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Monastic life, like all religious life, is above all a historical response and not a prefabricated model. The Spirit is constant and changing at once, like life, like history, and we must let it change us for this era. We ought not confuse stability with the rigidity of cadavers.
--Simon Pedro Arnold, OSB

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2014 Spring/Summer Bulletin

Read the full Bulletin consecutively

Front Cover

Astounding Us with Joy ! (Introduction) (pgs. 2-3)
". . . What they heard and understood went far beyond the limitations of words and languages. It was the Spirit of God bringing them together, breathing new life into each and all. A new Pentecost was emerging-a springtime of new beginnings and deep hope... " more

How to Speak of Faith? - brother Michael (pgs. 4-5)
". . . When we gathered in Cuernavaca this year we had the opportunity to listen to our brothers and sisters from Mexico, Peru, and Spain. We gathered together for a number of days to share with each other our experiences of faith... " more

Oh! Divine Wisdom... (poem) - Sister Maricarmen (pg. 5)
... more poetry

Rejoice! - brother Daniel (pgs. 6-7)
". . . Our friendship with these embroidery craftswomen began 26 years ago when our Benedictine Sisters were staffing the parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe at a squatters' settlement known as La Nopalera . . . " more

A Monastic Community in a Peruvian Aymara Indigenous Context: From Inculturation to Interculturality - brother Simón Pedro (pgs. 8-10)
". . . Our monastic adventure of insertion into the Peruvian Altiplano among the Aymara indigenous people began 22 years ago on the shores of Lake Titicaca. With hardly a breath of awareness as an inserted contemplative community, we began to realize that to deeply love a people and their culture it is not sufficient to truly understand them... " more

i stopped... (poem) - sister Laura (pg. 11)
... more poetry

Letter from Felipe & Elena - March 24, 2014 (pg. 12)
". . . Our dear brothers, we are infinitely grateful for the profound human gesture in reaching out to us and our children and welcoming us into your home on the 24th of March 1984. We are grateful that you have given us life and brought well-being back to our spirit... " more

To Hold a Flower Tenderly. - brother John (pgs. 13-14)
". . . Brother Mark opened the door to the red van that carried Elena and Felipe Ixcot and their five young children on the last leg of the perilous journey to Sanctuary from their homeland in Guatemala . . . I realized that little Juanita, who was nestled quietly in my arms, was gazing with rapt attention at a small flower—a daisy—that someone had placed in her hands... " more

Flower of Beauty (poem) - brother Augustine (pg. 14)
... more poetry

Sanctuary and Frogs - brother Augustine (pg. 15)
". . . Here in rural Vermont, this sound of the peepers and frogs singing with abandon in their ponds heralds the awakening of nature in bringing forth new life... To Felipe and Elena this chorus of nature's coming alive in the pond seemed to offer a healing..." more

Evolving Monastic Community Life - brother Mark (pg. 16)
". . . That story [of offering 'Sanctuary' 30 years ago to the Ixcot family] is really about the courage and commitment of an indigenous Maya family. For our part it speaks of the effort to implement our Benedictine value of hospitality which calls us to welcome Christ in all persons especially those who are most needy..." more

Hartford, VT, Dismas House Dedication: A home of transition for former prisoners - Rita Whalen McCaffrey, founder, Dismas of Vermont, Inc.
(pgs. 17-18)
". . . The Dedication will be a celebration of our latest Dismas House, the 4th in Vermont, along with Dismas Houses in Burlington, Rutland, and Winooski... There is a wonderful spirit in the house as folks are becoming a community, living in a clean and sober home, where they are helping each other to face the many challenges in their lives... " more

Life Together in One Heart - (pgs. 18-23)
Chronicle: December, 2013, through March, 2014. more


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