In every age there are a small number of Catholics who intentionally isolate themselves from society to serve God and the church through lives of “prayer and labor.”. They’re called monks.

Gregory Hillis, an associate professor of theology at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., knows one community of monks particularly well: the Cistercian monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani. In a recent essay for America, he shares some wisdom from the monks for living in solitude during a time of pandemic.

Greg joins Ashley, Zac and Vivian in this bonus episode to explore the rigorous yet transforming practices of monastic life, the power of silence and letting go of a false sense of control over our lives. They also discuss the most famous monk of Gethsemani Abbey, the writer and mystic Thomas Merton.

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Links from the show: 

“We’re all monks now,” by Gregory Hillis

Books by Thomas Merton referenced by Greg Hillis:

"The Intimate Merton: His Life from His Journals"

"New Seeds of Contemplation"

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