Come and See: The Monastic Way for Today
Come and See is look inside the mind of a monk. The Vision of monastic life proposed here is not new; it is a Vision going back to the Desert Fathers of the fourth century. And yet, it is new because it is rooted in a place in the soul that never grows old. Come and see where I live, Jesus said to the disciples who were following him. He could just as well have said, come and see where you live; where your real life is being lived. Monastic spirituality is not some esoteric or Gnostic way of perceiving reality or understanding life. It is a treasure hidden in the field of your own heart; it is a universal spirituality that is the common inheritance of every human being; it is a search for God. From the atheist to the saint there is in the heart of all creatures a desire for ultimate meaning, a desire for God. In this sense everyone has the heart of a monk.

As you read this book you will meet some of the great themes of monastic life: silence, solitude, community life, prayer. You will also be helped to find your most authentic self, the self Thomas Merton spoke of when he said at the center of our being is a point of nothingness, a point of pure truth. Nothingness, emptiness, absence are important aspects of our spiritual journey.

There is a subtheme running through ancient monasticism that conceives of the monastery as a hospital 'a place for healing the soul, the spirit, the heart. The place of the heart is highlighted in these conferences and homilies as an ancient theme so relevant to the modern person.
 
1145166121
Come and See: The Monastic Way for Today
Come and See is look inside the mind of a monk. The Vision of monastic life proposed here is not new; it is a Vision going back to the Desert Fathers of the fourth century. And yet, it is new because it is rooted in a place in the soul that never grows old. Come and see where I live, Jesus said to the disciples who were following him. He could just as well have said, come and see where you live; where your real life is being lived. Monastic spirituality is not some esoteric or Gnostic way of perceiving reality or understanding life. It is a treasure hidden in the field of your own heart; it is a universal spirituality that is the common inheritance of every human being; it is a search for God. From the atheist to the saint there is in the heart of all creatures a desire for ultimate meaning, a desire for God. In this sense everyone has the heart of a monk.

As you read this book you will meet some of the great themes of monastic life: silence, solitude, community life, prayer. You will also be helped to find your most authentic self, the self Thomas Merton spoke of when he said at the center of our being is a point of nothingness, a point of pure truth. Nothingness, emptiness, absence are important aspects of our spiritual journey.

There is a subtheme running through ancient monasticism that conceives of the monastery as a hospital 'a place for healing the soul, the spirit, the heart. The place of the heart is highlighted in these conferences and homilies as an ancient theme so relevant to the modern person.
 
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Come and See: The Monastic Way for Today

Come and See: The Monastic Way for Today

by Brendan Freeman OCSO
Come and See: The Monastic Way for Today

Come and See: The Monastic Way for Today

by Brendan Freeman OCSO

eBook

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Overview

Come and See is look inside the mind of a monk. The Vision of monastic life proposed here is not new; it is a Vision going back to the Desert Fathers of the fourth century. And yet, it is new because it is rooted in a place in the soul that never grows old. Come and see where I live, Jesus said to the disciples who were following him. He could just as well have said, come and see where you live; where your real life is being lived. Monastic spirituality is not some esoteric or Gnostic way of perceiving reality or understanding life. It is a treasure hidden in the field of your own heart; it is a universal spirituality that is the common inheritance of every human being; it is a search for God. From the atheist to the saint there is in the heart of all creatures a desire for ultimate meaning, a desire for God. In this sense everyone has the heart of a monk.

As you read this book you will meet some of the great themes of monastic life: silence, solitude, community life, prayer. You will also be helped to find your most authentic self, the self Thomas Merton spoke of when he said at the center of our being is a point of nothingness, a point of pure truth. Nothingness, emptiness, absence are important aspects of our spiritual journey.

There is a subtheme running through ancient monasticism that conceives of the monastery as a hospital 'a place for healing the soul, the spirit, the heart. The place of the heart is highlighted in these conferences and homilies as an ancient theme so relevant to the modern person.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780879079543
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Publication date: 04/01/2010
Series: Monastic Wisdom Series , #22
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 228
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Abbot Brendan Freeman entered New Melleray Abbey in Peosta, Iowa, in 1958 at the age of twenty. He received a masters degree in liturgical studies from The Catholic University of America in 1973. Fr. Brendan was elected abbot of his community in 1984 and has served in that position ever since.

Table of Contents

Foreword Michael Casey, Ocso ix

Introduction xv

1 Tracing Our Roots 1

St. Benedict, Father of Western Monasticism 4

Basic Rule: Service in Love Flows from the Eucharist 4

Monastery as the School for the Lord's Service 6

Founders of the Cistercian Order (Citeaux) 8

The Call to Renunciation and Detachment 8

Living a Life of Obedience and Humiliations 10

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Pillar of the Order 12

Close Relationship between Body and Soul 12

Knowing Much of the Love of Christ 13

Contemplating Christ 15

Understanding Cistercian Tradition 16

The Cistercian Charism 16

Values of Cistercian Reform 20

Elements of Cistercian Formation 23

Modern Economy and Ancient Ideals 26

Monasteries Helping Each Other 28

Visitation at Tautra Mariakloster, Norway 30

The Fjords of Tautra Give Praise and Welcome 32

2 Celebrations of Monastic Life 36

Reception of the Novice's Habit 36

Fulfilling the Law of Christ 37

The Deifying Light 38

Solemn Profession of Vows 40

Professing Love to the God of Love 41

Community-the Word of Salvation 44

Love Never Ends 47

Transfer of Stability 49

The Cowl as the Garment of Salvation 50

Continuing Journey to Union with Christ 52

Stability Means Home Where God-Is-With-Us 54

Golden Jubilee 56

A Great Life Spent in Humility and Hiddenness 56

Immaculate Conception and Fifty Years of Hidden Life in God 59

3 Celebrations in Community Life 62

The Gift of Community Life 63

Living in Community 63

Unifying Power of the Eucharist 65

Gospel Lessons on Brotherly Love 68

St. Benedict's Gift: Teaching on Friendship 72

Friendship in the Monastic Life 73

Status Quo Evolving 76

Thanksgiving Day Reflections 78

Thanksgiving as a Faith Event 78

Constant Gratefulness to God 80

Christ at the Heart of Unity in Community 82

4 Treasures Of Monastic Values 85

Silence, Solitude, and Enclosure 86

The Monastic Value of Silence 86

Paradise of Solitude 87

On Solitude and Enclosure 91

Hiddenness of the Contemplative Life 95

Search for the Hidden God 98

Ordinary, Obscure, and Laborious Life 102

Enclosure as Formative Tool toward Wisdom 106

Interior Silence and Formation 108

Formation of the Heart 108

Solitude of the Heart 111

Obedience "with n Good Soul" 113

Patience Leads to Self-Transformation 115

Opportunities to Exercise Patience 118

Obstacles to Overcome 121

Beware of "Acedia" 121

Fighting the Evil in Our Thoughts 125

Humility and Exaltation in Christ 128

Compunction and Compassion 128

Striving for the Selfless Love 131

Holding up the Ideal before You 135

Call to Perfection 139

Dispossession Is to Live by the Lord's Strength 142

Quest for Union with God 145

Presence and Recognition of Christ 147

Jesus Living through Us 149

Inspirations from the Life of Mary 152

Christ's Redemptive Grace and Immaculate Conception 152

Mother of All Living by Faith 154

Spending the Fullness of Time with Mary 155

Mary's Yes to God Planted in the Heart of Her Child 157

Mary's Assumption: After-Death, Key to Life 158

Queen and Mother of Mercy 161

The Many Faces of Mary 164

Call on Mary, She Forms Our Hearts 166

Inspiration from the Saints 170

Saints: Gifted with Persevering Faith 170

Aspire to Become Saints 172

5 The Divine Office as the Prayer of Christ 175

The Liturgy of the Hours 176

Celebrating the Divine Office as Sacrament 191

Intense Attention at the Liturgy 194

Conclusion: Night and the Monk 198

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