Instruction 
Instruction on the Rule by noteworthy modern day monastics or oblates
If today you hear his voice….
Saint Benedict takes his cue from Psalm 95(94), which he prescribed to be sung at the beginning of the first liturgical office of the day. Its message is clear: “Today if you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.” As we have seen, God’s light shines upon us every day and God’s call invites us… Read More ›
The Gate of Heaven is Everywhere
We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and God is shining through it all the time. God manifests Himself everywhere, in everything – in people and in things and in nature and in events . . . The only thing is we don’t see it. . . . I have no program… Read More ›
We are not so much called to do as to become
The work to which God directs us is not an external task waiting for someone to come along and do it. It is not as though God has a roster of duties with a name placed beside each one of them. The work God gives us is not primarily determined by external factors. The work… Read More ›
Each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality
Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and… Read More ›
You are called to be a worker
Saint Benedict is saying “. . ., you are engaging in the spiritual art, not to receive something, but to give whatever you have. This endeavor will provide you with the opportunity to use your highest gifts in the service of something larger than yourself. You are called to be a worker, to give of… Read More ›
Do not be quick to assume…
Do not be too quick to assume your enemy is a savage just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy because he thinks you are savage. Or perhaps he is afraid of you because he feels that you are afraid of him. And perhaps if he believed you were capable of loving… Read More ›
Wisdom and Society
Our technological society has no longer any place in it for wisdom that seeks truth for its own sake, that seeks the fullness of being, that seeks to rest in an intuition of the very ground of all being. Without wisdom, the apparent opposition of action and contemplation, of work and rest, of involvement and… Read More ›
Know how to meditate
Learn how to meditate on paper. Drawing and writing are forms of meditation. Learn how to contemplate works of art. Learn how to pray in the streets or in the country. Know how to meditate not only when you have a book in your hand but when you are waiting for a bus or riding… Read More ›
Faith
We too often forget that faith is a matter of questioning and struggle before it becomes one of certitude and peace. You have to doubt and reject everything else in order to believe firmly in Christ, and after you have begun to believe, your faith itself must be tested and purified. Christianity is not merely… Read More ›
Moving toward a low-impact environment
Large numbers of people are staying away from mainline church services precisely because they do not want to be put to sleep; much organized religion is seen as all too boring. The absence of religion does not necessarily make them more socially aware. An alternative source of desensitization has emerged. Our excitement-prone generation is looking… Read More ›