Monday, January 30, 2012

With the Word


Cultivating mindfulness of God throughout the day is the goal of each monk. Here we see Brother Jonah pondering the Word in the Abbey cloisters and scriptorium.


Our Constutions tell us: Careful lectio divina greatly strengthens the brothers' faith in God. This excellent monastic practice, by which God's Word is heard and pondered, is a source of prayer and a school of contemplation, where the monk speaks heart to heart with God. For this reason, the brothers are to devote a fitting amount of time each day to such reading.


In a spirit of compunction and intense desire, monks devote themselves frequently to prayer. While dwelling on earth, their minds are occupied with heavenly things, desiring eternal life with all spiritual longing