That goes for life in the secular world as well as for those who are in religious and monastic life. Below is a talk I presented to the community at Sunday Chapter on an aspect of Humility as… Read More ›
One God and Father of All
He is not ‘my; God, but ‘our’ God Our Father, He is the Father of a great family; he is our Father. He knows that he has a unique love, but he does not know how to bear or raise an “only child”. He is the God of the home, of brotherhood, of bread broken and shared. He is… Read More ›
In the midst of chaos and pain, the Lord is our refuge
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.—Ps 16: 1-2 One way of learning about oneself on a deeper level, is to pay attention to the stream of conscious thoughts that goes through the mind just before… Read More ›
The prayer journey
Whose wounds do we bear? Do we bear the wounds of Christ? Or does Christ bear our wounds? When I was a very young monk, just 23 and in the Monastery for only a year, we had a reading one day at our midday office by Thomas Merton that blind-sighted me and created a great… Read More ›