Sleep was elusive for me this week. I woke in the middle of the night, unable to return to sleep for hours. I am unsure if this is because “I am of a certain age” or because I am feeling stressed (I wasn’t feeling stressed until I started not sleeping well!) I skipped the gym twice because of this and if you know me, that means it was a big deal. I do.not. skip. the gym. And yet,
I booked a room in my local monastery for the weekend. Once a month, I go away for a weekend to get a week’s worth of work on the book done in 48 hours. It is no small feat. I must do this on nearly no budget as writers do not get paid much. My advance on the book is what many of you make in a few weeks or a month but it is a big deal to me.
Last month I was gifted a friend’s cabin for the writing weekend. This month I returned to the monastery 90 minutes from my home which I have used as a respite for the past 8 years.
Benedictines have a ministry of hospitality. “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’” St Benedict wrote in his Rule. Most Benedictine monasteries will host guests for a suggested donation or nominal fee. If you will remember, this is how I traveled England in January, staying with Benedictines throughout the country.
I knew I needed a place to write but didn’t know how much returning to the rhythm of prayer and silence was needed.
I arrived on Friday after lunch. After I checked in and unpacked, I took a 25 min nap. I woke refreshed and immediately wrote a 1000-word essay, nearly half of the work I needed to finish this weekend. After work I attended Mass. A surprise to me was that Bishop Schuster was presiding and Father Mullholland, who is dear to me, was visiting.
It was a glorious Mass. One of my favorite monks served the wine to me with a wink of kindness, there was a baby in the back making joyful baby noises and a blessed woman who arrived to Mass dressed up for Mary, the Mother of God’s birthday.
I have felt disconnected from the church for many reasons but this evening gave me a glimmer of hope again. Enough to move me forward again.
After Compline prayers, I snuggled into bed. I had opened my window so the delicious evening air could waft in. There were no sirens or people arguing outside my window. Just quiet. And I slept. From 9pm till 5:45am. It felt like nothing short of a miracle
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I have recently hit the half way mark on the essays for Undaunted Joy the book! Things are moving along!
Starting this month, I will host a short 30 min Zoom for paid subscribers. We’ve been building a lovely little community here of readers and writers who want to explore joy together. I’d love to put some faces to our names.
We will do a quick round of introductions and share one thing that brought us joy that day. Then I will give you a sneak peek of what is going on with the book.
Sign up for a paid subscription to receive Zoom links for these meet ups. It will be a happy respite in the day.
Undaunted joy is so needed in all of our lives right now. I am 85 years old, had surgery for colon cancer last week and thanks be to God, our bodies, my surgeon and most of all, the loving daughter who is caring for me right now (and whipping mercilessly to eat well, breathe deeply, walk often) I feel as if I will recover. For this and for this life I was given 85 years ago, I feel this undaunted joy.
I love that this weekend has been exactly what you needed, beyond what you even knew you needed. I'll keep my eyes out for info on the zoom and hope it will be something I'll be able to fit into my schedule.