BOOKS: LAY MONASTICS
“You greatly delude yourself and err, if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk; since the difference between them is in that whether one is married or not, while in everything else they have the same responsibilities... Because all must rise to the same height; and what has turned the world upside down is that we think only the monk must live rigorously, while the rest are allowed to live a life of mediocrity. The Holy Scriptures do not know any distinctions. They enjoin that all lead the life of monks.” – St John Chrysostom
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HERMITAGE: ITS HERITAGE & CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTUREHermitage is a thorough and readable summary of the history of monasticism and a vision for a universal seraphic order of "monks" which includes the consecrated vowed religious as well as the married and lay monastic, the cloistered as well as those living in-the-world. With the emergence of the so-called "new monasticism", it is clear that the "life of monks" is not only for those who live within the monastery. Yet, it is crucial to properly understand where monasticism started and how it developed before we can contemplate its future and our place within it. By John-Michael Talbot, Founder and General Minister of the Brothers & Sisters of Charity at Little Portion monastery. Price: $15.00 Learn More | Purchase |
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HOW TO BE A MONASTIC AND NOT LEAVE YOUR DAY JOBAn Invitation to Oblate Life - Originally written for monks, the principles in the Rule may be applied by everyone else - and in today's hectic, changing world, being an oblate offers a rich spiritual connection to the stability and wisdom of monastic life. This essential guide explains how people who live and work in "the world" are still invited to balance work with prayer, cultivate interdependence with others, practice hospitality, and otherwise practice their spirituality like monks. Though written in the context of the Benedictine tradition, the call to lay monasticism is equally for the Franciscan, Carmelite, Dominican, or those who are simply and truly Christian. Price: $15.00 Learn More | Purchase |
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THE INNER ROOM: A JOURNEY INTO LAY MONASTICISM"The lay monastic dons no habit, wears no distinguishing ornament, lives not in a monastery." Yet, many people today are being led by the Holy Spirit to discover this old way to walk the narrow path of the Gospel to holiness and salvation. The Inner Room takes you on one man's journey into a largely invisible vocation - lay monasticism. You will follow the author Mark Plaiss' journey, first into the Catholic Church and then into his vocation as lay monastic, while maintaining his family and professional life. Plaiss recounts his experience of work and prayer in the monastery in his annual retreats, as well as his experience of being a lay monastic outside the monastery. Daily and psalm schedules at New Melleray Abbey are included, as well as an essay on lay monasticism the author presented to the 2000 convention of the American Benedictine Academy. Price: $10.00 Learn More | Purchase |
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FINDING THE MONK WITHIN: GREAT MONASTIC VALUES FOR TODAYFinding the Monk Within: Great Monastic Values for Today is a treasure for all interested in the enduring value of monasticism. The author shows how monasticism distills values fundamental to the lives of all Christians, such as faith, friendship, humility, mentoring, stability, action and contemplation, and above all, love of God and neighbor. "By studying the history of monasticism and its great heroes we come to realize that, for the Christian, much of what we call `monastic' is purely and simply what being a follower of Christ is all about, and that being a monk, whether inside monastic enclosures or outside `in the world,' is simply becoming the sort of person everyone ought to be, a person who unites action and contemplation in the care of souls," writes the author. Price: $24.00 Learn More | Purchase |
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TO LIVE AS FRANCIS LIVEDA Guide for Secular Franciscans and other followers of St. Francis: Whether you are a professed Franciscan of many years or someone just beginning to seek a spiritual understanding of the Poverello and his Gospel way of life, To Live as Francis Lived will lead you to a closer imitation of Jesus Christ through following in the footsteps of "The Little Poor Man" of Assisi. Through a process of prayer, reflection, study texts, questions and connections to Scripture and the modern Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, you will be formed in the Franciscan way of life as Francis lived it in his own time, and be formed in the Franciscan way of life for today. By Leonard Foley, O.F.M., Jovian Weigel, O.F.M., Patti Normile, S.F.O Price: $11.00 Learn More | Purchase |
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WELCOME TO THE SECULAR ORDER OF DISCALCED CARMELITESThis book is a collection of Fr. Aloysius Deeney's conferences presented to the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelite (OCDS) members worldwide. The author is notable for his enormous understanding and knowledge about the Secular branch of the Order. Though his most practical and insightful talks are primarily directed to OCDS members, this is a "must read" book for all of those who are interested in the lay branch of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, Carmelite spirituality, or lay monasticism in general. Price: $13.00 Learn More | Purchase |
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ETERNAL WISDOM FROM THE DESERTIn the fourth century, thousands of men and women fled into the Egyptian desert seeking to recapture the passion of the earliest Christians through lives of prayer and solitude. As records of the wisdom and purity of the "desert fathers and mothers" spread through the Roman Empire, Christians streamed to the caves of these desert hermits, seeking counsel on the interior life. The hermits' ascetic practices and wise words were a shining witness to a living faith that could be woven into the fabric of daily life. This volume contains Athanasius' famous The Life of St. Anthony, St. Jerome's The Life of Paul the Hermit, and the collected sayings of many of the desert fathers and mothers who teach us eternal wisdom for daily life. Price: $15.00 Learn More | Purchase |