The Monastic Vocation

We have two women here at St. Placid Priory this weekend discerning their vocation to the monastic life. Have you ever considered joining a monastic community? The monastic way is for people who long for the deeper things - deeper relationship with God, deeper relationships with others, deeper self knowledge, deeper prayer life, deeper commitment. We live a life of routine, prayer, and service dotted with those wonderful surprises by God. The daily Liturgy of the Hours (aka Divine Office) nourishes us, Lectio Divina deepens us, and the surprises God sends keep us on our toes, keep us laughing, and keep us going! You can see more information about the monastic way at our web site: http://www.stplacid.org

The Gifts That Differ

Today we celebrated the Feast of St. Placid and St. Maurus. Our chapel was lovely with an icon of St. Placid, patron of our monastery, surrounded by red vigil lights. It made me think of all the gifts we bring to community, and how we share them with each other and with the larger community. The gift of creativity, of making beautiful things and making our surroundings beautiful, is without price. Beauty helps us to pray, to be fully present, to celebrate.

The closing hymn at Eucharist was "Sing a New Church," text by Dolores Dufner, OSB of St. Benedict's Monastery, St. Joseph, MN. The refrain is--

"Let us bring the gifts that differ
and in splendid varied ways
sing a new church into being
one in faith and love and praise."

Thanks be to God for each person's gifts, and the way we share them!