What is a monastery? A monastery is not so much a place set apart for monks and nuns as it is a place set apart, period. It is also a place to learn the value of powerlessness and a place to learn 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 monks and nuns, is to physically withdraw from the world. But the principle is equally valid for those of us who cannot go off to monasteries and become monks and nuns. Certain vocations offer the same kind of opportunity for contemplation. They too provide a desert for reflection.
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
