Inside The School Of Charity: Lessons from the Monastery

"In 2003 Trisha Day spent three months living inside the enclosure of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, a community of twenty Cistercian nuns. Now, drawing on her journals and reflections, and on her own experience as a professional woman, wife, daughter, and mother, she delves into the questions of how the centuries-old wisdom of monastic life can challenge, inspire, and guide those living outside the monastery." Organized around topics such as prayer, community, and the vows, each of Day's reflections begins with memories of her monastic and then presents a perceptive and often humorous critique of the contrasting values of our present culture. For each topic she chronicles with honesty and humility her subsequent struggles to apply back home the alternative approaches learned from the sisters she lived with and offers a wealth of practical suggestions. Filled with stories from her own life and fascinating details of daily life in the monastery, her book is sure to strike a spark with all those seeking to live in a fully human and Christ-centered way.