I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Heidi Hewett‘s reflection on the contemplative practice of doing puzzles: I have a variety of spiritual practices I use either daily or throughout my week: lectio divina, centering prayer, creativity, silence, and walking meditation, but one thing I am adopting into my “when I need it” spiritual practice toolbox is doing puzzles. Normally, I do not choose to do a puzzle, which is why I felt a divine nudge with this particular experience—and how it turned into an opportunity for

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kristen Kludt‘s reflection on being a Monk on the Move: I am a millennial. I am of a generation of transplants: leaving our homes at eighteen, many of us never return outside of holidays and vacations. We are like succulent plants – able to be snapped off and replanted again and again, multiplying and spreading wide. We are adaptable, versatile and flexible, but I long for deep roots. I am a monk on the move. For the last eight and

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kate Kennington Steer’s reflection on belonging as a Monk in the World: A Song of Belonging As I join with the earth’s slow turning towards Spring, I begin reflecting on the extraordinary time I’ve been enjoying with the Abbey this winter.  I signed up to join in with two retreats Birthing the Holy and Illuminating the Way, which when joined back to back gave me a concentrated ten week immersion into discovering new expressions of my faith and into connecting with

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Patricia Kowal’s reflection on God First for the Monk in the World: God First I had a “bad” knee. It bothered me for months but I thought I just strained a muscle. Yet, my knee progressively got worse and needed medical attention. Long story short, I had multiple tears in the cartilage of the joint and the fragmented pieces were surgically removed. The ordeal sent me packing straight to bed with my leg elevated for weeks. And here’s the miracle:

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Sharon Landis’s reflection on being powerfully ordinary: I write constantly. I cannot stop writing as writing helps me process my life: helps me express my emotions rather than repress, helps me listen to my heart, express my faith, be gentle with my sensitives,  and ask the hard questions. I sometimes dialogue with God through writing, after I’ve listened deeply. I write about everything, even about my dog, garden, grandchildren. Through expressive writing, I assist my soul in catching up to

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Colette Lafia’s reflection on her friend, Brother René: In 2003, at a time in my life when I was experiencing intense loss and grief, from infertility, my sister’s death to cancer, and chronic insomnia, my husband and I made a visit to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, which was the home of Thomas Merton. It was evening when my husband and I arrived in Louisville, Kentucky, so we headed straight to the small guest cottage we had rented near the

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission for the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Hilary Lohrman’s reflection on finding the sacred in the ordinary: I am writing on behalf of the ordinary. Nothing special, nothing especially interesting.  Just the simple, daily, ordinary content of life and the discovery that God resides in exactly that. When I was a younger woman, I had spiritual ambitions (though I wouldn’t have described it that way, of course}.  Perhaps to become a priest, or possibly a spiritual director with a large, successful practice.  At the very least, I