Tag Archives: benedict

Do Not Easily Leave: A Small Reflection for a Friday

“Someone asked [St. Anthony]: ‘What must one do in order to please God?’ The old man replied, ‘Pay attention to what I tell you: whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes; whatever you do, do it according … Continue reading

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Why I wish I lived in a commune.

 In honor of this little vacation I’m on with some of my favorites, this post from January 6, 2011 seems appropriate.   I just rode home in the back seat of a Volkswagen with two seventeen year old girls manning … Continue reading

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The Pen Effect

In the past 9 years, I’ve lived in three very different cities: Syracuse, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. None of those cities are anything like the place I grew up or the town where I went to college. In my moves, … Continue reading

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Psalm 31

Listen, I love you readers and you don’t deserve this but I’m going to complain for a second. Thursday is street cleaning day on my street. That means I can’t park in front of the house, which is usually okay. … Continue reading

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Happy Anniversary, Mama:Monk!

Yes, my friends, it has been one full year of bloggerdom. And in honor of my anniversary at mamamonk.com (which was actually last Wednesday, but I was too lame to celebrate on that day), I will now list what a … Continue reading

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Preserve Me, O God

When I first began this blog, I was making a Benedictinian effort to spend my days meditating on the Psalms. When St. Benedict wrote his rule, he required that all living it out with him would chant/pray the entire book … Continue reading

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Three Vows

Remember how I’m reading through Esther de Waal’s Living With Contradiction?  I’ll admit I’m slow-going on it, but really fascinated. Last night I read a chapter titled “Living with Myself.” Sounds like something I need to learn from, huh? Here’s … Continue reading

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Meditation

“How Meditation May Change the Brain,” an article published in the New York Times last Friday has remained one of their most emailed articles throughout this week of insane news. Despite the craziness of winter weather across the country and … Continue reading

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Dawn, Day, Dusk, Dark

Yesterday I mentioned Scot Sherman’s sermon from this past Sunday. One of the stories he told in that sermon was about a man he had encountered who, in becoming serious about his faith, discovered Thomas Merton’s idea that prayer and … Continue reading

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Weakness and Acceptance

There’s a point in pregnancy when you suddenly think: “Something’s wrong with me!” Of course, the something wrong is actually the reality that a five pound human has invaded your entire body and you can’t get away from him. He … Continue reading

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