This weekend 14 men will participate in our first Monastic Immersion Weekend. Seven of them…count ’em, seven…have expressed interest in the monastic life and our Abbey. If there was ever a time for our friend The Holy Spirit to ‘do his thing’ this weekend is it.
And you can help the Holy Spirit and our community with prayer. Many of you pray for vocations at your church or alone…please double your effort to support our weekend and the men discerning.
The other half of our Monastic Immersion Weekend is made up of men who are looking to strengthen their contemplative prayer life and ‘immersing’ in our life in this community is intended to support that. We have had many people ask “what about us?” meaning, what about others like these men who aren’t discerning a monastic life but are active contemplatives looking for a chance to immerse themselves as well.
I have good news for them/you…we are planning at least two MIW’s next year for anyone, male or female, interested in this more intense experience at Holy Cross Abbey. Keep your eyes on our web site for details about these weekends.
We are also planning a Monastic Quiet Day for this Advent. Details aren’t final yet but the date we are planning is December 1st. A program of Friends of St. Benedict (www.benedictfriend.org), our Quiet Day starts at home the night before, and continues all day at the Abbey. Look for details soon.
And remember…THIS is the week to pray for vocations!