This is the first of a number of blogs looking into monasteries. Why monasteries? Not just because the Passionists live in monasteries, but more importantly, monasteries have a long history dating back thousands of years. A monastery according to Wikipedia “denotes the building or complex of buildings, comprising the domestic quarters and workplace(s) of monastics…living in community or alone (hermits). “
That of course is little reason to look into monasteries. But Pope Francis gives us a hint why this might be a valuable avenue of investigation in his visit this past week to a monastery in Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis. He says in the above video “To live in contemplation with Jesus, God and man and to lead a life in community with a great heart enduring and forgiving…to treat one another with patience which often requires understanding…the monastery is a family even with all its problems.”
I wonder if life would be much different if we lived that way in our families and communities?
We are a community of laymen and laywomen who, with vowed Passionists, seek to share in the charism of St. Paul of the Cross through prayer, ongoing spiritual formation, and proclamation of the message of Christ Crucified.
