How would you explain monasticism to Protestants who feel Christians should be out in the world, seeking to convert lost souls? To them, monks/nuns are hiding from society’s ills, not helping to mend ...

The monastic alternative, at least in the West, has become so deeply unfashionable that most people no longer consider the possibility, but there is, at least to me, something deeply appealing about ...

Part two of a three-part series. The dwindling number of vocations to priesthood, religious orders and monastic life make it clear that traditional religious life no longer speaks to newer generations ...

When Judith Valente, a Benedictine oblate, leads contemplative retreats both online and in monasteries around the country, she has been noticing that laypeople — whether Catholic or ...

This is part one of a series. Although the term "new monasticism" has been floating around ether of the contemplative world for several decades, it has remained difficult to define. Catholic ...

There's a growing movement of people using monastic traditions in everyday life It’s hard to open a newspaper these days – particularly health supplements – without reading about the benefits of ...

It was a joy to spend the month of June at my alma mater in Atchison, Kan., as my husband continues his formation with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (Focus). Nearly every classroom ...

The idea of the nazir always raises questions and problems. The idea of monasticism is certainly not a basic Jewish value. Just the opposite seems to be true from the ideas and statements of the ...