Monastic Life

I celebrated Mass at the Monastery of the Holy Name of Jesus. It is south of Green Bay near the town of Denmark, Wisconsin. The brick and stone monastery is home to 11 discalced Carmelite nuns who live perpetually cloistered. They communicate with the outside world through telephones and through a turntable that spins, and occasionally through e-mail (it is the modern world, after all). Their section of the chapel is divided from the rest by a grille but it has a door through which they receive communion. Inside the cloiser, the pace of life is much more simple and deliberate than we find outside. Their day is filled with prayer, silence, and work around the monastery.

I find a trip to visit them extremely refreshing and it helps me to slow down a little bit. It is also a great reminder of the importance of keeping prayer central to my ministry. After all, their only real ministry is their prayer and the sacrifices they offer for the world. It makes me think that perhaps prayer is the most important thing I can do in a day.