Domestic Monastery: Creating Spiritual Life at Home

by Ronald Rolheiser

Overview

"A dose of grace for parents"
This short easy-to-read book shows the simplicity of leading a contemplative life outside the monastery.

What is a monastery? A monastery is a place set apart—a place to learn the blessings of powerlessness, and 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 men and women is to physically withdraw from the world to provide for contemplation and reflection. But the principle is equally valid for those of us who cannot go off to monasteries — we too can find spiritual peace and grace at home.

In ten brief and powerful chapters, Fr. Ron explores how monastery life can apply to those who don't live in a 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

Our home, our duties and routines, our relationships, and the way we use our time, are the monasteries of our lives. It is through these practices that we build our relationship with God, that we find opportunities for contemplation, and deserts for reflection. In this beautiful little book Ronald Rolheiser turns on its head the idea that religious life is the preserve of monks and nuns. Our cloisters are the walls of our home and our work, the streets we walk, and the people with whom we share our lives. The domestic is the monastic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781640606708
Publisher:	Paraclete Press
Publication date:	03/29/2022
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	212,287
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Rev. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, is a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He is a theologian, professor, award-winning author, and serves as president of the Oblate School of Theology. A specialist in the fields of spirituality and systematic theology, and a New York Times bestselling author, Fr. Ron writes a weekly column that is featured in more than 70 newspapers worldwide. He is the author of many books, including bestsellers The Holy Longing and Sacred Fire, as well as The Restless Heart, Forgotten Amongst the Lilies, Bruised and Wounded, and Domestic Monastery. He holds Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Ottawa and Newman Theological College Edmonton and Master’s degrees from the University of San Francisco and University of Louvain, Belgium along with a PhD/STD from the University of Louvain. Apart from his academic knowledge in systematic theology and philosophy, he has become a popular speaker in contemporary spirituality and religion and the secular world. 

Table of Contents

1 Monasticism and Family Life 9

2 The Domestic Monastery 17

3 Real Friendship 25

4 Lessons from the Monastic Cell 35

5 Ritual for Sustaining Prayer 41

6 Tensions Within Spirituality 49

7 A Spirituality of Parenting 57

8 Spirituality and the Seasons of Our Lives 69

9 The Sacredness of Time 77

10 Life's Key Question 85

About the Author 91

Editorial Reviews

"If ever there was a time when a book like Fr. Ronald Rolheiser's Domestic Monastery was needed, that time is now. Domestic Monastery, a mystical yet down-to-earth look at the spirituality of being a parent, will encourage and uplift parents at any stage in their parenting journey. Rolheiser emphasizes that there is nothing "lesser-than" about being a parent, as opposed to being a priest or religious. Instead, he compares the life of a parent to that of a monastic, drawing parallels that focus especially on the self-abandonment necessary in love. If you or someone you know are feeling overwhelmed by the demands of your time, energy, and love that being a parent requires, Domestic Monastery will help you put your situation in perspective in a comforting and engaging way." —Barbara Szyszkiewicz, CatholicMom.com

"Prayer, for Fr Rolheiser is ‘a relationship, a long term one and lives by those rules’ (p.43). Pointing out the necessary tension that lies between contemplation and action (as well as that between ‘passion and purity, intellect and will, community and individuality’, p.55) Fr Rolheiser shows us the ‘creative tension’ that lies in the path of those who seek a ‘Domestic Monastery’. I would not only recommend you buy a copy of this small spiritual classic but that you purchase one as a gift for those friends, colleagues, loved ones and family members who have struggled these past few months to make sense of the impact of the deadly covid virus. This charming little book will, I am sure, bring a lot of healing to a traumatized world. Thank you Fr Rolheiser." — Peter Tyler, soulpursuit

From the Publisher