Dear Friend,
“We hope this message finds you happy and healthy!” the cheery voicemail from our kids’ school began late last week.
We could hear the “but” coming though, as the tone of voice shifted. And sure enough, the message went on to break the news that only two days per week of in-class instruction will be offered this fall. All across our county, you could almost hear the collective gasp as families took in the news.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Or as the Psalmist wrote, “deep calls unto deep” (42:7).
In this week’s focus on Level 1 (Faith Life) of your Trinity House, we’re eager to share an insight to help you and your family meet the depth of today’s moment with resources equal to the task. It’s a way of seeing the home that has touched us personally over the years and allowed us to surmount challenges along the way. Simply put, it’s a challenge: to reflect on your home as a “domestic monastery.”
If this sounds far-fetched, we assure you, it isn’t, because in both homes and monasteries, you can find so much in common in the daily rhythms, joys, and headaches of communal life. Many have made this connection, and we’ve included just a sampling of their insights and practical tips in this week’s toolkit.
But back to that voicemail… As the principal went on, we heard her articulate three commitments and priorities for the year ahead. Each of them, in a surprising way, can point us to aspects of our “domestic monasteries” which we’ve been pondering lately:
- “Tools for time management and organization” which “minimize chaos and maximize predictability and flexibility.”
- “Maintaining our students well-being and connections with one another in our community.”
- “Rigorous academic expectations.”
First of all, your domestic monastery can excel in time management, organization, predictability and flexibility. The centerpiece of monastic life is the “rule,” which is reflected in its hour-by-hour schedule and “liturgy of the hours.” We’ve written recently about the importance of family schedules which feature family prayer time as the focal point. Our challenge (to ourselves…but sharing it with you too!): acknowledge your legitimate fears about chaos and change and then take some inspiration from the monastic tradition as you hone your family’s own unique “rule” or schedule.
Secondly, your home monastery can be a place in which your family’s overall well-being flourishes alongside connections between members. Monastic life is a fascinating dynamic which toggles back and forth between solitude and communal life—and every family needs something similar. Our challenge: assess how the members of your family are doing in finding daily solitude with God, and then look at your times together as a community—mealtimes, chores together, games and walks, etc. How can your “rule” as a “little monastery” better unite the members of your family in your life with God?
Thirdly, rigorous expectations can and should be a fixture of your domestic monastery. In every monastery, the members are accountable to the standards of the Gospel and the order and to a superior’s review of their progress. They are obligated to obedience at all times. As the “superiors”, parents must know that holding kids to rigorous expectations—in their life of faith, virtue, learning, and every aspect—begins with holding ourselves to rigorous expectations.
Our challenge: as you journey further into this summer and prepare your family for what lies ahead this fall, look closely at your personal “rule” and honor the commitments you’ve made in your walk with Christ. Ask yourself, “To whom am I obedient? Is God truly my ‘superior’?” And if you’re married, “Am I obedient to my spouse?”
“The coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout are exacting a devastating toll on American families,” write Brad Wilcox and Alysse ElHage in Christianity Today, noting that “mothers and fathers all over the country are contending with a volatile, uncertain future that will shape their lives and their children’s lives for years to come.”
Yes. And all the more reason to utilize every resource possible—including the trove of insights from monastic life over the centuries—in our relentless pursuit of creating homes which, despite the uncertainty, are imbued with the love of Jesus Christ and a resilient and deepening faith.
Heaven in Your Home Toolkit
After spending a week at a Benedictine monastery with her family, Jennifer Fulwiler shared a series of practical insights in “The Secret of the Domestic Monastery.” She writes, “Boiled down to its core, the hallmark of the monastic schedule is that the way you use your time reflects your true priorities.” Amen to that.
The Archdiocese of Detroit’s “Unleash the Gospel” initiative offers a practical challenge for each day of the week, in “The Monastery of the Home.”
“In the Time of Covid-19, the Cloistered Life Offers Lessons for the World,” learn about how the daily life of the Poor Clares can parallel your family’s. “This can be a time for blessings,” Sister Maria Elena Romero says. “But you have to take advantage of it, to see the good side of it, and then it can be a blessed time, a time to ask for mercy, to give thanks, to think about others, to reflect.”
In “How to Make Your Home a Domestic Monastery,” Fr. Pablo Staub reflected on how poverty, chastity and obedience are operative in homes. Here’s just one refreshing line from his piece (just substitute smartphone or Internet for “television”): “The junk on television is not pleasing to God. Don’t let your children be destroyed in your own home by this junk. Your domestic monastery must practice chastity and purity in all things, rooted in a chaste marriage.”
Testimonial
“Trinity House demonstrates the power of hospitality in the public square, a ministry of presence, of sharing a meal with people.” Jennifer Fulwiler, best-selling author and Sirius XM radio host
Coming Soon…
We are looking forward to sharing a schedule of Heaven in Your Home Workshops (livestream and in-person), other speaking engagements, and monthly Heaven in Your Home Gatherings for later this summer and fall. Would your church, parish, small-group or ministry be interested in hosting Trinity House Community? We’re happy to adapt the workshop or speak on related topics (e.g., prayer in the home; couple’s prayer; developing your children’s gifts; family culture) to fit your unique needs. Just drop us a line at contact@trinityhousecommunity.org.
Please Join Us In Prayer
- For the staff and ministry of Trinity House Cafe, and the recent Heaven in Your Home Workshop participants;
- For forgiveness for the times when we have failed to love and respect one another, and healing from racism (cf. USCCB Prayer to Overcome Racism);
- For all those who mourn the loss of loved ones;
- For the sick, their caregivers, medical personnel, and all essential workers;
- For the unemployed, the underemployed, and all those facing difficult financial decisions in these days.
In Christ,
Soren & Ever Johnson
Founders & Directors
Trinity House Community
Making Home a Little Taste of Heaven
