One last blog

Diane RayLiving in Community 2 Comments

  As my last blog, I am writing to let everyone know about my plans after my sojourner experience (for the few of you I have not already told) and to thank you all for your part in my time at the monastery. After I am done with this six-month program at Easter, I will be living in Madison for a few months. I have the honor and time commitment to be in two wedding parties, so I will stick around until they are done. After that, I hope to move to Illinois to start my Masters in Library Science, …

Three women standing by a stream in the winter

A new thing

Denise West, OSBFar from home, Living in Community 6 Comments

How much longer is your stay? Have you gotten what you expected out of your sojourner experience? Now that it’s been almost four months (two more to go), I’m getting this question a lot. As for the second question, the answer is a resounding Yes. This experience has been transforming in the ways that I’d hoped. Paz and I both left Wisconsin for Christmas, and it was the first time being away from the monastery community. I wondered how much of the way I’d been living would ‘stick’ once I went out into the world. Would I resort to my …

Two sojourners working in the apple orchard.

Desde la mesa de laboratorio hasta la pradera

Paz Vital, OSBPequeñas notas de un viaje a la pradera 2 Comments

PEQUEÑAS NOTAS DE UN VIAJE A LA PRADERA Dejar el laboratorio, mi familia y mis amigos para venir a vivir aquí en la pradera no fue una decisión fácil. Pero ahora estoy aquí esperando a disfrutar el invierno ártico por primera vez en mi vida. Estaba y sigo estando emocionada y asustada al mismo tiempo. Nací y viví en la Ciudad de México, la mayor parte de mi vida. Hace seis años, me mudé a Estados Unidos, y estuve viviendo en Houston, Texas. Así que no sé qué esperar del invierno en Wisconsin. Sin embargo, el invierno no es la …

Praying the psalms in the dark days of winter

Rosy Kandathil, OSBA Benedictine Sojourner's Journey, Living in Community, Monastic Life Leave a Comment

It has been an unusually cold January at the monastery. In the wake of a “polar vortex,” temperatures dropped well-below zero in the Madison area, forcing school and office closings. I know that for some the winter months are a delight, but the Wisconsin cold makes me feel a little trapped inside, like a kid desperate with cabin fever. I noticed that these feelings intensified as the monastery celebrated a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an international Christian ecumenical observance kept annually in late January. Each day we prayed for connections, relationships and appreciations to grow among our diverse …