When you become a member of Monasteries of the Heart you receive free weekly practices that can help you develop a monastic spirituality—prayer, lectio (reflective reading), good works, study and community. You also receive free inspirational words each week from three monastic blogs, including one by Sister Joan Chittister. And you join a worldwide community whose members discuss meaningful issues and are intent on impacting the times.
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In addition to new weekly content, Monasteries of the Heart offers regular online courses, retreats and book discussions. While some of this curriculum content is free, many of the courses and retreats have a small fee. Courses and retreats usually include several emails a week, exclusive video or audio content and a facilitated discussion. Click here to see all available offerings. You must have a free membership and be logged in to register for and access courses and retreats.
Course or Retreat in session now
Instruction on monastic spirituality and way of life is essential if members of Monasteries of the Heart are to carry forward and keep alive the ancient Benedictine tradition.
Initial Monastic Formation for New Members
Study based on the book
The Monastery of the Heart by Joan Chittister
A Gentle Invitation 2017
In her book, Insights for the Ages, Sister Joan explains that the Rule of Benedict "is not concerned with a single time and place, a single set of devotions, or a single ministry...
May 17, 2017
Next Course or Retreat to be offered
Four to six courses and retreats are offered each year at Monasteries of the Heart. This is our next online offering.
Is it difficult for you to feel peace or wonder in the midst of your daily life? Is it hard to find beauty and meaning when the dishes are piled in the sink, or when your neighbors can be heard through the walls? We often think of the sacred as something far-off and mystical, to be found in a cathedral or on a mountaintop, rather than something that even mundane moments may be infused with. Yet Joan Chittister writes that, "Benedictine spirituality...is a life of concentration on life's ordinary dimensions, an attempt to do ordinary things extraordinarily well."
New: Re-released eCourses and Retreats
Creating a Monastery of the Heart • Heart of the Rule • Praying the Psalms • All You Holy Women • Empower Yourself, Empower Others • Nonviolence & the Rule of Benedict • Monastic Wisdom for the Workplace • Love, Forgiveness & Reconciliation • Lectio Divina • God Speaks in Many Tongues • Mary of Nazareth