Domestic Monastery

By: Ronald Rolheiser

Narrated by: Jon M. Sweeney

What is a monastery? A monastery is a place set apart - a place to learn the blessings of powerlessness, and that time is not ours but God’s. Our home and our duties can, just like a monastery, teach us those things. The vocation of monastic men and women is to physically withdraw from the world. But the principle is equally valid for those of us who cannot go off to monasteries. Certain vocations offer the same kind of opportunity for contemplation, and provide a desert for reflection.

In 10 brief and powerful chapters, Fr. Ron explores how monastery life can apply to those who don't live in a cloister:

• "Monasticism and Family Life"
• "The Domestic Monastery"
• "Real Friendship"
• "Lessons from the Monastic Cell"
• "Ritual for Sustaining Prayer"
• "Tensions within Spirituality"
• "A Spirituality of Parenting"
• "Spirituality and the Seasons of Our Lives"
• "The Sacredness of Time"
• "Life’s Key Question"

©2019 Ronald Rolheiser (P)2019 Paraclete Press

Thinking about nonmonastic life in a monastic lens

Summary: Short book thinking about how we can arrange our lives to think about them as service to God.

This is a short book, about 90 pages and just under an hour as audio. It was cheap on both kindle and audiobook. Sunday morning I could not sleep and after putzing around on social media for a while I put this on audio to listen to as I sat back and closed my eyes hoping to fall back asleep.

I don't think I feel back asleep but I also need to read this again and it is quick enough I probably will later this week. Thematically, this is simple, some meditations from the head of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio about how people outside of the monastery can incorporate some of the practices and ideas of the monastery in a non-monastic setting.

There are good looks at being a parent and how parenting (or other relationships) primes us to sacrifice for others.  Also how there are seasons of life and looking at those seasons (or times of day) can be used to be thought of like the liturgical year or the prayers of the hours.

There are weaknesses to books like this. Monasticism isn't the same as life outside of the cloister. There are parallels that can be drawn but pulling at them too strongly causes them to break down. Encouragements to live sacrificially for your children or to think of the structure of your day as a form of prayer method are good for people that are not prone to codependency or OCD. There are people that absolutely shouldn't read books like this, and others that would benefit.

In a time when I have been having a hard time sitting down and reading heavier material, short books like this are helpful.

The monastery of married life

The path to holiness for married people can be as valid as the path for the monk or religious in monastic life. Ronald Rolheiser makes wonderful connections between the cloister life and the life of married people. He demonstrates the similarities between married life and monastic life, and how they transform us into loving human beings and authentic disciples of Christ.

Balm for my mama soul

A book 📖 to give for ever baby shower. Words I have needed for 13 years.

Thought provoking and beautiful

This book is a short and easy listen but with so much depth. I would recommend it to everyone.

Domestic Monastery

Me encanto ! La narración muy buena pero estaba esperando oír al Padre, me hizo replantearme si he vivido plenamente mi vida de familia como el lugar donde debo encontrar mi vida con el Señor, y la vida futura.

Incredible One-Liners!

While the book at time felt a bit scattered in its organization (it wasn’t always clear what overall point the author was working toward so that some chapters felt very random), the incredible wisdom found in many impactful one-liners made it very much worth reading! I would recommend every parent read this for some incredible perspective on the beauty of our calling as parents. The message within is especially important in light of the pressures and messages we receive regularly from our culture about what is and is not worthwhile.

Excellent Book

I’ve already listened to it twice. This book is an encouragement to those trying to balance a Christian pursuit and parenting you children. Highly recommend!

Flexibility = discernment and Reconciliation

I listened to it once and I’m going to listen to it again. So encouraging and helpful as a soon to be mom of three under 3.

There’s a line that he says about reconciliation/forgiveness about parents being examples of God’s love, “return as far as you can, and I will come the rest of the way.” Woahhh, if we as parents could experience that kind of love from the Father and that our children would be able to feel freedom to come as far as they can knowing we will meet them the rest of the way!

Excellent

This book is one I wish I had had as a girl...one to be read often. But, I have it now. It is packed full of spiritual wisdom and delivered with grace. It is beyond excellent.

Said very little

This book did little to bring clarity to the day to day struggles of the modern family’s pursuit of holiness. Verbose. In need of an editor. Would have been better as a 2,000-3,000 book of short epitaphs encouraging mothers to find God in the day to day struggles of raising little Saints.