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.
The conversion of St. Paul
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and… Read More ›
Mild winter day
The Sun today gentle, soothing to the skin unlike summer rays which I must hide from, for its harshness makes my skin shy. The sky dark blue, cotton clouds race by above, each unique in their sculptured beauty. Down by the lake my favorite place, very small yet it gives me peace just to be… Read More ›
New Year and thinking of the far past
One of the losses I was able to rectify a few years back, was to purchase from Amazon my high school yearbook from 1967. I remember one day in the year that I graduated finding out that we were the 50th class to graduate; the first being in 1967. I remember looking at the picture… Read More ›
All this fuss over the New Year
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever Ps: 135:1 I know the New Year is an important time of the year. However, when I was in the Navy, even though like most young men I went out a lot, on New Year’s, I stayed in. Never understood all… Read More ›
The Two Sides of Silence
Before embarking on some sort of journey, be it going to another destination, or planning a vacation etc., there can be the tendency to romanticize the process. Anticipation is often different than the actual experience. When pondering the need for silence, it can be one sided when it is simply being thought about or when… Read More ›
God pursues us for a reason
To let others know that our lives are important and that God pursues us for a reason “How many times do we hear: ‘Come on, you Christians, be a little bit more normal, like other people, and be reasonable!’ This is real snake charmer’s talk: ‘Come on, just be like this, okay? A little bit… Read More ›
Advent: Trust is essential in our waiting
“One of the essential paradoxes of Advent: that while we wait for God, we are with God all along, that while we need to be reassured of God’s arrival, or the arrival of our homecoming, we are already at home. While we wait, we have to trust, to have faith, but it is God’s grace… Read More ›
Advent, waiting for the encounter
Advent is an invitation “to sobriety, to not be dominated by the things of this world, Pope Francis said Nov. 27 in St. Peter’s Square. “If, on the contrary, we are conditioned and overpowered by them, it is not possible to perceive that which is much more important: our final encounter with the Lord.”—Pope Francis… Read More ›
All who hope in God
Mary’s song of praise in the Magnificat “is the canticle of the People of God on the journey, and of all men and women who hope in God, in the power of his mercy.” Pope Francis Advent is a time of hope. For Jesus Christ is God’s mercy in the flesh and Mary in her joy… Read More ›
Peace calls for daily commitment
True peace is not a balance of opposing forces, and it is not ‘a lovely façade’ simply covering conflicts and divisions. Rather, peace calls for daily commitment –t’s homemade — starting from God’s gift, from the grace which he has given us in Jesus Christ.—Pope Francis During the season of Advent the term “Peace on… Read More ›