Contemplative Spaces

“Benedictine spirituality is more intent on developing thinking people than it is on developing pious people.”
     — from Wisdom Distilled from the Daily:  Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today by Joan Chittister

"Contemplation is the pursuit of meaning." Joan Chittister

 St. John’s University was a beautiful environment, which fostered reflection and contemplation.  It was the perfect place for our retreat. 

The morning light streams through the facade of stained glass, St. John's Abbey Church

Interior, St. John's Abbey Church

A short tunnel leads to the monastery's private, enclosed garden

Campus trees in the morning sun

I hiked 1-1/2 miles along a lakeshore trail to the small Stella Maris Chapel

The Great Hall, St. John's University

Patterned reflections in a hallway at the Abbey Guest House

 

“To empty one’s mind of all thought and refill the void with a spirit greater than oneself, is to extend the mind into a realm not accessible by conventional processes of reason.”
     — from The Language of Drawing by Edward Hill