Like all genuine eccentrics, John Cyril Hawes was a blend of genius and madness. His fantastical, eclectic architecture captures the contradictions of the man: traditional, but modern; romantic but gritty and down-to-earth; artistic but tough; cantankerous but compassionate to the poor. He was a solitary hermit who became famous. Author Peter Anson—himself a convert to [...]
To the ordinary human eye, St. Charbel is simply an oddity, one who embraced a life already slightly weird (monasticism) and took it to the next level (hermit). But it’s such radical Christians who transcend their age because they listen always to the Voice telling them of the essence of the moral law within. This [...]
Subjective silence itself is not emptiness. It is attention and receptivity. It is also a light, for the soul is ordered to objective silence, to great mysteries in which we participate. “And as we talked and panted for [eternal wisdom], we touched just the edge of it by the utmost leap of our hearts; then, [...]
For centuries, Benedictines have safeguarded the soul of civilization. Now, the monks of Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey are stewarding this ancient and vital tradition for our age—right here in America. We must hold each other in prayer. This is the work of the universal Church. Even as Benedictines lift up the world in [...]