In thirty short reflections, Abbot Jerome Kodell of Subiaco Abbey provides a lifetime of wisdom on living the Christian life. Drawing on Scripture, the Rule of St. Benedict, and other spiritual writings, Kodell helps us to realize that our common human desires and struggles make life in the monastery not so very different from life in the world. His encouragement and reassurance gives us hope that we can pray, experience God’s loving presence, and stay faithful to the commitments we’ve made. Among the many themes he addresses are holiness, freedom, service, money, hospitality, and silence. Appropriate for anyone still searching for God, as well as for those trying to live as Christians in the world today. Insightful and beautifully written. Makes a thoughtful gift.

What is a monastery? A monastery is a place set apart—a place to learn the blessings of powerlessness, and that time is not ours but God’s. Our home and our duties can, just like a monastery, teach us those things. The vocation of monastic men and women is to physically withdraw from the world. But the principle is equally valid for those of us who cannot go off to monasteries. Certain vocations offer the same kind of opportunity for contemplation, and provide a desert for reflection. These writings are beautifully presented in a special cloth packaging, hardcover edition. In ten brief and powerful chapters, Fr. Ron explores how the life of the monastery can apply to those who don't live inside the walls of the cloister: Monasticism and Family Life The Domestic Monastery Real Friendship Lessons from the Monastic Cell Ritual for Sustaining Prayer Tensions within Spirituality A Spirituality of Parenting Spirituality and the Seasons of Our Lives The Sacredness of Time Life’s Key Question

Every monastery exudes the scent of holiness, but women's monasteries have their own special flavor. Join Constantina Palmer as she makes frequent pilgrimages to a women's monastery in Greece and absorbs the nuns' particular approach to their spiritual life. If you're a woman who's read of Mount Athos and longed to partake of its grace-filled atmosphere, this book is for you. Men who wish to understand how women's spirituality differs from their own will find it a fascinating read as well.

“Everything starts with one person . . . I don’t care if you’re 5 or 105, God from all eternity chose you to be where you are, at this time in history, to change the world.” “If you are following God, He never shows you the end. It’s always a walk of faith.” “Faith is one foot on the ground, one foot in the air, and a queasy feeling in the stomach.” —Mother Angelica Are you unsure of your purpose in life? Stuck in the past and worried about the future? Hamstrung by fear, failure, or trials? Mother is here to help. For more than twenty-five years, Mother Angelica has dispensed spiritual wisdom and practical advice to millions around the globe through her lively broadcasts on EWTN. Now she shares with you her personal life lessons and hilarious counsel as never before. Raymond Arroyo, author of the bestselling biography of Mother Angelica, has assembled an inspiring collection of her powerful insights, comic musings, and no-nonsense guidance for everyday living. Culled from never-before-seen interviews, private conversations, and recorded lessons not heard in over thirty years, to which Arroyo had exclusive access, these selections capture Mother Angelica’s spunky spirit and profound wisdom at their zenith. In Mother Angelica’s Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality, the beloved nun is your personal mentor. Together you’ll discover: How to find God’s Will in your life How to pursue inspirations fearlessly How to make sense of pain and suffering How to spiritually overcome personal faults and trials Created in cooperation with Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, this devotional treasury is accompanied by original prayers from Mother Angelica’s private collection. Within are the meditations, personal beliefs, and pithy life lessons that transformed a disabled child of divorce into Mother Angelica, founder and CEO of the world’s largest religious media empire. Packed with real-world hope, this little book is sure to transform your life in a big way. A portion of the proceeds of this book goes to support the work of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery

One would expect an abbot to have words of wisdom for monks living in a monastery. But could his musings be relevant for those living in a complicated and often harried world? Yes, as readers will discover in this insightful collection. From these essays, readers will think in new ways about prayer, Christian life, and faith. Along the way, they will find in Jerome Kodell an abbot worthy of trust.

At the age of 22, Neal Tew had questions. Raised nominally Catholic and now a recent Harvard graduate, he wondered whether faith in God could withstand intellectual and existential scrutiny. He wondered whether God really existed. He earned an undergraduate minor in the Comparative Study of Religions and wrote an Honors Thesis on Anglican priest and poet George Herbert. But those studies did not bring him the certitude he sought. While taking graduate classes in Theology in Paris, Neal discovered two new monastic orders in France. Here he found the key that had eluded him. These men and women were staking their lives upon the tenets of the Christian faith. The intellectual positions they held were backed up by real sacrifices and intense life commitments. Theirs was a faith lived out in the day to day. A faith that brought Neal close in spirit to the shores of Galilee.Neal decided to drop his nets and follow the monastic way of life. To learn, as best he could, from the monks. He would ultimately spend three years in different monastic communities, observing their way of life, living their life and documenting it in photographs that offer an intimate look into the daily experience and practice of a monk. In the end, Neal's journey led him to enter the novitiate of one of the monasteries where he lived. A novitiate is the extended period of training and learning offered to young people who think they may have a vocation to become a monk. Neal's journey took him there and back again. What he learned has relevance for all of us. This book tells the story. Three years among the monks.

The activist, nun, and esteemed spiritual voice who has twice appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday sounds the call to create a monastery within ourselves—to cultivate wisdom and resilience so that we may join God in the work of renewal, restoration, and justice right where we are. “Essential reading for anyone wishing to find the compass of their heart and the wellspring from which to live fully.”—Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries and New York Times bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart “In every beating heart is a silent undercurrent that calls each of us to a place unknown, to the vision of a wiser life, to become what I feel I must be—but cannot name.” So begins Sister Joan Chittister’s words on monasticism, offering a way of living and seeing life that brings deep human satisfaction. Amid the astounding disruptions of normalcy that have unfolded in our world, Sister Joan calls all of us to cultivate the spiritual seeker within, however that may look across our diverse journeys: “We can depend only on the depth of the spiritual well in us. The well is the only thing that can save us from the fear of our own frailty.” This book carries the weight and wisdom of the monastic spiritual tradition into the twenty-first century. Sister Joan leans into Saint Benedict, who, as a young man in the sixth century, sought moral integrity in the face of an empire not by conquering or overpowering the empire but by simply living an ordinary life extraordinarily well. This same monastic mindset can help us grow in wisdom, equanimity, and strength of soul as we seek restoration and renewal both at home and in the world. At a time when people around the world are bearing witness to human frailty—and, simultaneously, the endurance of the human spirit—The Monastic Heart invites readers of all walks to welcome this end of certainty and embrace a new beginning of our faith. Without stepping foot in a monastery, we can become, like those before us, a deeper, freer self, a richer soul—and, as a result, a true monastic, so “that in all things God may be glorified.”

Some evangelicals perceive monasticism as a relic from the past, a retreat from the world, or a shirking of the call to the Great Commission. At the same time, contemporary evangelical spirituality desires historical Christian manifestations of the faith. In this accessibly written book Greg Peters, an expert in monastic studies who is a Benedictine oblate and spiritual director, offers a historical survey of monasticism from its origins to current manifestations. Peters recovers the riches of the monastic tradition for contemporary spiritual formation and devotional practice, explaining why the monastic impulse is a valid and necessary manifestation of the Christian faith for today's church.

Equal parts memoir and road map to living a less stressful and more vibrant life, bestselling author Jesse Itzler offers an illuminating, entertaining, and unexpected trip for anyone looking to feel calmer and more controlled in our crazy, hectic world. Entrepreneur, endurance athlete, and father of four Jesse Itzler only knows one speed: Full Blast. But when he felt like the world around him was getting too hectic, he didn't take a vacation or get a massage. Instead, Jesse moved into a monastery for a self-imposed time-out. In Living with the Monks, the follow-up to his New York Times bestselling Living with a SEAL, Jesse takes us on a spiritual journey like no other. Having only been exposed to monasteries on TV, Jesse arrives at the New Skete religious community in the isolated mountains of upstate New York with a shaved head and a suitcase filled with bananas. To his surprise, New Skete monks have most of their hair. They're Russian Orthodox, not Buddhist, and they're also world-renowned German shepherd breeders and authors of dog-training books that have sold in the millions. As Jesse struggles to fit in amongst the odd but lovable monks, self-doubt begins to beat like a tribal drum. Questioning his motivation to embark on this adventure and missing his family (and phone), Jesse struggles to balance his desire for inner peace with his need to check Twitter. But in the end, Jesse discovers the undeniable power of the monks and their wisdom, and the very real benefits of taking a well-deserved break as a means of self-preservation in our fast-paced world.

For everyone seeking to experience some of the deep tranquility of contemplative life, this artfully crafted guide brings together concise selections from the great writings of the tradition, from Saint Benedict to Thomas Merton. It explores all the essential ingredients of monastic life in brief chapters on such themes as speech, humility, discernment, patience, longing, and love. By providing a brief account of how monastic life evolved and the best examples of monastic writing through the centuries, from the desert fathers to the medieval nuns Julian and Hildegard to John Chittister today, Father Hugh Feiss offers a rich treasury of monastic wisdom on living a full life.